Author: Beth Duncan

Mark 8:35 For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it. 

I believe that we *have* a body and we *are* a soul. The essential “us” is the soul. The body is our earthly shell. We’ll leave that shell behind when we die. Our souls will go to God. To my way of thinking, that explains why a body after death no longer truly looks like the person. The soul is what makes us who we are.

Mark 8:36 What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? 

The body is our human connection. And we can indulge the body in all kinds of physical ways–eating, drinking, drugs, sex, etc. But Jesus reminds us in verse 36 that those kinds of indulgences are only physical, only earthly, and they are not worth any potential damage to the soul. Earthly indulgences are not worth an eternal price tag.

Mark 8:37 Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul? 

Precious Savior, Thank You for the understanding that I *have* a body, but I *am* a soul, that my soul is the core of who I am, and that it belongs only to You. Thank You that no earthly pleasures are worth the cost of eternity. Help me not to fall into the traps of this world, which is all about the body. Help me to focus on You, to be Your hands and feet, to shine Your light. Always. Amen.

Mark 8:38 If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of them when he comes in his Father’s glory with the holy angels.” 

Have a blessed day.

Mark 8:31 He then began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and after three days rise again. 

Commentary tells us that a suffering Messiah was unthinkable. It was counter to all ideas of who the Messiah would be and what He would do. And, honestly, I can understand. The Savior of the world is going to be defeated? To die? I can see why Peter, who just proclaimed Jesus the Messiah, would pull Him aside and rebuke Him. It’s not right.

Mark 8:32 He spoke plainly about this, and Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him.

But God’s thoughts are not our thoughts. His ways are beyond anything we can imagine (Is 55:8). And instead of a warrior Messiah who would annihilate the Romans in battle and rule supreme in government, He sent Jesus to die for our sins, to be buried, to rise again after three days, to ascend into Heaven so that He could conquer sin and death forever. Thank You, Jesus.

Mark 8:33 But when Jesus turned and looked at his disciples, he rebuked Peter. “Get behind me, Satan!” he said. “You do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.”

Precious Savior, Your ways are truly beyond anything we can imagine. Forgive us our lack of vision and understanding. Help us not to limit You with our earth-bound imaginations. Thank You for who You are, the Messiah, Savior of the world. Thank You. Amen.

Mark 8:34 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. 

Have a blessed day.

Mark 8:27 Jesus and his disciples went on to the villages around Caesarea Philippi. On the way he asked them, “Who do people say I am?”

I must admit that Jesus’s question in verse 27 struck me as odd. “Who do people say I am?” seems very….needy, very “Are people talking about me? What are they saying about me? Tell me!” That neediness is definitely not Jesus.

Mark 8:28 They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, one of the prophets.”

Commentary says Jesus asks the question in verse 27 so that He can ask the more important followup question in verse 29: “But what about you?…Who do you say I am?” Bless them, the disciples have gotten so very many things wrong, but Peter knows the correct answer here: “You are the Messiah.”

Mark 8:29 “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?” Peter answered, “You are the Messiah.”

Precious Savior, Thank You for who You are and who You are to me. Thank You that even when I doubt and fear, even when I get things so very wrong so very often, that I know who You are: You are the Messiah. You are my Lord and my God. You are my Salvation, my Rock, my Cornerstone. Thank You. Amen.

Mark 8:30 Jesus warned them not to tell anyone about him.

Have a blessed day.

Mark 8:25a Once more Jesus put his hands on the man’s eyes. 

Many times in the Bible Jesus tells those He heals not to tell anyone. The blind man from today’s verses is no exception. The internet offers interesting theories about why Jesus encourages secrecy, including, for this blind man, “He feared that people would only focus on His miracles, and overlook His real reason for coming into the world – to save us from our sins.”

Mark 8:25b Then his eyes were opened, his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly. 

And we’ve seen Jesus being asked to perform miracles as, essentially, parlor tricks. Not because He is the Son of God come to save us but just to prove He can. Personally, I’m thankful I live in a time that I can shout Jesus’s goodness from the rooftops. I can extol His praises to everyone I meet. There is no need to keep Him a secret, who He is, what He’s done for me. Thank You, Jesus.

Mark 8:26a Jesus sent him home, saying, 

Precious Savior, Thank You for caring more about our souls than about gaining fame and notoriety during Your lifetime. Thank You that I don’t have to hide who You are and who You are to me. Thank You that I can talk about Your goodness to everyone I meet. Help me to do that, Jesus, to praise Your name always. Amen.

Mark 8:26b “Don’t even go into the village.”

Have a blessed day.

Mark 8:22 They came to Bethsaida, and some people brought a blind man and begged Jesus to touch him.

Jesus’s comment in verse 23b makes me think of the old cell service commercial, “Can you hear me now?,” probably because as I type this we are on day three of the aftereffects of Hurricane Helene, which in my area included downed trees, power outages, water damage, and widespread internet and cell service disruption.

Mark 8:23a He took the blind man by the hand and led him outside the village.

To say it’s a mess would be an understatement, and we didn’t get hit as hard as counties to the west. But I’m already seeing Jesus at work: folks from back east checking on us, folks with power offering the use of showers and electricity, folks with WiFi offering its use, students showing up to donate cleaning supplies to be sent west.

Mark 8:23b When he had spit on the man’s eyes and put his hands on him, Jesus asked, “Do you see anything?”

Precious Savior, Thank You for the many ways You show up in a situation, the many ways You facilitate healing. Thank You that You allow us to be Your hands and feet in this world. Help us to show up as You do. Help us to bring hope and healing to those who are hurting. Amen.

Mark 8:24 He looked up and said, “I see people; they look like trees walking around.”

Have a blessed day.

Mark 8:18 “Do you have eyes but fail to see, and ears but fail to hear? And don’t you remember?

Based on my recent interaction with my student about that poem and his utter lack of doing anything I asked him to with it, basically trying to plumb the depths to find meaning beyond the surface, if I had to guess Jesus’s tone to the disciples here, I’d say frustrated.

Mark 8:19 When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many baskets full of pieces did you pick up?” “Twelve,” they replied.

Which is ironic to me because the disciples of my youth were not this clueless. They were dependable and reliable. They understood things. So the fact that they—often from the sounds of it—were rather clueless…just like me, brings me some comfort. I’m not the only one. Help me, Jesus.

Mark 8:20 “And when I broke the seven loaves for the four thousand, how many basketfuls of pieces did you pick up?” They answered, “Seven.”

Precious Savior, Thank You for Your patience and grace. Forgive me when I just don’t get what You are trying to teach me. Don’t give up on me. And help me to approach others with the same patience and grace that You show me. Always. Amen.

Mark 8:21 He said to them, “Do you still not understand?”

Have a blessed day.

Mark 8:14 The disciples had forgotten to bring bread, except for one loaf they had with them in the boat. 

On the heels of yesterday’s reflection, today’s scripture, yet again, reminds me of my students, except it reminds me that sometimes *I* am just as oblivious as said students, floundering around in God’s lesson, saying, “When will I ever need this stuff again?,” completely missing His point.

Mark 8:15 “Be careful,” Jesus warned them. “Watch out for the yeast of the Pharisees and that of Herod.”

And that realization gives me a new level of compassion for those students, those immature, bumbling, students who cannot see that I am trying to do everything I can to help equip them for life beyond my classroom. Because *I* am also a bumbling, immature Christian who often misses the lessons Jesus is lovingly trying to teach me to help prepare me for life as well. Jesus, Help me.

Mark 8:16 They discussed this with one another and said, “It is because we have no bread.”

Precious Savior, Thank You for compassion and perspective. Thank You for the reminder that in many ways, I am just like those students plucking my last nerve because they are willfully missing what is right in front of them. I do the same thing with You so often. Forgive me. Help me to pay better attention, to listen when You speak, to look and to see Your goodness. Help me. Amen.

Mark 8:17 Aware of their discussion, Jesus asked them: “Why are you talking about having no bread? Do you still not see or understand? Are your hearts hardened?

Have a blessed day.