Message for THE LORD'S DAY MORNING, November 4, 2018 Christian Hope Church of Christ, Plymouth, North Carolina by Reggie A. Braziel, Minister Message 35 in Making A Difference Sermon Series from the Gospel of Mark The Tragedy of Spiritual Blindness (Part II) Mark 8:13-21 (NKJV) In last week's message we focused our attention on the spiritual blindness of the Pharisees. Although they considered themselves to be the most righteous and most religious men in all of Israel, they were spiritually blind to the truth that Jesus was the Son of the living God, the long-awaited Messiah. Because of their spiritual blindness the Pharisees not only rejected Jesus they even played a very active role in plotting the crucifixion of Christ. In today's message we are going to see that spiritual blindness doesn't just afflict those who are lost and outside of Christ. Sometimes those who are the closest to Jesus can also suffer from spiritual blindness. Let's open our Bibles once again to the Gospel of Mark, chapter eight. And let's pick up where we left off last Lord's Day, beginning in verse 13... MARK 8:13-21 (NKJV) 13 And He left them, and getting into the boat again, departed to the other side. 14 Now the disciples had forgotten to take bread, and they did not have more than one loaf with them in the boat. 15 Then He charged them, saying, Take heed, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod. 16 And they reasoned among themselves saying, It is because we have no bread.
17 But Jesus, being aware of it, said to them, Why do you reason because you have no bread? Do you not yet perceive nor understand? Is your heart still hardened? 18 Having eyes, do you not see? And having ears, do you not hear? And do you not remember? 19 When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many baskets of fragments did you take up? They said to Him, Twelve. 20 Also, when I broke the seven for the four thousand, how many large baskets full of fragments did you take up? And they said, Seven. 21 So He said to them, How is it you do not understand? ****************** In this passage there are three thoughts we want to consider: THE LORD'S COMMAND THE DISCIPLE'S CONFUSION THE LORD'S CLARIFICATION First let's look at... I. The Lord's COMMAND (vs. 13-15) 13 And He left them, and getting into the boat again, departed to the other side. 14 Now the disciples had forgotten to take bread, and they did not have more than one loaf with them in the boat. 15 Then He charged them, saying, Take heed, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod. 1. If it seems like Jesus and His disciples have been doing a whole lot of traveling its not just your imagination. When this eighth chapter began, Jesus and His disciples had just traveled over one hundred miles on foot from Tyre and Sidon in the Gentile land of Phoenicia down to the land of Decapolis on the southeastern shore of the Sea of Galilee. While in Decapolis Jesus miraculously fed the 4,000 with seven loaves and a few small fish.
2. After He performed that miracle, Jesus and His disciples got in a boat and sailed clear back across the Sea of Galilee to a place called Dalmanutha located about eight miles from Jesus' headquarters in Capernaum. Soon after He arrived in Dalmanutha, a group of Pharisees got into a dispute with Jesus demanding that He give them a sign from heaven to prove whether He got His power from God or from the devil. Jesus quickly ended that dispute when He told the Pharisees He would not give them nor that generation any kind of a sign. 3. Now in verse 13 of today's text, Jesus and His disciples are on the move again. They have gotten back in their boat and have set sail from Dalmanutha on the north- western shore of Galilee for Bethsaida on the northeastern shore of the Sea of Galilee. 4. Not long after they set sail, the disciples suddenly realized they had a problem: v. 14 Now the disciples had forgotten to take bread, and they did not have more than one loaf with them in the boat. 5. Knowing that the minds of His disciples were on bread Jesus seized the opportunity to issue His disciples this stern warning: v. 15 Then He charged them saying, Take heed, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod.
6. Now what is Jesus talking about? Leaven is another name for yeast. You ladies who bake rolls or homemade bread know that you mix a little yeast into your dough and let it set for awhile before you bake your bread. The yeast is a bacteria that when mixed with the dough gives off a gas that causes the bread to rise. Just a tiny bit of yeast will cause the whole lump of dough to ferment. 7. Jesus uses leaven or yeast as a metaphor to illustrate the corrupting influence of the Pharisees and the Herodians upon the whole Jewish society. Let's consider the meaning of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod separately. (A) What Is The Leaven of The Pharisees? We find our answer to that question in... Luke 12:1 (NKJV)...beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. The Pharisees were religious men, but their religion was all for show! Their religion was all about outward appearances. With their lips they glorified God, but their hearts were far from God. The Pharisees were fakes! They were phonies! They were nothing more than hypocritical play actors playing the part of religious men!
In Matthew 23:15 Jesus strongly condemned the Pharisees for their corrupt influence upon the Jewish people when He said: Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you travel land and sea to win one proselyte, and when he is won, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves. So when Jesus warns His disciples to beware of the leaven of the Pharisees He is warning them of the danger of having a hypocritical heart. And that is something many still struggle with today. Many today are all about outward religion. They are all about acting religious and talking religious and looking religious but inwardly their hearts are cold towards God. May you and I heed Jesus' warning to guard against the leaven of the Pharisees...to guard against hypocritical religion. But Jesus didn't just warn His disciples about the leaven of the Pharisees. He also warned them about the leaven of Herod. (B) What is The Leaven of Herod? The Herodians were more about politics than religion. They were strong supporters of Herod the Great, believing that if they showed their support for Roman rule over Israel that Rome would treat them favorably; which didn't happen. In 70 A.D. when Rome invaded Jerusalem they destroyed every member of the Herodian party.
While the Pharisees were ultra-conservatives, the Herodians were ultra-liberals. They influenced many of the Jewish people to compromise with Rome rather than resist. They also influenced the Jewish people to be more worldly and materialistic. Ironically, these two polar opposites, the ultra-conservative Pharisees and the ultraliberal Herodians joined forces in wanting to kill Jesus. Remember after Jesus healed the man with the withered hand on the Sabbath, Mark 3:6 tells us, Then the Pharisees went out and immediately plotted with the Herodians against Him, how they might destroy Him. If you want to see the leaven of Herod today, you need look no further than those who proclaim the health and wealth gospel. That is a false gospel of compromise. It is a false gospel that promotes worldliness and materialism, and it has corrupted the lives of millions and millions of people. So when Jesus warns His disciples to Take heed, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod He is warning them, AND US, to guard against hypocrisy...guard against worldliness...guard against materialism...and guard against compromise!
Now as we move on to verse 16 we see... II. The Disciples' CONFUSION (v.16) 16 And they reasoned among themselves saying, It is because we have no bread. 1. There is a total disconnect here! Jesus and His disciples are not on the same page. Jesus has just warned His disciples to guard against the leaven of the Pharisees and Herod, and they think Jesus is rebuking them for only bringing one loaf of bread with them...or that Jesus is warning them never to buy bread from a Pharisee or a Herodian. 2. Jesus was talking about something spiritual, while the minds of the disciples is on the physical. Jesus was talking about leaven and the disciples are thinking about lunch. 3. The disciples had been with Jesus for over two years now. They had heard the things He preached and taught about the kingdom of heaven. Their eyes had been opened to so much truth, and yet they are still partially blind to spiritual truths. Some times they get it and some times they don't! Some times they can see and other times they can't. This is one of those times they can't see the truth that Jesus is teaching them. He isn't rebuking them or scolding them for only bringing one loaf of bread to feed the thirteen of them. He is warning them against the evil influence of the Pharisees and the Herodians. He is warning them against the false teachings that have blinded the eyes of so many in Israel.
Have you ever tried to explain something to someone in plain, simple terms, and you could tell they were still confused? Perhaps you said something like this: Am I going to have to draw you a picture? Or Do I have to draw you a picture? Well as we move on to verses 17-21, Jesus draws a picture for His disciples. Let's look at... III. The Lord's CLARIFICATION (vs. 17-21) 17 But Jesus, being aware of it, said to them, Why do you reason because you have no bread? Do you not yet perceive nor understand? Is your heart still hardened? 18 Having eyes, do you not see? And having ears, do you not hear? And do you not remember? 19 When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many baskets of fragments did you take up? They said to Him, Twelve. 20 Also, when I broke the seven for the four thousand, how many large baskets full of fragments did you take up? And they said, Seven. 21 So He said to them, How is it you do not understand? 1. When Jesus realized that His disciples were totally confused about what He had said about the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod, He asked them a series of questions to awaken their faith and cause them to remember the things He has done.these questions are intended to get His disciples to open their blinded eyes and see the truth that is staring them in the face. Jesus asked them, Come on guys, you have see the things I have done with your very own eyes and you have heard the the things I have taught you with your very own ears. Do you mean to tell me you still don't understand who I am?
Didn't you see me feed the five thousand with just five loaves of bread? How many baskets of left-overs did you guys collect that day? Staring at the bottom of the boat, the disciples hang their heads and answer: twelve baskets. And didn't you see me feed the four thousand with just seven loaves of bread? How many large baskets of left- overs did you guys collect that day. With a sheepish look on their faces, the disciples answer: seven baskets. And then Jesus asked them, How is it you do not understand? Do you get what's going on here? The disciples are in the boat with the One who turned five loaves of bread into more than enough bread to feed as many as 20,000-25,000 people. They are in the boat with the One who turned seven loaves of bread into more than enough bread to feed four thousand people, and they are worried that they don't have enough to eat because they only brought one loaf of bread with them. Do they not see that Jesus could take that one loaf of bread and turn it into twelve loaves if He wanted to? Do they not see that Jesus could give the command and twelve fish would jump out of the sea into the boat and they could all have a fish sandwich if they wanted one? Jesus wanted His disciples to understand that not only could He provide enough bread to satisfy the need of their hungry bellies; He wanted them to understand that He Himself is the Bread of Life who satisfy the deepest needs of their souls, if they would just open their blinded eyes to see.
C O N C L U S I O N While it is very easy for us to judge the disciples for their lack of understanding, I can't help but wonder how many times the LORD has wanted to say to you and me: Do you still not understand? DO YOU STILL NOT UNDERSTAND... That I love you? Did I not lay down my life for you? Did I not take your pain and your punishment upon Myself? Did I not die so you could live? Did I not become poor so you could become rich? So why do you still doubt my love for you? Why do you still not understand? Why can't you see that I have always loved you, I still love you, and I will always love you? AND DO YOU STILL NOT UNDERSTAND... That I will provide all of your needs? Have you not heard how I fed the five thousand and how I fed the four thousand? Have I ever failed to provide all your needs? Have I ever failed to put food on your table? Have I ever failed to put clothes on your back and a roof over your head? So why is it that you still do not understand? Why is it that you still can't see that I will provide all your needs? AND DO YOU STILL NOT UNDERSTAND... That I will always be faithful to you? Have you not read in My word that I will never leave you or forsake you? Name one time when I ever failed you! Name one time when I ever turned my back on you. When you sinned, I forgave you! When you were in trouble I helped you. When you were broken-hearted...when you were lonely...when you were grieving I drew near to you. Don't you get it? I'm not going anywhere! I will be right beside you all the days of your life until that day I come to get you and take you home with Me forever! Brothers and sisters, open your eyes and you will see!