Open Your Eyes and See Jesus, Part 1 (Mark 8:1-12)

Why don’t people see Jesus for who he is? Why don’t I often see Jesus working in my life? Why is it that sometimes it just feels as though this is all just a show? The reality is that often we share the Gospel and the ones with whom we share it fail to grasp the significance of Jesus. Sometimes we walk through the course of our lives and it feels as though Jesus isn’t real at all. If God is so great and Jesus is so marvelous, why doesn’t everyone run to God? 

Mark 8 serves a pivotal text in the Gospel of Mark. The book began with the statement that Jesus is the Son of God. Over the past seven chapters, Jesus has been proving this reality in a variety of ways. But the disciples keep seeming to miss the fact. Later in chapter 8, the disciples finally grasp the reality the Jesus is the Son of God. And the Gospel of Mark ends with the soldier at Jesus’ crucifixion declaring that Jesus is the Son of God and Jesus proving it through his resurrection.

This pivotal section begins however with the explanation as to why we and others don’t see Jesus. Through the first 26 verses, Mark establishes beyond doubt that Jesus is God the Creator, the Sufficient Savior. But demonstrates that we often miss this reality. Through this section, Mark challenges us to recognize and trust Jesus with our lives. 

We will read the first 26 verses because each of these narratives build on one another towards this one theme. However, we will be honest with the fact that we will not make it through all 26 verses this morning. 

In this section there appear to be four different narratives. The feeding of the 4,000, the conflict with the Pharisees, the discussion with the disciples, and the healing of the blind man. However, as we get into these narratives and see the way they build on one another, we will discover that through them, Mark is driving home the lesson that we must open our eyes and see Jesus. Through the narratives as well, he gives us insight into how this is accomplished.