Sermon Notes; a Daily Devotional

Mark 8:27-30 "27 And Jesus went out, and His disciples, into the towns of Caesarea Philippi: and by the way He asked His disciples, saying unto them, Whom do men say that I am? 28 And they answered, John the Baptist: but some say, Elias; and others, One of the prophets. 29 And He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? And Peter answereth and saith unto Him, Thou art the Christ. 30 And He charged them that they should tell no man of him." Today’s verses are the written record of a pivotal moment near Caesarea Philippi. Jesus first asks what the crowds are saying about Him. The disciples report popular opinions: John the Baptist, Elijah, or one of the prophets. Jesus then turns the question to them directly: “But who do you say that I am?” Peter boldly confesses, “You are the Christ” (the Messiah). Jesus immediately commands them to tell no one, because His time to suffer and die had not yet come. Public acclaim for a political Messiah would have interfered with God’s plan...

Mark 8:22-26 "22 And He cometh to Bethsaida; and they bring a blind man unto Him, and besought Him to touch him. 23 And He took the blind man by the hand, and led him out of the town; and when He had spit on his eyes, and put His hands upon him, He asked him if he saw ought. 24 And he looked up, and said, I see men as trees, walking. 25 After that he put His hands again upon his eyes, and made him look up: and he was restored, and saw every man clearly. 26 And He sent him away to his house, saying, Neither go into the town, nor tell it to any in the town." In today's verses Jesus heals a blind man at Bethsaida in two stages. First the man sees people “like trees, walking”; then Jesus lays hands on him again, restoring full sight. This is the only two-stage miracle recorded in the Gospels; and it appears only in Mark. Key Interpretations: Symbolic Parable : Many scholars see the gradual healing as a living parable of the disciples’ spiritual growth, their understanding of ...

Mark 8:10-21 "10 And straightway He entered into a ship with His disciples, and came into the parts of Dalmanutha. 11 And the Pharisees came forth, and began to question with Him, seeking of Him a sign from heaven, tempting Him. 12 And He sighed deeply in His spirit, and saith, Why doth this generation seek after a sign? verily I say unto you, There shall no sign be given unto this generation. 13 And He left them, and entering into the ship again departed to the other side. 14 Now the disciples had forgotten to take bread, neither had they in the ship with them more than one loaf. 15 And He charged them, saying, Take heed, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, and of the leaven of Herod. 16 And they reasoned among themselves, saying, It is because we have no bread. 17 And when Jesus knew it, He saith unto them, Why reason ye, because ye have no bread? perceive ye not yet, neither understand? have ye your heart yet hardened? 18 Having eyes, see ye not? and having ears, hear ye not...

Mark 8:1-9 "1 In those days the multitude being very great, and having nothing to eat, Jesus called His disciples unto Him, and saith unto them, 2 I have compassion on the multitude, because they have now been with Me three days, and have nothing to eat: 3 And if I send them away fasting to their own houses, they will faint by the way: for divers of them came from far. 4 And His disciples answered Him, From whence can a man satisfy these men with bread here in the wilderness? 5 And He asked them, How many loaves have ye? And they said, Seven. 6 And He commanded the people to sit down on the ground: and He took the seven loaves, and gave thanks, and brake, and gave to His disciples to set before them; and they did set them before the people. 7 And they had a few small fishes: and He blessed, and commanded to set them also before them. 8 So they did eat, and were filled: and they took up of the broken meat that was left seven baskets. 9 And they that had eaten were about four thousa...

Mark 7:31-37 "31 And again, departing from the coasts of Tyre and Sidon, He came unto the sea of Galilee, through the midst of the coasts of Decapolis. 32 And they bring unto Him one that was deaf, and had an impediment in his speech; and they beseech Him to put His hand upon him. 33 And He took him aside from the multitude, and put His fingers into his ears, and He spit, and touched his tongue; 34 And looking up to heaven, He sighed, and saith unto him, Ephphatha, that is, Be opened. 35 And straightway his ears were opened, and the string of his tongue was loosed, and he spake plain. 36 And He charged them that they should tell no man: but the more He charged them, so much the more a great deal they published it; 37 And were beyond measure astonished, saying, He hath done all things well: He maketh both the deaf to hear, and the dumb to speak." Today’s verses are the written record of Jesus healing a deaf man with a speech impediment in the Decapolis, a largely Gentile regio...

Mark 7:24-30 "24 And from thence He arose, and went into the borders of Tyre and Sidon, and entered into an house, and would have no man know it: but He could not be hid. 25 For a certain woman, whose young daughter had an unclean spirit, heard of Him, and came and fell at His feet: 26 The woman was a Greek, a Syrophenician by nation; and she besought Him that He would cast forth the devil out of her daughter. 27 But Jesus said unto her, Let the children first be filled: for it is not meet to take the children's bread, and to cast it unto the dogs. 28 And she answered and said unto Him, Yes, Lord: yet the dogs under the table eat of the children's crumbs. 29 And He said unto her, For this saying go thy way; the devil is gone out of thy daughter. 30 And when she was come to her house, she found the devil gone out, and her daughter laid upon the bed." In today's verses, Jesus travels to the Gentile region of Tyre and Sidon. A Syrophoenician woman whose daughter is p...