Here are some ideas for learning and teaching a few of the great principles in Matthew 15-17, Mark 7-9. And while you’re here, I recommend you check out my free online course, “Seeking Jesus.”
Short Clips from Seeking Jesus
I’ve pulled out short clips from the “Seeking Jesus Course” connected to this week’s readings that you could use as a morning devotional or spiritual thought.
Fence Laws and Missing the Mark (see also this longer video on fence laws)
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Ideas for Teaching Matthew 15-17, Mark 7-9
***Greatest Hits of Faith***
In Matthew 14, Jesus Christ fed five thousand men, plus women and children, with only five loaves and two fishes. In the very next chapter, four thousand men, plus women and children, were listening to Christ. The Savior said, “I have compassion on the multitude, because they continue with me now three days, and have nothing to eat: and I will not send them away fasting, lest they faint in the way” (Matthew 15:32). You would think that the disciples would say, “Do another miracle,” but instead they respond, “Where will we get enough bread to feed so many people?” (see Matthew 15:33).
“What?” we might say. “Have you already forgotten the previous miracle? Don’t you remember the five thousand? Surely the Lord can feed four thousand!” But the disciples seem to have forgotten that the Savior’s power is more than sufficient. Partly because the disciples’ reaction seems so incongruous, some believe that the feedings of the five thousand and the four thousand are simply two versions of the same event. Or maybe the disciples remembered the miracle but did not want it to appear that they were expecting it. Given my own experience with forgetting the miracles God has done for me, I think it’s also possible that the disciples, like me, didn’t deeply remember the miracle Christ had previously performed. They might have cognitively remembered it, but they had not engraved it in their hearts.
In order to remember the miracles I’ve seen, I’ve mimicked Hebrews 11 by making my own “greatest hits of faith,” recounting miracles I have personally seen. I wrote it in a similar style to Hebrews 11—I touched on the experience, but did not mention the details.
***A great activity could be to invite learners to write down their greatest hits of faith, recognizing that for some individuals they might not yet have developed very many. But gathering even a couple can help fan the flame of faith. A list might look something like this:
By faith, I saw my brother healed when I was only a small boy. By faith, I found my key amidst a multitude of 1,000. By faith, Jeff and Ed McGee were baptized, bringing great joy to their family and helping me start my own. By faith, my wife and I were able to move Mexico, which positively influenced our family. By faith, we found success in the set-a-date program multiple times as we helped others be baptized. By faith, we found housing in Cambridge when no good options seemed available. By faith, we were able to sell our home in Miami during a housing crisis. By faith, we found an incredible opportunity that allowed our family multiple opportunities to live in China, after following a prompting to learn Chinese. . . .
***A Three-Fold Pattern***
On a whiteboard or other visual, write three headings on the board: Christ predicts his death, The disciples misunderstand, and The Savior teaches servant leadership.
I’ll explain what I would teach in class below, but if you teach this to a class, rather than just share this information, it might be better to give learners verses to read and then construct a chart together on the whiteboard or some other visual aid.
In Mark 8-10 there’s a threefold pattern of servant leadership. The basic pattern is this: Jesus predicts his death, his disciples misunderstand—they focus on worldly leadership, and then Jesus explains servant leadership.
In Mark 8:31 we read, “And [Jesus] began to teach them, that the Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected of the elders, and of the chief priests, and scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again. And he spake that saying openly” (Mark 8:31-32). So there’s the first prediction. Then Peter misunderstands, “And Peter took him [aside], and began to rebuke him” (Mark 8:32). Peter is thinking, “You’re wrong Jesus. You’re a conquering king, not a suffering one.” Then the Savior teaches servant leadership. In verse 34 Jesus says, “Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel’s, the same shall save it” (Mark 8:34-35).
That’s the first round of this pattern. Here’s the second: Mark 9:31 says, “For [Jesus] taught his disciples, and said unto them, The Son of man is delivered into the hands of men, and they shall kill him; and after that he is killed, he shall rise the third day” (Mark 9:31). Now imagine you’re one of Jesus’ disciples. You’re walking along with him, Jesus announces this, and then he walks ahead a few steps. So now you’re just behind with your fellow disciples. What do you think you would start talking about? Maybe, “Wow Jesus is saying he will be killed. What does he mean? How can we help him out?” Is that what the disciples said?
In verse 33, we read that when they returned to Capernaum Jesus asked his disciples, “‘What were you arguing about on the way?’ But they were silent, for on the way they had argued with one another who was the greatest” (Mark 9:33-34, NRSV). Can you see out they are focused on a different kind of kingdom than Jesus is? So once again, Jesus teaches the disciples about servant leadership. In verse 35, “He sat down, called the twelve, and said to them, ‘Whoever wants to be first must be last of all and servant of all.’ Then he took a little child and put it among them; and taking it in his arms, he said to them, ‘Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes not me but the one who sent me’” (Mark 9:35-37, NRSV).
This pattern occurs a third time, starting in Mark 10:32. “[Jesus] took the twelve aside again and began to tell them what was to happen to him, saying, ‘See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be handed over to the chief priests and the scribes, and they will condemn him to death; then they will hand him over to the Gentiles; they will mock him, and spit upon him, and flog him, and kill him; and after three days he will rise again’” (Mark 10:32-34, NRSV). When Jesus says this, what’s an appropriate response? Something like “Wow. Thank you, Jesus. We love you. We’re so grateful for you.”
But instead, right after Jesus pours out his heart “James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came forward to him and said to him, ‘Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you’” (Mark 10:35, NRSV)). What a strange statement! But Jesus, ever patient, says, “‘What is it you want me to do for you?’ And they said to him, ‘Grant us to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your glory’” (Mark 10:36-37, NRSV)). So, while Jesus is explaining his death, James and John are focused on who gets the best heavenly seats. And in verse 41 we learn that “When the ten heard this, they began to be angry with James and John” (Mark 10:41, NRSV).
Once again, Jesus teaches about servant leadership, saying, “You know that among the Gentiles those whom they recognize as their rulers lord it over them, and their great ones are tyrants over them. But it is not so among you; but whoever wishes to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you must be slave of all. For the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many” (Mark 10:42-45, NRSV).
The pattern is clear: Jesus predicts his death, the disciples misunderstand, focusing on worldly power, and Jesus teaches the importance of servant leadership. This is a powerful concept, and we probably have it in our heads, but more importantly, is it in our hearts?
***This would be a great time to invite learners to ponder what servant leadership might look like in a family context? At school? At work? With friends? In what ways might Jesus say to each of us, “You must be [the] slave of all. For the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many” (Mark 10:44–45).
You can see a diagram and sample teaching of this principle here. You can download the PowerPoint used in the video here.
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I hope these resources are helpful to you in your learning and teaching this week!
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