What is the unquenchable fire?
(Mark 8:22 – 9:50; Leviticus 2:13; 1 Corinthians 13:12; Colossians 4:6) Blog Aug. 11-17, 2024
Prepared by Richard A. Marin: <PresentTruthLRI@gmail.com>
REVIEW: Mark shows Jesus healing the sick, casting out demons, teaching in parables, and conflicting with the religious leaders over their formal religion that placed tradition over the Word of God.
Seeing Clearly
1. When a blind man is brought to Jesus for healing in Bethsaida, what does Jesus do? Jesus leads the blind man out of town by the hand, spits in his eyes & touches them (Mark 8:22-23).
2. What results does the blind man experience from Jesus’ spit and touch? The blind man is able to see partially, but men appear as trees walking (Mark 8:23-24).
3. What further action did Jesus take that restored the blind man’s vision completely? Jesus again put his hands upon the blind man’s eyes & made him look up & his sight was completely restored (Mark 8:25).
4. What spiritual lessons might we learn from the story of the blind man’s delayed healing? We should remember that until Jesus comes again & touches us with immortality we only see as through a glass darkly. We should also remember that in the Christian life we grow from faith to faith so that our spiritual discernment (eyesight) must increase together with our faith (looking up) (Luke 17:5; Rom. 1:17; 1 Cor. 13:12; 15:51-53; Heb. 5:11-14).
5. What story follows that illustrates the disciples need of a second touch? Jesus asked the disciples who people thought he was & then who they thought he was, to draw them into an understanding of what the Messiah’s mission would be on earth. Then he told them that the Messiah was to suffer many things, be rejected by the religious leaders, be killed, & rise the third day. They did not believe nor understand this until after Jesus rose from the dead (Mark 8:27-33; Luke 24:33-34).
6. What did Peter dare to do when Jesus explained his mission as Messiah? Peter boldly told the Lord that he was all wrong (Mark 8:32).
The Cost of Discipleship
7. After Jesus told his disciples that he must suffer, be rejected, and be killed, to what form of death did he refer? In telling his disciples what following him meant, Jesus referred to crucifixion on a cross (Mark 8:34).
8. Why did Jesus use such graphic language to describe how his followers should live? Jesus said that his followers should deny their own personal interests & be prepared for scorn, ridicule, & death because the principles of Satan’s kingdom are just the opposite: self-preservation, self-interest, & getting everything you can for yourself, And those in his kingdom will end up being eternally destroyed. The contrasts are extremely serious (Mark 8:34-38).
9. How did Jesus describe the future of those who forsake earthly gain to follow him? Those who forsake earthly gain to follow Jesus will receive eternal life & glory when Jesus returns in glory with his holy angels (Mark 8:34-38).
10. What picture of eternal glory followed Jesus’ description of the lifestyle of his disciples? Jesus was revealed to three of his disciples in shining, white glory on the mount of transfiguration with Moses & Elijah (representing Old Testament saints) present (Mark 9:1-4).
11. To whom did God say that the disciples especially needed to listen? God said that the disciples needed to listen to Jesus, whom Peter had recently rebuked & whose statement about “rising from the dead” they didn’t understand (Mark 9:8-10).
Clouded Thinking
12. Back in the valley what problem did the nine other disciples have? The nine, who had already cast out many daemons on their first missionary journey, were unable to cast out a dumb spirit from a little boy (Mark 9:14-27; 3:15; Matt. 10:1).
13. After healing the devil-possessed boy what did Jesus tell his disciples? Jesus told them that that kind of dumb spirit can only be removed by prayer & fasting. The disciples probably needed more of these to understand what Jesus said about his death & resurrection also (Mark 9:28-32).
14. What were the disciples discussing while travelling back to Capernaum? Rather than discussing what Jesus meant by being killed & rising the third day, they were discussing which of them was most important (Mark 9:33-34).
15. Knowing what the disciples had been discussing, what lesson did Jesus give them? Jesus taught them that in his kingdom humbly serving others was the most important thing (Mark 9:35-37).
16. What two examples of humble service did Jesus give? Giving a drink to a disciple of Jesus & encouraging (rather than discouraging) a young believer in Jesus are two ways to humbly serve others (Mark 9:38-42).
17. How did Jesus emphasize the extreme importance of not offending in God’s kingdom? Jesus suggested that it would be better to drown in the sea or lose a limb or eye than to offend God or one of his children (Mark 9:42-48).
18. What option did Jesus give to those who were offenders in God’s kingdom? Jesus only offered the consuming fire of hell to offenders. If we are not cleansed from by life’s fiery trials then the fiery conviction of God’s Spirit will torment us till we die eternally. Overcomers will dwell eternally “midst the stones of fire” for they have been salted with grace & have peace one with another (Mark 9:43-50; Lev. 2:13; Eze. 28:14; Gal. 1:3; Col. 4:6).