IV. The Servant's self-revelation to the disciples 6:6b--8:30

The increasing hostility of Israel's religious leaders and the rejection of the multitudes (3:7-6:6a) led Jesus to concentrate on training His disciples increasingly. This section of Mark's Gospel shows how Jesus did that. While Jesus gave his disciples increasing responsibility for ministry (6:6b-30), the focus of Jesus' instruction was His own identity, which the disciples had great difficulty understanding (6:31-8:30).

 A. The mission of the Twelve 6:6b-30

This is another of Mark's "sandwich"or chiastic sections. The main event is Jesus' sending the Twelve on a preaching and healing mission that extended His own ministry. Within this story, between their departing and their returning, the writer inserted the story of John the Baptist's death. The main feature of that story that interested Mark was Herod Antipas' perception of who Jesus was. The identity of Jesus, which is the heart of this section, becomes the main subject of the sections that follow (6:31-8:30).

 B. The first cycle of self-revelation to the disciples 6:31-7:37

Mark arranged selected events in Jesus' training of His disciples to show how He brought them to a deeper understanding of who He was and to a deeper commitment to Himself. Jesus led them through two similar series of experiences to teach them these lessons. He had to do it twice because the disciples where slow to learn.

 C. The second cycle of self-revelation to the disciples 8:1-30

The disciples had not yet understood the lessons that Jesus sought to teach them. Mark constructed his Gospel to show that in His discipleship training Jesus repeated lessons to train them. One writer noticed the following repetitive parallel structure in this section of the Gospel.¹⁸⁶

6:31-44

Feeding of the multitude

8:1-9

6:45-56

Crossing of the sea and landing

8:10

7:1-23

Conflict with the Pharisees

8:11-13

7:24-30

Conversation about bread

8:14-21

7:31-36

Healing

8:22-26

7:37

Confession of faith

8:27-30