Enough of Jesus?
April 2, 2026 | by: Dale Thiele | 0 Comments
Posted in: Pastoral Encouragement
Are you ready for another sermon about Jesus? Yes, it is Easter this weekend. And, yes, the sermon will be about Jesus, as every gospel-centered sermon ought to be. So, are you ready?
Perhaps that seems like a silly question. Certainly we can never exhaust our study or understanding of Jesus and all that he has done for us. He is the eternal Son of God. The King of kings. The Lord of lords. The Alpha and the Omega. In him the fullness of deity dwells bodily. He is incomprehensible. We always will have more to learn about Jesus…for all eternity.
This truth is illustrated in the Gospel of Mark. There is a sequence of stories in chapter 8 that are tied together by the thread of who Jesus is. In verses 14-21 the disciples are on a boat with Jesus. They had forgotten to bring bread and were discussing how hungry they were. This follows the miraculous feeding of the 5,000 and the 4,000. Jesus rebukes his disciples for not understanding in whose presence they were. Jesus says in verse 21: “Do you not yet understand?” This is not too different from when we allow fear to direct our lives, forgetting in whose presence we live.
Then there is the curious healing of the blind man in verses 22-26. Jesus spat on his eyes and laid hands on him. The blind man says, “I see people, but they look like trees, walking.” Then Jesus laid his hands on his eyes again. Then his eyesight was restored. This leaves readers and observers alike wondering why Jesus uses two touches to heal this man when he could easily just say a word and heal him (cf. Mk. 7:29-30). Something more is happening in this story sequence.
Then we return to Jesus’ interaction with the disciples. He asks his disciples, “Who do people say that I am?” and “But who do you say that I am?” (v. 27 & 29). Peter gives the great answer, “You are the Christ.” Jesus then proceeds to tell his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and be killed. Peter has the audacity to “rebuke” Jesus (v. 32). How could Peter, who seems to understand Jesus so clearly in verse 29, misunderstand Jesus so much in verse 32? He is just like the blind man. He needs more touches from Jesus to understand more of Jesus.
I believe Mark records this sequence of stories in the middle of his Gospel to illustrate the life of disciples. We are all like the blind man when it comes to knowing Jesus. Due to the corruption of sin, “No one understands; no one seeks for God” (Rom. 3:11). It is only by Christ’s gracious touch by his Spirit that we come to understand our sin, our need, for Christ, and his sufficient sacrifice for us. But just like that blind man, we see our sin and our need and Christ’s sufficiency only partially. There is so much more to see and understand. We need more touches with Jesus.
And that is the goodness of another sermon about Jesus. The more we learn about our sinfulness, the more we learn about Christ’s perfect life and sacrifice, the more we grow in our faith and understanding. Jesus is infinite. We will never exhaust our study of him. I need more of Jesus. You need more of Jesus. Praise God for another opportunity to meet Jesus this Sunday through the preached Word.
