Stop, Look, and Listen!
Mark 8:13-21
Introduction: The horrendous collision in
Virginia last week between a train that was carrying a group of congressmen to
a retreat, and a garbage truck that apparently was stopped on the tracks,
resulted in the death of the truck driver and severely injured another man.
When we hear of accidents like that, it reminds us of the importance of the
sign, “Stop, look, listen” at some railroad crossings. I don’t know the details
of that crash, but at least sometimes accidents happen because vehicles on the
road don’t heed the warning signs right in front of them. Stop, look, and
listen: It is not just a suggestion, it can be life or death. What is true of railroad crossings is also
true of living the Christian Life. We need to be sure that we slow down enough
in life to listen to what God has revealed, to hear the voice of the
Master. God is real… and He has spoken! That truth should be enough to cause us
to “stop, look, and listen.”
As we see history unfolding around us,
in the world, in our nation, and in our individual lives, we also need to stop
and listen to His word, and watch, to look for the hand of God. He is the Lord
of history! In a real sense all of history is HIS STORY. As we continue our
study of the Gospel of Mark, we see Jesus revealing himself through His works
and His words. Some, like the Pharisees and the scribes, for the most part had long
ago made up their minds about Jesus. For the multitudes, for some individuals
that He will yet meet in Galilee or on that final trip to Jerusalem, and for
the disciples, the revelation of truth continues. Jesus was calling the people
to repent and believe the Gospel, the Good News of the Kingdom. As Mark tells
the story of Jesus he is asking his readers to consider who Jesus is, to think
about why He came, and to ponder what it really means to follow Him. For the
moment there will be another “private class” (that we get to listen in on) as
Jesus gets in the boat with His disciples. That brings us to…
The Maine* Idea: We must
beware of the subtle influences that can disrupt our spiritual life, and seek
diligently God’s truth and direction.
Context (13,14): Jesus “left them” [the
Pharisees] in their unbelief and moved on, continuing the training of the
disciples…
13 And he left them, got into the boat again, and went
to the other side. 14 Now
they had forgotten to bring bread, and they had only one loaf with them in the
boat.
Mark gives us two important details
to set the context for the exchange that follows. First, Jesus leaves the
unbelieving Pharisees and gets in the boat with the disciples. He knew the hearts
of the leaders and understood their motivation in asking of a sign. He knew
their motives and He would not be manipulated. He also knew that He had more
work to do with the disciples before His departure. They needed to be prepared
for the ministry that would be entrusted to them, including learning to avoid
the subtle “shifts” in our attention and vision that can lead us astray, and to
stay focused on the Truth that leads to life. We’ll see that we need to 1) Beware
of False doctrine; 2) Be aware of our spiritual sensibility; and 3) Be patient…
the Christian life is a walk, a process, and God isn’t finished with us yet!
I. Beware of False Doctrine: The Leaven of the Pharisees and
the Leaven of Herod (15).
15 And he cautioned
them, saying, "Watch out; beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the
leaven of Herod."
In a class at a Christian school down south the teacher asked, “What is false doctrine?” One little
boy’s hand shot up to answer. “False
doctorin’ is when the doctor gives the wrong stuff to people who are sick.”
Although he confused doctrine with doctorin’ he arrived at the correct
definition! Jesus came to heal the lost souls of fallen humans – by his stripes we are healed. People
need the truth, sound doctrine, “the right
stuff,” to heal their sin sick
souls!
Here Jesus calls his disciples to be on
guard for something. He uses two verbs connected to the idea of “watching”: “Look! Watch!” That repetition gives the
idea of keeping diligent, careful watch. Like in Gethsemane, in Mark 14:34, “…he
said to them, ‘My soul is very sorrowful, even to death. Remain here and watch.’"
How did that go? What did they do? Fell asleep! Let’s take seriously the call
to stay alert. But stay alert for what?
Jesus repeats the word “leaven.” He doesn’t say “the leaven of the
Pharisees and Herod,” but rather “the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of
Herod.” We know that usually (but not always) “leaven” is used as a symbol
of sin, and that seems to be the case here. Just as a little leaven works
through a lump of dough and “infects” the whole thing, a little sin, willful
compromise, can permeate our whole life as an individual believer, or even our
church. We know the Pharisees were very religious. But they held up their
tradition even above Scripture. Jesus confronted them more harshly than any
other group. For example in Matthew 23:27-28 he says,
"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. 28 So
you also outwardly appear righteous to others, but within you are full of
hypocrisy and lawlessness.
Here in Mark,
just in the previous chapter, Jesus sternly rebuked the Pharisees and taught
the disciples that God was not concerned with what we eat or drink, it is not what goes in our mouth that defiles,
but what comes from our hearts (Mk 7:1-23). Then, after miracles of healing
and miraculously feeding a gentile multitude, they came across the lake and the
Pharisees where there, waiting to “test” Him. Jesus would not be manipulated. So,
having just left the Pharisees and gotten back in the boat with the disciples, He
is warning them not to let the hypocrisy and legalism and pride of the
Pharisees begin to seep into their hearts. They needed to beware, to watch
diligently. Like the proverb says, “Above
all else, guard your heart, your whole life depends on it…” (Prov 4:23). He
told them to watch out for the leaven of
the Pharisees, and the leaven of Herod…
We know from earlier in this gospel that
Herod was worldly, carnal, focused on his power and the comforts in his
position. He too was prideful and wanted to look good to the people around him.
In fact, to save face, he would even take a life. Just a couple chapters back
we saw that sad scene in Mark 6 when Herodias’ daughter danced before him and
his friends, pleasing them. Seemingly trying to impress, Herod made a foolish
oath that resulted in him ordering the death of John the Baptist! Jesus is warning
his disciples, and us, not to let pride, self-centeredness, worldliness, the
leaven of Herod, to start creeping into our lives! There is an old Arab
proverb, “Do not let the Camel’s nose in
the tent, his body will soon follow!” We must beware of the subtle
influences that can disrupt our spiritual life, and seek diligently God’s truth
and direction.
II. Be aware of your spiritual sensibility: “I see”
said the blind man! Jesus corrects his followers (16-18).
16 And they began
discussing with one another the fact that they had no bread. 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? 18 Having eyes do you not see, and
having ears do you not hear? And do you not remember?
The disciples, like us, were a
work in progress. More than once in this gospel he has asked them, “Don’t you yet understand?” So be
encouraged! They had the Master of all teachers. They had been walking with
Jesus for maybe a couple of years at this point and they were still not always
getting what He said! All of us, no
matter how long we’ve been believers, are also a work in progress. Someone
said, “The church is not a gallery where
we exhibit the finest of Christians. No, it is a school where we educate and
encourage imperfect Christians.” So, the disciples missed what Jesus was
saying, but He asks some rhetorical questions to “jar” their minds, and maybe,
to convict their hearts.
Seek to understand His words. Excursus: One of the striking things about
the teaching of Jesus was how extensively He used figurative language. From
simple metaphors to extended parables, the things that Jesus taught were not
superficial, they required thought and consideration. He wanted to provoke the minds of His hearers
and draw them in. He engaged their minds in the word pictures He used as they
pondered the meaning of His words. An OT example of this was when the prophet
Nathan came to David and told him a story, in 2 Samuel 12:1-9,
"There were
two men in a certain city, the one rich and the other poor. 2 The rich man had very many
flocks and herds, 3 but the poor man had nothing but one little ewe
lamb, which he had bought. And he brought it up, and it grew up with him and
with his children. It used to eat of his morsel and drink from his cup and lie
in his arms, and it was like a daughter to him.
4 Now there came a traveler to the rich man, and he was
unwilling to take one of his own flock or herd to prepare for the guest who had
come to him, but he took the poor man's lamb and prepared it for the man who
had come to him." 5 Then
David's anger was greatly kindled against the man, and he said to Nathan,
"As the LORD lives, the man who has done this deserves to die, 6 and he shall restore the lamb
fourfold, because he did this thing, and because he had no pity." 7 Nathan said to David, "You
are the man! ... 9Why have
you despised the word of the LORD, to do what is evil in his sight? You have
struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword and have taken his wife to be your
wife and have killed him with the sword of the Ammonites.
Nathan was not talking about lambs, rather
he was using that story to paint a picture that drew David in, and in this
case, exposed his sin and condemned him by his own words! He was convicted! Consequently,
David repented and turned to God for mercy. Word pictures are powerful, they
have a way of drawing us in as we put ourselves in the story and consider how
we would respond. And they were something that Jesus used extensively. He is
doing so right here in our passage in Mark 8.
The disciples forgot “bread” and they immediately were fixated on that.
They heard Jesus’ warning about “leaven” and thought, “Leaven? Bread! It’s
because we forgot bread!” He wasn’t giving the disciples a baking tip! They were completely focused on the literal,
superficial meaning of His words. It is almost like Nicodemus in John 3:4, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he
enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born?” BORN AGAIN Nick…
spiritually! And this scene in Mark was not a cooking class on the water, nor
was he talking about the fact that they didn’t bring enough bread for lunch! He had just fed 4000 men with seven loaves of
bread, what were they worried about? They should have been focused on what
these miracles revealed about Jesus!
The questions Jesus asks are pointed ones, they were intended as a
serious call to self-examination for the disciples. He had asked these
questions before (4:9,23; 7:16). Here He asks the disciples, 1. Having eyes do you not
see…? 2. …and having ears do you not hear? 3. And do you not remember? Jesus had just
confronted the unbelief of the Pharisees, and now He was dealing with the “baby
faith” of His disciples! Is it coincidental that immediately before this scene
Jesus opens the ears of a deaf man, and immediately after, He gives sight to a
blind man? Don’t you hear? Don’t you see? We need to listen, and we also need
to…
Seek to discern His actions, as He
providentially guides us through life. We see in the Gospel of Mark the
patience of Jesus as He guides His disciples, teaching them and preparing them
for the mission that lay ahead. He continues to guide His followers, that is
us, through His Word, through the inward conviction of the Spirit, and through
the circumstances of life. God is not only interested in our future, but He is
present and active in our lives here and now, preparing us for the
future we will have with Him in eternity. Yes, God has a destination in mind for us, but He is also interested in the journey! Stop, Look, Listen. We must beware of the subtle
influences that can disrupt our spiritual life, and seek diligently God’s truth
and direction.
III. Be Patient: God isn’t finished with you yet! “…do you not yet understand…”?
Do you find hope in that question? I do, as Jesus reminds them of what He has
done, what they should have already learned, he implies that one day they will
see more clearly (18c-21).
And do you not
remember? 19 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." 20 "And the seven for the
four thousand, how many baskets full of broken pieces did you take up?"
And they said to him, "Seven."
21 And he said to them, "Do you not yet
understand?"
Back in v.17 Jesus asked, “Do you not
yet perceive and understand…?” In verse 21 He asks again, “Do you not yet understand?” Jesus
referred back to the two miraculous feedings, and to impossible amount of
leftovers that were collected in both cases. They had carried the baskets full
of the fragments that added up to many times more than they had started with! Moses,
David, and Elijah had known God’s miraculous provision of sustenance in times
past, and now He, one greater than Moses, was here! They experienced God’s
presence and power, and now, after leaving behind the unbelieving Pharisees,
they hear Jesus talk about the “leaven of
the Pharisees,” and they can’t get past the superficial, the transitory,
“we forgot to bring bread!” They did “not
yet” understand, but that phrase seems to hold out hope that one day their
eyes would be opened, and they would understand! Someone said, “There are no hopeless situations; there are
only people who have grown hopeless about them.” We see Paul in his letters
frequently expressing hope in his readers. Of the Philippians he said, “And
I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to
completion at the day of Jesus Christ…” (Phil 1:6). Though he was surely
concerned about spiritual immaturity in some of his churches (see I Corinthians
1-3)! God is able to use ordinary, struggling, imperfect people (like us!), as
He carries out His plan in the world.
What is God saying to me in this passage? For our part, let’s guard our hearts… We must beware
of the subtle influences that can disrupt our spiritual life, and seek
diligently God’s truth and direction.
What would God have me to do
in response to this passage? The Pharisees’ legalism seemed
to keep them from accepting the possibility that Jesus is the Messiah, the
long-awaited Rescuer spoken of in the Scriptures. How could He be the Messiah,
if He doesn’t follow our traditions?
Herod was prideful, self-centered, and focused on maintaining the status quo. His father had tried to kill
the infant Jesus, and he was more concerned that Jesus might be the incarnation
of John the Baptist than anything else. Like the Pharisees, He was unwilling to
humble himself, recognize his need, and turn to God in repentance and faith.
They thought they could see, but they were blind to the Living Word, the Light
of the World, who stood right in front of them. Before we judge them, or the
disciples, we should be careful to ask “what are the subtle influences from the
world that so easily creep into my life, and disrupt the fellowship with
God that I long for?” Is that convicting? Today, as we prepare to share the
Lord’s Table, let’s take a few minutes to bow quietly before Him, inviting
Him to convict, and to heal, to change us from within. The psalmist said “Search me, O God,
and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts!
24 And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in
the way everlasting!” (Psalm 139:23,24). AMEN.
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