Mark 6:45-56 (NIV)
As we began our series in the Gospel of Mark, we spoke about how this telling of the life of Jesus is designed to impress upon the hearer this question: "Do you see Jesus for who he really is?" It’s full of stories where the people who should get it don’t, and the people who shouldn’t get it do get it. And so far the disciples have stayed clear of that question... but this whole thing with the loaves just gets them.
Right before this passage, the Disciples are tired from a long season of ministry, having been sent out by Jesus to cast out demons and heal people. They couldn’t eat because there were so many folks in need around them. Then Jesus asks them to give up their loaves and fish to feed more people. And here in this passage we find them on a boat with hard hearts, and landing on a shore with more people to heal and minister to.
If we’re not careful, we can miss the tension in these stories. Jews like the disciples were not just following a Messiah around because he performed miracles of healing and walked on water. They wanted freedom from sickness and pain, sure, but they wanted freedom from Rome and true return from exile, and all this caring for people was not what they had in mind. The next several chapters of Mark invite us to ask these questions of ourselves: Is my heart open to Jesus even when he defies my expectations? Am I willing to follow Jesus when it costs me? Do I really see him?
----------REFLECT----------
1. What word or phrase stood out to you from this passage?
2. It’s worth highlighting that the disciples mistook Jesus for something other than who he was. As Mark has penned this Gospel he hasn’t wasted words. That’s in there for a reason. He’s drawing our attention to the idea that the disciples aren’t seeing Jesus clearly. In what ways might you struggle to see Jesus clearly?
3. Imagine the fatigue that the disciples must have felt. A long season of ministry… a long night of fighting the wind… and then they land on yet another shore full of people crowding around Jesus. This commitment that Jesus had to care for these people was probably pretty stretching for the disciples. Is there something Jesus cares about and does now that stretches you? Ask him to help you have a soft heart.
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Bible Project: Mark Overview >>
Bible Project: The Gospel >>
Bible Project: Gospel of the Kingdom >>
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