Mark 8:1126 April 23, 2017pm What s Worse Than Being Blind? www.newhopefwbc.com 1285 Ne w Hope R oad Joelton, TN 37080 6 1 5. 7 4 6. 6 4 0 3 READ Mark 8:1126 Sight Hearing Taste Smell Touch If you had to choose, which of the five senses would you sacrifice? Statistics say that most would rather sacrifice any sense other than sight. Which begs the question, what s worse than being blind? Jesus is going to answer that question through His miracle that we will be studying tonight. On the heels of feeding the 4,000 with just 7 loaves of bread, Jesus is met by the Pharisees whose soul purpose in meeting Him was to dispute/ argue/trap Him. Mark 8:11 Then the Pharisees came out and began to dispute with Him, seeking from Him a sign from heaven, testing Him. Corey M. Minter Page 1 of 6
Mark 8:1126 What s Worse Than Being Blind? April 23, 2017pm 12 But He sighed deeply in His spirit, and said, Why does this generation seek a sign? Assuredly, I say to you, no sign shall be given to this generation. What they wanted a sign from Heaven; a trickless miracle or audible confirmation from God Interestingly enough, Jesus had already done both: His baptism ( You are My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased ) and His power over nature (Mark 4 Peace. Be still. ) What Jesus did (1) Groaned (2) Shows His Superiority We should take a lesson from Jesus on this one Proverbs 26:4 Do not answer a fool according to his folly, Lest you also be like him. 5 Answer a fool according to his folly, Lest he be wise in his own eyes. 1. By debating a fool, you sink to their level. 2. By debating a fool, you give credence to his argument. Jesus refused to give the Pharisees a sign because He knew their hearts. He knew they were permanently, spiritually blinded to the Truth. We only have record of two Pharisees coming to Christ: Nicodemus and Saul. With that confrontation still brooding in Jesus s mind, He commands His disciples to get back in the boat and travel to the other side of the Sea of Galilee. Corey M. Minter Page 2 of 6
Mark 8:1126 What s Worse Than Being Blind? April 23, 2017pm 14 Now the disciples had forgotten to take bread, and they did not have more than one loaf with them in the boat. Jesus is still pondering, but the disciples have shifted their interest into a more pressing need What are we going to eat?! 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. I know I say it all the time, but you have to love how dense the disciples were. (It actually gives credibility to the Gospels that they were sharing these almost embarrassing accounts of their struggle with understanding Jesus). 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 full 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. Corey M. Minter Page 3 of 6
Mark 8:1126 What s Worse Than Being Blind? April 23, 2017pm 21 So He said to them, How is it you do not understand? Jesus points out that the disciples have a temporary spiritual blindness about these lessons. They have eyes, but they do not see ears but no hearing. IT IS NOT ABOUT THE BREAD! If we are not careful we can read the Bible like a selfhelp book. How does this help me physically? We try to apply Biblical principles to business strategies or almost like a getrichquick scheme. OK if I do, and, God will bless me! That s not it IT S NOT ABOUT THE BREAD! Jesus reminds them of how He took care of them (and then some) with the feeding of the 5 and 4,000. I will take care of you It s not about the bread How do you not understand?! So what was Jesus talking about? LEAVEN = INFLUENCE Pharisees Selfrighteous Religion Herod Sinful Behavior If there is ever a sermon that needs to be preached to the modern church it is, BEWARE THE INFLUENCE OF THE SELFRIGHTEOUS AND SINFUL! Essentially, Jesus is saying that we stand in danger of bending or being jerks. Corey M. Minter Page 4 of 6
Mark 8:1126 What s Worse Than Being Blind? April 23, 2017pm 22 Then He came to Bethsaida; and they brought a blind man to Him, and begged Him to touch him. 23 So He took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the town. And when He had spit on his eyes and put His hands on him, He asked him if he saw anything. 24 And he looked up and said, I see men like trees, walking. 25 Then He put His hands on his eyes again and made him look up. And he was restored and saw everyone clearly. Jesus s healing was: Intimate led him out of the town Spit one author I read after this week said that in spitting on the man s eyes, Jesus was actually emboldening his faith. He couldn t see what was going on, but he could feel Jesus working. (Later) Made him look up intently in the eyes of Jesus Incomplete I see men like trees walking This chapter is filled with blind people: 1. The Pharisees are permanently spiritually blinded to the truth of Jesus. That was why it would do them no good for Jesus to show them a sign. 2. The disciples were periodically spiritually blinded to the truth of Jesus s teaching because they were distracted with physical needs. Corey M. Minter Page 5 of 6
Mark 8:1126 What s Worse Than Being Blind? April 23, 2017pm 3. This man was permanently blind, then partially blind until he was made perfectly whole. I think this miracle of partial healing serves as a parable for the disciples. That is the only way I can explain why Jesus did not completely heal the blind man. Otherwise, Jesus is just toying with the man who has suffered so much already. They had moved passed the point of hopelessly, spiritually blind, and now they are seeing the spiritual world like men as trees walking. Jesus wants to take them to perfectly seeing, but it s going to take some doing. Struggling with understanding what God is doing in you or what you have just read in Scripture? 1. Admit you are blind 2. Allow Him to work on you (disclaimer: it will get messy) 3. View every passage of Scripture through gazing into the eyes of Christ. By the way the disciples soon began to see everything perfectly well too 29 He said to them, But who do you say that I am? Peter answered and said to Him, You are the Christ. Corey M. Minter Page 6 of 6