- Any more thoughts on Jesus’ priority on bringing light to those culturally distant from us? Any thoughts on a group response to the Nepal trip report?
- Read the text aloud to each other.
- This is again a fairly long text with several stories: 4000, Jesus’ sigh in response to the Pharisees, the disciples’ confusion, the healing. Feel free to focus your group discussion; you may want to save the healing of the blind man for next week; or, if you feel able, go for an overview of the key themes of these stories.
- Look for connections and contrasts to the first feeding miracle: how do the disciples act? What is Jesus’ motivation? How are the hungry people the same/different in these stories? Why do you think Mark records two similar, yet distinctly different bread-in-the-wilderness stories? Who in the OT gave bread in the wilderness, and why refer to that in Mark, and at this time in the narrative?
- Why do the Pharisees ask for a sign from Jesus at this time? What do you learn from Jesus’ reply to them?
- What was the leaven, or spirit, or motivation of Herod? Of the Pharisees? Just what is Jesus warning the disciples about? What is the connection between Jesus and the feeding miracles that seems to be eluding the disciples?
- Why does Jesus have to heal the blind man twice? How is this story a parable of the disciples’ experience with Jesus?
Application reflections
- What does it mean to us that Jesus is the bread of life, able to supply needs in impossible situations?
- How are we doing in our participation with Jesus in his mission?
- Are we, like the Pharisees, refusing to act on what we see because it does not fit within our presuppositions about God?
- Are we like the disciples, at least asking questions, and in the boat, but still a bit foggy?
- Are we like the blind man, requiring repeated intervention from the Lord?
- Are we suffering from double-mindedness?
- From arrogant self-satisfaction?
- From this-world’s nationalistic expectations?
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