Mark 7 ended with a declaration from the multitudes about Jesus, “He has done all things well.” His character and His nature is beginning to be recognized as much as His power. He is still being followed, in large part because of the miracles that are being seen but there is growth happening in the crowd, there are individuals, even pockets of people that are beginning to ask each other if Jesus could be the Messiah and there are a few, including some of the apostles, the Syro-Phoenician woman and I believe the Gadarene that had been freed from demons that have had the eyes of their hearts open in such a way that they have looked beyond Jesus’ power, seen His character and recognized His identity. Mark 8 will break into at least three different scenes that are all connected to each other and all build upon each other. First there will be another miracle of provision, Jesus’ compassion will be evident and reveal the heart of His Father our Shepherd. From that miracle will come a demand for a sign, or as we will talk about it later, a requirement for Jesus’ message of truth to fit into society’s definition of relevance; Jesus will show us that truth is absolute but man’s definition of relevance is constantly changing and so truth does not fit into our demands our demands must always be subject to truth. Then will come another miracle, the opening of blind eyes which will lead to the opening of blind hearts. And finally, in chapter 8 the truth purpose of the Messiah will be revealed as Jesus will reveal His calling and the path that every disciple must also follow. Tonight we will begin with the first miracle of the passage, the feeding of the 4,000.