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mark 8
Haystack bible commentary"Stacks and stacks of commentary...."
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==Mark 8:1-3:
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In those days, when again a great crowd had gathered, and they had nothing to eat, he called his disciples to him and said to them, “I have compassion on the crowd, because they have been with me now three days and have nothing to eat. And if I send them away hungry to their homes, they will faint on the way. And some of them have come from far away.
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By today’s new ‘Church Leadership’ standards Jesus was a clueless leader who obviously wasn't in tune with the 'worship experience' needs of His time and culture. Fact is, when you read the New Testament biographies you don’t read about Jesus discussing the latest leadership philosophies, church branding strategies, church marketing practices or the latest ideas for designing and creating holistic audio visual environments to help create the perfect mood for people to have an engaging worship experience. Instead, when you read the New Testament you discover that Jesus often taught outside and Jesus’ teaching events were far from seeker-sensitive. When you compare Jesus' leadership practices to the new and improved leadership principles of Rick Warren, Bill Hybels, Leadership Network and others you'd have to conclude that Jesus was a complete failure as a leader and was in the dark when it came to meeting the felt needs of His target market. A prime example of Jesus' utter cluelessness is found in the Gospel of Mark chapter 8. In the opening verses of that chapter we learn that Jesus held, for lack of a better term, a three day long “outdoor church conference” where He was the featured speaker.
Yes, you read that correctly! Those who attended Jesus' three day long ‘outdoor church conference’ were outside, exposed to the sun, the wind and the elements. Oh and there was no food provided until the END of the event. What was Jesus thinking?! |
==Mark 8:15:
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And he cautioned them, saying,
“Watch out; beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod.” |
And he cautioned them, saying,
“Watch out; beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod.” - Mark 8:15: This kind of leaven is rarely spoken about in the Church. What occurred in the evangelical Church the past few years related to national politics justifies the need for the focus of this article. In my opinion, many in the evangelical Church have unwittingly succumbed to the leaven of Herod during this season by mixing their brand of politics with Christianity. As a result, their faith was polluted.............. Many Christians on both the Left and the Right act as if their particular political party represents God’s Kingdom. However, Jesus said, “My kingdom is not of this world“ (John 18:36). If you believe your party perfectly represents His kingdom, the leaven of Herod has infected you." --Joseph Mattera ; God TV |
==Mark 8:16-33:
And they reasoned among themselves, saying, “It is because we have no bread.”
17 But Jesus, being aware of it, said to them, “Why do you reason because you have no bread? Do you not yet perceive nor understand? Is your heart still hardened?
18 Having eyes, do you not see? And having ears, do you not hear? And do you not remember?
19 When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many baskets full of fragments did you take up?”
They said to Him, “Twelve.”
20 “Also, when I broke the seven for the four thousand, how many large baskets full of fragments did you take up?” And they said, “Seven.”
21 So He said to them, “How is it you do not understand?”
22 Then He came to Bethsaida; and they brought a blind man to Him, and begged Him to touch him.
23 So 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 on him, He asked him if he saw anything.
24 And he looked up and said, “I see men like trees, walking.”
25 Then He put His hands on his eyes again and made him look up. And he was restored and saw everyone clearly.
26 Then He sent him away to his house, saying, “Neither go into the town, nor tell anyone in the town.”
Peter Confesses Jesus as the Christ
27 Now Jesus and His disciples went out to the towns of Caesarea Philippi; and on the road He asked His disciples, saying to them, “Who do men say that I am?”
28 So they answered, “John the Baptist; but some say, Elijah; and others, one of the prophets.”
29 He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?”
Peter answered and said to Him, “You are the Christ.”
30 Then He strictly warned them that they should tell no one about Him.
31 And He began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again.
32 He spoke this word openly. Then Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him.
33 But when He had turned around and looked at His disciples, He rebuked Peter, saying, “Get behind Me, Satan! For you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men.”
17 But Jesus, being aware of it, said to them, “Why do you reason because you have no bread? Do you not yet perceive nor understand? Is your heart still hardened?
18 Having eyes, do you not see? And having ears, do you not hear? And do you not remember?
19 When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many baskets full of fragments did you take up?”
They said to Him, “Twelve.”
20 “Also, when I broke the seven for the four thousand, how many large baskets full of fragments did you take up?” And they said, “Seven.”
21 So He said to them, “How is it you do not understand?”
22 Then He came to Bethsaida; and they brought a blind man to Him, and begged Him to touch him.
23 So 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 on him, He asked him if he saw anything.
24 And he looked up and said, “I see men like trees, walking.”
25 Then He put His hands on his eyes again and made him look up. And he was restored and saw everyone clearly.
26 Then He sent him away to his house, saying, “Neither go into the town, nor tell anyone in the town.”
Peter Confesses Jesus as the Christ
27 Now Jesus and His disciples went out to the towns of Caesarea Philippi; and on the road He asked His disciples, saying to them, “Who do men say that I am?”
28 So they answered, “John the Baptist; but some say, Elijah; and others, one of the prophets.”
29 He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?”
Peter answered and said to Him, “You are the Christ.”
30 Then He strictly warned them that they should tell no one about Him.
31 And He began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again.
32 He spoke this word openly. Then Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him.
33 But when He had turned around and looked at His disciples, He rebuked Peter, saying, “Get behind Me, Satan! For you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men.”
==Mark 8:34-35:
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Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.
35 For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it. |
One does not become free from the Powers by defeating them in a frontal attack. Rather, one dies to their control. Here … the cross is the model: we are liberated, not by striking back at what enslaves us – for even striking back reveals that we are still determined by its violent ethos – but by dying out from under its jurisdiction and command. --Lana Wachowski and Lilly Wachowski. The Matrix, directed by Lana Wachowski and Lilly Wachowski (Burbank: Warner Bros., 1999), DVD.
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. Jesus does not ask for more self-denial … It is not a question of denying certain things to oneself, like ice cream during Lent, but of disowning the ego’s claim to possess this life. The task is not ego-conquest by means of the ego (a persistent delusion of many of the ‘new spiritualities’ today), but ego-surrender to the redemptive initiatives of God in God’s struggle against the antidivine powers of the world. That means our abandoning egocentricity not only as individuals, but as cultures, as nations, even as a species, and voluntarily subordinating our desires to the needs of the total life system. And because the ego has been entangled with thousands of tendrils from the alienating System of Domination, the process of dying to one’s conditioning is never fully over.” -Václav Havel, Living in Truth, trans. Jan Vladislav (Boston: Faber and Faber, 1987), 45, 56
==Mark 8:36:
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What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul?
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This is the question that I believe most men make the most effort to ignore. He wants and wants and gets and gets but has to be careful not to take any moments to consider what it will mean to “have it all.” Except for the ones still active in this generation, every man who “had it all” since the beginning of time has died. As many or more probably died trying to “get it all.” A surgeon wrote that if a man is inflicted with a fatal injury, that it can take about 5 minutes for the entire body to shut down and die. So at any given time, considering the fragile nature of life, all of us may be only 5 minutes away from death. Are you ready to meet it? Where does your being go from there? Its something we have to address in life becuz in death there are no more questions about it.
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September 1, 2020: I Samuel 1:20 wrote: . Charles Lindbergh learned that lesson most harshly with the kidnapping and death of his two-year-old son. Lindbergh was the first person to fly across the Atlantic Ocean on May 20–21, 1927, which gave Charles a lot of fame. He was already wealthy, but being the first man to make a solo transatlantic flight made him more famous and a target for those who sought wealth. On March 1, 1932, Charles’s firstborn son was kidnapped and murdered, which the American media called “Crime of the Century.” The Kidnappers made a few random notes demanding $50,000 or else his child would be harmed. On May 12, only a couple of months later, the child’s body was discovered in the most gruesome way. If Charles Lindbergh had not been so famous or wealthy, his son might not have been kidnapped and murdered. Frank Sinatra’s son was kidnapped on December 8, 1963, by a couple of criminals seeking a way to strike it rich. The only major difference is that Frank Sinatra’s son was not killed, but his son was targeted because he was wealthy and famous. Scripture says What does it profit a man, if he gains the whole world but loses his own soul, Mark 8:36. Many seek wealth, but what does it really cost us? If having a bullseye on your life or your loved ones’ lives because someone wants to harm you or them for your wealth, is being rich really worth it? I would rather be poor and safe than be wealthy and in danger. |