(This might be one of the most important sermons that I have ever preached. And I wanted to make it accessible via substack for you to read and engage with.)
Why We Struggle to Understand God
Reflections on Mark 8:22-33
Have you ever wondered why it often feels so hard to understand God?
Why do we constantly find ourselves struggling to make sense of our lives? We ask questions like: Why did this happen? Where was God here? What is God doing?
We have millions of podcasts and books at our fingertips. We listen to sermons every week and discuss the Bible in our small groups. We are drowning in content and teaching and perspectives… Surely the problem is not lack of information.
So what really is the issue? Why do we so often find ourselves confused - not able to connect the dots?
This story in the Gospel of Mark is going to help shed light on this problem in a very striking way…
The Healing of the Blind Man
Mark 8:22–33
And they came to Bethsaida. And some people brought to him a blind man and begged him to touch him. And he took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the village, and when he had spit on his eyes and laid his hands on him, he asked him, "Do you see anything?" And he looked up and said, "I see people, but they look like trees, walking." Then Jesus laid his hands on his eyes again; and he opened his eyes, his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly. And he sent him to his home, saying, "Do not even enter the village."
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.
And he began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes and be killed, and after three days rise again. And he said this plainly. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. But turning and seeing his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, "Get behind me, Satan! For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man."
What is happening here? What's the connection between these stories? Mark has been leaving us clues all along the way…
The Disciples' Journey of Understanding
Throughout Mark's Gospel, Jesus is constantly bringing up the disciples' struggle to understand:
Mark 6:51–52: "And he got into the boat with them, and the wind ceased. And they were utterly astounded, for they did not understand about the loaves, but their hearts were hardened."
Mark 7:17-18: "And when he had entered the house and left the people, his disciples asked him about the parable. And he said to them, 'Then are you also without understanding?'"
Mark 8:17-21: "And Jesus, aware of this, said to them, 'Why are you discussing the fact that you have no bread? Do you not yet perceive or understand? Are your hearts hardened? Having eyes do you not see, and having ears do you not hear? And do you not remember?… And he said to them, "Do you not yet understand?"'"
The word "understand" here means to bring together, to synthesize. It means to grasp by connecting the parts. Jesus is asking the disciples: "Are you not able to put the pieces together? Are you not able to connect the dots and form a picture of who I really am?"
The disciples are on a journey of understanding Jesus. And so far, they are struggling…
A Living Parable
Now we come to this story of Jesus healing the blind man. The story and miracle is a real-life parable for the disciples and us. The man goes from blind, to partial sight to seeing clearly! Mark is saying to us: this miracle mirrors the journey of the disciples up to this point!
This is the progression the disciples are working through:
Blindness – they were once totally unaware of the truth, they couldn't see spiritual things.
Misunderstanding – they are able to see but fail to interpret things correctly and clearly.
Understanding – they will one day see clearly and comprehend Jesus fully.
At this point, they see - but their vision is still blurry. And I want to ask: Why?
The Most Important Question
Jesus asks us what He asks the disciples - "Who do you say that I am?" Jesus knew if they understood who He was, they would be able to connect the dots. I've heard it said that this is the most important question you can ever answer… While I agree, I think this story warns us of a hidden danger!
Peter realizes that Jesus is the messiah, but misunderstands what type of Messiah. Peter gets it right when he says: "You are the long-awaited King and deliverer." But he misses how Jesus will gain the crown and free His people… And this blurred vision has some massive implications…
Why Peter Misunderstood
Let's look at Peter and Jesus' interaction again:
Mark 8:31-33: "And he began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes and be killed, and after three days rise again. And he said this plainly. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. But turning and seeing his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, 'Get behind me, Satan! For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.'"
Why did Peter miss this and react so strongly in this way?
The Jews had a historical view of what the Messiah would do. "Messiah" means God's anointed one, in the lineage of the Prophets, Priests & Kings. Their vision of the Messiah included strength, power and victory - not suffering. He would rescue Israel from her enemies and restore their Kingdom!
But there is something much deeper than just a historical misunderstanding…
The Satan Connection
The clue is in Jesus' response: "Get behind me Satan." Why did Jesus refer to Peter as Satan? Let's think back to Satan's temptation of Jesus in the wilderness…
Matthew 4:8: "Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. 'All this I will give you,' he said, 'if you will bow down and worship me.'"
Satan wasn't just tempting Jesus with power over all the earthly kingdoms… He was tempting Jesus with how he would gain this power. Satan wasn't trying to just give something to Jesus - but make Him avoid something.
Satan's message: "You can have the crown as long as it's without the cross!"
Satan wanted Jesus to take a shortcut by avoiding suffering at all costs.
But we have to ask: Why was Satan doing this?
A cross-less Jesus is little threat to Satan's kingdom. A savior that avoided suffering is a savior that couldn't truly save. A cross-less Jesus could not deliver sinners, destroy Satan nor defeat death. Satan understood what many of us do not - the cross was indispensable.
Look at Hebrews 2:14-15: "Now since the children have flesh and blood, He too shared in their humanity, so that by His death He might destroy him who holds the power of death, that is, the devil. Only in this way could he set free all who have lived their lives as slaves to the fear of dying."
The Great Temptation of Our Day
This is the great temptation of our day: In our limited, human-thinking, we can only imagine a cross-less God. A God that suffers seems like a contradiction, an impossibility, an offense! This is why suffering is the greatest stumbling block to faith and faithfulness! If we can't imagine a God who suffers - surely we will be offended when we suffer.
The cross is an assault on the human values of power, success, glory and honor.
Paul says in 1 Corinthians 1:18-24: "For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God… For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God."
And this is why Peter and the disciples could not fully understand Jesus. And this is why I believe you and I have trouble understanding and making sense of God and our lives!
Jesus says to Peter: "Your mind is not on the things of God but on the things of man!" In their limited, human thinking – they were not able to see the importance of the cross.
The Thread That Connects Everything
The cross is the singular thread that connects the dots to form a clear picture of reality!
You want to make sense of your life in this broken world? Look to the crucified Christ. You want to make sense of what God is doing? Look to the crucified Christ. You want to make sense of who God really is? Look to the crucified Christ.
We often are not interpreting our lives by the cross - therefore we are often confused.
John 12:16: "His disciples did not understand these things at first, but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things had been written about him and had been done to him."
Why the Cross Is Central
Why is this so? Why is the cross this central?
Rowan Williams said: "The cross is not something that happened to God; it is the way God is."
The cross is not just merely a reaction to our sin and how we messed things up. The cross isn't just a one-off miracle to show off God's power. The cross is the fullest and clearest revelation of who God is at His core!
Colossians 1:15: "Jesus is the image of the invisible God…"
You cannot understand God fully apart from the person and work of Jesus
You cannot understand Jesus fully apart from His suffering and death on the cross
Therefore: To know God clearly we must look no further than the crucified Christ.
Jürgen Moltmann wrote: "When the crucified Jesus is called the 'image of the invisible God,' the meaning is that this is God, and God is like this. God is not greater than he is in this humiliation. God is not more glorious than he is in this self-surrender. God is not more powerful than he is in this helplessness. God is not more divine than he is in his humanity. The nucleus of everything that Christian theology says about 'God' is to be found in this Christ event."
The Full Revelation of God
This is why we read this in Hebrews 1:3: "The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of His nature…"
What makes God - God? What is He like? The common answer: All-powerful, All-knowing, He is eternal, He is the creator. But that is not the full revelation of God…
God's nature and character is seen…
Not just in His Limitlessness – but His choice to embrace limits
Not just in His Strength – but His choice to become weak
Not just in His Power – but His choice to become vulnerable
Not just in Wisdom — but in his willingness to look foolish
Not just in His Riches – but His choice to be become poor
Not just in His Holiness – but His choice to live among unclean people
Not just in His Justice – but in His mercy that forgives guilty sinners
Not just in His Wrath – but in His love that flows to his enemies
Not just in His Exaltation – but in His humiliation to the point of death
This is the particular beauty and glory of the Christian faith… of God Himself! The one in the Heavens is also the one who dwells in the dirt. God's nature is not just seen in His greatness, but in His greatness coming near. All other religions claim that their God is on the throne, in the Heavens, powerful — but the Christian message is that our God left His throne to come to earth, gave up His power to save sinners! This is really good news!
And to see one side without the other is to not see God clearly for who He really is.
Now I want you to pause for a moment and let this reality drop: I am not describing some minor part of God's character and nature… This is not the fringe of God's heart but the white-hot center!
We have a God who, at His very heart, for all of eternity, has been a God of self-emptying love who is willing to go low and suffer for the sake of others.
Two Life-Changing Implications
The cross is how we make sense of what God is doing and who He is. This reality has a thousand implications for our lives, but I want to address two:
1. Assurance for Those with Great Needs
Some of you look at your relationships, your finances, your health, your future and you are riddled with anxiety over how things will work out – you are stressed. You can't sleep at night. You can't focus or be present. You only see and feel lack. How does the cross-shaped reality of God's heart help you?
Romans 8:32: "He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?"
This is the cross-shaped logic: If God has done the greater thing, how will He not do the lesser thing? If God gave Himself on the cross through Jesus, He will meet every other need. Can I assure you? The need that is causing you to worry is not greater than the need that Jesus met on the cross! This means that when we turn to anxiety – we turn away from the crucified Christ. We must turn our attention to the cross — because only there will we find a thousand real comforts in God's heart of self-giving love.
2. Comfort for Those in Great Suffering
Our human experience is one of suffering, pain, brokenness, loss. We have or will experience loss, pain, sorrow, tragedy! How does the crucified Christ help us in our times of trial?
Hebrews 4:15: "For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted (and suffered) as we are, yet without sin."
"Sympathize" means to have compassion, to feel deeply what we are feeling. This is not sentimental kindness – but real, felt experience. A cross-centered God means He is intimately acquainted with suffering. Isn't this what we all want? Not cheap, flimsy life-hacks when we are in pain. We want someone to sit with us and say: "I know what you are feeling, I've felt it too."
To the one who feels physical pain – Jesus bore painful wounds in His body
To the one who feels betrayed by those closest – Jesus was betrayed by His own people
To the mother feeling unseen – Jesus spent 30 years hidden, no crowds or attention
To the Father who feels the burden – Jesus carried a heavy weight for the sake of others
To the one who cries out to God for the darkness to pass – Jesus pleaded with His Father
Oh there is an endless ocean of comfort in the crucified Christ!
The Eternal Cross
The cross is not just something we gaze at now, but for all eternity!
Revelation 5:6: "And between the throne and the four living creatures and among the elders I saw a Lamb standing, as though it had been slain…"
You know what is so beautiful about this?
The cross is not just a moment we will move on from and forget… When all of creation is re-made and all that is wrong becomes right, we will see at the center of Heaven – a crucified Savior, the scarred Son of God!
And the only response that will come out of our hearts and mouth is:
Revelation 5:9: "And they sang a new song, saying, 'Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation…'"
Jesus will never graduate from his scars… The cross of Christ will, for eternity, be the center of our gaze and our worship!
We have a God who bleeds to save sinners.
This is the best news.
How does understanding of God's cross-shaped nature change how you view Him and your own current circumstances? I'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments below.