Mark 8:27-30 Who do you think I am?
Format for Your Devotions
Instructions: Do not read my example devotion until you have completed your own devotional time in the scriptures. Reading my thoughts first may limit your own understanding. Let the Holy Spirit speak to you alone before looking to see what anyone else has to say, whether it is me, a Bible commentary, or a friend. Let God speak to you before you let another person speak to you. I have provided a format, but modify it to fit your needs. For example, I usually combine my application and prayer together talking to God about the application to my own life. You can go through this devotion process mentally, speaking out loud, or in writing as you wish. Don’t worry if you are not following this process exactly. Sometimes, I add extra information and sometimes I emphasize one part more than others. However, you should always think about what you learn about God from this passage.
Step 1: Pray–Ask for the Holy Spirit’s guidance first of all and that God may reveal the lessons that He wants you to have that day. Request that God protect you from Satan’s distractions (and the devil will try to distract you whether it is pinching the baby or putting you to sleep). Ask to see God more clearly as you read and think about the passage.
Step 2: Read the passage–Read to get an overview of the information first. Then start looking at specific parts after the first reading. You may read a larger or smaller section than I have here because you do not have to follow my organization at all.
Step 3: Understand the passage–You can summarize, ask and answer your own questions about the passage, visualize the story, analyze the characters, and relate this passage to other scriptures and personal experiences.
Step 4: What does this reveal about God?–What do you learn about the Father, Son, and/or Holy Spirit from this passage?
Step 5: Apply this to your own life.
Step 6: Prayer
My Example Devotion: February 16, 2018, Mark 8:27-30
Note: In the devotion examples, I leave my questions and thought processes in the text because I am trying to demonstrate that a devotional time is a dialogue with God about what you are reading from His word. As such, any questions or ideas that you have should be explored by talking it out with God. These example devotions are not my attempts to teach you what the meaning of a particular scripture is. They are an attempt to teach you the process of devotions, which is a combination of prayer and Bible study where you explore ideas with God as you read His word.
And Jesus went on with his disciples to the villages of Caesarea Philippi. And on the way he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that I am?” And they told him, “John the Baptist; and others say, Elijah; and others, one of the prophets.” And he asked them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter answered him, “You are the Christ.” And he strictly charged them to tell no one about him.
(Understanding the Text) They left Bethsaida and went to the villages of Caesarea Philippi. That means that they were traveling by foot to the north, south, and/or east of Bethsaida. As they walked, they talked. Jesus asked the disciples about what they had heard from the crowds of people who gathered around Him. He asked them who people thought He was. The disciples told Him that some thought that He was John the Baptist. This would mean that people thought that John the Baptist had risen from the dead. This is illogical as Jesus was nothing like John the Baptist from ministry to appearance. John the Baptist did not perform miracles. This shows how large the name of John the Baptist had loomed in people’s minds. Some people said that Jesus was Elijah returned. Here they were working with a prophecy. Some people believed that Jesus was just a prophet.
Then, Jesus asked the disciples who they believed that He was. Peter answered that Jesus was the Messiah. At this point, Jesus did not want to make that claim as it was not yet time to proclaim His mission. This was the gathering time when people were given a chance to hear the message, not the climax when He would be rejected. He told the disciples not to make the claim of Messiah about Him yet.
(Revelation of God) Jesus and the disciples must have talked of many things in their travels on the Sea of Galilee and as they walked from place to place. Maybe the reason that Jesus did not want the blind man to go back into the village was because He wanted time alone with His disciples, so He was not ready yet for crowds to gather. A lot of Jesus’ ministry seems to be about timing and hurry up and wait. In some ways it seems like this was a time when He was in a holding pattern. He kept crisscrossing the Sea with seemingly no pattern going to one side and then another eventually reaching most of the places around the area, but not in a systematic way unless the system was to go to a place far away from where He had just been in order to let the seeds He had sewn have time to spread and grow. By going to a new place where He had not been before, He spread new seeds. He was not going to harvest these seeds. They were for His disciples to harvest later. However, beyond that, there does not seem to be a pattern. It was like He was wondering around Galilee waiting for the time to go to Jerusalem. They covered the territory there but in a rather aimless way unlike how an American business would cover a territory.
(Application / Prayer) What may seem unsystematic to me may in reality be very systematic. I need to have faith in the progress of God’s work even if I do not see step-by-step progress. I pray to serve you and have faith in You regardless of whether I think that there is progress or not.