With this series of dramatic miracles, Mark concludes the first half of his gospel where he sets forth Jesus as the authoritative Son of God. Even though Jesus’ healing power and compassion are on full display, both the Pharisees and his disciples keep failing to understand who he is because they are spiritually deaf and blind, and have hardened hearts. We too often struggle in the same way to understand Jesus’ identity and purposes for our lives. How do we address this? We should:
I. See Jesus as the compassionate provider through eyes of faith (7:31–8:10)
II. Heed Jesus’ warning against unbelief with ears of faith (8:11–21)
III. Understand who Jesus truly is by a cross-shaped heart of faith (8:22–26)