Healing 5 Mark 8
Stacy Ikard

Healing 5 Mark 8

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Hope And Healing Week 5 Text

Healing/A Process

Mark Chapter 8

·      The pivotal chapter of Mark’s Gospel

·      Healing is the pivot of this pivotal  Chapter

·      Blindness as metaphor for brokenness

·      Healing as something that takes time

Bethsaida and the Sea of Galilee

·      Bethsaida appears seven times in the Bible.

·      Jesus performed miracles there (e.g., Matthew 11:21; Mark 8:22), and it was the hometown of the apostles Peter, Andrew, and Philip (John 1:44).

·      All of the biblical references situate Bethsaida by the Sea of Galilee.

Mark 8 – Feeding of Four Thousand
                        Questions of the Pharisees

Mark 8

14 Jesus’ disciples had forgotten to bring any bread, so they had only one loaf with them in the boat. 15 He gave them strict orders: “Watch out and be on your guard for the yeast of the Pharisees as well as the yeast of Herod.”

16 The disciples discussed this among themselves, “He said this because we have no bread.”

17 Jesus knew what they were discussing and said, “Why are you talking about the fact that you don’t have any bread? Don’t you grasp what has happened? Don’t you understand? Are your hearts so resistant to what God is doing? 18 Don’t you have eyes? Why can’t you see? Don’t you have ears? Why can’t you hear? Don’t you remember? 19 When I broke five loaves of bread for those five thousand people, how many baskets full of leftovers did you gather?”

They answered, “Twelve.”

20 “And when I broke seven loaves of bread for those four thousand people, how many baskets full of leftovers did you gather?”

They answered, “Seven.” 21 Jesus said to them, “And you still don’t understand?”

Lack of Faith/Healing

     Needing a sign – Pharisees

     Not seeing/ Understanding- Disciples

The Healing!  Still Mark 8

22 Jesus and his disciples came to Bethsaida. Some people brought a blind man to Jesus and begged him to touch and heal him. 23 Taking the blind man’s hand, Jesus led him out of the village. After spitting on his eyes and laying his hands on the man, he asked him, “Do you see anything?”

24 The man looked up and said, “I see people. They look like trees, only they are walking around.”

25 Then Jesus placed his hands on the man’s eyes again. He looked with his eyes wide open, his sight was restored, and he could see everything clearly. 26 Then Jesus sent him home, saying, “Don’t go into the village!”

About This Healing:
Parallel in Mark 7

     Only Appears in Mark

     Only Time a Healing Takes Two Touches

     Deliberately Placed Because of the Blindness of the Disciples

     Speaking to the Blindness of the Church.

For Us:

     What does this say about Jesus and our brokenness?

     What does this say about our prayers for healing?

     What does this say about our faith and healing?

The Climax of Mark’s Gospel  - Still Mark 8

27 Jesus went on with his disciples to the villages of Caesarea Philippi, and on the way he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that I am?” 28 And they answered him, “John the Baptist; and others, Elijah; and still others, one of the prophets.” 29 He asked them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter answered him, “You are the Messiah.” 30 And he sternly ordered them not to tell anyone about him. 31 Then he began to teach them that the Son of Man must undergo great suffering and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes and be killed and after three days rise again. 32 He said all this quite openly. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. 33 But turning and looking at his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, “Get behind me, Satan! For you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things.”