Mark 8:1-26
Kids, let me ask you a question. Do you ever have trouble remembering things? I sure do. Jade will tell you, I have one of the worst short term memories out there. But, I also have a really great long-term memory. I’m not sure how the brain works, but I can remember small details from when I was much younger. Details like the dog that chased me on my bike when I was in Elementary School, and the owner yelled at me, “watch out, he bites!” Or the time when I wore a Magic Johnson jersey to my Elementary School in California, not realizing it was on backwards until one of my friends told me at recess.
Our memory is a really powerful thing, especially when there are really big or important things that happen in our lives. I remember where I was on 9/11. I remember when my best friend in High School accepted Christ at Winter Camp. I remember when I got baptized and how the water was too hot so we had to wait until they went to the store to get bags of ice to cool it down. This morning, we are going to see that the disciples really struggled with remembering.
Title: The Importance of Remembering
Read Mark 8:1-10
1.. The Disciples Forget (4)
After Jesus’ horseshoe journey up and through Gentile lands, He returns with His disciples to the Decapolis, the region of the 10 cities. This region would have been made up of mainly Gentiles, which were simply non-Jews. Again, the crowds rush to Jesus, this time 4,000 men, which was probably about 14,000-18,000 people including women and children. These people stayed with Jesus for 3 days, and it isn’t clear if they had eaten anything at all, but it is clear that they were out of food and tired.
Jesus looked at them and had compassion. Remember this word compassion is that gut level intense feeling that “I need to do something to help that person.” He recognizes their deep need, to the point where He doesn’t want to send them home because they will faint on the way home. They are so hungry, so famished, that they must eat immediately.
In our Bibles, there is only 1 chapter that separates the feeding of the 5,000 and the feeding of the 4,000. We don’t know exactly how long it has been, but no more than a couple of months, if even that. And look at how the disciples respond:
“How can one feed these people with bread here in this desolate place?” Surely they have not completely forgotten what Jesus just did just a little ways up the shore. But in the moment, the situation was so dire that they couldn’t see past it to remember what Jesus had already done.
We look at the disciples and we’re like, “really?! Like, Jesus JUST performed a miracle in a very similar situation with even MORE people present. Silly disciples.” But if we take a step back from this story and evaluate our own lives, we’ll very quickly realize that we can put ourselves right into the sandals of the disciples. How quickly we forget everything that God has done for us in our lives when the heat is turned up and our life circumstances seem too much to overcome.
Much like the previous miracle, Jesus takes the 7 loaves and 2 small fish, breaks the bread, blesses it with a prayer to His Father, and has His disciples distribute amongst the crowds. The people eat, and Mark tells us they were satisfied. Jesus provided for the specific need of the people, and it’s only because of the power of Jesus that they were satisfied. Let’s not miss that. At the end of it all, they have 7 large baskets of leftovers.
Jesus sends the crowds home, and He and the disciples immediately get into the boat and head out to Dalmanutha. We have a brief interaction with the Pharisees in verses 11-13. Read Mark 8:11-13.
2.. The Pharisees’ Refusal to See (11-13)
2.. Blind Pharisees
The Pharisees come with the intention of challenging Jesus. And it’s interesting what their demand is. Remember, the Pharisees were trying to explain away the miracles of Jesus by saying that He got His power from Satan. I learned this week from a commentary of a Jewish superstition that held to the idea that demons could mimic earthly miracles, much like the miracles that God performed through Moses, but only God could work “wonders in the sky.” They are asking for proof, and instead, Jesus lets out a disheartened and frustrated “sigh.”
“Why are you asking for a sign? I’ve already proved my power over and over again. You Pharisees have seen it with your own eyes but yet you still refuse to see beyond your own pride. You refuse to let go of your long-held traditions. You refuse to let go of your power. You refuse to SEE me. Why would I give you another sign from heaven?! Even that won’t be enough!”
Here’s the sad reality of this brief interaction. Think about the unbelief that we encounter in this world. There is a refusal to see the truth. I don’t want to hear it! I’m good! I have my truth, I don’t need yours! I already have my opinions about Jesus, and I don’t need you to try and convince me otherwise. You just do you, and let me do me. There is a general refusal to see who Jesus really is.
They get back into the boat and set off again to the other side.
3.. Lack of Understanding?? (14-21)
3.. I Don’t Understand!
Read Mark 8:14
Alright seriously, you just had 7 large baskets FULL of bread, and you somehow ended up on the boat with 1 loaf, like, what happened to all of your bread?!
Read Mark 8:15-21
They continue to miss the bigger picture, and get so caught up in the momentary issues. Jesus tries to provide a teaching moment after the confrontation with the Pharisees. “Beware the leaven of the Pharisees.”
Leaven, very simply, is like yeast. It’s something that causes dough to rise when baked, creating bread. What they would do in ancient times, right before they would bake bread, is they would take a small portion of the dough to save. They would put it in water for a fermenting process, and then they would take it and back it into the next loaf. That fermented piece of leaven is what would cause the bread to rise.
Spiritually speaking, leaven is used often in the Bible to describe the evil influence of someone. A small piece could corrupt an entire belief system. This is why Jesus says, “Watch out! The Pharisees have the ability to corrupt truth. Their teachings are dangerous and you’ve got to stay far away!”
The disciples hear Jesus, but then go right back to talking about how they don’t have anything to eat. (Hand over the head gesture). They completely missed it! And we can just imagine the frustration that Jesus must have felt. And so He begins to ask these questions. And these questions are not meant to shame the disciples. They aren’t meant to “put them in their place.” They are meant to take them on this mental journey of understanding.
A.. Why are you discussing the fact that you have no bread? He’s bringing their attention to the bigger issue.
B.. Do you not yet perceive or understand? Ohhh man, we are definitely missing something here.
C.. Are your hearts hardened? No, I don’t think so? I mean, I believe what I’ve seen, I’m following you aren’t I? I’ve given up a lot to be here with you, so I’m obviously open.
D.. Having eyes do you not see, and having ears do you not hear? Wait, Jesus healed that man who was deaf. Was there more to the story than what we saw? Does that mean something more than physical healing?
E.. Do you not remember? Ummm, of course we remember, it’s all been incredible! But…what specifically are you talking about?
F.. When I performed that incredible miracle and fed the nearly 20,000, how many baskets were gathered. Twelve. And just like, yesterday when I did the same thing, how many baskets did you take up at the end? Seven. Right, so you remember. You see. But…
G.. Do you not yet understand? And here’s the key for us this morning. There must come a point in time when our seeing and learning turns to deeper understanding. And that understanding deepens our faith and we are able to BELIEVE with greater confidence in who God is. One more section and we’ll tie all this together.
Read Mark 8:22-26
4.. The Process of Understanding
Right after Jesus tries to teach His disciples the importance of remembering and understanding, He gives them an example of what it looks like. The Holy Spirit is so masterful with His leading Mark to write this section. And it’s easy to miss and just kind of breeze past as just another miracle. But think about this. The disciples are slow to understand. They are slow to see Jesus for who He really is. In fact, next week they will be confronted with that question head on. But the miracle here illustrates the process of understanding for the disciples.
Jesus spits and uses it to rub the blind man’s eyes. He was completely blind, and now he sees a little bit, but not fully. He sees figures walking, but mistakes the people for trees. Jesus touches his eyes again and this time He can see clearly. This is the process of understanding that the disciples are going through. Each time Jesus does something or teaches them something, it’s like they see a little more clearly who He is.
Application
And it’s just like that for us today! We are all on a journey of learning, discovering, remembering, and understanding.
1 Corinthians 13:12 - “For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully.”
So what are some ways that we can remember and gain a deeper understanding?
1.. Read the Bible. What’s the best way to remind ourselves of what God has done, and who He is? Get back to the stories that show us! “There is no better shield against spiritual declension and weakness than Christian remembering.”
Read the story of God freeing the Israelites from Egyptian slavery in Exodus.
Read about God making the sun stand still so that Joshua and his men could fight a little longer in Joshua 10.
Read how God used the Judges to continually save Israel
Read about Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego to see how the Lord saved them, and was present with them in the fire.
So many stories. And we remind ourselves, and gain a deeper understanding of who God is.
2.. Recount what the Lord has done in YOUR life. When Joshua finally led Israel into the promised land, they first had to cross over the Jordan River. The river stopped flowing, and all of Israel was able to cross over on dry land. Joshua and the people got 12 stones out of the river bed, and stacked them up as a memorial to what the Lord had done right there in the middle of the river.
So what has the Lord done in your life? It’s so easy to get caught up in the now, and forget about what God has done in the past. And sometimes we think, “well, yea, God did that then, but this is much worse. I just don’t see how He could turn this around for me.” Instead we preach truth to ourselves. God is the same, yesterday, today and tomorrow. He never changes. If He had the ability to work in my life then, He most certainly can do the same thing today.
So listen, grab a journal, and write down what God does in your life when He does it. Then, go back often and read about what He did. I have this running document that I shared with you guys last year of how the Lord has been faithful in our journey as a young church. He has shown up in so many incredible ways. And seeing what God has done gives me confidence that He will continue to do.
