Throughout the Scriptures there is a sad and persistent theme: over and over we see the people of God forgetting Him or not believing that He can be trusted. It’s the story of the people of Israel, a stubborn and forgetful people. And it’s a theme that continues with the closest followers of Jesus, His twelve disciples. Throughout the Gospel of Mark we continue to see the disciples’ dullness of faith and their slowness to truly believe. After all that the disciples had seen and heard during their time with Jesus it can be easy to throw stones. We can shake our heads at their hardheartedness and unbelief in the power and care of Jesus. Yet for all we’ve learned of God from the Scriptures and for all we have seen Him do in history and in our lives, many of us still struggle to trust Him. We too, often fail to see Jesus for who He really is and to trust Him fully. In Mark 8:1-21 we see the disciples’ pattern of unbelief continue. As Jesus confronts them, their slowness to understand persists and draws a stern rebuke from Jesus. Jesus warns them of the danger of their unbelief, but we should also consider the mercy and longsuffering that is shown as Jesus allows them to continue with Him. We are so slow to trust Him, and yet He is kind and merciful to us in our weakness

In a time of uncertainty and political and cultural volatility it can be easy to become overwhelmed. It can easy to lose hope and to give in to despair. Thankfully, as Christians we can return to the Scriptures for perspective. We can look to the Word of God and be reminded that for those who know Christ there is a day coming when all will be well. There is a common way that the story of the Bible and of human history is often summarized: Creation, Fall, Redemption, Consummation. These four words are often used to remind us of the plan of God for the world. He created all things, and He created them perfectly (Gen 1:31). Through sin came the fall and the curse, but through Jesus came redemption. Now, we await the consummation of all things when Jesus calls His people to Himself and restores all that sin has distorted and destroyed. The promise of the Bible is that for those who know Christ a day is coming when all will be well (Rev 21:1-5). In Mark 7:31-37 we have the account of a deaf and mute man who is healed by Jesus. It’s a great reminder of the power and compassion of Jesus. But there’s more to be gleaned from this passage than seeing Jesus as a kind miracle worker. The response of the crowd and Mark’s subtle allusion to Isaiah 35 serve as reminders that Jesus came as the fulfillment of the prophecies of the Old Testament and to set in motion the fulfillment of the promise that all will be well.

As Jesus describes the person of faith in the Sermon on the Mount He describes a person of mercy and humility, a person who recognizes their position before God and lives for Him in righteousness and peace (Matthew 5:3-10). Suffice it to say, it’s a description that stands in stark contrast to the scribes and Pharisees of Jesus’s day (Mark 7:6-13; Luke 20:46-47). In the previous sections of Mark 7 Jesus has rebuked the Pharisees for their callous hearts and their reliance on religion. He taught that defilement doesn’t come from the outside, but that defilement is a matter of the heart. As we come to Mark 7:24-30 we may initially think we have come to a transition in focus. But in fact what Mark reveals through a Gentile woman who comes to Jesus is an example of the kind of faith that Jesus honors. While the religious leaders trusted in themselves and their ability to keep the Law, this unclean Gentile woman exemplifies the kind of humble and genuine faith that Jesus seeks. In addition, through this interaction Jesus foreshadows the inclusion of the Gentiles and the offer of the Gospel going to all nations.

It’s a problem that goes all the way back to the Garden of Eden. All of us are guilty at times of convincing ourselves that our sin is the result of something or someone outside of us. We say things like: I yelled because he cut me off or I lost my temper because I’m under a lot of stress. Whether we recognize it or not we are often tempted to see the source of our sin as something outside of us instead of something within us (James 4:1-2). But not only do we fail to recognize the true source of our sin, we are also prone to turning to the wrong solutions for dealing with our sin. Our nature is to try and justify ourselves. We do something outwardly in an attempt atone for our sins and to earn the favor of God. Thankfully we have the Word of God to help us properly understand both the source and the solution for our sins. In Mark 7:14-23 Jesus makes it clear that the source of our sin is the corruption of our hearts and that there’s nothing that we can do to make our to make ourselves clean.

Throughout the ministry of Jesus we see examples of His mercy and grace toward the lost and wandering. He is full of compassion and is quick to help those who are weak. But we also see, time and time again, that there are those who Jesus strongly and vehemently rebukes. The ones who are most often on the receiving end of Jesus’s reproofs are those who confess God with their mouths but who trust in themselves and in their own good works. As those who are faithful in our habits and practices of faith Mark 7:1-13 should serve as a source of warning. In this passage we are reminded that it is possible to have lives that are characterized by outward forms of godliness but to have hearts that are far from God. We can very easily find ourselves in the trap of maintaining a commitment to religious tradition and yet neglecting any true love for God or His commands.

One of the recurring themes throughout the Gospel of Mark is the disciple’s slowness to true faith in Jesus. It’s true that they were faithful followers of Jesus, and they had a front row seat to all that Jesus said and did. But despite their proximity to Christ and their desire to be with Him, Mark tells us over and over that they still failed to truly see Jesus and believe (Mark 4:40-41; 8:17-18). This becomes evident again following the feeding of the 5,000.

In Mark 6:30-34 we are given a glimpse into the heart of Jesus. As Jesus stands on the shore of the Sea of Galilee and looks over a crowd of thousands who have followed Him into the wilderness Mark records that Jesus has compassion on them because they are like sheep without a shepherd. A common theme in the Scriptures is that God is the perfect Shepherd for His people. Jesus comes as the fulfillment of the promises of God and as the One who will gather the lost and wandering sheep. While the previous section shows the heart of Jesus as the compassionate Shepherd, in Mark 6:35-44 we see how Jesus reveals Himself as a shepherd who can provide for and fully satisfy all who come to Him. Through the feeding of the 5,000 we are reminded that Jesus, our good Shepherd, can be trusted.

As followers of Christ we should long to know the heart of Christ. We should desire to know what He loves and what He hates and what moves Him to action. It’s in the Gospels that Jesus is most fully revealed and in Mark 6:30-34 we see a particularly clear vision of His heart through His interaction with His disciples and His reaction to a persistent crowd. In the passages leading up to this one Mark has been emphasizing the mission of Jesus and the cost of discipleship. It’s clear that the call to follow is a high calling that often requires great sacrifice. While this true, Mark follows this call to costly discipleship with a reminder of the heart of Jesus. He is a sympathetic and caring Lord who has compassion on those who are lost and wandering.

Repentance isn’t a practice that most people enjoy. And it’s certainly not something people want to be told they need to do. In a world that cheers personal autonomy and self-expression, the suggestion that someone’s way of life is something that needs to be repented of is largely considered out of bounds. But as Christians, we recognize the call to repentance is a primary part of the message of the Gospel. It’s only when we repent of our sins and turn to Jesus that we can be forgiven and saved from the wrath of God. As we come to Mark 6:14-29 we encounter a group of people who are fully committed to living for themselves. At the heart of the story is a King who has an affair and who is called to repentance by John the Baptist. In these fifteen verses we get an incredible view of the deceitfulness and destructiveness of sin as well as a stark reminder of the significant opposition we can face as we stand for the things of God in world that is in rebellion against Him.

In the opening verses of Mark 6 Jesus returns to His hometown of Nazareth heralding the same message that He had shared throughout Galilee. But the reception in Nazareth was anything but welcoming. The city was marked by unbelief; an unbelief that Mark says made Jesus marvel. While Jesus was affected by the unbelief in Nazareth, He wasn’t surprised. And their unbelief didn’t deter Him from His mission. He left Nazareth and continued teaching and also did something that He had never done up to this point: He sent out witnesses to speak on His behalf.