Sermon Cloud

We are finishing today a story that we began last week

• …that is the story that really begins in verse 1 of the chapter

 

 

 

Very quickly….let’s recap the story so far….

 

 

 

Jesus is in Gentile territory….

• …and He has this crowd of Gentiles following Him
  • …but this is crowd is a crowd of true believers….of faithful followers

 

 

 

 

They’re not looking for a handout….they’re not looking for a healing…..

• …they’re looking for Jesus….

 

 

…now you say…how do you know that….?

 

 

How do you know that this crowd was different….

• …well…all of that was the message last week…so, get the tape

 

But this crowd is with Jesus….and He has compassion on the crowd…

• ….and He feeds this crowd of 4k from seven loaves of bread and a few fish

 

 

 

 

…After that…He sends the crowd away….and gets into the boat again….

 

 

 

…and then getting out of the boat….

• …Jesus is met by these Pharisees who want to argue with Him and contend with Him

 

 

 

…and they demand from Jesus a sign from heaven

 

 

We’ll believe in You if You give us a sign from heaven….

 

 

 

….Jesus won’t play that game

• …He will not allow others to set the requirements of His ministry
  • …He will not jump through the hoops of these Pharisees who do not believe in Him….

 

 

Jesus did not come to be a circus of miracles….

 

So….heaving a sigh of great disappointment…

• …Jesus says…No sign will be given and then He leaves….

But He doesn’t just leave…

• …as we said last week….Jesus forsakes them…He abandons them…
  • He leaves them for good

 

 

 

There is a time to ask God for proof….and there comes a time to believe in faith

• ….and our God is a patient, longsuffering God
  • …but His patience has limits…..

 

 

 

…and for these disbelieving Pharisees…..it seems to be too late….

 

 

 

…Now….all of that is important to keep in mind for our story today…

 

 

Mark 8.14-21

 

 

 

 

So all of the preceding story plays into what we read for today

 

 

These Pharisees came to Jesus demanding a sign from Him….

 

 

And Jesus…leaving them

• …uses this as a teaching lesson for His disciples…

 

 

 

 

v 15

And he cautioned them, saying, "Watch out; beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod."

 

 

 

Jesus doesn’t miss the opportunity to use an experience as a teaching point….

 

 

 

 

Now, in Scripture…..leaven is a symbol for sin or evil…..

 

 

Over and over, Scripture will illustrate sin with the analogy of leaven

 

 

 

Beginning all the way back with the Passover….

 

 

 

God was about to deliver the nation of Israel from their bondage to Egypt

• …Symbolic of man’s bondage to sin….

 

 

For the Passover meal….they were to eat un-leavened bread

• ….bread that is not tainted with the sin of Egypt

 

 

…and that analogy continues all the way through the Bible…..

 

 

Through the prophets….through the gospels…..all the way up to the epistles;

 

 

Paul writes to the Church in Corinth….a church who has a problem with allowing sin to come in among them;

 

 

He writes;

 

1 Corinthians 5:6-8

…Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump? Cleanse out the old leaven that you may be a new lump, as you really are unleavened.  ►  For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. Let us therefore celebrate the festival, not with the old leaven, the leaven of malice and evil, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.

 

 

 

You can see the analogy there;

• Sin is compared to leaven…..

 

 

Now….this is a somewhat difficult analogy for us to grasp

• …because frankly…..so few of us really bake anymore
  • ….I mean bake with flour and yeast and a rolling pin….like grandma used to do it

 

When we bake today….we bake with Betty Crocker and Sarah Lee

 

 

…but if we realize what leaven does

 

 

 

A leavening agent (such as yeast)….reacts with other substances in the dough (usually moisture)

• …to form a chemical reaction….a foaming action that produces trapped gas bubbles in the dough
  • …and those trapped gas bubbles will serve to lighten and soften the finished dough product…

 

 

 

IOW; leaven fundamentally changes the characteristics of the dough

 

 

 

Leaven changes it from thick, heavy, tight dough

• …to light, fluffy, workable dough

 

 

 

….and…..here’s the important part…

• ..how much leaven does dough require?

 

 

Very little…..extremely little

 

…..as Paul says; a little leaven leavens the whole lump

 

 

 

A small amount of leaven can change the fundamental structure of the entire group….

 

 

 

 

…That’s what Jesus is teaching….

• …He’s using the analogy of leaven to teach the disciples an important lesson about sign-seekers….

 

 

 

But…..they didn’t get it….

 

 

They didn’t get it because something else was going on in the boat

 

 

 

v 14

Now they had forgotten to bring bread, and they had only one loaf with them in the boat.

 

 

 

Somehow….no one had remembered to bring the food…

 

 

 

They had just fed 4k people and collected 7 huge baskets of leftover bread

• …and somehow….twelve men had all forgotten to bring food into the boat….

 

 

 

Have you ever been there?

• …have you ever packed up your family for a trip to the beach and gotten 2 hours down the road and realized that everybody forgot to bring the snacks….

 

 

 

 

There was a cooler packed with tasty snacks and drinks…..

• …and it will still be sitting on the kitchen counter when you get back home….

 

 

That’s what happened to these disciples….

 

 

 

Peter….I thought you had the bread

 

No, John….you said you had it….

 

Well, Phillip was the last one that I saw with it….

 

 

 

…So….they have no food…..and they think that Jesus is speaking to them about the fact that they forgot the food

 

 

 

They think that was what He meant when He mentioned the leaven of the Pharisees

 

 

v 16

And they began discussing with one another the fact that they had no bread.

 

 

 

They think that was what Jesus meant…..

 

 

 

He must be giving us grief because we forgot the bread….

 

He must have known that we have no bread….

• …and He wants to make sure that we don’t buy any bread from the Pharisees….
  • ….Beware the leaven of the Pharisees…
    • ……Jesus doesn’t want any Pharisee bread…..

 

 

 

…and so they argue among themselves about this;

• …then….

 

 

v 17

And Jesus, aware of this, said to them, "Why are you discussing the fact that you have no bread? Do you not yet perceive or understand? Are your hearts hardened?

Having eyes do you not see, and having ears do you not hear? And do you not remember?

When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many baskets full of broken pieces did you take up?" They said to him, "Twelve."

"And the seven for the four thousand, how many baskets full of broken pieces did you take up?" And they said to him, "Seven."

And he said to them, "Do you not yet understand?"

 

 

 

Jesus says;

• ….don’t you get it?.....

 

 

 

I’m wasn’t talking about buying bread from the Pharisees…..

 

Don’t you see….

 

 

 

…as for the physical bread to eat…..

 

 

Haven’t you noticed something?

 

 

 

Everytime that you have ever been with Me

• …and everytime we have served the needs of others together….
  • ….have you ever wanted for anything?
    • …have you ever gone hungry?

 

 

 

Think about this;

• …when we fed 5k men with 5 loaves and 2 fish…..how many baskets did you collect after everybody ate?

 

 

 

When we fed 4k people with 7 loaves and a few fish….how many baskets did you collect after everybody ate?

 

 

 

 

What do you suppose the disciples did with all that food they collected?

 

 

 

…We are not told….but I think they probably ate it

• …and they took it with them as they travelled
  • ….and it fed them for days to come….

 

 

 

IOW; when these disciples join Christ in serving the needs of others….their needs will always be taken care of….

 

[…]

 

 

 

Jesus had already taught them;

 

 

Matthew 6:33

But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

 

 

 

Seek first; to give clothing to the naked in Jesus’ name

 

Seek first; to feed the hungry in Jesus’ name

 

Seek first; to give shelter to the shelter-less in Jesus’ name…

 

Seek first; to give the gospel to a lost world…..and everything you need will be added unto you…

 

 

Jesus is reminding them of this;

• …because these disciples are worried about themselves….they’re worried about not being able to eat….
  • ….and they are sailing in a boat with the Bread of Life

 

How ridiculous……just think about how short-sighted these disciples are;

• ….there are at least 4 professional fishermen in a boat on one of the richest fishing lakes in the world
  • Sailing with the Bread of Life on board…
    • …..and they are worried about not eating….

 

 

 

 

…..and Jesus teaches them…..when you are with Me….and we are serving in God’s name….

• …your needs are taken care of…..

 

 

 

Our God is a wealthy God

• …He owns the cattle on a thousand hills
  • …everything that you’ve ever seen our touched or smelled or admired or desired…..He owns it all

 

 

And He promises us….

• …when you serve Me….you will have no un-met needs….

 

 

Philippians 4:19

And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.

 

 

[…]

 

But…..that’s not the main teaching of this passage;

• …so few ever get this passage right…..

 

 

 

This passage is not about the leaven of the Pharisees (that’s what most people want to make this passage about…..what is the leaven of the Pharisees?)

• …this passage is not about that….
  • …look at where Mark focuses the attention….

 

 

 

 

v 17

Why are you discussing the fact that you have no bread? Do you not yet perceive or understand? Are your hearts hardened?

Having eyes do you not see, and having ears do you not hear? And do you not remember?

 

 

 

This passage is clearly about understanding the teaching of Christ…..

 

 

 

 

…what Jesus says about the Pharisees is secondary…..

• …what this passage is really about is why did the disciples not understand what Jesus was teaching….

 

 

That’s where Jesus’ focus is placed….not on this teaching about the leaven of the Pharisees

• …but on the fact that His disciples didn’t get it….and still aren’t getting it
  • …and Jesus wants them to ask themselves….WHY?

 

 

 

[…]

 

 

 

Jesus gets into the boat after this encounter with the Pharisees

• ….and He gives them this little bit of teaching….
  • …and they don’t get it….they don’t understand

 

 

 

…and that’s what Jesus zones in on…that’s what He focuses on

• …He never even explains what He meant by leaven of the Pharisees
  • (although Matthew tells us that the disciples eventually figure it out)

 

 

 

 

What Jesus focuses on is why is it that they are not understanding His teaching by now

• …because they should….

 

 

This is a passage that speaks to us about understanding the teaching of God

 

 

You see…Jesus is giving these disciples the Word of God….

• …and they are not understanding It….
  • …and Jesus is concerned…..why are they not getting this?
    • …because it is vital to them….

 

 

 

 

But in the same way;

• …each of us has also been given the Word of God…
  • …and it is just as vital that we also understand It….and apply It

 

 

 

This passage is about understanding the Word of God

 

 

 

How many people are at some time (maybe all the time)….disappointed in your own ability to understand God’s Word?

 

 

How many people think that you would read God’s Word more if you could understand it more?

 

 

How many people (if you were honest with yourself) don’t have a clue how to go about understanding God’s Word

• …and you are convinced that the only way that you can understand what God has to say
  • …is to go and have a pastor explain it in a sermon?

 

 

 

….nothing to be ashamed of…

 

 

 

I have had so many people say to me…..they cannot understand God’s Word….

 

 

 

Now….I’m not talking about understanding everything in this Book…..(I certainly don’t understand everything in this…)

• …even Peter writes in his second epistle….
  • …He says that some of the things that Paul writes are difficult to understand….

 

 

 

But if everytime you pick up God’s Word….you put It down having not understood what It says;

• Then listen to this; Jesus will address that in this passage

 

[…]

 

I trust that everyone realizes this morning….

• …that there is no salvation outside of His Word
• ….there is no growth in Christ outside of His Word
• …there is no victory in our lives outside of His Word

 

 

 

The Word of God is both necessary and sufficient for every need we have in our Christian walks

• …so when I speak of understanding God’s Word…
  • …please understand….

 

 

I am not speaking of something that is optional for those who desire to follow Christ

• …I am not speaking of something optional for those who desire to inherit eternal life….

 

 

I am speaking of something necessary....

• …something indispensible…
• …something crucial to knowing God….

 

 

 

 

So the rest of our time this morning will be spent on understanding God’s Word…

 

 

 

And the first thing that I want to point out is that;

 

 

God’s Expects His Children to Understand His Word

 

 

 

When the disciples don’t understand Jesus’ teaching

• …did He say to them…
  • Oh, I’m sorry that I wasn’t clear…
    • ….I’m sorry that I spoke in terms that were hard to understand….

 

 

No….He said

 

 

v 17

Do you not yet perceive or understand? Are your hearts hardened?

Having eyes do you not see, and having ears do you not hear? And do you not remember?

 

 

 

 

 

IOW; Jesus places the fault of not understanding onto the disciples’ hardness of heart

 

 

 

Paul teaches a similar thing;

 

 

2 Corinthians 3:14

But their minds were hardened. For to this day, when they read the old covenant, that same veil remains unlifted…

 

 

 

 

Over and over again…..when Jesus met when misunderstanding of God’s Law

• …what was His response…

 

 

Have you not read in the Scriptures?

 

Have you not read where it was written?

 

You are wrong because you do not know the Scriptures….

 

 

 

Jesus clearly placed the blame for misunderstanding God’s Word….

• Not on the Scriptures being difficult to read
  • ….bit on man’s failure to understand…

 

 

 

God gave us His Word with the full expectation that we can understand it

 

 

 

….and God does not just expect His children that are pastors and Bible scholars to understand His Word

• ..because His Word was written to everyday people

 

 

 

In a familiar passage, God gives this command to His children…..

 

 

Deuteronomy 6:6-7

And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart.  You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.

 

 

 

Now, what is the implication there?

• ….if all the people were to write God’s Word on their heart
• …and all the people were to teach it to their children…..and talk of it, and discuss it
  • …then what was implied?

 

 

It was implied that God’s Word could be understood by the people….

 

 

 

Not the leaders….not Moses and Aaron….

• …but the people….the parents….the families….

 

 

 

 

God expects His children to understand His Word….

 

 

 

….and I shudder to think of what God will say to so many who call themselves by His Son’s name

• …who have never read nor understood the Book that He wrote about His Son….

 

 

 

God expects His children to know His Word….

 

…now….as we close…..

• I want to give us four guidelines for understanding God’s Word
  • Four things that we must follow in order to expect to understand God’s Word….

 

 

1.                                       I.            In order to understand God’s Word, you must belong to God

 

 

In our passage for today

• Jesus directly connects the disciples’ understanding of His teaching with their presence with Him and the recollection of their experiences with Him….

 

Look again at Jesus’ words;

 

 

v 17

Do you not yet perceive or understand? Are your hearts hardened?

Having eyes do you not see, and having ears do you not hear? And do you not remember?

 

 

In order to understand Jesus’ teaching….they must be with Jesus….

 

 

[…]

 

Jesus says; you have eyes…can you not see?

 

 

 

You have ears….can you not hear?

 

 

And then He says; Do you not remember?

 

 

 

Jesus is connecting their understanding of what He said about the Pharisees to what they saw when He fed the multitudes……

 

 

What do those have to do with each other?

 

 

Jesus is connecting their understanding of His teaching to their experiences with Him

 

 

He is connecting their understanding of His teaching to their recollection of being with Jesus…

 

 

IOW; There is no understanding of Jesus’ teaching outside of being in Jesus’ presence….

 

 

 

There is no understanding of God’s Word outside of being in God’s presence

 

 

Understanding the Bible is a God-thing…..understanding the Bible is a spiritual thing…..

• …as in a Holy Spirit thing

 

 

 

Jesus will teach His disciples later in John’s Gospel;

 

 

John 16:13

When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth…

 

 

 

There is no understanding of God’s Word without the supernatural work of the Holy Spirit in your life….

• …because it is the Holy Spirit who gives us understanding of God’s Word

 

 

 

This is a supernatural Book….and to understand It…we need supernatural intervention

 

 

Paul puts it this way;

 

1 Corinthians 2:14

The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned.

 

 

 

 

The understanding of the teaching found in God’s Word is reserved for His children

 

 

We cannot say it any more simply or directly than how Jesus put it;

 

 

John 8:47

Whoever is of God hears the words of God. The reason why you do not hear them is that you are not of God.

 

…Paul even says to the Corinthians;

• ….the only ones that our gospel is veiled to is those that are perishing….

 

 

 

The first thing that we must grasp about understanding God’s Word

• ….only His children can understand and accept the things of the Spirit of God

 

 

 

Secondly;

 

 

1.                                    II.            In order to understand God’s Word, you must be walking with God

 

For the disciples…understanding only took place in His presence

• …understanding only took place in the proximity of Christ….
  • In Mark…..most profound teachings given in private settings

 

…and what that means for us is this;

• …we can only expect to understand God’s Word if we are walking with Christ
• …we can only expect to understand God’s Word when we are enjoying fellowship with God

 

 

Now….what breaks fellowship with God in our lives?

 

UNCONFESSED….UNREPENTED SIN

 

 

 

We cannot expect or hope to understand God’s Word with unconfessed, willful sin in our lives…..

 

 

Again….Paul says in 2 Corinthians;

 

 

2 Corinthians 3:14, 16

But their minds were hardened. For to this day, when they read the old covenant, that same veil remains unlifted, because only through Christ is it taken away…But when one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed.

 

 

 

 

If you know that you belong to Christ….and yet you are still unable to read and understand the Scriptures on your own

• …then check for unconfessed sin in your life….
  • …sin that the Holy Spirit has made you aware of….and yet you are holding onto it….because you like it…

 

 

 

 

Thirdly;

 

 

1.                                  III.            In order to understand God’s Word, you must work at it

 

 

…many Christians get frustrated when they try to read and understand God’s Word

• …because frankly, they think that they are supposed to be able to pick it up and with one quick reading through a passage….they’ve got it….

 

 

Hebrews 5:14

But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil.

 

Understanding God’s teaching takes work

• …it takes effort
• …it takes practice
• ….and it takes skill

 

And those are not spiritual gifts that you are just automatically given the moment you accept Christ….

 

 

 

I have bad news for many of you

• …this part of following Christ requires work

 

 

I think that there are some here who think that for my sermons

• ….I just read through the passage and spend an hour or two thinking about it
  • ….and that’s about it….

 

 

 

….I promise you….you would be amazed if you knew how many hours I spent studying 7 verses of Scripture before preaching on them….

 

 

 

You may not believe this;

• …..but before I preach on a passage of Scripture
  • …I have read that passage at least 50x

 

 

 

Understanding God’s Word requires practice…

• …and it requires effort
  • …and it requires skill

 

 

 

But….let me remind all of us again…..this is non-optional to the one who hopes to inherit eternal life….

 

 

 

Now, lastly;

 

 

1.                               IV.            In order to understand God’s Word, you must ask God for His help

 

 

 

God’s Word must be approached prayerfully

• …reverently…

 

And we must approach it with the attitude;

• …that any understanding that God grants us it a gift from Him

 

 

 

…and with that attitude….ask for that gift…

 

 

 

James says;

 

James 1:5-6

If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God…and it will be given him.  But let him ask in faith, with no doubting…

 

 

If you lack wisdom in understanding God’s Word…ask God….

• …and if you ask in faith….it will be granted…

 

 

God promises that….

 

[…]

 

 

 

Every week….I labor over God’s Word….

 

I spend many hours pouring over His Word…

 

 

…and can I share something with you?

 

 

You have no idea of the blessing that I receive from that….

 

 

If I could somehow communicate to you in a meaningful way

• …what it is like to consistently receive understanding from God through His Word…
  • …If I could communicate that to you
    • …I am certain that many more would spend a lot more time in His Word

 

Let me encourage you…..

 

 

God has given us a miracle….

 

 

It is a miracle that we literally have the_words_of_the Living God….

 

 

 

The Pharisees asked Jesus for a sign from heaven…..

 

If they could just receive a sign…they would believe…..

 

 

 

Read God’s Word……and He will put the sign on your heart