14 His followers had only one loaf of bread with them in the boat; they had forgotten to bring more. 15 Jesus warned them, “Be careful! Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and the yeast of Herod.” 16 His followers discussed the meaning of this, saying, “He said this because we have no bread.” 17 Knowing what they were talking about, Jesus asked them, “Why are you talking about not having bread? Do you still not see or understand? Are your minds closed? 18 You have eyes, but you don’t really see. You have ears, but you don’t really listen. 19 Remember when I divided five loaves of bread for the five thousand? How many baskets did you fill with leftover pieces of food?” They answered, “Twelve.” 20 “And when I divided seven loaves of bread for the four thousand, how many baskets did you fill with leftover pieces of food?” They answered, “Seven.” 21 Then Jesus said to them, “Don’t you understand yet?” ~ Mark 8:14-21
Today, we return to our study of Mark 8 where the Lord Jesus had just fed 4000 people with a few fish and seven loaves of bread. He performed miracles on the behalf of the people so that they could gain an inroad into much deeper contemplation for He knew their greatest need was to enter into a personal relationship with Himself. And, of course, no one can enter into a personal relationship with God until our sins are forgiven and we are "born again." But, the disciples were so focused on the temporal and the finite that they struggled to get the deeper meaning of it all.
In v.14 of today's passage we read, "His followers had only one loaf of bread with them in the boat; they had forgotten to bring more."
It just so happened the disciples had with them in the boat a reminder of God's provision: one loaf of bread. The fact that the disciples had a leftover loaf of bread revealed what they were focused on. However, God uses even our myopic view of life to get His point, His teachings, His culture into our hearts.
The interactions between the infinite with the finite is most amazing. The Lord so arranges things that we are given ongoing reminders of His infinite nature. Yet, like the disciples, we are often found wanting in this arena. Like us, the understanding of the disciples that day was limited and finite. So, the Lord brought the disciples to a traffic circle wherein this loaf of bread quickly became an object lesson of a different sort.
In v.15 of today's passage we read, "Jesus warned them, “Be careful! Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and the yeast of Herod."
The loaf of bread made it natural for the Lord Jesus to warn His disciples of the negative influence of the Jewish religious leaders and that of Herod. He drew their attention to the yeast that was used to make the loaf of bread to make His point. Yeast is a biblical illustration of permeation or influence. It makes dough rise by bacterial corruption. This is what the Lord Jesus was talking about with the disciples in that boat that day. "Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and the yeast of Herod."
Sadly, the people for whom the Lord had just multiplied the bread and the fish, were so limited by the misguided teachings of the religious leaders, they missed the deeper teachings of that day. They missed the deeper teachings of the Lord Jesus because they were so in the habit of living for the temporal. The prison of the finite had prevented them from wandering off into the infinite which the Lord Jesus was offering them.
In v.16 of today's text we read, "His followers discussed the meaning of this, saying, “He said this because we have no bread."
In v.17-18 of today's passage we read, "17 Knowing what they were talking about, Jesus asked them, “Why are you talking about not having bread? Do you still not see or understand? Are your minds closed? 18 You have eyes, but you don’t really see. You have ears, but you don’t really listen."
Most believe this life is about the acquisition of answers. Most believe exclamation marks are more important than question marks. The Lord Jesus demonstrated in His discussion with the disciples that questions are potentially life giving. If our pursuit is for truth, we will discover the secrets to life by entertaining the deeper and most of the time unwanted questions.
Like the disciples, we need spiritual healing, and questions help in the process of being healed spiritually. Those who do not entertain questions are like those who have eyes, but can not see, or, ears and can not hear. It is strategic that in the very next passage in this chapter the Lord Jesus will open the eyes of a blind man. More on that tomorrow.
In v.17 the Lord Jesus asked the disciples two very important questions. "Do you still not see or understand? Are your minds closed?" The Lord Jesus seemed surprised by the disciples lack of heart sight and spiritual understanding. The reason is given in the old adage, "You can lead a horse to water but you can't make him drink." The freedom of choice is a beautiful thing. The problem with it is it takes a lot of trouble to get us to the place where we are desperate enough to ask the right questions and pursue the right answers before we get it.
In v.17 the Lord Jesus asked the disciples two very important questions. "Do you still not see or understand? Are your minds closed?" The Lord Jesus seemed surprised by the disciples lack of heart sight and spiritual understanding. The reason is given in the old adage, "You can lead a horse to water but you can't make him drink." The freedom of choice is a beautiful thing. The problem with it is it takes a lot of trouble to get us to the place where we are desperate enough to ask the right questions and pursue the right answers before we get it.
When we fail to remember God's mercies, and our spiritual history, our hearts are strangely hardened and we lack that certain sensitivity that propels us into an ever deepening intimacy with the Lord. We lose that tenderness of heart and we become entitled. It is so easy to become angry and bitter, because we forget His goodness which is what melts our hearts in the first place.
In v.19-21 of today's passage we read, "19 Remember when I divided five loaves of bread for the five thousand? How many baskets did you fill with leftover pieces of food?” They answered, “Twelve.” 20 “And when I divided seven loaves of bread for the four thousand, how many baskets did you fill with leftover pieces of food?” They answered, “Seven.” 21 Then Jesus said to them, “Don’t you understand yet?"
The Lord Jesus reminded the disciples of the feedings of the 5,000 and the 4,000, but, they had missed the point. When He fed the 5,000, there were twelve baskets of leftovers: one for each disciple. With the feeding of the 4,000, the disciples collected “seven” baskets of leftovers: the number for completeness or wholeness. We are only completed when we throw ourselves into an abandoned relationship with the Lord and we are consistently being defined by Him.
The Lord Jesus asked the disciples questions, giving them the chance to delve deeper with Him. This is what He does with all who follow Him. He satisfied the Gentile woman’s need for “bread”. He satisfied the need of the Gentile crowd with bread in the wilderness. The bread was meant to be an illustration for something deeper: the sustenance of the human soul is only found in its Maker.
Very often, we lack the same thing: understanding. We must understand the ways of the Lord that we might walk in them. But His way is upside down, inside out, and backwards. He calls us not to be served but to serve, and to suffer for the sake of the Gospel. There is a pattern there. We must connect the dots. In order to do this we must look to the Lord Jesus to satisfy our deepest longings.
We must understand that the dots relate to the way the Lord works in our lives. The dots relate to how the Lord Jesus is leading us to know Him in the context of living in a fallen world. We connect the dots by asking of Him questions. It is all about personally relating to Him.
The Lord Jesus asked the disciples questions, giving them the chance to delve deeper with Him. This is what He does with all who follow Him. He satisfied the Gentile woman’s need for “bread”. He satisfied the need of the Gentile crowd with bread in the wilderness. The bread was meant to be an illustration for something deeper: the sustenance of the human soul is only found in its Maker.
Very often, we lack the same thing: understanding. We must understand the ways of the Lord that we might walk in them. But His way is upside down, inside out, and backwards. He calls us not to be served but to serve, and to suffer for the sake of the Gospel. There is a pattern there. We must connect the dots. In order to do this we must look to the Lord Jesus to satisfy our deepest longings.
We must understand that the dots relate to the way the Lord works in our lives. The dots relate to how the Lord Jesus is leading us to know Him in the context of living in a fallen world. We connect the dots by asking of Him questions. It is all about personally relating to Him.
