I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on Mark 8-9.

    Today’s passage begins with the account of the feeding of the four thousand. This is the second account of Jesus feeding a large number of people. What always strikes me about this passage is the disciples’ response when Jesus asks them to feed the people. They had witnessed Him feed the five thousand, yet they react as if it is impossible to feed this crowd, one which was slightly smaller than the previous one. I look at this and wonder how they could not believe that Jesus could feed this group when He had fed the previous one. Of course, how often do we do the very same thing? We witness God perform a miracle, then a short time later we doubt that He will, or perhaps even that He can, perform another one. Immediately after this Jesus and His disciples got into a boat and crossed over the Sea of Galilee. When He got there some Pharisees met Him and started to argue with Him. They soon demanded that He perform a miraculous sign to prove that He had the authority to make the argument He had made. Once again, this comes after Jesus had recently miraculously fed two large groups of people, healed numerous people, and driven demons out of numerous others. Are we looking for a sign, or are we instead listening to what Jesus has to say?

    I have long loved the story of the boy whom the disciples could not heal while Jesus was on the mountain. What I love about it is the father’s response to Jesus. First the father asks Jesus to help the boy, “if you can.” Then when Jesus tells him that anything is possible if a person believes, he responds, “I do believe, help me overcome my unbelief.” I never before noticed how this fits into the theme from the beginning of the passage. The disciples had witnessed Jesus’ many miracles, but did not see how they could feed the crowd. The Pharisees demanded a miraculous sign to validate Jesus’ teachings. The father wanted with all of his heart to believe that Jesus could heal his son. Do we share that father’s desperation to believe that God can perform the miracles?

    There is one more story about faith in this passage. When John told Jesus about the man they told to stop using Jesus’ name to cast out demons we do not usually see this as a story about faith. Nevertheless it is. The man who was using Jesus’ name would not have done so if he did not have faith that Jesus had power over demons. Jesus recognized the man’s faith and honored it. The man in this story may not have known much about Jesus, but he knew that He had power over evil. Once someone starts down the path to faith in Christ, they will find it difficult to turn away. Writing about this reminds me of something which Jesus said elsewhere. Jesus said that He came to divide. As followers of Christ we are not called to make common cause with those who reject His message. The time will come when everyone must choose a side. Jesus knew that this man who believed in the good that could be done in Jesus’ name would not soon be convinced that Jesus or His followers were evil.