Jesus' Leadership: Mark 8

Four Thousand Fed
vv 1-13.

• v2. Jesus has compassion on the crowd. He recognizes they will suffer from hunger if sent home without food. First of all, this shows how charismatic a teacher he was, that people would neglect their well being to listen to Him for three days! Further, it shows Jesus' empathy and awareness of the condition of His followers. He does not lead them to a place where their needs will be unmet. Through this empathy Jesus sustains them while they pursue Him.
• v4. The disciples seem to have forgotten feeding the 5000. This has got to be frustrating for Jesus! This is a reminder that often it takes a while for those we are leading to really understand our vision.
• v6-7. Again, Jesus empowers the disciples to be the ones to distribute the food. Perhaps this grew their compassion as well.
• v12. Jesus sighs deeply! I imagine it like this...Mmmmmphhhhhhh. Is this His way of not lashing out immediately in anger at the Pharisees? Regardless, Jesus demonstrates extreme self-control by not granting the request of His opponents.
  

Yeast of the Pharisees
vv 14-21. Following from v4, Jesus addresses the fact that the disciples still don't understand who He is. As leaders we need to prepare ourselves for this reality; that often what we understand so well, what we have been thinking about for some time, what seems so real for us, is potentially going to take a while to sink in fully for our followers. We need patience. What's humbling as well is to remember that we are in a constant state akin to that of the disciples; of not understanding Jesus fully. Therefore, our experience as followers should give us empathy for the times when our leadership is not fully understood.

Blind Man in Bethsaida
vv 22-26. This story has always raised questions for me...why wasn't the man healed the first time? Maybe Jesus did this as a gift to us imperfect leaders as a reminder that change is a process. In healing this man Jesus stopped to check in on this process. He then continued with the healing. This could apply to several contexts but it is acutely applicable to ministry. When I disciple it is often difficult when results are not immediate. Simple idea but certainly worth learning from, especially in a day and age when there is an expectation for the instant.

Peter's Confession
vv 27-30. In a sense, this is the original "Come to Jesus" meeting! Following their recent misunderstandings, Jesus tests the disciples again to see where they stand. In a sense, He's getting the team all on the same page. What joy there must have been in Peter's recognition. It's these aha! moments that leaders in ministry, or leaders at work, or parents at home with kids live for.

A Prediction of Death
vv 31-9:1. Just when the disciples had come to a new level of understanding, Jesus stretched them again, giving them a challenging vision. Then in v34 He declares the cost of following Him. Peter's rebuke shows that though he had just come to a new level of understanding, thee was still a long way to go. I am reminded that understanding does not happen all at once...it would be wise for us to celebrate the mile markers then, and not just the finish line.

Jesus is upfront, not hiding anything about the cost of being part of His mission. Many may fall away in these times, but those left will be of good character.