Month: January 2022

8²⁷ Jesus went on with his disciples to the villages of Caesarea Philippi; and on the way he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that I am?” ²⁸ And they answered him, “John the Baptist; and others, Elijah; and still others, one of the prophets.” ²⁹ He asked them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter answered him, “You are the Messiah.” ³⁰ And he sternly ordered them not to tell anyone about him. 

Jesus foretells his death and resurrection

³¹ Then he began to teach them that the Son of Man must undergo great suffering, and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again. ³² He said all this quite openly. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. ³³ But turning and looking at his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, “Get behind me, Satan! For you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things.” 

³⁴ He called the crowd with his disciples, and said to them, “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. ³⁵ For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake, and for the sake of the gospel, will save it. ³⁶ For what will it profit them to gain the whole world and forfeit their life? ³⁷ Indeed, what can they give in return for their life? ³⁸ Those who are ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of them the Son of Man will also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his

9Father with the holy angels.” And he said to them, “Truly I tell you, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see that the kingdom of God has come with power.” 

The transfiguration

² Six days later, Jesus took with him Peter and James and John, and led them up a high mountain apart, by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, ³ and his clothes became dazzling white, such as no one on earth could bleach them. ⁴ And there appeared to them Elijah with Moses, who were talking with Jesus. ⁵ Then Peter said to Jesus, “Rabbi, it is good for us to be here; let us make three dwellings, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” ⁶ He did not know what to say, for they were terrified. ⁷ Then a cloud overshadowed them, and from the cloud there came a voice, “This is my Son, the Beloved; listen to him!” ⁸ Suddenly when they looked around, they saw no one with them any more, but only Jesus.

The coming of Elijah 

⁹ As they were coming down the mountain, he ordered them to tell no one about what they had seen, until after the Son of Man had risen from the dead. ¹⁰ So they kept the matter to themselves, questioning what this rising from the dead could mean. ¹¹ Then they asked him, “Why do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?” ¹² He said to them, “Elijah is indeed coming first to restore all things. How then is it written about the Son of Man, that he is to go through many sufferings and be treated with contempt? ¹³ But I tell you that Elijah has come, and they did to him whatever they pleased, as it is written about him.” NRSV

Get into the Word

1. Where is Jesus at this point? Who is with him? What does he ask them? How do they respond? What is the difference in the two questions? How does Peter answer the second question? How does Jesus respond to Peter’s answer? What does Matthew add to Jesus’ words?

2. What does Jesus tell the disciples about his future? How does Peter react to this? How does Jesus respond to Peter this time?

3. What does Jesus tell the crowd about following him? What image does he use? What does he say about a relationship with him? How do you suppose the crowd reacted to this advice?

4. What does Mark describe next? Who is with Jesus? Where are they? What happens at this point? Who is with Jesus? What are they talking about [see Notes]? How do the disciples respond to this situation? What does Peter propose? Why do you think he does this? What happens after Peter’s proposal? How do the other Gospel writers describe this event?

5: What do the disciples ask Jesus? Why would they have this question? Who is Jesus actually talking about?

Get Personal

Have you had an “Aha!” moment in your walk with Christ? What did you see or understand about Jesus? About faith? About your life? What led you to this understanding or clarity? How has it affected your faith adventure?

(Cross-references to Matthew and Luke are given in brackets)

8:27-30. Peter’s declaration about Jesus — Matthew adds to Peter’s answer and Jesus’s response: Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father in heaven. And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven,” [Matt 16:14-20].
Luke includes only Jesus’s questions and the disciples’ and Peter’s response, [Luke 9:18-20].
8:28. Prophet — in Deut 18:18 God says he will raise a prophet from among his people.
8:31-33. Jesus predicts his death — Matthew and Luke’s versions are very similar to Mark’s, except that Matthew mentions going to Jerusalem, [Matt 16:21, Luke 9:22].
8:32-33. Peter’s rebuke to Jesus — Matthew includes this incident and says Jesus called Peter “a stumbling stone,” [Matt 16:23]. Luke does not include this exchange between Peter and Jesus.

8:34-9:1. Shoulder your cross — Matthew’s version is close to Mark’s, [Matt 16:24-28], except that Jesus does not talk about “being ashamed,” and instead says, The Son of Man . . . will repay everyone for what has been done, [Matt 9:27].
Luke’s version of Jesus’s statement is almost identical to Mark’s, [Luke 9:23-27].
9:2-13. The transfiguration — Matthew’s version is very similar to Mark’s. He does say the disciples were overcome by fear at God’s voice. He does not say the disciples discussed “rising from the dead,” but he does say the disciples realized Jesus was talking about John the Baptist in reference to Elijah, [Matt 17:1-13].
Luke’s version places the transfiguration eight days after Peter’s declaration and reports that Moses and Elijah talked with Jesus about his departure . . . in Jerusalem. Luke does not mention the disciples’ fear or terror, but says they were weighed down with sleep. He does include the conversation about Elijah, [Luke 9:28-36].
9:7. Listen — this echoes Deut 18:15 where Moses says, The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your own people. You must heed such a prophet.
9:11. Elijah — in the last verses of the Old Testament, God says, Lo, I will send you the prophet Elijah before the great and terrible day of the Lord comes, [Malachi 4:5].

8In those days when there was again a great crowd without anything to eat, he called his disciples and said to them, ² “I have compassion for the crowd, because they have been with me now for three days and have nothing to eat.
³ If I send them away hungry to their homes, they will faint on the way—and some of them have come from a great distance.” ⁴ His disciples replied, “How can one feed these people with bread here in the desert?” ⁵ He asked them, “How many loaves do you have?” They said, “Seven.” ⁶ Then he ordered the crowd to sit down on the ground; and he took the seven loaves, and after giving thanks he broke them and gave them to his disciples to distribute; and they distributed them to the crowd. ⁷ They had also a few small fish; and after blessing them, he ordered that these too should be distributed. ⁸ They ate and were filled; and they took up the broken pieces left over, seven baskets full. ⁹ Now there were about four thousand people. And he sent them away. ¹⁰ And immediately he got into the boat with his disciples and went to the district of Dalmanutha. 

The demand for a sign

¹¹ The Pharisees came and began to argue with him, asking him for a sign from heaven, to test him. ¹² And he sighed deeply in his spirit and said, “Why does this generation ask for a sign? Truly I tell you, no sign will be given to this generation.” ¹³ And he left them, and getting into the boat again, he went across to the other side. 

The yeast of the Pharisees and of Herod

¹⁴ Now the disciples had forgotten to bring any bread; and they had only one loaf with them in the boat. ¹⁵ And he cautioned them, saying, “Watch out—beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and the yeast of Herod.”
¹⁶ They said to one another, “It is because we have no bread.” ¹⁷ And becoming aware of it, Jesus said to them, “Why are you talking about having no bread? Do you still not perceive or understand? Are your hearts hardened? ¹⁸ Do you have eyes, and fail to see? Do you have ears, and fail to hear? And do you not remember? ¹⁹ When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many baskets full of broken pieces did you collect?” They said to him, “Twelve.” ²⁰ “And the seven for the four thousand, how many baskets full of broken pieces did you collect?” And they said to him, “Seven.”
²¹ Then he said to them, “Do you not yet understand?” 

Jesus cures a blind man at Bethsaida

²² They came to Bethsaida. Some people brought a blind man to him and begged him to touch him. ²³ He took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the village; and when he had put saliva on his eyes and laid his hands on him, he asked him, “Can you see anything?” ²⁴ And the man looked up and said, “I can see people, but they look like trees, walking.” ²⁵ Then Jesus laid his hands on his eyes again; and he looked intently and his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly. ²⁶ Then he sent him away to his home, saying, “Do not even go into the village.” NRSV

Get into the Word

1. Where is Jesus as this chapter opens? What is going on at this point? How does Jesus respond to the situation? How do the disciples react to Jesus?

2. What does Jesus end up doing? How does this incident compare to the earlier feeding miracle, [check Mk 6:30-44]? What does Jesus do next?

3. Who confronts Jesus next? What do they seek? Why do they want this? How does Jesus respond to this situation? How do you think the Pharisees felt about Jesus’ response? How does Mark’s version of this incident differ from Matthew’s, [see Notes]?

4. What happens in the boat? What does Jesus say in response? How do the disciples deal with Jesus’ admonition? What does Jesus say in response? What point is he trying to make with the disciples? How do you suppose they felt about the questions?

5. Where does Jesus go next? Who approaches him? How does Jesus respond to their request? What does Jesus do with the man? What does Jesus tell him to do next?

Get Personal

How has God helped you understand what his Kingdom is really about? Have there been times when you’ve focused on the stuff of this world and missed the truth God was trying to tell you? What helped you change your focus?

(cross-references to Matthew and Luke are given in brackets)

8:1-10. Feeding the 4,000 — Matthew places this miracle after a day of healing by the Sea of Galilee, [Matt 15:32-39]. His version is almost identical to Mark’s, although Matthew describes the crowd as four thousand men . . . in addition to all the women and children.
Luke does not include this incident.
8:8. Baskets — the Greek word here is different than the one in feeding the 5,000. This “basket” is actually larger than the earlier one, so it could be that even more food was left over.
8:10. Dalmanutha (also Mageda or Magdala) — probably one of the towns in Galilee near the Ten Towns mentioned earlier.
8:11-13. A miraculous sign — Matthew includes this incident, but does not link it to the feeding of the 4,000. Matthew also says the Pharisees and Sadducees came, and to test Jesus they asked him to show them a sign from heaven, [Matt 16:1]. He reports Jesus’ response differently as well: He answered them, “When it is evening you say, ‘It will be fair weather for the sky is red.’ And in the morning, ‘It will be stormy today, for the sky is read and threatening.’ You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot

interpret the signs of the times. An evil and adulterous generation asks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah,” [Matt 16:2-4].
Luke does not include this incident.
8:11. Sign from heaven — Moses told the Israelites to see if a promised sign actually takes place as a way of determining if the prophet was from God, [Deut 1:3-5 and 18:20-22].
Sign of Jonah, [Matt 16:4] — Jesus is previewing his death and resurrection, which was the most miraculous sign of all.
8:14-21. Yeast of the Pharisses and of Herod — Matthew’s version of this exchange tracks with Marks, except that Matthew says Jesus reminded the disciples of the feeding miracles without asking the questions, and then reports that the disciples understood Jesus was talking about the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees, [Matt 16:12].
Luke does not include this incident.
8:16. Yeast . . . bread — once again the disciples are focusing on things of this world, and missing Jesus’ point about false teaching.
8:22-26. Healing the blind man — only Mark includes this incident. Although there are many theories about the two-stage healing, there is no conclusive explanation of Jesus’ actions.

7Now when the Pharisees and some of the scribes who had come from Jerusalem gathered around him,
² they noticed that some of his disciples were eating with defiled hands, that is, without washing them. ³ (For the Pharisees, and all the Jews, do not eat unless they thoroughly wash their hands, thus observing the tradition of the elders;
⁴ and they do not eat anything from the market unless they wash it; and there are also many other traditions that they observe, the washing of cups, pots, and bronze kettles.) ⁵ So the Pharisees and the scribes asked him, “Why do your disciples not live according to the tradition of the elders, but eat with defiled hands?” ⁶ He said to them, “Isaiah prophesied rightly about you hypocrites, as it is written, ‘This people honors me with their lips,
but their hearts are far from me; 
⁷ in vain do they worship me,
teaching human precepts as doctrines.’ 
⁸ You abandon the commandment of God and hold to human tradition.” 

⁹ Then he said to them, “You have a fine way of rejecting the commandment of God in order to keep your tradition! ¹⁰ For Moses said, ‘Honor your father and your mother’; and, ‘Whoever speaks evil of father or mother must surely die.’ ¹¹ But you say that if anyone tells father or mother, ‘Whatever support you might have had from me is Corban’ (that is, an offering to God)— ¹² then you no longer permit doing anything for a father or mother, ¹³ thus making void the word of God through your tradition that you have handed on. And you do many things like this.” 

¹⁴ Then he called the crowd again and said to them, “Listen to me, all of you, and understand: ¹⁵ there is nothing outside a person that by going in can defile, but the things that come out are what defile.” 

¹⁷ When he had left the crowd and entered the house, his disciples asked him about the parable. ¹⁸ He said to them, “Then do you also fail to understand? Do you not see that whatever goes into a person from outside cannot defile, ¹⁹ since it enters, not the heart but the stomach, and goes out into the sewer?” (Thus he declared all foods clean.) ²⁰ And he said, “It is what comes out of a person that defiles. ²¹ For it is from within, from the human heart, that evil intentions come: fornication, theft, murder, ²² adultery, avarice, wickedness, deceit, licentiousness, envy, slander, pride, folly. ²³ All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.”

²⁴ From there he set out and went away to the region of Tyre. He entered a house and did not want anyone to know he was there. Yet he could not escape notice, ²⁵ but a woman whose little daughter had an unclean spirit immediately heard about him, and she came and bowed down at his feet. ²⁶ Now the woman was a Gentile, of Syrophoenician origin. She begged him to cast the demon out of her daughter. ²⁷ He said to her, “Let the children be fed first, for it is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs.” ²⁸ But she answered him, “Sir, even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs.” ²⁹ Then he said to her, “For saying that, you may go—the demon has left your daughter.” ³⁰ So she went home, found the child lying on the bed, and the demon gone. 

³¹ Then he returned from the region of Tyre, and went by way of Sidon towards the Sea of Galilee, in the region of the Decapolis.
³² They brought to him a deaf man who had an impediment in his speech; and they begged him to lay his hand on him. ³³ He took him aside in private, away from the crowd, and put his fingers into his ears, and he spat and touched his tongue. ³⁴ Then looking up to heaven, he sighed and said to him, “Ephphatha,” that is, “Be opened.”
³⁵ And immediately his ears were opened, his tongue was released, and he spoke plainly. ³⁶ Then Jesus ordered them to tell no one; but the more he ordered them, the more zealously they proclaimed it. ³⁷ They were astounded beyond measure, saying, “He has done everything well; he even makes the deaf to hear and the mute to speak.” NRSV

Get into the Word

1. Who comes to see Jesus as this chapter opens? Why do they come? What do they talk about? What do they think Jesus should do? Why is this so important to them? Who else do they talk about?

2. How does Jesus respond to their questions? Who does he quote? Why do you think Jesus chose this quotation? What point is Jesus making? How do you suppose the others felt about his response?

3. What does Jesus talk about next? Why do you think he raises this subject? What point is Jesus making now? How do you think the others felt about this accusation?

4. What does Jesus say about eating? How does Jesus explain to his disciples? Why doesn’t food harm a person? How would the Jews react to this assertion? How do you feel about it?

5. What does make a person unclean? How does Jesus explain this point?

6. Where does Jesus go after this incident? Who comes up to him? Why? What does she do and say? How does Jesus respond to her? Why do you think he does this? How does the woman respond. What does Jesus say and do next?

7. Where does Jesus go next? Who does he meet? What is his problem? What does Jesus do with the man? How does he “heal” him? What is the result? Why do you think Jesus used this approach? How did the crowd respond to Jesus’ actions?

Get Personal

How do you respond to other peoples’ traditions or rituals that might be different than yours? Are there some traditions in your faith practice that might be unnecessary or even counterproductive? How has God helped you understand the relationship among faith, purity and actions?

7:1-23. Tradition of the elders — Matthew’s version does not explain the tradition. Matthew also reports that Jesus tells the disciples, Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be uprooted. Let them alone; they are blind guides of the blind. And if one blind person guides another, both fall into a pit.
Luke does not include this discussion with the Pharisees, but does report an incident when a Pharisee noted that Jesus did not wash his hands before eating. Jesus rebukes him for being careful to clean the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside you are full of greed and wickedness, [Luke 11:39-40]. Jesus also rebukes them for tithing small things but neglecting, justice and the love of God [11:42].
7:2. Hand washing — this rule is not part of the Mosaic Law. Jesus quotes Isaiah 29:13.

7:11. Corban — the Law did provide fordedicating something to the Lord which then prohibited its use for any other purpose, but evidently some Jews would use this as an excuse to not care for their elderly parents.
7:16. Some manuscripts include: Let anyone with ears to hear listen.
7:24-30. Faith of a Gentile woman — Matthew calls the woman a “Canaanite,” [Mt 15:21-28]. He reports that Jesus did not respond at first, and then saying, I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel, before the comment about dogs. Jesus tells the woman he granted her request because of her faith. Luke does not include this story. Check 1 Kings 7:17-24 and 2 Kings 4:14-37 for other stories of persistent mothers.
7:31-37. Healing the deaf-mute — neither Matthew nor Luke include this incident.