Jesus’ ministry shifts into a different gear. He continues to heal anyone who asks him, but the miracles he does begin to expand in scope and purpose. Jesus begins coming out as the Messiah.

 

He feeds more than 5000 people from a little kid’s lunch bag. Then he walks on water, scaring his disciples half to death. 

 

But even scarier than that, he starts talking about how anyone who follows him must eat his flesh and drink his blood. What do we do with that?

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We cover Matthew 14:13-36; Mark 6:30-56; Luke 9:10-17; John 6: 1-59

After that eating flesh and drinking blood stuff, Jesus loses a bunch of disciples. Perhaps sensing that his following is shaky, scribes (religious lawyers) and Pharisees from Jerusalem travel to confront Jesus. They criticize him for allowing his disciples to eat without making sure their hands are ceremonially clean. Hah! They get a lot more than they bargained for when Jesus answers.

 

In fact, after excoriating them and calling them a brood of vipers, Jesus and his remaining disciples need to lay low in Gentile country. But his reputation precedes him, and Jesus has a fascinating exchange with a Gentile woman who refuses to be cowed by this Jewish prophet.

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We cover Matthew 15:1-28, 23:13-39; Mark 7:1-30; Luke 11:37-54; John 6:60-70

Jesus heals a deaf-mute by spitting. We remember we heard this weird technique just a few verses ago. Then he feeds 4000 people with a few loaves. Wait a minute. Are we having deja vu? Could this be a chiasm?

 

We follow Jesus and the disciples to Caesarea Philippi and knock down a popular but faulty myth. We also examine the “sign of Jonah” from a little different angle. It is in this passage that Jesus first uses the word “ekklesia”--later translated as “church.”

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We cover Matthew 12:38-45; 15:29-39; 16:1-20; Mark 7:31-37; 8:1-30; Luke 9:18-21; 11:29-32; 12:1-3

Things start to get real. Jesus gets explicit with the disciples. Who do you think that I am? Really? What if I tell you I am going to be arrested, tried, tortured, killed, and then after three days, rise again? If you want to follow me, you’ll have to take up your cross and give up your life.

Uh, nope. The disciples aren’t ready to hear that. Jesus is the Messiah king who’s going to crush Israel’s enemies, right? Is that what “rise again” means?
 

Jesus tries twice to convince the disciples he’s about to die. Doesn’t work. Peter, James, and John see Jesus start to glow. They see Elijah and Moses talk to him. They hear God say, “This is my beloved Son, listen to him!” Still, they do not understand.

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We cover Matthew 10:32,37; 16:21-28; 17:1-23; Mark 8:31-38; 9:1-32; Luke 9:22-45