Mark Chapter 8 – Being Mindful of the Things of God
While living on Earth, Jesus clearly knew and remained focused on accomplishing God’s purpose. Jesus came forth to this world so that He could preach (Mark 1:38) and eventually sacrificed His life to redeem all of mankind (John 12:24).
In addition to preaching, Jesus often showed compassion and performed miracles for those who sincerely sought and had faith in Him. For example, the beginning of Mark 8 records Jesus feeding the four thousand (Mk 8:1-10). Jesus saw their needs and abundantly provided for them.
However, some people were only mindful of the things of men, causing them to miss the main point of Jesus’ coming. They sought physical healing instead of the spiritual healing that only Jesus could provide. Perhaps, this is one of the reasons why Jesus often told people not to share information about the miracles. The healing of a blind man at Bethsaida, recorded in Mark 8:22-26, was not the first time Jesus had healed someone, but He told the man to keep it quiet. Similarly, Jesus instructed the relatives of the resurrected girl (Mk 5:43), the healed deaf-mute (Mk 7:36), and even unclean spirits (Mk 3:12) not to proclaim who He was or share how He had healed them. Jesus knew it was not yet time to reveal His identity, as doing so might hinder His main purpose. The crowd might seek Jesus to the extent of possibly harming Him (Mk 3:9).
The crowd exemplifies those who are not mindful of the things of God. Similarly, Peter too was not yet mindful of the things of God. Despite proclaiming Jesus’ identity as the Christ, Peter was unable to understand Jesus’ main purpose. Peter was therefore unable to accept that Jesus must suffer many things and eventually be crucified (Mk 8:33).
The last part of this chapter lists some of the attributes of someone who is mindful of the things of God.
Mark 8:34-35:
“Whoever desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel’s will save it’
Today, are we mindful of the things of God? Are we willing to commit to His purpose?