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Yeshua is the Most Important Man Who Ever Lived. The Most Important Man brought the world the Most Important Message, a message that must be believed for human beings, who are alienated from God and headed to Hell, to be reconciled to their Creator and live forever. And being reconciled to our Creator is our greatest need. Everything Messiah did, everything He said, every interaction with others that has been recorded for us in the divinely inspired book of Mark, is extremely important. We want to understand as much as we can about the Most Important Man and His Most Important Message. We want to line up our lives and thoughts with the Most Important Man and His Most Important Message. We want to tell as many people as we can, starting with the Jewish people first, about the Most Important Man and His Most Important Message.
Yeshua was extremely popular among many of the Jewish people. They had heard about the young miracle-working Rabbi from Nazareth, and His great teachings and how He was healing so many from their physical diseases and setting so many free from the influence of the dark kingdom. They were coming to Him from everywhere. During those days another large crowd gathered. Since they had nothing to eat, Yeshua called His disciples to Him and said, “I have compassion for these people; they have already been with Me three days and have nothing to eat. If I send them home hungry, they will collapse on the way, because some of them have come a long distance.”
His disciples answered, “But where in this remote place can anyone get enough bread to feed them?” “How many loaves do you have?” Yeshua asked. “Seven,” they replied. He told the crowd to sit down on the ground. When He had taken the seven loaves and given thanks, He broke them and gave them to His disciples to distribute to the people, and they did so. They had a few small fish as well; He gave thanks for them also and told the disciples to distribute them. The people ate and were satisfied. Afterward the disciples picked up seven basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over. About four thousand were present. After He had sent them away, He got into the boat with His disciples and went to the region of Dalmanutha.
This large crowd Yeshua had been with Yeshua for three days. Who is Yeshua? Someone who wants people to be with Him – a lot of people. And there will be a lot of people with Him one day – millions of the Jewish people and the peoples of the nations.
Yeshua is Someone who has compassion physical needs of those who want to be with Him. In this case, He had compassion for the physical needs of this crowd and expressed that compassion by making sure they had enough to eat.
Yeshua is Someone whom God previously used to feed five thousand with five loaves of bread and two fish. This miracle demonstrates that miracle was not a one-time kind of event.
Yeshua is Someone who is able to feed four thousand, four million or four billion. Yeshua is Someone who can feed the whole world – if only we would let Him by ending our rebellion against Him and His Father, the High King, and becoming loyal to the High King, and His Son, King Yeshua.
Yeshua is Someone whom God can use so that there is more that is left over than there is to begin with.
Yeshua is Someone who gave thanks to God before He ate. And He wants us to express our appreciation to God before we eat.
Yeshua is Someone who can feed the multitudes directly, but frequently chooses to do so indirectly, through the leaders of His Community. Yeshua provides the bread and fish and gives them to His leaders for them to give to the rest of the people – which is why Christians and Messianic Jews must be members of a Community that belongs to Messiah, with God-ordained leaders who are close to Yeshua and receiving nourishment from Him and are sharing that nourishment with the people in that community.
Many of the ordinary Jewish people were attracted to the young Rabbi and liked Him. Most of the religious leaders did not like Him and were opposing Him. The Pharisees (a small group of people who shared a distinct way of understanding Judaism and who were very committed to practice it) came and began to question Yeshua. To test Him, they asked Him for a sign from Heaven.
He sighed deeply (body language indicating frustration and disappointment) and said, “Why does this generation ask for a sign? Truly I tell you, no sign will be given to it.” Then He left them, got back into the boat and crossed to the other side.
There hadn’t been a miracle-working prophet in Israel in centuries. The young Rabbi had been doing amazing miracles rivaling, even excelling the miracles of Moses, Elijah and Elisha. Those miracles were signs showing that Yeshua was close to God and empowered by God. However, when someone doesn’t like you and is biased against you, it seems that no matter how many good things you do, it isn’t enough to satisfy him. That was the situation here with the Pharisees, who demanded Yeshua give them another sign-miracle that would show that God had sent Him. But Yeshua is Someone who doesn’t perform miracles for the whims of fallen creatures.
Yeshua is Someone who doesn’t like to be tested. He knows when He is being tested, when He is being challenged in an inappropriate way, and knows how to avoid an inappropriate test.
Yeshua is Someone who expects faith from people who should know Him the best and be loyal to Him the most. Yeshua is Someone who may sigh deeply, indicating exasperation, for their lack of faith. Make sure that He is not sighing because of you.
The disciples had forgotten to bring bread, except for one loaf they had with them in the boat. “Be careful,” Yeshua warned them. “Watch out for the yeast of the Pharisees and that of Herod.” Yeshua is using leaven as a symbol for corruption. The leaven of the Pharisees included hypocrisy – looking religious on the outside while being far from God on the inside; and the leaven of the Pharisees included corrupting the Word of God by adding man-made teachings and traditions to the Word of God. The leaven of Herod was placing power and wealth above God.
The Pharisees who opposed Yeshua symbolized corrupt religious leadership. Herod represented corrupt material and political leadership. So, Yeshua is warning the future leaders of His Community to avoid temptations that result in religious and political and worldly corruption. But, Messiah’s disciples didn’t understand this. They discussed this with one another and said, “It is because we have no bread.” But, as we have seen before, the disciples were not as spiritually astute as they should have been, and didn’t understand Messiah’s warning about religious and political and material temptations. It should have been clear that He wasn’t warning them about the dangers of not having enough bread. So, Messiah clarified that a lack of bread was not His concern. Aware of their discussion, Yeshua asked them: “Why are you talking about having no bread? Do you still not see or understand? Are your hearts hardened? Do you have eyes but fail to see, and ears but fail to hear? And don’t you remember? When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many basketfuls of pieces did you pick up?” “Twelve,” they replied. “And when I broke the seven loaves for the four thousand, how many basketfuls of pieces did you pick up?” They answered, “Seven.” He said to them, “Do you still not understand?”
Who is Yeshua? Someone who wants us to be spiritually aware, alert, astute. Someone who wants our spiritual eyes to see clearly; our spiritual ears to hear clearly; our hearts to be tender toward God and His Word.
Who is Yeshua? Someone who wants His leaders, and all of His people, not to give into religious or political or material temptations. And if we are not careful, that is something that is easy to do. And regrettably, over the centuries that is something that has happened all too frequently in Messiah’s Community. But by staying close to Messiah, and being faithful to Him and by being focused on the need to call people to repent and the need to proclaim the Good News; and by recognizing the danger of religious hypocrisy and the allure of political power and wealth, we can avoid the leaven of the Pharisees and Herod.
They came to Bethsaida (they were in Galilee, just north of the Kinneret), and some people brought a blind man and begged Yeshua to touch him. He took the blind man by the hand and led him outside the village. When He had spit on the man’s eyes and put His hands on him, Yeshua asked, “Do you see anything?” Yeshua may have used spit, something tangible, something that may have been considered by many to help with healing, to build up the faith of this blind man, who could feel but not see. He looked up and said, “I see people; they look like trees walking around.” The blind man was able to see partially, not completely. This healing, unlike all the other healings that Yeshua did, came in two stages. Once more Yeshua put His hands on the man’s eyes. Then his eyes were opened, his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly. Yeshua sent him home, saying, “Don’t even go into the village.”
Someone observed: The disciples are like this blind man. Yeshua had touched them and their spiritual eyes had been opened – but only partially. They were able to see that Yeshua was close to God and very special, but they didn’t see that He was the divine Son of God; and they didn’t see the complete purpose of His mission – that He not only came to call Israel to repentance and to proclaim the Good News and teach and heal and set people free from the demonic – but He also came to suffer and die to make atonement possible and become the Savior of the World. It was only after Yeshua’s death and resurrection that their spiritual eyes would be completely open, so that they were able to see who Yeshua really is, and understand the fullness of His mission.
Yeshua is Someone who wants to make sure that those who were blind and have had some sight restored, are able to see completely, see fully. Many of us have been spiritually blind and Yeshua has touched us and we have had some sight restore. The question for each one of us is: Am I seeing clearly, the way I need to? Do I clearly see God, and what is important to God and am I lining up my priorities with Him and His priorities?
Not only are the disciples like this man, but humanity is like this man – having been blind, but also having some sight restored by having been touched by the Fathers, by Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and by prophets and priests and kings and holy men and women; and touched especially by the Messiah and His followers. In spite of this, humanity is still unable to see God clearly, still unable to see the only way of salvation – by knowing the Three-In-One God and transferring our loyalties to the Father, Son and Spirit. Humanity needs another touch to see God the way we need to see Him – and that will happen when the Risen Lord returns the second time and touches the world; and then humanity’s eyes will be fully open.
Yeshua took the blind man by the hand and led him outside the village. Yeshua is Someone who did not do miracles to impress the crowds, to cater to their desire to be entertained by miracles, but to serve God and to benefit the individual who needed His help. Beware of those alleged faith healers and miracle workers who perform to impress the crowd – especially when it is followed by collecting an offering.
Yeshua and His disciples went on to the villages around Caesarea Philippi (in Galilee, about 25 miles north of the Kinneret). On the way He asked them, “Who do people say I am?” They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, one of the prophets.” “But what about you?” He asked. “Who do you say I am?” Peter answered, “You are the Messiah.” God had opened the spiritual eyes of Peter so that he was able to see that Yeshua was the Messiah – the ultimate prophet, priest and king; the prophet who most clearly and authoritatively speaks for God; the priest who is able to bring human beings closer to God and bring God closer to human beings; and the king who will rule over Israel and the nations. Yes, He was the Messiah, but at His first coming He would be the Isaiah 53 Messiah; the rejected Messiah; the suffering and the put-to-death Messiah; and then the resurrected Messiah. But, the spiritual eyes of virtually everyone in Israel, including Peter, were not able to see that Messiah would come twice, the first time to be rejected, suffer and die and rise – in order to meet our greatest need – atonement and reconciliation to God. So, not wanting to created additional misunderstanding, Yeshua warned them not to tell anyone about Him – that He was the Messiah.
There are a lot of important questions to ask in life: Why am I here? What is the purpose of life? Is there life after death? Does God exist? If God does exist, does He want me to live in a certain way? Perhaps the most important question of all is the one Yeshua asked His disciples: Who do people say I am?
Yeshua is Someone who wants us to know who He is, and then ask other people that same question He asked His disciples: Who do people say I am? Ask them: Who do you think Jesus is? Where they are right, affirm them. Where they are wrong, correct them. Where they lack knowledge, inform them. This is the basics of evangelism. Now, go, take the initiative and start asking that same question – who do you think Jesus is? – regularly, frequently, to as many people as you can.
The spiritual eyes of virtually everyone in Israel were not able to see that Messiah would not come the first time as a mighty warrior who would drive out the evil Romans and restore the Davidic kingdom Israel. But, Yeshua’s spiritual eyes were fully open. He knew that He is the Messiah who would come twice, the first time to be rejected, suffer and die and rise from the dead. And He wanted His disciples to understand that. He then began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests and the Torah teachers, and that He must be killed and after three days rise again. He spoke plainly about this, and Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him. But when Yeshua turned and looked at His disciples, He rebuked Peter. “Get behind me, Satan!” He said. “You do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.”
Who is Yeshua? The Son of Man – fully human; and the perfect man; the ideal human being; and the powerful and glorious Son of Man who is described in Daniel’s vision – who appeared before the Ancient of Days, God the Father and was given authority to rule humanity forever.
Who is Yeshua? Someone who knew that, even though He was a perfect man, would be rejected and killed by the leaders of the Chosen People, who should have known Him best and supported Him the most; but He also knew that death could not hold Him, and after three days He would rise again and overcome our greatest enemy – death.
Who is Yeshua? Someone who can enable us to rise and overcome death – by helping us know who He is and becoming loyal to Him.
Who is Yeshua? Someone whose spiritual vision is perfect. Someone who never makes a mistake. Someone who is always 100% right. Someone who wants us to trust Him and what He has to say – always, in every situation.
But we are too often like Peter, one of the very greatest of the apostles – divinely inspired and insightful one moment – (You are the Messiah); right about some really important things but the next moment wrong about other really important things, so wrong that we are furthering the satanic agenda (You are the Messiah and will be acknowledged as King Messiah and rule over Israel. You don’t need to be rejected, suffer and die.). All too often we are like Peter – arrogant; thinking that we know better than the Son of God and need to correct the Son of God.
Who is Yeshua? Someone who always had in mind, not human concerns, not what was convenient for Him, not what would advance Him the most in this world, but had as His priority the concerns of God – what most advances God’s agenda.
Messiah knew that He must choose a life dedicated to serving God, even if it meant rejection, suffering and death. He could not chose a life dedicated to comfort, worldly power and success. And, He made it clear that we must make the same choice He did. Then He called the crowd to Him along with His disciples and said: “Whoever wants to be My disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow Me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for Me and for the Gospel will save it. What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul?
Messiah is Someone who was mission driven, purpose driven. His mission was to serve God and proclaim the Good News. We can’t be His followers if we aren’t too.
If we choose a life of playing it safe by being quiet; not offending others by keeping the Good News quiet; if we choose a life of comfort and worldly success, we will lose our life.
Yeshua is Someone who knows that a life of suffering, deprivation, unpopularity, followed by eternal life, is a much better deal than an easy life now, followed by forfeiting our soul in Hell.
Yeshua is Someone who wants us to be bold, courageous, unembarrassed of Him, unembarrassed of His Message, proud of Him and all of His teachings. If anyone is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of them when He comes in His Father’s glory with the holy angels.”
He is Someone who knows that He and His Father are good and holy, and the world is corrupt, evil, twisted; and that the world is real and powerful to us and will pressure us to not oppose it; but He wants us to oppose the world anyway by being bold and courageously speaking the truth.
So, what do we learn about who Yeshua is from this divinely inspired chapter?
Yeshua is the Most Important Man Who Ever Lived who brought the world the Most Important Message.
Yeshua is Someone who wants people to be with Him – a lot of people.
Yeshua is Someone who has compassion for the needs of those who want to be with Him and is committed to meeting their physical and spiritual needs.
Yeshua is Someone whom God used to feed five thousand with five loaves of bread and two fish. Yeshua is Someone who is able to feed four thousand, four million or four billion. Yeshua is Someone who can feed the whole world – if only we would let Him.
Yeshua is Someone whom God can use so that there is more that is left over than there is to begin with.
Yeshua is Someone who gave thanks to God before He ate. And He wants us to express our appreciation to God before we eat.
Yeshua is Someone who can feed the multitudes directly, but frequently chooses to do so indirectly, through the leaders of His Community.
Yeshua is Someone who doesn’t like to be tested.
Yeshua is Someone who expects faith and loyalty from people who should know Him the best and be loyal to Him the most.
Yeshua is Someone who may sigh deeply, indicating exasperation, for their lack of faith.
Yeshua is Someone who wants our spiritual eyes to see clearly; our spiritual ears to hear clearly; our hearts to be tender toward God and His Word.
Yeshua is Someone who wants His people to not to yield to religious or political or material temptations.
Yeshua is Someone who wants to make sure that those who were blind and have had some sight restored, are able to see completely, see fully.
Yeshua is Someone who did not do miracles to impress the crowds, to cater to their desire to be entertained by miracles, but to serve God and to benefit the individual who needed His help.
Yeshua is Someone who wants us to know who He is, and then ask other people the same question He asked His disciples: Who do people say I am?
Yeshua is the Son of Man – fully human; the ideal human being; and the powerful and glorious human who appeared before the Ancient of Days and was given authority to rule humanity forever.
Yeshua is Someone who knew that, even though He was a perfect man, would be rejected and killed by the leaders of the Chosen People, who should have known Him best and supported Him the most; but after three days He would rise again and overcome our greatest enemy – death.
Yeshua is Someone who can enable us overcome death – by helping us know who He is and transferring out loyalties to Him.
Yeshua is Someone who whose spiritual vision is perfect. He is Someone who wants us to trust Him and what He has to say – always, in every situation.
Yeshua is Someone who always had as His priority, not His own personal agenda, but the concerns of God.
He is Someone who was purpose driven. His mission was to serve God and proclaim the Good News. He is Someone who tells us that we can’t be His followers if we aren’t too.
Yeshua is Someone who wants us to be courageous and proud of Him, His Message and all of His teachings.
May God enable Yeshua be all these things to us and may we respond faithfully to all that He is and become all that we should be. Amayn? Amayn!