W.O.W. “Want” defined by: to wish, need, crave, demand, or desire; from having wishes in consequence of our wants, we often feel wants in consequence of our wishes. Mark 8 is a good example of this description. Note the first part of the chapter indicates the “wants’ of the people to be fed, then the “wants” of the Pharisees for a sign, then the “wants” of the disciples for understanding, the people’s “wants” for the blind man to be healed, and lastly, Jesus “want” of knowing who people think He is. Let’s analyze each “want”. As we walk through each ask: is it a wish? A need? A craving? A demand? A desire? Does the circumstance fulfill or bring about a want that we did not know we had or is it that we know we have a have a want which is then fulfilled clearly because of the compassion of Christ?
1. How do you see the first “want”? There was a need for food for the people who had come to see and hear Jesus. Observe the people, Jesus and the disciples. The scripture is silent on the people but we note that Jesus had compassion on them. The disciples on the other hand, “wanted” a decision, a direction from Jesus. Observe their attitude. They questioned Jesus on how they were to provide food for this multitude. You can almost feel and hear the tension in their question.
2. What about the Pharisees who “wanted” a sign? Is it a need or is it a demand? Observe their behavior before Jesus. They came out and began to argue with Him.
3. In the boat Jesus “wanted” the disciples to have learned from #1 and 2 situations. Observe the disciples and Jesus. The disciples discuss amongst themselves but do not include Jesus. Note Jesus question: do you not yet understand? Translated being, I just performed a miracle of provision of food for a people that did not request it and I did not perform a sign for those who did. Are you still not able to distinguish between a need and a want?
4. The villagers and the blind man want for healing: Did the blind man seek it or was it a compassionate spirit of the villagers? Reading between the lines we see two clues. Jesus took him apart from the villagers and Jesus told him to not return to the village.
5. Jesus wanting to know: Who do people say I am? Observe the answers of the disciples. Observe Peter who rebukes Jesus. Clearly it was not just a wish but a demand. In a matter of seconds Peter goes from doing what is right to being a servant of Satan.
From all of these examples we can draw some conclusions:
1. A want is distinguished from a need and our attitude and behavior demonstrate where the difference.
2. A want more often stems from a selfish desire rather than wanting to glorify God
