Mark 8 | The Upward Way | Bible Study with A. Z. Adams — Transcript

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1. 0:00Mark 8:1
2. 0:03In those [music] days when there was
3. 0:05again a large crowd and they had nothing
4. 0:09to eat, Jesus called his disciples and
5. 0:12said to them, "I feel compassion for the
6. 0:16people because they have remained with
7. 0:18me now 3 days and have nothing to eat.
8. 0:22If I send them away hungry to their
9. 0:24homes, they will faint on the way. and
10. 0:27some of them have come from a great
11. 0:29distance.
12. 0:31And his disciples answered him, "Where
13. 0:35will anyone be able to find enough
14. 0:37[music] bread
15. 0:39here in this desolate place to satisfy
16. 0:43these people?"
17. 0:46And he was asking them, "How many loaves
18. 0:48do you have?" And they [music] said,
19. 0:50"Seven."
20. 0:53So here we have a very interesting
21. 0:55account.
22. 0:57It's a nod to the accuracy of the story
23. 1:01because the first story is feeding
24. 1:045,000. If Mark was just trying to show
25. 1:07us how things got better and better,
26. 1:09then this should be a story of feeding
27. 1:116,000. But that's not how many people
28. 1:13were there. So, he tells us that it was
29. 1:164,000.
30. 1:18And yet, it is a replay of the same
31. 1:22problem. The disciples don't know how to
32. 1:25be stewards of God's grace to people.
33. 1:29They don't have the faith to let God use
34. 1:32them to help people. And so here we have
35. 1:36the same scenario. What is the doorway
36. 1:39of the miracle that is about to happen?
37. 1:42What is the first thing that happens in
38. 1:46Jesus that sets this miracle in motion?
39. 1:51Compassion.
40. 1:53I feel compassion for the people.
41. 1:57Love is the starting place of all the
42. 1:59gifts. Whether our own personal gifts
43. 2:02that God has given us to serve and
44. 2:05minister to others or the gifts of
45. 2:08miracles that he wants to perform in
46. 2:10anybody's life.
47. 2:14And then the next thing is a question.
48. 2:18Where
49. 2:19will the bread be found?
50. 2:22Where will the miracle be found? The
51. 2:25disciples asked that question. Where
52. 2:26will anyone be able to find enough bread
53. 2:30here in this desolate place to satisfy
54. 2:33these people?
55. 2:34And that's the big question. Compassion
56. 2:37starts a miracle in motion. Skepticism
57. 2:41and doubt says, "Where will the
58. 2:44provision be found? Where does it come
59. 2:47from?"
60. 2:48And he was asking them, "How many loaves
61. 2:51do you have?" So they're saying, "Where
62. 2:56will the provision be found?" And he's
63. 2:57saying, "What do you have?"
64. 3:00The provision he's trying to tell them
65. 3:02is already in their possession. And they
66. 3:06said, "Seven." And he directed the
67. 3:08people to sit down on the ground. And
68. 3:11taking the seven loaves, he gave thanks
69. 3:13and broke them and started giving them
70. 3:15to his disciples to serve them. And they
71. 3:19served them to the people.
72. 3:21They also had a few small fish. And
73. 3:24after he had blessed them, he ordered
74. 3:26these to be served as well.
75. 3:29And they ate and were satisfied. And
76. 3:32they picked up seven large baskets full
77. 3:35of what was left over of the broken
78. 3:37pieces. Do you remember how many baskets
79. 3:40they picked up in the first feeding?
80. 3:4312. [snorts]
81. 3:44Hm. [clears throat] Does this mean that
82. 3:46five of the disciples have faith and
83. 3:48seven don't? I don't know. But it does
84. 3:52seem like there might be some indication
85. 3:54there that he's trying to tell them what
86. 3:58you think is your problem. We only have
87. 4:01seven. You're going to bring seven
88. 4:04baskets of leftovers. You're wrong.
89. 4:08Limitation is not your problem. Trust
90. 4:11and faith and compassion is your
91. 4:13problem. And if you can learn to act in
92. 4:17love to serve what God's given you, when
93. 4:20your scarcity
94. 4:23lands in the hands of Jesus and is
95. 4:25broken in service for others, you're
96. 4:28going to pick up as many baskets as you
97. 4:31had loaves.
98. 4:33What a miracle.
99. 4:37And they ate and they were satisfied and
100. 4:39they picked up seven large baskets full
101. 4:41of what was left over of the broken
102. 4:43pieces.
103. 4:45The pieces have got to be broken.
104. 4:49About 4,000 were there and he sent them
105. 4:52away. And immediately he entered the
106. 4:54boat with his disciples and came to the
107. 4:57district of Dalmana. The Pharisees came
108. 5:00out and began to argue with him, seeking
109. 5:04from him a sign from heaven to test him,
110. 5:08sighing deeply in his spirit. [sighs]
111. 5:14He said, "Why does this generation seek
112. 5:18for a sign? Truly I say to you, no sign
113. 5:22will be given this generation."
114. 5:25This is a remarkable thing. He is
115. 5:28constantly performing signs, but this
116. 5:31generation cannot see them
117. 5:33[clears throat] because this generation
118. 5:35is in unbelief.
119. 5:38They're wanting God to prove something
120. 5:39to their carnal minds. And all that gets
121. 5:42proven to the carnal mind is more
122. 5:44blindness.
123. 5:46Only if you are willing to believe can
124. 5:49you know whether the doctrine and
125. 5:51teaching be of man or of God.
126. 5:58Leaving them, he again [clears throat]
127. 5:59embarked and went away to the other
128. 6:01side. And they had forgotten to take
129. 6:04bread, and did not have more than one
130. 6:06loaf in the boat with them. And he was
131. 6:09giving orders to them, saying, "Watch
132. 6:11out. Beware of the leavenven of the
133. 6:15Pharisees and the leavenven of Herod."
134. 6:18They began to discuss with one another
135. 6:20the fact that they had no bread. And
136. 6:23Jesus, aware of this, said to them, "Why
137. 6:25[clears throat] do you discuss the fact
138. 6:27that you have no bread?
139. 6:30Do you not yet see or understand?
140. 6:33Do you have a hardened heart?
141. 6:36Having eyes, do you not see? And having
142. 6:38ears, do you not hear? And do you not
143. 6:41remember
144. 6:43when I broke the five loaves for the
145. 6:455,000? How many baskets full of broken
146. 6:49pieces you picked up?" They said to
147. 6:51him,"Wel 12.
148. 6:54When I broke the seven loaves for the
149. 6:564,000, how many large baskets full of
150. 6:59broken pieces did you pick up?" And they
151. 7:02said to him, "Seven."
152. 7:04And he was saying to them, "Do you not
153. 7:06yet understand?"
154. 7:09And they came to Betha,
155. 7:12and they brought a blind man to Jesus
156. 7:13and implored him to touch him. Taking
157. 7:16the blind man by the hand, he brought
158. 7:18him out of the village. And after
159. 7:20spitting on his eyes and laying his
160. 7:21hands on him, he asked him, "Do you see
161. 7:24anything?"
162. 7:26And he looked up and said, "I see men,
163. 7:29for I see them like trees walking
164. 7:32around."
165. 7:33Then again he laid his hands on his eyes
166. 7:36and he looked intently and was restored
167. 7:39and began to see everything clearly and
168. 7:42he sent him to his home saying, "Do not
169. 7:45even enter the village."
170. 7:48So in this section,
171. 7:51Jesus encounters
172. 7:54Pharisees
173. 7:56who are wanting a sign.
174. 7:59And he identifies this as hypocrisy.
175. 8:04They're pretending that what they want
176. 8:07is more confirmation from God.
177. 8:10And that's hypocrisy because what
178. 8:13they're really wanting is their own
179. 8:15ambitions realized, their own authority
180. 8:18honored. What they're really wanting is
181. 8:21more confirmation of who they are and
182. 8:24the framework that they operate in and
183. 8:27their power. So they are hypocrites. And
184. 8:30he says, "Beware of the leavenan of the
185. 8:33Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.
186. 8:36Beware of living out your ministry
187. 8:40pretending that what you're seeking is
188. 8:42more power and signage from heaven when
189. 8:45in fact you're just seeking more
190. 8:47validation for yourself.
191. 8:49That's the leaven of hypocrisy.
192. 8:52But when he says this, the disciples
193. 8:55think he's talking about the fact that
194. 8:57they didn't bring enough lunch.
195. 9:00Oh no, the 11 of the Pharisees means
196. 9:02that he's mad that we only bought one
197. 9:05sack lunch instead of 13.
198. 9:09And he gets very disappointed
199. 9:13and he says, "Why do you discuss the
200. 9:16fact that you have no bread?
201. 9:19Do you not understand? Why is your heart
202. 9:22so hardened?"
203. 9:25He's saying to them, "What I'm concerned
204. 9:27about is that you're as blind to the
205. 9:30miracle of God's power at work in your
206. 9:33midst as the Pharisees are. You don't
207. 9:36see what just happened with the 5000.
208. 9:39And you don't see what just happened
209. 9:41with the 4,000. If you saw the miracle
210. 9:45that you were part of, that you were
211. 9:47breaking and serving,
212. 9:49you would be in a different state of
213. 9:51mind right now.
214. 9:53You would have more faith. You would
215. 9:55have less fear. You would have clearer
216. 9:57understanding about what God is doing
217. 9:59and how he's going to use you. Having
218. 10:02eyes, do you not see? He asks his own
219. 10:04disciples. Having ears, do you not hear?
220. 10:09And do you not remember? What is wrong
221. 10:11with you people?
222. 10:14This is a miracle, a grace, a chyros
223. 10:18moment of answered prayer colliding with
224. 10:22a framework that knows what to expect
225. 10:25and so it can't recognize what God is
226. 10:28doing when he's doing it.
227. 10:31And then he comes to Bessaya
228. 10:33and the healing of the man
229. 10:36is like a parable
230. 10:39of the change that is hopefully
231. 10:41happening with the disciples. The
232. 10:44disciples have two miracles
233. 10:47where they are invited to participate in
234. 10:50ministry to those Jesus loves and has
235. 10:52compassion for. And in both instances
236. 10:55they say we cannot. We have nothing to
237. 10:57offer. It's pretty disappointing. But
238. 11:00it's getting better. In the first
239. 11:02miracle, they take 12 baskets, which
240. 11:05indicates, I think, that all 12 of them
241. 11:07were unbelieving. In the second miracle,
242. 11:10they only take seven, which I think
243. 11:13indicates that five have a different
244. 11:15level of faith. And so, the healing is a
245. 11:18little bit like that. He comes to a
246. 11:20blind man and he takes him out of the
247. 11:23village and after spitting on his eyes
248. 11:26and laying his hands on him, he asks
249. 11:27him, "Do you see anything?"
250. 11:32And he's like, "I see men as trees
251. 11:35walking." And I think Jesus would have
252. 11:37heard something like that from the 12
253. 11:39disciples, from five of the 12
254. 11:41disciples. I know you're doing
255. 11:43something, God, but it doesn't quite
256. 11:46make sense. the wrong parts are acting
257. 11:49and moving. So they see something but
258. 11:51it's not clear. And so more grace is
259. 11:55coming, more patience, more prayer, more
260. 11:57miracle.
261. 12:00Then again he laid his hands on his eyes
262. 12:03and he looked intently and was restored
263. 12:06and began to see everything clearly
264. 12:09and he sent him home saying, "Do not
265. 12:11even enter the village." This is what
266. 12:12Jesus wants to happen to the 12. He
267. 12:15wants them to look intently in the
268. 12:18second miracle
269. 12:20and he wants them to finally see, oh,
270. 12:24this is this is the work of God. This
271. 12:27isn't a political kingdom. This isn't an
272. 12:29insurrection. This isn't about me or him
273. 12:32or them. This is God invading our world
274. 12:36to bring a new kind of power and peace.
275. 12:40And so if I'm right, we're going to get
276. 12:43a confession very soon here. That's
277. 12:46going to be the disciples giving that
278. 12:49cleareyed understanding where they're
279. 12:52not seeing the kingdom like men as trees
280. 12:54walking, but they're really seeing who
281. 12:56Jesus is, what his power is, and how
282. 12:59they can be part of it. Jesus went out
283. 13:01along with his disciples to the villages
284. 13:03of Cesaria Philippi. And on the way he
285. 13:07questioned his disciples, saying to
286. 13:08them, "Who do people say that I am?
287. 13:11Cesaria Philippi is where Herod had
288. 13:14built his palace. Cesaria Philippi is
289. 13:17the headwaters of the Jordan River. It's
290. 13:19one of the most beautiful places in
291. 13:22Israel. And right there there is this
292. 13:24massive rock, this huge protruding rock.
293. 13:28And that's where Herod built his
294. 13:30palace." And so they're at this place,
295. 13:34the headquarters of the Jordan River,
296. 13:36this the headquarters of Herod's palace,
297. 13:40the kingdoms of this world. And so
298. 13:42they're going to have this conversation
299. 13:44about what kind of kingdom Jesus is
300. 13:46bringing? And on the way, he questioned
301. 13:49his disciples, saying to them, "Who do
302. 13:50people say that I am?" They told him,
303. 13:53saying, "John the Baptist, and others
304. 13:55say Elijah, but others one of the
305. 13:56prophets." And he continued by
306. 13:59questioning them, but who do you say
307. 14:02that I am?
308. 14:04Now, this is where
309. 14:07they're going to look intently and
310. 14:10hopefully their eyes are going to be
311. 14:11opened.
312. 14:16Peter answered and said to him,
313. 14:18[clears throat] "You are the Christ. You
314. 14:21are Messiah."
315. 14:24and he warned them to tell no one
316. 14:27[clears throat] about him. In Matthew's
317. 14:29version, he says, "Upon this rock, I'll
318. 14:32build my church and the gates of hell
319. 14:34will not prevail against it." But here,
320. 14:36he just tells he warned them to tell no
321. 14:39one about him. And he began to teach
322. 14:41them that the son of man must suffer
323. 14:44many things and be rejected by the
324. 14:46elders and the chief priests and the
325. 14:48scribes and be killed and after 3 days
326. 14:51rise again. and he was stating the
327. 14:54matter plainly and Peter took him aside
328. 14:57and began to rebuke him.
329. 15:00But turning around and seeing his
330. 15:03disciples, he rebuked Peter
331. 15:07and said, "Get behind me, Satan,
332. 15:10[clears throat]
333. 15:11for you are not setting your mind on
334. 15:13God's interests, but man's."
335. 15:17So in this equation, the disciples are
336. 15:20like the man whose eyes were made clear
337. 15:24in two phases. And in two revelations of
338. 15:28feeding two groups, they're seeing who
339. 15:31Jesus is as the miracles increase. So
340. 15:34finally, Jesus invites the disciples to
341. 15:37look intently at who he is and to
342. 15:40confess what they see. And they don't
343. 15:42see him as a man of trees walking. Peter
344. 15:46says, "You are the Christ, the son of
345. 15:49the living God." But then just a few
346. 15:52verses later when he tells them that
347. 15:54this plan is going to include the
348. 15:56ultimate sacrifice of his life, they
349. 16:00don't like that. So already that's
350. 16:03outside the frame that they've accepted.
351. 16:05They accept what God is doing. It's
352. 16:07special. It's of the spirit. It's
353. 16:09miraculous. Oh, but it doesn't include
354. 16:11death. So Peter full of his own recent
355. 16:15success takes Jesus aside and begins to
356. 16:17rebuke him. When does Jesus rebuke Peter
357. 16:21when he looks at the others and he says,
358. 16:26"Peter, you're not only being a
359. 16:28stumbling block to me and telling my
360. 16:30flesh what it wants to hear, you're
361. 16:31being a stumbling block to these others.
362. 16:35Get behind me, Satan." He's just told
363. 16:37him that he's blessed
364. 16:39because his father in heaven revealed
365. 16:41this to him. Now he calls him the devil.
366. 16:45Why does he call him the devil? How is
367. 16:47Peter getting into this mind to be used
368. 16:49by the enemy to be a stumbling block to
369. 16:52the Lord and the other disciples?
370. 16:55The reason Peter is being used by the
371. 16:57enemy is because he's thinking about
372. 17:00what matters to the flesh. You are
373. 17:03setting your mind on the things that be
374. 17:06of man rather than the things that be of
375. 17:09God. You are not setting your mind on
376. 17:11God's interests, but man's interests.
377. 17:16God wants to cast fear out of every
378. 17:19human heart. Because that's how the
379. 17:21devil reigns in our world. Man wants to
380. 17:25win a battle with his enemy.
381. 17:28Man's interests are not always the same
382. 17:31as God's. They're almost never the same.
383. 17:34And Peter was filled with what he
384. 17:37wanted. And when you or I are filled
385. 17:40with our ambitions,
386. 17:42we start to become a channel for the
387. 17:44wrong voice. We've got to be filled with
388. 17:47the vision and purpose of God. The
389. 17:50vision of Christ's atoning blood washing
390. 17:53away the sins of the world. The vision
391. 17:56of Jesus disarming principalities and
392. 17:58powers and freeing us from the fear of
393. 18:01death and hell and the grave. The vision
394. 18:04of the eternal salvation of multitudes
395. 18:07upon multitudes. Not the vision of my
396. 18:11petty little struggle or my little
397. 18:13ambition of how I want to be exalted.
398. 18:16That's the vision of the Pharisees.
399. 18:18That's the hypocrisy. That's the
400. 18:20leavenan. And it's still in Peter. So
401. 18:24he's saying, "Get behind me, Satan."
402. 18:27The last time he's used this term is
403. 18:29when the devil himself was tempting him
404. 18:31on the mount of temptation. He says,
405. 18:33"Get behind me, Satan."
406. 18:36Now he feels that same temptation. Think
407. 18:38about what you want. Think about what
408. 18:41you need.
409. 18:43Think about you. Make this about what
410. 18:46men care about. Make this about carnal
411. 18:50human ambition.
412. 18:52And he summoned the crowd with his
413. 18:54disciples and said to them,
414. 18:57"If anyone wishes to come after me, he
415. 19:00must deny himself,
416. 19:04take up his cross, and follow me. For
417. 19:08whoever wishes to save his life will
418. 19:11lose it.
419. 19:13But whoever loses his life for my sake
420. 19:15and the gospels will save it. For what
421. 19:19does it profit a man to gain the whole
422. 19:21world and forfeit his own soul?
423. 19:26So he's doubling down on this idea that
424. 19:29you can't have your mind locked in human
425. 19:32ambition.
426. 19:34You cannot be self-centered. You cannot
427. 19:37be self-obsessed.
428. 19:39If anyone wishes to come after me, he
429. 19:41must deny himself. The word deny means
430. 19:45to disavow,
431. 19:47to reject the legitimacy of, to
432. 19:50confront, to oppose, to suppress,
433. 19:55to disinherit, to disenfranchise.
434. 20:00Denial.
435. 20:02That's how you've got to be toward that
436. 20:04ambitious, envious spirit that was in
437. 20:08the Pharisees that is in all of us and
438. 20:11that is utterly incompatible with the
439. 20:14growth of the kingdom in our lives.
440. 20:17He must deny himself,
441. 20:20lift up his cross, and follow me. For
442. 20:24whoever wishes to save his life,
443. 20:29himself, his ambition, his plans, his
444. 20:33interests
445. 20:36by wishing and trying to curate them, we
446. 20:40lose them.
447. 20:43The very effort to pull unto oursel what
448. 20:48we think we deserve is the very
449. 20:50mechanism that alienates grace and life
450. 20:53and blessing from us. Whoever wishes to
451. 20:57save his life will lose it. But whoever
452. 21:02loses his life,
453. 21:04whoever loses his life, have you ever
454. 21:07lost anything?
455. 21:10You ever lost a pair of scissors?
456. 21:13There's almost no scissors in the whole
457. 21:14house that stay found. Have you ever
458. 21:16lost a knife? What about a flashlight?
459. 21:18Flashlights never stay found.
460. 21:21Have you ever lost something? What did
461. 21:23it make you feel like when you lost it?
462. 21:27You didn't know where it was. You
463. 21:29couldn't use it. Nobody could get it
464. 21:32from you. That's what it's like to lose
465. 21:35yourself.
466. 21:38You don't know where your ambitions are.
467. 21:41You can't find them and nobody can
468. 21:43provoke them from you. They're not what
469. 21:46drives your life anymore. You've lost
470. 21:49your ego. You've lost an existence that
471. 21:52is all about you.
472. 21:57And that is exactly where you start to
473. 22:00find a life worth living.
474. 22:04Because if you've lost it for Jesus's
475. 22:07sake and the gospels, you're going to
476. 22:10find real life and that more abundantly.
477. 22:14For what does it profit a man to gain
478. 22:16the whole world and forfeit his own
479. 22:17soul? So, he's telling us that the the
480. 22:20thing we've got to lose is the grasper.
481. 22:24That something inside of us that wants
482. 22:26to gain more and more. And if we could,
483. 22:29we'd gain the whole world. I want this.
484. 22:31I want that truck. I want that toy. I
485. 22:34want that person. I want that
486. 22:36opportunity. I want I want I I I It's
487. 22:39all about me.
488. 22:42But if you can make it all about him,
489. 22:45your kingdom, your glory,
490. 22:50your love, your salvation, your story,
491. 22:54your people, your power.
492. 23:00You won't lose your soul while trying to
493. 23:03gain it.
494. 23:05For what will a man give in exchange for
495. 23:08his soul? When you've gained the whole
496. 23:10world, you're like, "Oh, I gained the
497. 23:12whole world, but I've lost my soul.
498. 23:16I don't have any purpose.
499. 23:19I don't know who I am. I don't belong to
500. 23:21God. I'm a drift.
501. 23:27I have no home in his word, in his love,
502. 23:30in his family.
503. 23:32So, what are you going to give for your
504. 23:33soul? I I'll I'll I'll trade in my soul.
505. 23:36I'll trade this truck in for my soul.
506. 23:39I'll trade this this weekend for my
507. 23:41soul. No,
508. 23:44he goes on, "For whoever is ashamed of
509. 23:48me and my words in this adulterous and
510. 23:51sinful generation, the son of man will
511. 23:53also be ashamed of him when he comes in
512. 23:55the glory of his father with the holy
513. 23:58angels."
514. 24:00And this this final comment is about
515. 24:03embarrassment.
516. 24:05Whoever is embarrassed of me,
517. 24:08this is an insight
518. 24:10into what we need to lay down. This is
519. 24:13an insight that tells us ego is at the
520. 24:16root of Peter's rebuke.
521. 24:19Peter is great selling all his
522. 24:22possessions, dropping his nets, and
523. 24:24following the Lord if it's going to end
524. 24:26in triumph. But if it's going to end
525. 24:30with the rabbi stripped naked,
526. 24:33beaten across the head with a reed, with
527. 24:36a crown of thorns [music]
528. 24:37jammed down over his brow,
529. 24:41being nailed to a tree in a circle of
530. 24:45jeering mockers who are spitting on him.
531. 24:49Peter is going to be very embarrassed by
532. 24:52that.
533. 24:54So the whole instigation, the whole
534. 24:56reason Peter starts protecting and
535. 25:00fighting against sacrifice in the
536. 25:02equation is because he doesn't want the
537. 25:05embarrassment.
538. 25:08He wants he wants a clincher moment.
539. 25:13He wants that hail of glory,
540. 25:16that triumphal conclusion,
541. 25:19that resounding success, that coup
542. 25:21d'eta.
543. 25:23He doesn't want
544. 25:26mocking, laughing,
545. 25:29nakedness,
546. 25:30weakness,
547. 25:32prayer,
548. 25:34fear,
549. 25:37isolation,
550. 25:38rejection.
551. 25:40So Jesus [music] says, "Whoever is
552. 25:43ashamed of me." If you live embarrassed
553. 25:47of Jesus,
554. 25:49he's going to be embarrassed [music] of
555. 25:50you. You got to overcome. What is it in
556. 25:54me that's embarrassed at the way God
557. 25:56[music] does things?
558. 25:58What is it in me that is embarrassed at
559. 26:00the wisdom of God that looks like the
560. 26:02weakness of the cross?
561. 26:05Embarrassed when I go through it.
562. 26:07Embarrassed when others go through it.
563. 26:09deal with that embarrassment
564. 26:11because the root of that embarrassment
565. 26:13is self. It's ego. It's the competitor
566. 26:17to the throne of God.
567. 26:21[music]
568. 26:31[music]