Mark 8:11-30 | Seeing at last 

Hello, welcome to the podcast, Bible Wisdom Today. My name is Stan Watkins.

The Bible has always been an important foundation for my personal faith, leading me to complete a Bible degree and enter Christian ministry, ultimately going with my wife and family to Europe for 6 years. There I served in the areas of Bible teaching and music. Since returning to the states, I have supported my local church as I have had opportunity, but now I would like a more regular outlet for teaching God’s word.

Understanding the Bible is not simply a matter of belief that it is God’s word. The Bible was written long ago, in a foreign language, within an alien culture, using unfamiliar literary styles. Today’s Bible student must overcome each of these obstacles. This podcast is for those willing to do the hard work to discover God's wisdom for life today.

In our last episode we saw that Jesus intentionally expanded his ministry beyond the confines of the Jewish nation. In the section of Mark’s gospel that is our focus today, Mark includes many references to sight or the lack of it. The Pharisees ask Jesus for a sign from heaven. Jesus accuses his disciples of being spiritually blind and then heals a blind man. Finally, Peter’s eyes are opened to see that Jesus is the Messiah who was promised of God. This passage can be summed up in our episode title, “Seeing at last.” It also calls you and I to see Jesus with understanding, as well.

Pharisees ask for a sign (8:11-13)

We begin today in Mark 8:11.

The Pharisees came and began to question Jesus. To test him, they asked him for a sign from heaven. He sighed deeply and said, “Why does this generation ask for a sign? Truly I tell you, no sign will be given to it.” Then he left them, got back into the boat and crossed to the other side.
 Mark 8:11-13

We are not told where this encounter took place, but in the previous verse, after Jesus fed 4000 people he and his disciples got into the boat and went to the region of Dalmanutha. This geographic reference occurs only here in the New Testament and is not found in any other ancient document, so the location is uncertain. Matthew records a parallel account and gives the name as Magadan, so Dalmanutha is probably an alternative name for the same place. This was a village on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee.

When we read that the Pharisees began to question him, this was not a friendly discussion but a confrontational challenge. They began to dispute or oppose him. They were not setting out an objective test but intentionally putting forward an obstacle or stumbling block to discredit him. They were not open to the possibility that Jesus might be from God. They only wanted to denounce him and turn people against him.

To do so, they asked for a sign from heaven. They were not simply looking for a miracle. Jesus had been doing miracles all along and they had determined that he was doing so by the power of the devil. No, they reasoned that if Jesus claimed to work in the name of God, then God should authorize his work. Perhaps a divine hand writing on the wall, as appeared in the story of Daniel, or an apocalyptic shaking of the heavens would suffice.

Jesus sighed deeply. This is an unusual word expressing his deep dismay and despair. He groaned in his spirit. “Why does this generation ask for a sign?” This showed the Pharisees’ utter alienation from Jesus and recalled other famous alienated generations before them, such as the disbelieving generation in the days of Noah or the stubborn generation of the Exodus who wandered the wilderness as judgment. The Gentiles of the previous story were closer to Jesus than the Pharisees who were of his own faith.

Jesus categorically denied their request for a sign. “Truly I tell you,” he said, using a phrase that he had used only once before in Mark, also in connection to the Pharisees when they accused him of doing his work by the power of the devil. “No sign will be given to this generation.” This was a Semitic construction using a self-imprecatory oath. “If a sign shall be given to this generation, may I die![1] Jesus would not give in to their arrogance.

Jesus left them and crossed to the other side. This is a statement of historical fact, but also a symbolic parting with the Pharisees. He would have nothing more to do with them at this time. He would leave them to focus on his disciples.

This provides a warning to us, as well, of the danger of putting God to the test. It is not our place to tell God what to do in this world; we yield to his wisdom and sovereignty in our lives. We do not tell him how to act, rather, we act the way he has told us to do.

The confusion of the disciples (8:14-21)

As he joins his disciples in the boat, however, he finds that their understanding of his mission is not much different from the Pharisees.

We read…

The disciples had forgotten to bring bread, except for one loaf they had with them in the boat. “Be careful,” Jesus warned them. “Watch out for the yeast of the Pharisees and that of Herod.” 
 They discussed this with one another and said, “It is because we have no bread.”
 Aware of their discussion, Jesus asked them: “Why are you talking about having no bread? Do you still not see or understand? Are your hearts hardened? Do you have eyes but fail to see, and ears but fail to hear? And don’t you remember? When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many basketfuls of pieces did you pick up?”
 “Twelve,” they replied.
 “And when I broke the seven loaves for the four thousand, how many basketfuls of pieces did you pick up?”
 They answered, “Seven.” 
 He said to them, “Do you still not understand?”
 Mark 8:14-21

The limited amount of bread is an obvious bridge to the previous story of Jesus’ miraculous feeding and provides Jesus an opportunity to instruct his disciples concerning the unbelief of the Jewish leaders. The topic of bread dominates this story, but it seems that the disciples and Jesus are speaking different languages using the same word. “Watch out for the yeast of the Pharisees and that of Herod,” Jesus said. 

Yeast was a natural metaphor in the ancient world for growth. It can be positive, showing the spread of the kingdom of God, for example (Matt. 13:33), but more often it has a negative connotation. Jesus is saying, “Beware of the spreading evil of the Pharisees and Herod.” What do the Pharisees and Herod Antipas have in common? Both opposed Jesus. In fact, Jesus’ recent circuitous journey to Tyre, Sidon and Decapolis may have been partly because of harassment by Antipas and the Pharisees. Both also were unbelievers. Jesus was concerned for the unbelief now fermenting in his own disciples. Their failure to comprehend put them in danger of hardening their heart, as dangerous as the declared opposition of the Pharisees and Herod.

The disciples missed the spiritual implications entirely because they were totally unaware of their unbelief. “It is because we have no bread,” they said.

Jesus was appalled at their lack of understanding. “Why are you taking about having no bread?” Then he peppered them with questions. “Do you still not see or understand? Are your hearts hardened? Do you have eyes but fail to see, and ears but fail to hear?” Jesus echoed the lamentation of the prophets Jeremiah and Ezekiel. He accused his disciples of being spiritually blind and deaf, like Israel of the past and the Pharisees of the present.

“And don’t you remember? How many baskets did you pick up when I fed the 5000? How many baskets did you pick up when I fed 4000?” If we are surprised that the disciples did not understand the meaning of Jesus first feeding of the 5000, how much more their continued blindness to the meaning of his second feeding. Remembering means to understand and to act upon that knowledge. Jesus tried to open their eyes by pointing to the remarkable conclusion of both miracles. They have seen Jesus supply many baskets full of bread but they still doubt his sufficiency for the 13 of them in the boat?

“Do you still not understand?” This contrasts with the way Matthew ends the same story in his gospel. Matthew concludes, “Then they understood” (Matt. 16:12). These two statements seem to conflict, but from a broad perspective both are reporting the same thing. Matthew centers on the disciples growing faith and understanding; Mark focuses on their failure to come to full faith. Both were equally true. Mark’s emphasis is on “still.” “Do you still not understand?” This hints at better days to come. Throughout the remainder of Mark, this partial understanding will grow into a full realization of Jesus’ person and mission. This is beautifully illustrated in the next story.

Jesus’ two-stage healing of a blind man (8:22-26)

We read in chapter 8 verse 22…

They came to Bethsaida, and some people brought a blind man and begged Jesus to touch him. He took the blind man by the hand and led him outside the village. When he had spit on the man’s eyes and put his hands on him, Jesus asked, “Do you see anything?”
 He looked up and said, “I see people; they look like trees walking around.”
 Once more Jesus put his hands on the man’s eyes. Then his eyes were opened, his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly. Jesus sent him home, saying, “Don’t even go into the village.”
 Mark 8:22-26

This miracle is similar to the healing of the deaf and mute man in 7:31-37, and these two miracles form a frame around the failure of the disciples in the feeding of the 4000 and their misunderstanding in the boat. In both miracles an unknown group brings someone to be healed, Jesus uses spittle and physical touch to focus their faith and concludes by telling them to keep their healing secret. Mark emphasizes sight in this story, in contrast to the blindness of the disciples in the previous story. By putting these two events next to one another, he offers a clue that the disciples lingering blindness may also be relieved by Jesus repeated touch.

In addition to helping to frame the story of the disciples’ failure, the healing of the blind man also marks the beginning of a new section of the book, a travel narrative of Jesus final journey to Jerusalem. At the end of his journey in chapter 10, Mark will tell of another blind man who is healed, Bartimaeus. In his case, he received his sight immediately and followed Jesus along the road toward Jerusalem. These two healings frame the travel narrative and are a beautiful metaphor of the disciples’ partial yet growing vision of Jesus.

Jesus personal touch is a particular distinctive in this healing story. Why did Jesus employ such physical contact? Perhaps it was an effort to provide the man with a focus for his faith. Both saliva and touch were well-known symbols of healing in that time. Similar to Jesus’ removing the deaf and mute man from the crowd, now he took the blind man’s hand and led him outside the village. After spitting on the man’s eyes and putting his hands on him, Jesus asked “Do you see anything? This is highly unusual. Normally Jesus effects a miracle by speaking an authoritative word, but here this unusual question echoes the question he asked the disciples in the previous story, “Do you still not see?”

A miracle proceeding in stages is also unusual. Matthew and Luke both omit it, probably because it suggests that Jesus was somehow unsuccessful on his first attempt. Mark, however, embraces the stages of his cure as an apparent metaphor for the process of revelation for the disciples. Mark also has another two-stage miracle in chapter 9 in the healing of a demon-possessed boy.

To Jesus’ question, the man replies, “I see people; they look like trees walking around.” The man’s vision was still blurred. From his response we also understand that he had not always been blind. He knows what people look like, and they should not look like trees walking around. Jesus placed his hands again on the man’s eyes, then Mark tells us in three clauses his progression to full sight: his eyes were opened, his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly. There is no suggestion that Jesus was having a bad day, or just a little bit weak at the beginning. Rather, this miracle becomes a powerful metaphor of the disciples’ spiritual vision, which begins to clear in the very next story.

Peter declares, “You are the Messiah” (8:27-30)

In Mark 8:27, we read,

Jesus and his disciples went on to the villages around Caesarea Philippi.
 Mark 8:27

Jesus and the disciples have been in Bethsaida, and now they travel 25 miles due north to Caesarea Philippi, a full day’s walk. This city is not to be confused with the better-known Caesarea on the Mediterranean coast. Caesarea Philippi was at the foot of Mount Hermon, bordering Syria, in the region ruled by Herod Philip, the half-brother of Herod Antipas, whom we have already met. The city had originally been named “Panacea” because of its famous sanctuary for the god Pan, the half man/half goat who was revered as the guardian of flocks and nature. He was worshipped in a grotto at the foot of Mount Hermon next to a cave from which gushes the headwaters of the Jordan River.[2] After refurbishing the city, Philip renamed it in honor of Caesar Augustus--and himself.

Caesarea Philippi was also the site of the decisive victory of Antiochus IV of Syria over Egypt in 200 BC, which realigned Palestine into the Seleucid realm of Syria and led to the Maccabean Revolt in 168 BC, plunging the whole region into 20 years of war.

Jesus brought his disciples into the villages around Caesarea Philippi. One of these villages may have been Gamala, the home of Judas of Galilee, who led a resistance movement against the census of Quirinius in the Province of Judaea in 6 AD. He encouraged Jews not to register and targeted those who did. He is credited by the historian Josephus as founding the movement of the Zealots, who taught that God alone was ruler of Israel and urged Jews not to pay taxes to Rome. This location, near the starting point of the Jewish resistance movement may have led the disciples to consider their own hopes for a messiah and prompted them to open their eyes to the unique teacher they followed.

As we continue reading in verse 27, we learn that…

On the way [Jesus] asked them, “Who do people say I am?”
 They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, one of the prophets.”
 “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?”
 Peter answered, “You are the Messiah.” 
 Jesus warned them not to tell anyone about him.
 Mark 8:27-30

This is the first use of the phrase “on the way,” which occurs 9 times from this point until Jesus ends his journey in Jerusalem with suffering, humiliation, and death. Jesus asks for their declaration of faith while they were on the way, not when they had arrived at the end of their journey, with all questions answered.

Notice how Jesus questioned his disciples in stages. This was psychologically astute. It is easier to suggest the opinions of others than to declare your own thoughts. Jesus forces his disciples to separate themselves from the opinions of others and make a judgment of their own. 

“Who do people say I am?” he asked. Ordinarily, disciples posed questions to their rabbi, but here Jesus asks them a profound question, a question that reflects their own anxiety which they have harbored since the stilling of the storm, “Who is this?”

All the people’s answers expressed that Jesus was someone great. These are the same opinions voiced earlier by Herod Antipas. The disciples have seen many examples of Jesus’ authority in word and deed. Jesus has told them about the kingdom he is inaugurating and promised to reveal the mysteries of God, but up to this time they have only called him “teacher.” Jesus wanted to help them clarify and draw out the implications from what they had seen and heard.

Herod Antipas had already concluded that Jesus was John the Baptist reincarnated, and many agreed. Others suggested Elijah, who held a particular fascination for first-century Jews. This is not because of his great deeds, since many other Old Testament figures had done greater things, but because Elijah was taken bodily to heaven. There, many believed, he oversaw the deeds of people, comforted the faithful and helped the needy. Most importantly, he would return as a forerunner before the day of the lord, as foretold by the prophet Malachi.

In chapter 3 of his book, Malachi said,

“I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before me. Then suddenly the Lord you are seeking will come to his temple; the messenger of the covenant, whom you desire, will come,” says the LORD Almighty. 
 Malachi 3:1

And again, in chapter 4,

See, I will send the prophet Elijah to you before that great and dreadful day of the LORD comes
 Malachi 4:5

Ranking Jesus as Elijah or one of the prophets was a great honor, an indication of his high standing in popular opinion, yet still inadequate. Many people today make the same mistake when they describe Jesus as a great teacher or the greatest moral example who has ever lived. This may sound like a genuine honor, but it still denies his uniqueness and presses him into old categories. Mark has demonstrated throughout his gospel that Jesus cannot be defined as anything other than who he is, the son of God.

Jesus presses his disciples further, “But what about you? Who do you say I am?”. He demands a response. This is the central question of Mark, as well as any presentation of the good news of Jesus that we might make, “who is Jesus?” As Jesus intensifies his question from “what do others say” to “what do you say,” Mark continues his outsider-insider theme. If the disciples are to be true insiders, they must penetrate Jesus’ real identity and understand the purpose of his mission. They do not need to collect more evidence; they have witnessed his authority. It is time to decide. This is the same challenge faced by everyone who has heard the name of Jesus—look deeply at Jesus, look deeply within yourself, and risk a decision to commit to him fully.

Peter speaks for the group, in keeping with the prophetic nickname Jesus gave him, “the Rock” (3:16). He answered with a simple declaration, “You are the Messiah.” Some translations may say “You are the Christ,” but both mean the same thing. Messiah comes from Hebrew; Christ comes from Greek, but both mean “the anointed one.” Mark, the author, declared Jesus to be the Messiah in his thesis statement at the very beginning of this gospel, but this is the first time in Mark that the disciples have affirmed that belief.

In the Old Testament, three classes of people were anointed: prophets, priests, and kings. It was the anointing of kings, which developed into the concept of Messiah in Judaism. When the Davidic monarchy fell in 586 BC, expectation grew that God would raise up a new and greater king like David. For example, we read in Jeremiah 23:5,

“The days are coming,” declares the LORD,
 “when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, 
 a King who will reign wisely
 and do what is just and right in the land.”
 Jeremiah 23:5

The Old Testament does not use the term “Messiah” or develop a formal doctrine of him. This remained true as some of the Jewish people returned from exile and rebuilt the temple. The concept of “Messiah” remained general. Through the Messiah God would establish an everlasting kingdom, deliver Israel from its enemies and cause them to live in peace. After the disappointment of a short-lived independent Jewish state in the 2nd century BC and the disillusionment of Pompey’s seizure of Jerusalem in 63 BC, however, messianic expectation grew. The Messiah would be entirely human, yet far greater than any of God’s earlier messengers. He would be the final anointed true king of Israel, destroying God’s enemies with the word of his mouth. He would be holy and free from sin, gather faithful Jews from dispersion, and rule in justice and glory.

I would like to read from a text that was written around this time called “The Psalms of Solomon.” This belongs to a class of writings of the time called pseudepigraphy, which claimed false authorship, presumably to enhance credibility. This is not a spirit-inspired text but gives us a feeling for the Jewish expectation regarding a messiah.

O Lord, raise up their king, the son of David,
 that he may reign over Israel thy servant.
 Gird him with strength that he might shatter unrighteous rulers,
 that he may purge Jerusalem from nations
 that trample her to destruction.
 Wisely, righteously he shall thrust out sinners from the inheritance;
 he shall destroy the pride of the sinner as a potter's vessel.
 With a rod of iron he shall break in pieces all their substance,
 he shall destroy the godless nation with the word of his mouth;
 at his rebuke nations shall fell before him,
 and he shall reprove sinners for the thoughts of their heart.
    He shall gather together a holy people, whom he shall lead in righteousness,
 and he shall judge the tribes of the people that have
 been sanctified by the Lord his God.
 And he shall not allow unrighteousness to lodge any more in their midst,
 nor shall there dwell with them any man who knows wickedness,
 for he shall know them, that they are all sons of their God.
  (Pss. Sol. 17:23-30)[3]
 
 

The disciple’s understanding of Messiah was still the basic Jewish understanding of a conquering messiah, but yet this declaration is the critical turning point in the Gospel of Mark. Up to this point, the disciples, like the crowds, have wondered “Who is this man?” Now they have given the correct answer, “Jesus is the Messiah,” but their vision is still blurred. From this point on the question becomes, “What is the true role of the Messiah?”

The incompleteness of their understanding is likely why Jesus warned his disciples not to tell anyone about him. If the people had been stirred to militaristic fervor by the view of Jesus as a prophet, how much more if they heard rumors that he was the Messiah. He did not want to encourage discussion of his messianic office based on false expectations. He now dedicates himself to explaining to his disciples that the Messiah will not be a conquering hero, but a suffering servant.

Final Comments

I have thoroughly enjoyed my time with you, today. As we have come to the central point of Mark’s gospel, both in terms of its length and its plot, this would be a good time to review the story thus far and preview the story to come. As you may recall, Mark structures his gospel around a geographical movement from Galilee to Jerusalem. After a prologue where Mark introduces John the Baptist and announces the beginning of Jesus’ ministry by baptism and divine signs, the remainder of the first 8 chapters has revolved around Jesus’ ministry in Galilee. He announces the coming of God’s kingdom with a message of repentance, calls specific men to follow him, and teaches the secrets of the kingdom in parables. He consistently portrays himself as someone with divine authority and compassion. This first phase of ministry might be called the phase of secrecy, because Jesus consistently tells those who receive his miraculous power to keep quiet. He knows his ultimate end, but he does not want to hasten its arrival.

The crowds are amazed, but the disciples are confused. They continue to question and misunderstand. Finally, Jesus presses them for a decision, “Who do you say I am?” and Peter answered for all of them, “You are the Messiah.” Like the man who moved from no sight to partial sight, to complete sight, the disciples now have moved from no understanding to partial understanding, but Jesus still has much more to teach them. As we look forward to our next episode, Jesus begins the next phase of his ministry, the phase of schooling. He systematically instructs his disciples in what to expect when they arrive in Jerusalem and their understanding is deepened when they see him transformed before them into a dazzling white figure. They will not fully understand, though until they see their messiah and savior rejected by the priests and elders and hanging on a Roman Cross outside Jerusalem.

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[1] Edwards, James R. The gospel according to Mark. William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2016.
[2] Edwards
[3] Psalms of Solomon, quoted by Edwards