Mark 8:14-21

Mark 8:14-21 The disciples had forgotten to bring bread, except for one loaf they had with them in the boat. “Be careful,” Jesus warned them. “Watch out for the yeast of the Pharisees and that of Herod.” They discussed this with one another and said, “It is because we have no bread.” Aware of their discussion, Jesus asked them: “Why are you talking about having no bread? Do you still not see or understand? Are your hearts hardened? Do you have eyes but fail to see, and ears but fail to hear? And don’t you remember? When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many basketfuls of pieces did you pick up?” “Twelve,” they replied. “And when I broke the seven loaves for the four thousand, how many basketfuls of pieces did you pick up?” They answered, “Seven.” He said to them, “Do you still not understand?”

No, they did not fully understand. The disciples' hearts were hardened by their traditions, and also by their personal daily needs. The Pharisees were part of their religious community and therefore were not perceived by them to be much of a threat to their personal safety. Consequently, when they heard Jesus talk about yeast, their thoughts went quickly to their immediate need, which was bread. The disciples were dealing with their own realities, not abstractions. Their present circumstance was that they had only one loaf of bread to feed thirteen people. To them, this was a pressing need, so they were thinking about their problems and not about spiritual abstractions. This I believe is where most of us are most of the time. The Bible, meditation, and inspired ministry make spiritual thrusts into our thinking processes, into our consciousness, but the priorities of life usually dominate our thoughts. However, in Jesus' priorities, the spiritual world was much more important than the temporal.

In the above scriptures, Jesus was talking about a danger that could not only shorten the disciples' physical lives, but endanger their spiritual lives as well. Of course the Pharisees wanted Jesus killed, and Herod was the power to implement their wicked desire. But the Pharisees also carried about them a virulent virus of good works, of arrogant living, and a distaste for servanthood. Jesus understood how dangerous the Pharisees' thinking and lifestyle were to his gospel and to his disciples. However, his disciples' concern was on bread and not on spiritual things: “It is because we have no bread.” Jesus was talking about eternal matters, but the disciples were fixated on the temporal. Jesus was talking about eternal life, but the disciples were focused on this life, which is but a wisp of smoke--here today, gone tomorrow. They had already forgotten the significance of the miracle of feeding the 3,000, so they were worried about having only one loaf of bread to feed thirteen people. Our present circumstances can make us forget that God has taken care of us in the past and that He will take care of us in the present and in the future. We sometimes exasperate the grace of God by forgetting the special place we have in Christ, our miracle of salvation, our personal coming out of Egypt. Focusing on our present wilderness reveals a lack of food or water, while looking to Christ shows us his miraculous supply.

Jesus was vexed by how quickly HIS DISCIPLES forgot the miraculous experience that they had just observed. He couldn't believe that they were now concerned about how many loaves of bread they had after they had just witnessed him feeding three thousand people with seven loaves of bread. But miracles are very fleeting. Humans want to know, "What are you going to do for me today? We can't eat the miracles of yesterday." This passage reveals the actuality of the flesh. We might call this tendency carnal, or we might just say this is just the way things are. Regardless of our spiritual experiences, our minds quickly revert to the temporal, to daily circumstances and needs. However, the Bible indicates that those who are led by the Spirit are the children of God. To be led by the Spirit means that we read our Bible, meditate, and gather together in worship. These activities help us reorient ourselves on the spiritual, the eternal. Really there is no substitute for these spiritual commitments. They cause our hearts to be softened. They make us able to keep the miraculous in our memory; they stir up the faith within us. They open our ears to God's voice. When our hearts are softened, we will not let our needs, traditions, and lifestyle influences overwhelm our thinking. We will begin to hear the quiet, still voice of the Comforter. We will hear him say, "I am with you, one loaf is sufficient."