Do You Not Yet Understand?

Watch where Jesus goes:

He starts at the Sea of Galilee. The Pharisees then come from Jerusalem to challenge him.

Then Jesus leaves Galilee and goes to Tyre and Sidon, where he shows mercy to a Syrophoenician woman.

Then he returns to Galilee (the Decapolis – the ten cities south and east of the Sea of Galilee) and the end of our passage finds Jesus in Bethsaida (on the north of the Sea of Galilee)

So what?

In 1 Kings 17ff we hear that Elijah starts from Tishbe in Gilead (not far from Galilee) and after prophesying to Ahab and the the northern Kingdom of Israel he goes to Sidon, where he shows mercy to a Sidonian woman.

Then he returns to Israel for the climax of his ministry at Mt. Carmel.

And not only is there a geographical similarity, but there is also a similar message.

What you see in Elijah and Elisha is that the presence of God goes wherever they go. They are sort of like walking temples.

We are leading up to the first climax in Mark's gospel – the glorious climax of the Transfiguration – where Jesus is revealed in glory as a foretaste of what will come.