All right, well, good morning again. This morning we are going to be in Mark chapter eight, and verses one through 30. And when Charla asked me yesterday what my text was gonna be, and I told her I could see that panic-stricken look in her eyes, but it is a lot to cover, but we're not gonna, Don't worry about it, it's not gonna take as long as it sounds. Mark chapter eight, verses one through 30, learning to see. Learning to see is the title of the message. So we're just gonna get right into it. In those days, when there was again a large crowd and they had nothing to eat, Jesus called his disciples and said to them, I feel compassion for the people because they have remained with me now three days and have nothing to eat. 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. And his disciples answered him, where will anyone be able to find enough bread here in this desolate place to satisfy these people? And he was asking them, how many loaves do you have? And they said, seven. And he directed the people to sit down on the ground, and taking the seven loaves, he gave thanks and broke them, and started giving them to his disciples to serve them, and they served them to the people. They also had a few small fish, and after he had blessed them, he ordered these to be served as well. And they ate and were satisfied, and they picked up seven large baskets full of what was left over of the broken pieces. Almost 4,000 were there, or about 4,000 were there, and he sent them away. And immediately he entered the boat with his disciples and came to the district of Dalmanutha. The Pharisees came out and began to argue with him, seeking from him a sign from heaven to test him. Sighing deeply in his spirit, he said, why does this generation seek for a sign? Truly, I say to you, no sign will be given to this generation. Leaving them, he again embarked and went away to the other side. And they had forgotten to take bread, and did not have more than one loaf in the boat with them. And he was giving orders to them, saying, watch out. Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod. They began to discuss with one another the fact that they had no bread. And Jesus, aware of this, said to them, why do you discuss the fact that you have no bread? Do you not yet see or understand? Do you have a hardened heart? Having eyes, do you not see? And having ears, do you not hear? And do you not remember when I broke the five loaves for the 5,000? How many baskets full of broken pieces you picked up? They said to him, 12. When I broke the seven for the 4,000, how many large baskets full of broken pieces did you pick up? And they said to him, seven. And he was saying to them, do you not yet understand? And they came to Bethsaida, and they brought a blind man to Jesus and implored him to touch him. Taking the blind man by the hand, he brought him out of the village, and after spitting on his eyes and laying his hands on him, he asked him, do you see anything? And he looked up and said, I see men, for I see them like trees walking around. Then again, he laid his hands on his eyes and he looked intently and was restored and began to see everything clearly. And he sent him to his home saying, do not even enter the village. Jesus went out along with his disciples to the villages of Caesarea Philippi. And on the way, he questioned his disciples, saying to them, who do people say that I am? They told him, saying, John the Baptist, and others say Elijah, but others, one of the prophets. And he continued by questioning them, but who do you say that I am? Peter answered and said to him, you are the Christ. And he warned them to tell no one about him. Father, we thank you for this Word that you've given us. We thank you for the things that you're teaching us through this and the pictures that you're showing us in your Word, the pictures of your goodness and grace. Lord, we just ask that you open our eyes today, that you help us to see, help us to see the picture that you are presenting to us in this Word. Lord, we just thank you for these things, in Jesus' name, amen. So, last week, we looked at Jesus' remarkable healing of a man that was both deaf and mute. You remember the word mogollolos? It was used for mute. It means he couldn't speak a intelligible word. He couldn't speak a word that anybody could understand. He was completely unable to communicate verbally. And we began our message last week with a review of the highlights of the last several messages leading up to this particular healing. Well, we aren't going to do that review. We're not going to review the review, so don't worry about that. But we do need to remind ourselves of the flow of events that are taking place and the purpose with which the Holy Spirit inspires Mark to record these particular events that he is writing down in the gospel. Why is it important that we do this? It's important because the gospels are all different. They're all inspired by the Holy Spirit. but they aren't flat, identical stories that all relay the same facts in the same way from the same perspective in order to communicate the exact same things about Jesus. They're all different. They're written by four different men with different points of view, and they're written with different immediate audiences in mind when they're written. When we began Mark, we talked about the fact that scholars generally agree that the gospel of Mark is actually Peter's eyewitness testimony recorded by Mark for the immediate benefit of Gentile converts to Christianity living in Rome. And so that affects the perspective and that affects the different events that are recorded because Jesus did lots of things. Some of the events are recorded in all four Gospels. Some of them are recorded in a couple. Some of them are only recorded in one. The event that we talked about last week, the healing of the deaf and the mute man is only recorded in detail in the Gospel of Mark for a purpose. And all those kinds of variables and even more have a bearing on the events that are recorded in each Gospel. and the emphasis that's placed on each of these events. This should really be an encouragement to us. When a skeptic points out differences and discrepancies between the gospel accounts, the answer that we should give is of course they're different. They're supposed to be different. It's kind of like looking at a house with four sides. No analogy's perfect, but it's kind of like looking at a house with four sides, and each gospel is a side, and each gospel shows us a different side of the house. That way we get a fuller view than we would if it was all telling exactly the same story. So, a 30,000 foot view of the events that have been taking place as we progress through Mark shows us a lot of different things that are connected We have to back up a little bit and tie them all together each week. That's why I do that because what we want to see is we want to see the whole story. We don't want to just see a small part. And there is an overarching theme and there are some overarching truths that the Holy Spirit is teaching us through all these events that we're looking at each week as we go through the Gospel of Mark. What we have consistently seen Jesus doing over the last few weeks is performing signs. He's performing signs. All these healings, the feeding of the 5,000, the feeding of the 4,000, these are all signs that fulfill prophecies from the law and the prophets. They're signs that were foretold specifically to establish the identity of the Messiah when he comes into the world. Some of these signs have been performed publicly in front of thousands of people. Some of them have been performed just for the benefit of the disciples, and then some of them for the different size crowds in between, but the walking on the water, only the disciples were witnesses to that. However, in spite of all the signs that Jesus performed, a huge theme that is on display in every event recorded is human blindness to the significance of the events. And that blindness is there even with his disciples. So, along with demonstrating that Jesus is the Messiah and the great shepherd of the house of Israel, he's been redefining what it means to be a sheep that belongs to the house of Israel. He's been demonstrating that law keeping, external cleanness, living in the right place, and having the right genealogy have nothing to do with whether you're a citizen of the kingdom of God. And he's been contrasting these Jewish religious leaders who have all of those worldly advantages, but who will not come to him so that they might have life Jesus has been contrasting them with Gentiles, with the externally unclean. He went to the pagan region of Tyre and Sidon to minister to one of his sheep. And then last week he went to this Gentile-dominated region of Decapolis to minister to more of his sheep. And that's where we're at today when we take up this text. So in verses one through three, it says, in those days, When there was a large crowd and they had nothing to eat, Jesus called his disciples and said to them, I feel compassion for the people because they have remained with me now three days and have nothing to eat. 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. So even though Matthew's gospel doesn't include the details of the healing of of the deaf and the mute man that we looked at last week, it does follow along pretty closely with most of the events that are taking place in the gospel of Mark where we're at. Matthew 15 through 17 coincides with Mark 7 through 9. They don't highlight all the same events, but they're following the same timeline and the same progression. And this is really a blessing to us because we can cross-reference. And we can fill in some of the details of what is going on by comparing the accounts. They do both record this first event that we're reading about today. They both cover the feeding of the 4,000. And from Matthew's account in chapter 15, verses 29 through 31, we know that these things took place on a mountain close to the Sea of Galilee. From Mark's account in chapter seven, verse 31, we know that the mountain is within the region of the Decapolis. So looking at the map we've got up here, now there's a star right there, but I don't, that's down close to the lake itself. There's actually a mountainous area right there behind the S, and that's probably where it took place, right there behind the S in that area. So when Jesus had come back down after they came over from Tyre and Sidon and they came down, this is where he stopped at right here. This is where the deaf man was healed and the mute man. And then this is where these 4,000 people are fed. And so you can see where they were at. From both accounts, From both Matthew and Mark's account, the disciples described this place, this mountaintop, as a desolate place. And there's a large crowd gathered there. According to Matthew, the crowd has brought all sorts of people seeking to be healed by Jesus. There were people who were lame, crippled, blind, and mute. and they laid them at his feet, and he healed them. And it's likely that most, if not all of them, were Gentiles. In Matthew 15, 31 says the crowd marveled and glorified the God of Israel. And this has been going on for three days. Jesus has been healing people and preaching the kingdom. There's thousands of people there. It's in a desolate place. Whatever provisions that they had with them when they arrived have been long used up. There's no ice chests. There's no convenience stores. There's nothing around them. It's a desolate place. So Jesus calls his disciples together and he says, hey guys, I'm getting ready to wrap this up, but we need to feed these folks before we send them home. They've been with me three days, they're out of food, and some of them have a really long walk ahead of them. So verse four says, and the disciples answered him, where will anyone be able to find enough bread here in this desolate place to satisfy these people? The disciples look at him and they ask the most astounding question that we could ever imagine him asking. Where will anyone find enough bread to satisfy these people? What? Think about that for a second. I could just imagine the look on Jesus' face. I'm sure his mouth fell open. I mean, it hasn't been very long since they watched him feed 5,000 with five loaves and two fish. They saw him heal this deaf and mute man, along with all these other people that he's healed, lame and blind and all sorts of illnesses and maladies. And he says, let's feed these folks. And they say, well, where are we going to get the bread to do it? How could you guys possibly ask a question like that? But you know what, as I was thinking about that, it struck me, we do that all the time. We ask questions like that all the time. Aren't we asking questions like that every time we get anxious? Or worry about how things are gonna turn out or what we're gonna do? Listen to Psalm 34, verse eight through 10. "'Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good. "'How blessed is the man who takes refuge in him. "'Oh, fear the Lord, you his saints, "'for to those who fear him there is no want. "'The young lions do lack and suffer hunger, "'but they who seek the Lord shall not be in want "'of any good thing. "'Come, you children, listen to me. I will teach you the fear of the Lord. Do you believe that? Do you believe that if you seek the Lord, you will not be in want of any good thing? Of course you do. So do I. I'm like that man, and that's gonna be a little farther on. A couple of chapters from now that's gonna say, Lord, I believe, help my own belief. I do believe. So do the disciples. They believe as far as they can see. And the disciples ask the question that they ask because they're learning to see. Very slowly, just like we are. They don't see it all yet. Let's look at verse five. And he was asking them, how many loaves do you have? And they said seven. I love Jesus' answer to the disciples here. I also love the fact that he always answers questions with question. He never just gives an answer. He makes you come up with the answer. But that's what he does to them. They asked him where they could possibly find enough bread to feed the crowd, and in response, he asked them, well, how many loaves do you have? And their response was seven. You know, we've been going through the book of Revelation on Wednesday evenings, and we have learned that numbers are extremely significant in scripture. The number is seven. The number seven is the number of fullness. It's the number of completion. So by asking the disciples, do you think that it's a coincidence that they had seven loaves? When he asked them how many loaves of bread they have, Jesus is basically making them answer enough. That's what he's making them say. Well, we have seven. We've got the full amount, complete amount. Verse six through eight says, And he directed the people to sit down on the ground, and taking the seven loaves, he gave thanks and broke them, and started giving them to his disciples to serve them, and they served them to the people. They also had a few small fish, and after he had blessed them, he ordered these to be served as well, and they ate and were satisfied, and they picked up seven large baskets full of what was left over of the broken pieces. So Jesus prayed, he broke the bread, and they distributed among the people just like they did when he fed the 5,000 back in chapter six. They also had a few sardines, that's what the word means. It's not the same word as when he fed the 5,000. The word when he fed the 5,000 was fish, and this word is, I didn't write it down, so I can't pronounce it, but anyway, it signifies, it means small fish, and It's in reference to sardines. That was a fish product that was caught, I guess, in that part of the Sea of Galilee. And so basically what they had was seven loaves of bread and a few sardines. And so he blessed them and they distributed them as well. All the people ate and were satisfied and they picked up seven large baskets of what was left over. It would be hard for the Lord to make this lesson any clearer. What's the lesson? When you're with the Lord, whatever you have is enough. Because He is enough. Psalm 34 10, those who seek the Lord will not want for any good thing. Another lesson that Jesus is demonstrating visually is that Psalm 34 applies just as much to Gentile crowds that seek him in the Decapolis as it does for Jewish crowds that gather around him on the north shore of the Sea of Galilee. Just like he says in John, verbally in John chapter 10, verse 16, he says, all those who follow him are his sheep, whether Jew or Gentile, they are one flock and he is their great shepherd. In verse nine, lets us know that about 4,000 were there and he sent them away. And Matthew's account says that there were 4,000 men besides women and children. So we know that it's like the 5,000 was probably 15 or 20,000. This is the same way, probably 10 or 12,000. So this is a crowd. And then verse 10, immediately he entered the boat with his disciples and came to the district of Dalmanutha. This is an interesting text because this is the only place in scripture where the name Dalmanitha is used. It's the only place. Matthew's account says they went to Magadan, which is also translated Magdala. It's the city that Mary Magdalene came from. Some scholars believe that this is likely a scribal error that got passed on and copied to many manuscripts, and it could be. However, the text says the district or the region of Dalmanitha, depending on which translation you're reading. So it's possible that Dalmanitha was a name that was used to describe the village or area or region where they landed the boat, and that it just happened to be close to Magadan. It happened to be a short distance from it. And so Matthew says Magadan, although Mark says down the north. It doesn't really matter, but it could be either way. And that's where they go. So the point is, there's a line up there on the map. You can see it probably better than I because I'm co-gliding, but it goes across here. And so they landed about right in there when they get across the lake. Now let's look at verses 11 and 12. Soon as they get out of the boat, the Pharisees came out and began to argue with him, seeking from him a sign from heaven to test him. Sighing deeply in his spirit, he said, why does this generation seek for a sign? Truly I say to you, no sign will be given to this generation. So, When they get out of the boat and they go into Magadan, some Pharisees come out. And they came out specifically to argue with Jesus and to put him to the test. What they want, they're demanding that he produce a sign from heaven. Not just heal somebody. They want a sign from heaven like when he's baptized and a voice spoke from heaven. This is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased. Listen to him. They're demanding that he produce a sign from heaven to prove that he has the authority to teach the things that he's teaching. Here's the problem with that. Jesus had performed many signs. And it wouldn't have mattered if he performed many more. They were not going to be satisfied with any of them. Have you ever been in a conversation with an unbeliever, and they raise an objection? And you answer the objection, and then they raise another one? And you answer that one, and then they raise another one? It never ends. I've been in those conversations. You're not going to reason someone into belief. It's not going to happen. Actually, that's why I believe in presuppositional apologetics. That just means that I presuppose because Romans 1 teaches that everyone knows the truth about God. It's in Romans 1. We're not gonna go there and read it, but it presupposes that everyone knows the truth about God in their heart. And when they continue to argue against the truth, they aren't expressing genuine questions that they need to have answered before they can believe. There's always gonna be another question. Because what they're doing is suppressing the truth and unrighteousness. They don't need to be convinced, they need the Spirit of God to open their eyes to the truth. So just keep telling them the truth. Don't argue with them and try to reason with them about evidence. All the evidence is there, and everybody knows the truth anyway. Well, Jesus has had enough of their persistent unbelief, and he gives them over to more of it. We talked about this in Sunday school this morning because the Bible teaches that we are blind. We are born blind. We're born spiritually blind. We're not alive to the things of God. We don't have sight to see truth about God. We can see physical things. We have physical eyes that can see the physical realm, but we, until the spirit gives life to our eyes, our spiritual eyes, the eyes of our understanding, our heart, until the Spirit gives us light and makes us spiritually alive and gives us spiritual sight. We can't really see the truth about God. We can't really see Christ. We can't really see the glory of God. And so we're triply blind. We're blind because we suppress the truth in unrighteousness. We voluntarily are delusional, self-deluded. We're also blinded by the God of this world. But we're also blinded because God gives us over to blindness. That's what it teaches in Romans 1, that people that persist in unbelief It comes to a point where God just gives them over to that unbelief. And we see that actually taking place right here in this text. Jesus has enough of their persistent unbelief, and he just gives them over to more of it. And it's not that he sighs deeply. He groans is what that means in his spirit. It's a tragic thing. It says because they keep asking for more signs, they're not going to believe the signs that they have and they wouldn't believe if he gave them more. And they're going to prove that because they're going to keep asking for signs right up to the cross. It says because they keep asking for more, no sign will be given to them. They're not going to see any sign. They're going to be blind. They're not going to ever come to the truth. He's given them over. to unbelief. In Mark chapter four, verse 25, it's talking about spiritual knowledge. It's talking about knowledge of God, faith. And the text says, for whoever has to him, more shall be given. And whoever does not have even what he has shall be taken away from him. Verses 13 through 15, leaving them, He again embarked and went away to the other side. And they'd forgotten to take bread and did not have more than one loaf in the boat with them. And he was giving orders to them saying, watch out, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod. After disputing with the Pharisees, Jesus and the disciples, they go back in the boat and they headed for the other side of the lake. And probably in their haste to leave these contentious Pharisees behind, the disciples had forgotten to bring bread with them for the journey when they got back in the boat. And so once they're underway, they noticed that they've only got one loaf. Well, Jesus took advantage of the visual metaphor that's right there in front of them because they're all focused on the shortage of bread. Since that's what's on their minds, he uses that metaphor and he tells them, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod. So what was Jesus talking about? Leaven was a reference to yeast that's added to bread dough in order to make the bread rise. So using leaven as a metaphor suggests a small amount of a substance that has a tremendous effect on something that it's mixed into. In 1 Corinthians 5, 6 through 8, Paul uses leaven as a metaphor for boasting, for hard feelings, malice, and for wickedness, sinful desires, and he's He says these things are like leaven that affect the spiritual life of a Christian radically. In Galatians chapter five and verse nine, Paul uses leaven as a metaphor for the false doctrine that somebody has to be circumcised and keep the law of Moses if they want to be a real Christian. He says that's leaven, that legalism of adding anything to the glorious atonement and salvation that Christ has accomplished by himself. That's leaven and it corrupts you. It radically affects what you believe and how you act. So in those cases, leaven is used negatively, but in Luke chapter 13, verses 20 and 21, Jesus taught, to what shall I compare the kingdom of God? It's like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three pecks of flour until it was all leavened. So leaven just means a small amount of something that radically affects what it's mixed into. It can be good if it's the gospel. It's bad if it's desires of the flesh. Well, the leaven of the Pharisees and of Herod that Jesus is warning the disciples about is unbelief. It's the leaven of unbelief and it displayed itself in the Pharisees and with Herod in a hyper focus on the physical realm. The Pharisees are focused on prosperity, status, external righteousness, and because of this focus, because of this leaven of unbelief, and focus on the physical because they don't see spiritually. They're spiritually blind. Because of that, they'd rather see a physical sign than experience spiritual transformation. And Jesus is warning the disciples against that leaven. Well, in verse 16, it says, they began to discuss with one another the fact that they had no bread. And Jesus, aware of this, said to them, why do you discuss the fact that you have no bread? Do you not yet see or understand? Do you have a hardened heart? Having eyes do you not see? And having ears do you not hear? Do you not remember? When I broke the five loaves for the 5,000, how many baskets full of broken pieces you picked up? They said to him, 12. When I broke the seven for the 4,000, how many large baskets full of broken pieces did you pick up? They said to him, seven. And he was saying to them, do you not yet understand? Well, needless to say, the disciples didn't understand the metaphor when Jesus told them to beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of Herod. They're so focused on their own physical predicament, they couldn't see that Yahweh is sitting in the boat with them. They can't see that the Lord is right there talking to them. How often are we that way? So we get focused on whatever crisis is going on in our lives or in the world around us. We get focused in on on whatever problem we have immediately, or the shape of the world, or the shape of our nation, or all of these different things, and we focus in on that, and we begin to worry about whatever this issue is, instead of recognizing that our shepherd is in the boat with us, and that he is the one who provides for all of our needs. See, just like the disciples, we're still learning to see. So they start discussing the fact that they didn't have any bread. And Mark is probably being generous. If the truth is told, they were probably discussing whose fault it was that they didn't have any bread. They're probably having a conversation something like this. Well, I thought you were gonna take care of it. No, I did it last time. It was Thomas' turn this time. I mean, I could just hear the conversation. And Jesus responds to their discussion something like this. What's wrong with you people? Why in the world are you worried about bread? Are you so blind and hard-hearted and lacking in understanding that you've forgotten everything that's happened. You can't even remember what happened yesterday. And then he reminds them the five loaves and the feeding of the 5,000 and the seven loaves and the feeding of the 7,000 and the abundance that was left over after both meals. And he asked them, do you not yet understand? That yet is good. That yet is a blessing because that yet means that Jesus expects them to understand that it's coming, that they're not done yet. In spite of everything that you've seen, do you still not see me? Let's look at verses 22 through 26. And they came to Bethsaida and they brought a blind man to Jesus and implored him to touch him. Taking the blind man by the hand, he brought him out of the village, and after spitting on his eyes and laying his hands on him, he asked him, do you see anything? And he looked up and said, I see men, for I see them like trees walking around. Then again, he laid his hands on his eyes, and he looked intently and was restored and began to see everything clearly. And he sent him to his home saying, do not even enter the village. This is the first time in Mark's gospel that we specifically see a blind man brought to Jesus for healing. Matthew's gospel doesn't record this particular healing. But Mark does record it because the Holy Spirit is teaching the disciples and us something that we need to see through these things that are being recorded. Normally when Jesus heals someone, he does it wherever he meets them. But with the deaf and mute man back in chapter seven, Jesus took him aside. And with this blind man, Jesus takes him even farther aside. He takes him completely out of the village. And then Jesus spit on the man's eyes, he lays hands on him, but then he asked him if he could see anything. Now, Just like with the deaf and mute man, Jesus didn't need to spit on the guy's eyes, and he didn't need to lay hands on him in order to heal him. He healed people with the word. These things were done for the benefit of the man being healed, and probably for the benefit of whoever brought him to Jesus, and also for the benefit of the disciples as well, so that they could all see that Jesus was the source of the healing. But then Jesus did something really interesting. He asked the man if he could see anything. Most of the time when Jesus healed someone, he gave the command of some sort. He said, go do this or go do that. But this is the only time in scripture that Jesus ever asked the person being healed if the healing had actually been successful or not. It's the only place that happens. And the man looked up, and he gave an even more interesting response. He said, well, I see men, or I see them like trees walking around. Well, why is that interesting? It's interesting because the man can't tell the difference between a person and a tree. He can see a little bit, but he can't see clearly. So the healing that he's received from Jesus was incomplete. This is another only time in scripture. This is the only time that Jesus ever healed anyone that the healing wasn't immediate and complete. You think he was having a bad day? Maybe he was having an off day? No. He was teaching the disciples and he was teaching us something. He was showing us a picture. So then Jesus laid his hands on the man's eyes again and I really like the King James translation of what happened there. It says that he made him look up and he was restored and saw every man clearly. I like that translation because it fits really well with the picture that the Holy Spirit is showing us. This healing is an illustration of the Christian life, and it's no accident that it comes immediately following Jesus' discussion with the disciples about the leaven, about their blindness and their lack of faith. When a person becomes a Christian, they're healed from spiritual blindness. That's what happens. Our eyes are open and we begin to see, but not everything. And not perfectly clearly. In John 16, 12, Jesus told his disciples, I have many more things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. You can't see them yet. But listen to what Paul says about this in 1 Corinthians 13. In 1 Corinthians 13, verses nine through 12, Paul says, for we know in part, and we prophesy in part. But when the perfect comes, the partial will be done away. When I was a child, I used to speak like a child, think like a child, reason like a child. When I became a man, I did away with childish things. For now, we see in a mirror dimly. but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I will know fully, just as I also have been fully known. Now 1 John 3.2. 1 John 3.2, John says, beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we will be. But we know that when he appears, we will be like him because we will see him just as he is. Can you see the picture? Until we're born again, we're in darkness, completely blind. Then the Spirit of God shines in our heart to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ, and we begin to see. We see as in a mirror dimly. And we spend the rest of our lives looking up to Christ and learning to see more and more of Him. And on the last day, we will see Him clearly and we will be conformed perfectly to his image. That's the picture. Then Jesus sent the man home that he'd healed and he told him not to even go into the village. Verse 27 says, Jesus went out along with his disciples to the villages of Caesarea Philippi, and on the way he questioned his disciples, saying to them, who do people say that I am? They told him, saying, John the Baptist, and others say Elijah, the others, one of the prophets. And he continued by questioning them, but who do you say that I am? Peter answered and said to him, you are the Christ. So Jesus and the disciples, they leave Bethsaida. So what they've done, I didn't show you all ago, we'll look at the map for a second, but what they've done is they were in this region, and when they leave the Pharisees, they get back in the boat, they go right over here, Bethsaida. And that's where the blind man is healed. And then, What they're going to do now is they're going to leave Bethsaida, and they're going to go up here to Caesarea Philippi. That's where they're headed. It's 25 miles north. So here's Galilee. Here's the Decapolis, where the 4,000 were fed. This is the Tetrarchy of Philip, the brother of Herod Antipas. They're leaving Bethsaida, they're walking 25 miles north to Caesarea Philippi, and this town is in, as I said, the Tetrarchy, Aeturia was the name of it, but anyway, it's ruled by Herod Antipas' brother, Philip, whose wife, actually, that got John the Baptist's head cut off because she had left Philip and went to be married to Herod. Herod the Great had built a temple at the foot of Mount Hermon, that mountain right there that you can see at the top of the screen. He built a temple honoring Caesar Augustus at the foot of that mountain, and then his son Philip built a town around the temple and called the town Caesarea. Well, there's a Caesarea down here on the Mediterranean coast, south of where the screen, where the map ends there. And so to distinguish the two, Philippi was added to Caesarea. So it's Caesarea Philippi. And as they walk, as they're going up to Caesarea Philippi, they're walking up the road, Jesus begins a conversation with his disciples. And he begins it by asking them, who do people say that I am? And the disciples, they go through the different theories. They gave him the rundown of all the popular theories that are going around among people about who Jesus is. Some say John the Baptist, risen from the dead. Some say Elijah, returned to announce the coming of the Messiah. You remember that was one of the teachings that was taught among the rabbis in the traditions of the elders and it comes from scripture from Malachi that John the bat or that that Elijah was gonna come first and announce the coming Messiah. Jesus said that prophecy was fulfilled in John the Baptist. But a lot of the people believed that that's who Jesus was. He's Elijah. Come back to earth to announce the coming Messiah. He's preaching the kingdom of God is at hand. So he must be Elijah. And then others, some other prophet from the Old Testament returned to life. If you remember from chapter six, Herod Antipas actually subscribed to the theory that Jesus was John the Baptist risen from the grave. And when you think about all these different theories, these things that people thought about Jesus, what I find really amazing about it is that pretty much everybody attributed something supernatural to Jesus. something out of the ordinary, something special. The works that he performed and the words that he spoke couldn't be denied. So everybody was willing to admit that Jesus was something special. He was something different, maybe even great, but their blindness wouldn't allow him to actually see who he was, to actually see him. It means the same thing today. There are scholars who would absolutely deny that Jesus was God incarnate. Oh, he's a great teacher. Well, it's kind of hard to deny. We date history around his life. I find that really interesting, too, that historians have changed the name of it. It used to be A.D., which was Anno Domini, before the dominion of Christ. or after the dominion of Christ, and B.C. was before Christ. Well, they changed it now to before the common era and the common era. It's still the same time frame, though. It's still dated up to Christ and after Christ, so he's still the center of history, even if they change the name. And anyway, that's the rabbit trail. The point is, everybody knew there was something about Jesus, but spiritual blindness wouldn't allow them to see what it actually was. Well, so they've given the theories, and then Jesus gets to the question that he's been building up to, what he's really interested in. He says, but who do you say that I am? In other words, can you see yet? Have you perceived who I really am or are you still stumbling around in the dark? And the answer is amazing because it indicates that sight has been granted and the light is shining through the darkness. Peter answered and said to him, you are the Christ. Now Mark's account doesn't record Jesus' response to Peter's declaration, but Matthew 16, 17 does. Blessed are you, Simon Barjona, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father in heaven. And then Jesus goes on in verse 18 to say, you are Peter, a stone in this foundation. And upon this rock, this bedrock confession, I will build my church. What does all of that mean? Well, seeing that Jesus is the Christ, the son of the living God, who reconciles God and man in himself, that's what makes a person a Christian. Seeing that truth. That's the beginning of the Christian life. That's the first thing you see. When you're born again into the kingdom of God as a child of God, the first thing you see is Jesus. You see who He is and what He's done for you, and that's what makes you a Christian. And this confession that Jesus is the Christ, that's the bedrock truth that is the foundation of the church. Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God, and everyone who sees that truth and trusts in Him is a living stone that's built on that foundation, on that rock, in that church. See, we're born with physical eyes that we see the physical world. When we're born again, we're born with spiritual eyes that see Jesus, that see that Jesus is the Christ. And we spend the rest of our lives looking to him and learning to see more and more of him. That's what's been building up all the way through the last three chapters of Mark is this picture of human blindness and inability to see Jesus for who he is. And he just keeps demonstrating over and over and over again who he is and what he came for. And even his disciples don't see it until the Spirit of God turns on that light in Peter's heart, and he confesses, you are the Christ. We spend our lives, once we, that's the first step in the Christian life, and we spend the rest of our lives learning to see more and more of him. Peter calls it growing in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. And then John tells us, as we read earlier, that on the last day, we will be completely conformed to his image, because we will finally and clearly see him as he is. See, the Bible doesn't just tell us these things, it's showing them to us. What it tells us in John, it shows us pictures of it in Mark. We have it, and that's the reason why they're different, by the way. The Bible tells us and it shows us. It shows to us as well through the signs that Jesus is performing in his earthly ministry. You know why the Jews called the miracles of Jesus signs? Because they're pictures. There are pictures that are meant to show this person as the Messiah. There are signs that are meant to show us something. And everything that Jesus did was a sign that he was holding up saying, here I am. I'm the Lord. Of course, Jesus tells the disciples not to tell anybody about him yet. because his time has not yet come and he still has more signs to show them and others before his earthly ministry is complete. But I hope that the Lord takes this truth and applies it to our hearts and shows us a little bit more of who Jesus is and helps us to see and also inspires us that really our purpose as Christians in this world is to display Jesus, to lift him up. And we do that in a lot of ways because the point of the gospel is that Christ's people would see Him, and that they would learn to see Him more. And when we proclaim Him, who He is, His truth, and when we strive to imitate Him in our lives, we are displaying Christ to the world, and His people will see Him. They'll see Him in us. And we will see more of him as we look to him. And that's what life is all about. Let's pray. Father, we thank you so much for this word and this grace. And these signs that you've shown us. Thank you that we're learning to see. And even though we don't see everything clearly now and we don't see things perfectly, we do see. Thank you for the yet. That although we don't see it all now that there's gonna be a day when we do. And that day is guaranteed because, as Paul's told us, that the one who began this good work in us will complete it. So we know that we will, because of the fact that we've begun to see, we will completely see. So Lord, we just ask you to encourage us with this truth, with these words, and with your grace. And we thank you for all of these things in Jesus name. Amen.