What Jesus Did

Then Jesus began to tell [the disciples] that the Son of Man must suffer many terrible things and be rejected by the elders, the leading priests, and the teachers of religious law. He would be killed, but three days later he would rise from the dead.

—Mark 8:31 NLT

Key Thought​

Jesus knew his mission. It was a hard mission: He was to die for the sins of the people — including even you and me — after being rejected and ridiculed. This sacrificial death, however, was his center...

 

Then [Jesus] asked [the disciples], "But who do you say I am?"
Peter replied, "You are the Messiah."

But Jesus warned them not to tell anyone about him.

—Mark 8:29-30 NLT

Key Thought​

Jesus' warning seems bizarre to many folks today. However, if we follow the story of Jesus in the Gospel of Mark, we realize that the people who hear him want to define what it means for Jesus to be Messiah and Son of God rather than letting God define it. However, Jesus warns those who catch a...

 

Then [Jesus] asked [the disciples], "But who do you say I am?"
Peter replied, "You are the Messiah."

—Mark 8:29 NLT

Key Thought​

This is the key question that Jesus asks each of us: "Who do you say I am?" Our answer is crucial! Our whole life hangs in the balance as we answer this question. Yes, Peter says, "You are the Messiah." However, Jesus is much more than the Messiah: He is our LORD; he is our Savior; he is our brother; he is our King; he is our High Priest...

 

Jesus and his disciples left Galilee and went up to the villages near ###. As they were walking along, he asked them, "Who do people say I am?"
"Well," they replied, "some say John the Baptist, some say Elijah, and others say you are one of the other prophets."

—Mark 8:27-28 NLT

Key Thought​

Jesus is recognized as a significant religious leader and a powerful teacher by many of the world's religions. However, Christians see Jesus as so much more than a prophet, a great...

 

Jesus and his disciples left Galilee and went up to the villages near ###. As they were walking along, he asked them, "Who do people say I am?"

—Mark 8:27 NLT

Key Thought​

If you ask people today who they think Jesus is, you will get a myriad of answers. Many folks don't know and quite a few don't care. The lost world's greatest needs are for Jesus' followers both to know who he really is and to demonstrate it in our lives!

Today's Prayer​

O Father in heaven, help us —...

 

When [Jesus and the disciples] arrived at Bethsaida, some people brought a blind man to Jesus, and they begged him to touch the man and heal him. Jesus took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the village. Then, spitting on the man's eyes, he laid his hands on him and asked, "Can you see anything now?"
The man looked around. "Yes," he said, "I see people, but I can't see them very clearly. They look like trees walking around."

Then Jesus placed his hands on the man's eyes again...

 

When [Jesus and the disciples] arrived at Bethsaida, some people brought a blind man to Jesus, and they begged him to touch the man and heal him.

—Mark 8:22 NLT

Key Thought​

Who do you know that faces great difficulty in his or her life and who needs friends like the ones we find in today's verse? The real test of our Christianity is not just our feeling of compassion; instead, it is what we do to act on our compassion and to bless the ones who are in difficulty. Let's get off...

 

[Continuing his rebuke of the disciples for arguing about forgetting to bring enough food, Jesus said,] "When I fed the 5,000 with five loaves of bread, how many baskets of leftovers did you pick up afterward?"
"Twelve," they said.

"And when I fed the 4,000 with seven loaves, how many large baskets of leftovers did you pick up?"

"Seven," they said.

"Don't you understand yet?" he asked them.

—Mark 8:19-21 NLT

Key Thought​

Jesus is trying to help his closest followers...

 

But the disciples had forgotten to bring any food. They had only one loaf of bread with them in the boat. As they were crossing the lake, Jesus warned them, "Watch out! Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and of Herod."
At this they began to argue with each other because they hadn't brought any bread. Jesus knew what they were saying, so he said, "Why are you arguing about having no bread? Don't you know or understand even yet? Are your hearts too hard to take it in? 'You have eyes —...

 

But the disciples had forgotten to bring any food. They had only one loaf of bread with them in the boat. As they were crossing the lake, Jesus warned them, "Watch out! Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and of Herod."

—Mark 8:14-15 NLT

Key Thought​

Don't you just love the way Jesus helps his disciples move from temporal concerns and physical needs to spiritual and eternal issues? How often do we get so bogged down in the physical details that we lose sight of spiritual...