Have you ever tried to teach someone something and the concept or idea is just lost on them? Someone once tried to teach me how to complete a Rubik’s Cube. First, he showed me how he could do it (which I thought was impressive) and then he tried to explain the theory behind how it works. I felt confident that with his instruction and demonstration I could complete the puzzle, so after a number of failed attempts I simply gave up. Still to this day, I am lucky if I can match one colored face on the cube, and I am ok with that.
“Do you still not understand?” These are the words of Jesus found in Mark 8:21. Jesus was talking to his disciples and the intent of the question goes far beyond the moment of not having any bread to eat. The written words on a page have some limitations as to how we perceive Jesus’ emotions when he asked this question. When you take the time to read the first seven chapters of Mark and see all the things that Jesus has done (driving out impure spirits, healing people, forgiving people, raising a girl from the dead, feeding thousands, etc.) I feel like I can say that He might have felt some level of frustration as he tried to teach the disciples. When I read this question I see it from this perspective, “Do you not yet know who I am?”
I am tempted to say that we have a much better picture of who Jesus is today, but when I think of the disciples being by his side and witnessing the incredible miracles he performed I wonder if we really do? When Jesus came into this world, He became the same as us, flesh and blood. The divine person of Jesus Christ took on our human nature. Through His divine nature we see throughout the book of Mark and the other Gospels evidence of His power and glory. One of the things that helps me connect with knowing who Jesus is as our Saviour is to remember that He walked on the very same earth that I live on, he breathed the very same air that I breathe. It is by faith that I believe that Jesus is the Son of God. it is through His word that I can learn and know more about Him.
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