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Mark

Mark 
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Day 178

2 Peter 2:1a "But there were also false prophets among the people, even as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies..."

Day 178 – Mark 8

“But there were also false prophets among the people, even as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies…” 2 Peter 2:1a

TOTAL MISUNDERSTANDING

Mark, whose mentor was none other than Peter himself, must have been given these special insights. The following text is certainly most unflattering to all the disciples of Jesus.

“And they reasoned among themselves, saying,
‘It is because we have no bread.'”
MARK 8:16

How did the disciples come to this conclusion? Let us ponder the following thoughts:-

1. Past Mistakes

a) Physical details
It is possible that the problem of not looking into this particular detail of daily provision had occurred on previous occasions. (Jesus would have had to address the matter of their Teacher-Disciple relationship. It was customary for disciples to ensure that they look after the physical needs of their Teacher adequately).
b) Carelessness
It is possible that Jesus had addressed the problem of carelessness in attending to physical details. (Consider the details Jesus entered into when He sent out His disciples on a Mission – Cf. Mark 6:7-13)

2. Wrong Focus

a) Focusing on the wrong things
It is entirely possible that the Disciples were focused on the wrong things at this moment.
b) Painful awareness
They were acutely aware of the fact that they indeed had no more than one loaf of bread among them. That situation may indeed be described as having “no bread” at all, for how could one loaf be shared by Twelve hungry men and their Master?
c) Dwelling on the mundane
The Disciples had made a bad mistake in allowing themselves to dwell on the physical and the mundane. They had failed to fathom that Jesus was speaking of something completely different. They had totally misunderstood their Teacher!
3. They reasoned among themselves
No amount of reason would prevail, if the basis of thinking was fundamentally wrong. In fact, the more they reasoned along these false lines of thought, the more they would become ensnared in their own thoughts.