Daily Devotional For Sunday, July 7, 2024

Well, today is Sunday. The Lord’s Day as we say it. I hope you are planning on going to church today to worship the greatest God there is — Jesus Christ. Yesterday, we were in Mark 8 looking at a question Jesus asked and today we are back in the same chapter looking at several questions that Jesus asks in a row. Look at Mark 8:17-21:

“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? (18) Do you have eyes but fail to see, and ears but fail to hear? And don’t you remember? (19) When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many basketfuls of pieces did you pick up?’ `Twelve,’ they replied. (20) `And when I broke the seven loaves for the four thousand, how many basketfuls of pieces did you pick up?’ They answered, `Seven.’ (21) He said to them, “Do you still not understand?” (ESV).

Did you catch all of Jesus’ questions? It seems to me that Jesus is a little frustrated with His disciples. They have eyes, but do not see. They have ears, but do not hear. They are taught by Jesus every day and they still do not understand. It seems that as the disciples and Jesus started to make their way across the Sea of Galilee, that when hunger hit them, it dawned on them that none of them had thought to bring bread. Look at Mark 8:14-16:

“Now they had forgotten to bring bread, and they had only one loaf with them in the boat. (15) And He cautioned them, saying, “Watch out; beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod.” (16) And they began discussing with one another the fact that they had no bread” (ESV). 

They were so caught up in the mundane — in their box — they forgot to bring bread. Here they were traveling to the northeastern shores of the Bethsaida that was less populated and kind of remote. Bread would be harder to come by there. We know this from Mark 6:35 , “And when it grew late, His disciples came to Him and said, `This is a desolate place, and the hour is now late’” (ESV).

While on their way, Jesus gave His disciples an order. “Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod.” Matthew 16:6 lets us know that Jesus warned them about the leaven of the Sadducees also — “Jesus said to them, `Watch and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees’” (ESV). While the disciples are focused on the mundane of their own physical hunger, Jesus wanted them to be focused on their spiritual hunger.

In the Bible, “leaven” is often used as a metaphor to illustrate influence. Why? Because a small amount of yeast or leaven is able to permeate a relatively small amount of dough and cause it to rise. Even Jesus used “leaven” to illustrate influence in a positive way in Matthew 13:33 and Luke 13:21. Jesus was very much aware of the influence of these 3 groups in His day: — the Pharisees, the Sadducees, and the Herodians. 

Each group had its own system of works of self-righteousness and superficial externalism. The Pharisees were manufactured spiritual fakes who looked good outwardly but inwardly were still spiritually dead and unclean. This was Jesus’ accusation against them in Matthew 23:27, “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but within are full of dead people’s bones and all uncleanness'' (ESV).

Due to the Sadducees' pragmatism, rationalism, and materialism, they really thought they were better. The Sadducees did not believe in the immortality of the soul, they did not believe in the resurrection of the dead, and they were great at extorting, and profiting financially from Jews who came to the Temple to make sacrifices, especially during Passover. Herodians were Jews who loved King Herod and their “leaven” was to emulate his sexual immoral behavior. They were completely secularists who accepted everything in the Roman culture. 

So, Jesus was warning His disciples against the leaven of rationalism, legalism, hypocrisy, materialism, immorality and worldliness. Here Jesus is using bread as a spiritual metaphor and they think of physical bread. Later in Matthew 16:12 it hits them —“Then they understood that He did not tell them to beware of the leaven of bread, but of the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees” (ESV). What they do not know is that the cross was less than a year away and they still do not get it and they still do not get who Jesus is.

Though Jesus had opened their eyes to see some things spiritually, they were still spiritually blind to much of what Jesus was trying to teach them. The last thing the disciples should be focused on is where they are going to get food. On two occasions they had personally witnessed Jesus getting them more than enough food in the feeding of the 5,000 and just now, the feeding of the 4,000. 

Compared to the religious leaders, the disciples did have more spiritual sight than them. Pastor and author John MacArthur illustrates this point this way:

“The religious leaders found common ground in their hatred for Jesus; the disciples were united in their love for Him. The Pharisees and Sadducees reacted to additional light with greater rejection; the disciples responded with a deeper desire to learn more. The leaders’ darkness deepened, the disciples’ darkness dissipated. By persisting in their unbelief, the religious leaders were abandoned by Him and ultimately cast into everlasting hell. By embracing the Lord Jesus in saving faith, the disciples were embraced by Him and ultimately welcomed into eternal heaven.

Thus, in spite of the disciples’ weaknesses and shortcomings, the Lord was glad to teach them. Whereas the religious leaders were shut off from divine revelation due to their unbelief, Jesus’ followers (especially the Twelve) were the privileged recipients of His constant instruction. Even after His death and resurrection, the Lord continued to teach for forty days until He ascended into heaven (Acts 1:3)” — Source: John MacArthur, The MacArthur New Testament Commentary, “Mark,” p. 405).

Pastor and author Chuck Swindoll adds this to this story:

“The Pharisees, however, had a different kind of blindness. They had already seen Jesus heal diseases, cast out demons, and even raise the dead! In fact, they had dismissed His earlier miracles, not as tricks or illusions, but as genuinely supernatural acts done with the help of Satan (3:22). They had already seen all the evidence they needed to make a logical deduction about the identity of Jesus, yet they remained blinded to the truth.

Jesus’ point in refusing the Pharisees’ request was this: “If what I have done and what you have seen thus far in My earthly ministry have not convinced you that God is evident in and through My life, something spectacular blazing across the sky will not convince you. You must soften your hearts.” Besides, both Jesus and the Pharisees knew that false prophets traffic in the sensational. More miraculous signs would only begin to undermine His credibility. Jesus discontinued the dialogue and simply carried on with His ministry” (Charles R. Swindoll, Swindoll’s Living Insights New Testament Commentary, “Matthew,” p. 216).

Jesus’s frustration with His disciples may be His frustration with us. He asked them in Mark 8:18, “Do you not perceive or understand . .” (ESV). The Greek New Testament word for “perceive” is [νοέω, noeo] and it means “to perceive by the mind, to apprehend, to observe with reflection, to comprehend.” The Greek New Testament word for “understand” is [συνίημι, suneimi] and it has the literal sense of bringing separated things together; metaphorically, it denotes the process of assembling data or clues to arrive at a reasonable conclusion. I would paraphrase Jesus this way: “Don’t you get it? Can’t you connect the dots? The clues make the conclusion self-evident; how can you fail to see it?”

Questions To Consider

1. With which spiritual issues or topics do you think Jesus would say to you, “Do you not perceive or understand this truth?” Why?
2. When are you most prone to be like the disciples — focusing on physical things rather than spiritual things? How can you change that?
3. It is easy for us today to have the truth condemn or judge these religious leaders for rejecting Jesus. There have been people throughout history who claim to be Jesus Christ or God. We rejected them and for good reasons. There was a lot at stake if these religious leaders accepted Jesus and His truth. What would be at stake if you committed to understanding and doing all the truth Jesus has given you?

Scripture To Meditate On: Matthew 4:4, Jesus said, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes out of the mouth of God” (ESV).

Prayer To Pray: “Dear Jesus, I know there are areas in my life where there is compromise, hypocrisy, jealousy, comparison, materialism, and self-righteousness. Help me to be a humble person before You and before others. Help me live out what I already know, understand and perceive from You that needs to be woven into the fabric of my life. Help me connect the dots and live out my life for Your glory. In Jesus’ name, Amen!”   

I love you Southside!—Pastor Kelly