Mark-Lesson 12...Continued from page 1
Thomas Klock
DAY TWO: Faithless and Forgetful
Please carefully read Mark 8:10-21 and answer the following questions.
1. Leaving the Gentile territory and returning to Jewish ground, what immediately faced Jesus, and how did He respond to this (v. 10-13)?
2. Most ancient peoples, including most of the Jewish people, believed that signs in the heavens could predict events about to take place such as the death of a ruler, the fall of a city and so on. The specific nature of the Pharisee’s request for a sign here is unclear,[vii] but it appears that they did not demand a spectacular miracle, but wanted Jesus to give them unmistakable proof that He and His mission were authorized by God.[viii] Jesus’ response to this was grief, sadness, disappointment and sighing. In fact, the Greek phrase for sighed deeply in His spirit is only used here in the New Testament.[ix] Mark omitted part of what Jesus actually said in response to the Pharisees since his Roman readers wouldn’t know of the story. What did Jesus also say, and what did that mean (Matthew 12:38-41; Acts 2:30-36)?
3. Departing in somewhat of a hurry, what happened, and how was there another misunderstanding on the part of the disciples (v. 14-16)?
4. You’d think that with Jesus, the Bread of Life on board who had just done these awesome works, these guys wouldn’t forget so easily that He would take care of their physical needs.[x] At this Jesus had enough of their hard headed forgetfulness and significantly reproves them. What are some of the things He said to simultaneously rebuke and wake them up from spiritual slumber (v. 17-21)?
Scripture Memory: Try to fill in the missing words in the blanks below, by memory if at all possible, and then review the passage several times today.
He said to them, “Whoever desires to come after Me, let him _____________ himself, and ______________ _______ his cross, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will _________________ it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel's will save it.” (Mark 8:34b-35, nkjv)