CHILDREN’S STORY:
Jesus was traveling to different communities with the apostles, teaching people about God and healing them.
One day, he was speaking to a crowd of about 4,000. The crowd had been with Jesus for three days and had nothing to eat.
“My heart is moved with pity for the crowd,” he said. “If I send them away hungry to their homes, they will collapse on the way, and some of them have come a great distance.”
Jesus took seven loaves of bread and a few fish, blessed the food and fed the crowd until they were satisfied. There were even seven baskets of scraps left over.
In another place Jesus and his friends traveled, the Pharisees wanted to test Jesus by demanding a sign from heaven.
Jesus sighed deeply.
“Why does this generation seek a sign? Amen, I say to you, no sign will be given to this generation,” he said.
As Jesus and his friends prepared to travel to another place, he gave them a warning.
“Watch out, guard against the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod,” he said.
When the friends came to Bethsaida, some people brought a blind man to Jesus and begged for Jesus to touch him.
Jesus took the man by the hand and led him outside the village. He put spittle on the man’s eyes and laid his hands on the man.
“Do you see anything?” Jesus asked.
“I see people looking like trees and walking,” the man replied.
Jesus laid his hands on the man’s eyes a second time. His vision was restored, and he could see everything distinctly.
Afterward, Jesus and the apostles set out for the villages of Caesarea Philippi.
Along the way, Jesus asked his friends a question.
“Who do people say that I am?” he asked.
“John the Baptist, others Elijah, still others one of the prophets,” they said.
“But who do you say that I am?” Jesus wanted to know.
“You are the Christ,” Peter said.
Jesus then warned his friends not to tell anyone about him.
Jesus began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer greatly and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests and the scribes, and be killed, and rise after three days.
READ MORE ABOUT IT:
Mark 8
Q&A
1. Who did Jesus heal?
2. Who did Peter say Jesus was?
ESSAY: Describe a time when someone asked you to wait before being allowed to share important information with others.
BIBLE ACCENT:
Peter was not the first person to recognize that Jesus was the Messiah.
In Luke 2:22, we read that when Jesus was an infant, Mary and Joseph took him to the Temple in Jerusalem to present him to God and make a sacrifice.
This fulfilled what is written in the law: “Every male that opens the womb shall be consecrated to the Lord” and to offer the sacrifice of “a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons.”
There was a man in Jerusalem named Simeon who was righteous and devout, and the Holy Spirit was with him.
The Spirit had revealed to him that he would not see death until he had seen the Messiah.
Simeon came to the Temple, filled with the Holy Spirit, on the same day as Mary, Joseph and Jesus.
When Simeon saw Jesus, he took the infant into his arms and blessed God.
“Now, Master, you may let your servant go in peace, according to your word, for my eyes have seen your salvation, which you prepared in sight of all the peoples, a light for revelation to the gentiles and glory for your people Israel,” he said.
SPOTLIGHT ON THE SAINTS:
St. Oswald of Worcester
St. Oswald lived in the 10th century and was descended from a Danish military family.
He was educated by his uncle, the archbishop of Canterbury, England. He served as a canon, then as a priest and dean, at Winchester Cathedral.
He continued his studies in France and became a Benedictine. In 961, he was named bishop of Worcester, England, where he founded monasteries, promoted scholarship and established a great musical tradition.
Oswald was devoted to the poor and revered for his sanctity. He died in 992 after washing and kissing the feet of 12 poor men, which was his annual Lenten custom.
We remember him on Feb. 28.
PUZZLE:
Using the hints provided, put a T next to the sentences that are true and an F next to the ones that are false.
1. ___ Jesus said he’d be ashamed of those who are ashamed of him. (Mark 8:38)
2. ___ Jesus said that those who seek to save their lives will do so successfully. (Mark 8:35)
3. ___ Jesus foretold his suffering and death, and Peter rebuked him. (Mark 8:31-32)
4. ___ Jesus told Peter that he thought just like God. (Mark 8:33)
Answers: 1. T; 2. F; 3. T; 4. F