Jesus had been revealing who he was to his followers.  The story now takes a turn and Jesus reveals more fully who he is and what it means to follow him.

We may want to be right and clean before a holy God.  We attempt to make ourselves acceptable to God by the outward things we do.  Jesus brings us to the conclusion that our problem is deep within us, in our hearts.  Only he can make us acceptable by what he does in us internally.

When Jesus feed the 5000 he was doing more then just satisfying physical hunger. He was training his followers to discover the secret of serving Him.

We may wish to control Jesus. The disciples discovered in a harrowing experience that Jesus was untameable.

Many people are working feverishly through religion to try to please God and find acceptance through rigorous law-keeping. Jesus has a better way. He is then end of the ceaseless striving of religion.

Sometimes we think our lives would be so much better if we could have God remove some obstacles or challenges. Jesus helps us understand that our problem goes deeper and that He is the only solution.

Mark tells the story of Jesus in such a way as to present clues about his identity. As readers we are to be able to connect the dots and come to the conclusion that he is the Messiah, the Son of God.

We are introduced to Mark’s Gospel and the stage is set for discovering who this Servant King is, why he has come and what it means to follow him.

When Jesus died on the cross, the hopes, dreams and aspirations of his followers died. Sunday was a surprise for everyone and breathed hope into the hopelessness of humanity.