Mark 8:1-26

in our series in Mark tonight.

For those of you who haven't met, my name's Nick.

I'm one of the pastors here.

This academic year, actually,

we're looking at the Gospel of Mark.

We're coming up in the second half of it.

This spring, we're gonna look

at basically Mark 8 through 16.

We're gonna finish Mark by Easter,

which seems kind of like a daring feat,

but we're gonna do it by God's grace.

So turn with me to Mark chapter 8.

Mark 8 · chapter mention

It's page 843 in the Black Pew Bible,

if you wanna turn there.

We'll put this passage on the screen,

but it's good to have it open.

If you can turn there, that way,

if we jump around, you can follow me.

Mark chapter 8, we'll look at verses 1 through 26.

Mark 8 · chapter mention

Let me read this for us.

So Mark 8, verse 1.

Mark 8:1

In those days when a great crowd had gathered

and they had nothing to eat,

he called his disciples to him and said to them,

I have compassion on the crowd

because they have been with me now three days

and have nothing to eat.

And if I send them away hungry to their homes,

they will faint on the way.

And some of them have come from far away.

And his disciples answered him,

how can one feed these people with bread

here in this desolate place?

And he asked them, how many loaves do you have?

They said, seven.

And he directed the crowd to sit down on the ground

and he took the seven loaves

and having given thanks,

he broke them

and gave them to his disciples

to set before the people.

And they set them before the crowd

and they had a few small fish

and having blessed them,

he said that those also should be set before them.

And they ate

and were satisfied.

And they took up the broken pieces

left over seven baskets full.

And there were about 4,000 people.

And he sent them away

and immediately got into the boat

with his disciples

and went to the district of Dalmanutha.

And then, the Pharisees came

and began to argue with him,

seeking from him a sign from heaven

to test him.

And he sighed deeply in his spirit

and said,

why does this generation seek a sign?

Truly I say to you,

no sign will be given to this generation.

And he left them,

got into the boat again

and went to the other side.

Now they had forgotten to bring bread

and they had only one loaf with them in the boat.

And he cautioned them saying,

watch out,

beware of the leaven of the Pharisees

and the leaven of Herod.

And they began discussing with one another

the fact that they had no bread.

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 5,000,

how many baskets full of broken pieces did you take up?

They said to him,

12.

And the seven for the 4,000,

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?

And they came to Bethsaida.

And some people brought to him a blind man

and begged him to touch him.

And he took the blind man by the hand

and led him out of the village.

And when he had spit on his eyes

and laid his hands on him,

he asked him,

do you see anything?

And he looked up and said,

I see men,

but they look like trees walking.

Jesus laid his hands on his eyes again,

and he opened his eyes.

His sight was restored.

And he saw everything clearly.

And he sent him to his home,

saying,

do not even enter the village.

Well, I wonder if you've ever been in a situation

where someone is trying really hard

to teach you something

and you just can't seem to get it.

If you've ever tried learning a foreign language,

maybe you've had that experience.

I remember when I was in divinity school,

I was learning Hebrew,

and I had that experience a lot, actually,

learning biblical Hebrew.

The first time I encountered it

was when I was learning,

it was like chapter three of our grammar.

And you have to realize

that in the Hebrew language,

every single word just about

comes from a three-consonant root.

Every word, three consonants.

It's completely baffling.

I remember our teacher

trying so hard

to get us to understand

how these three-letter roots work.

Because you see, the thing is,

like any language,

it doesn't always play by the rules, right?

Some consonants drop out,

some combine with others,

and some just mysteriously disappear.

And here we were,

sitting through our Hebrew class,

utterly baffled,

staring at the page of our grammar,

just not getting it.

And it was only week three of the course.

We were in trouble.

Now, maybe that hasn't happened

to you learning another language,

maybe learning a new skill,

or learning some new idea.

To be honest with you,

the New Haven public bus system,

how that thing works

is still a bit baffling to me.

Those of you who are able

to ride that thing and get around,

I have a lot of respect for you

because I would be utterly confused

where that thing was taking me.

But it's like that

with a lot of things, isn't it?

Riding a bike,

learning how to swim.

You try and you try and you try,

and it seems like you just can't get it.

But then one day,

something happens, right?

One day when I was studying Hebrew,

despairing,

it clicked.

Suddenly it made sense.

The lights came on

and I finally started to understand

how these crazy three-letter roots

actually worked.

And the best way to describe it,

I think,

was that I could finally see it.

I could see it.

Have you had that experience

from not understanding

to understanding,

from not seeing it

to seeing it?

Our text tonight

is all about

responding

to Jesus Christ.

Of understanding

and seeing

who He is.

We've come to chapter 8

of Mark's Gospel,

as I mentioned.

And you see,

chapter 8 is really

the turning point

of the whole book.

The whole book really pivots

on this chapter.

Everything leading up

to this point,

almost,

has been to show us

who Jesus is.

Mark has been taking pains

to describe to us

Jesus' person,

His identity.

And from this chapter onward,

things are going to turn,

things are going to shift,

and Mark's going to begin

showing us

why Jesus came,

what He came to do,

His purpose,

His mission.

But running underneath

both of these questions

and both of these halves

is another question.

And it's the question

of how should we respond?

What does it mean

to believe

and to follow

this Jesus?

So as Mark brings

this first half

of his Gospel

to a head,

we're confronted

with this pressing question

from Jesus Himself

in verse 21.

Do you not yet

understand?

Do you see Him?

Do you know Him?

Do you understand

who He is?

Now rewind

to the beginning

of our passage,

the feeding of the 4,000.

If you've been with us

in our Mark series,

this passage probably

sounds kind of familiar.

Do you remember

back in chapter 6

where Jesus did

something incredibly similar?

Back there

with just five loaves

and two fish,

He fed a crowd

of 5,000 men

plus women and children

and there were 12 baskets

of bread left over.

And now

in our passage tonight

with just seven loaves

and a few small fish,

He feeds over 4,000 people

and there are seven baskets

left over.

Jesus is at it again.

And you have to ask,

reading Mark's gospel,

what are we supposed

to learn from this miracle

that we didn't learn

from the first miracle?

After all,

think about it.

Presumably,

Mark,

the writer of this gospel,

didn't include everything

that he knew about Jesus

into it.

All of the gospel writers

are being selective.

They're all presenting to us

what they feel to be

the most important things,

the things that we need to know

to really understand

Jesus rightly.

So why does Mark include

two miraculous feedings?

Well, many commentators

point out,

and I think they're right,

that one of the primary

differences is this.

You see,

the first feeding,

if you go back there

and read,

took place

in Jewish territory.

Jesus was among

His own people,

among the people of Israel,

the people of God.

But in chapter 8,

He's actually now transitioned,

not,

no longer in Jewish territory,

but He's in a Gentile region.

If you have your Bible open,

look back at chapter 7,

verse 31.

We see there that Jesus

is in the region

of the Decapolis,

which is a Gentile region

on the far side

of the Sea of Galilee.

And that means Jesus

is among outsiders.

He's among people

that weren't necessarily

born to the right family.

He's among the pagans

and the irreligious.

Those who didn't have

the spiritual privileges

of being brought up

as an Israelite.

These are the people

who probably don't know much

about God's Word.

They don't know much

about God's covenant promises.

And yet,

here is Jesus

going to the outsiders

and satisfying their needs,

too.

Teaching them

and then feeding them.

You see,

Jesus is showing us

and Mark wants us

to hear it loud and clear

that the kingdom

Jesus has come to bring

is for everyone.

For rich and for poor,

for young and for old,

for Jew and for Gentile,

for male and for female,

for insiders and outsiders,

for religious people

and irreligious people.

He's come for them all.

And all can come to him

and be satisfied.

Did you notice

that wonderful line

in verse 8?

And they all ate

and were satisfied.

Mark tells us the same thing

the first time around

in chapter 6,

verse 42.

And they all ate

and were satisfied.

Jesus is the satisfier

of souls.

And that goes for you

and that goes for me.

There is one

that satisfies

and it is Jesus.

He's showing them

with bread

a truth about who he is

and what he's come to do.

A truth about his kingdom

that in Jesus

God has come

to bring satisfaction

to weary

and hungry souls

and he's come to do it

for all people.

Now that's what we learn

about Jesus

in this passage.

But I think Mark

also wants to show us

something about the disciples.

And by implication

he wants to show us

something about us

and what it means

to respond to Jesus.

Now put yourself

in the disciples' shoes

for a second

in this story.

You're in a deserted place.

Jesus is teaching

large crowds.

People are getting hungry.

There's not enough food.

And this all sounds

and feels very familiar

to you.

You're thinking

we were in this situation

not so long ago.

And Jesus says to you

I have compassion

on these people

because they've been with me.

They're getting hungry

and I can't send them away.

Now,

as readers of the Gospel

of Mark

what do you want

the disciples to say?

Jesus,

you can feed them?

We've seen you do it

just two chapters ago.

Of course they wouldn't

have said two chapters.

Maybe it was a few months.

Maybe even a year ago.

We know you can feed them.

We trust you.

Just tell us what to do.

We're ready.

We're expectant.

Come on, Jesus.

Do it again.

But that's not how

they respond.

Instead they say

who's going to feed

all these people

with bread

in this desolate place?

And of course

we as readers think

oh,

how obtuse

can these disciples be?

I mean,

come on.

how could they not

put the pieces together?

But you know,

when we stop

and think about it,

aren't you and I

often the same?

How many of us

have seen the Lord

work in our lives

in very clear ways?

But then a little

further down the road

a new situation arises

and instead of our faith

being stronger

and responding

in deeper trust

to the Lord,

it's like we've

completely forgotten.

And we respond

the same way

we did the first time

with questions

and doubt

and fear.

Is God really there?

Does He care for me?

Is He in control?

One writer reflecting

on this passage

put it this way.

He said,

Mark is showing us

how great

is human spiritual blindness.

The disciples

continually fail

to apply

what they know

of Jesus

to new situations

and that

is the definition

of unbelief.

Failing to apply

what they know

of Jesus

in new situations.

Friends,

if you're here tonight

and you're a Christian,

you need to be aware

that your heart

will constantly

be tempted

to doubt Jesus

again and again

and again.

You know He's

the satisfier of your soul.

You know He's

the good shepherd

who cares for the sheep

and yet there will be times

when you and I

are thrown into situations,

maybe situations

just like you've been in before

and your heart

will start to doubt

His love

and His power

and His care for you

and you won't expect Him

to work

and you'll wonder

whether He's even there

and in that moment

here's what you need to do.

Not trust your heart

and not trust

your doubts

and fears.

This is a sign

of spiritual maturity

when we see

that our hearts

are prone to doubt

and prone to forget

and instead of listening

to those doubts

and fears

we instead work hard

to remember

what He's done

and to view

our current situation

in light

of what we know

to be true

about Him.

Now this theme

of unbelief

or of partial belief

you probably picked it up

it continues

through the rest

of the passage

doesn't it?

And each part

is sort of instructing us

how we ought to respond

to Jesus.

First Jesus gets out

of the boat

and the first thing

that happens

is that the Pharisees

come to Him

and they confront Him

and Mark says

they argue with Him

seeking from Him

a sign from Heaven

to test Him.

And Jesus' response

is to sigh deeply

and says

in essence

no sign

is going to be given you.

Of course

there's a bit of an irony

here isn't it?

Isn't there?

Jesus has been doing

incredible things

His whole ministry.

He's just fed

4,000 people

with seven loaves of bread.

So what exactly

are the Pharisees

looking for

and why won't Jesus

give it to them?

Well in answer

to the first question

it seems that the Pharisees

want Jesus to give them

some sort of extreme

supernatural proof

a sign from Heaven

that He is indeed

the Messiah.

But you have to see

a little deeper

under what's going on here.

You have to see

that they're only

asking Him this

right as Mark says

to test Him.

You see they've already

made up their minds

about Jesus.

They think He's a fraud

or they think

He's demon possessed

or whatever

and now they think

they're going to ask Him

to jump through a hoop

so high

that He's bound

to fail

or at least

that's what they think.

But Jesus refuses

to play their game.

Why?

Could He have done

something amazingly

supernatural?

Of course.

He just calmed

an entire storm

a few chapters ago.

Why doesn't Jesus

do something

amazingly supernatural?

You see because

Jesus knows

that no amount

of external evidence

even miraculous evidence

can break through

some kinds

of spiritual blindness.

Remember

this section

is all about

seeing Jesus

and responding

to Him.

I mean after all

Jesus had been doing

remarkable things.

He had been doing

signs of a certain

kind, right?

Healing the sick,

feeding the hungry,

causing the blind

to see,

comforting the outcasts,

seeking out sinners

and calling them

to repentance

and fellowship

with God.

But you see

that's not

the kind

of Messiah

that the Pharisees

wanted.

That kind of Messiah

didn't fit

their grid.

They wanted

a Messiah

that would keep

all the traditions

that they kept

and they wanted

a king

that would be

scrupulous

about ceremonial

purity

just as they

defined it.

But you see

God's kingdom

as Jesus defines it

and as it is

truly

is for everyone.

As we've said

Jew and Gentile

clean and unclean

it's for everyone

who stops trusting

in their own

moral performance

and their own

cleanliness

and trusts

in Jesus alone.

So Jesus refuses

to give them

a sign

because he knows

their hearts.

Now does that

mean that Jesus

doesn't encourage

us today

as seekers

to look at

the evidence

and to seek

for the truth

and even to ask

questions along

the way

and to try

this thing out

to see whether

it holds water?

Is Jesus saying

no, don't do

any of that?

Of course not,

right?

Throughout the

gospels he's

encouraging people

to come to him

and look at him

and test him out.

You see,

here's something

that we often

get confused about.

We often think

that faith

is some kind

of leap in the dark

and in fact

reading a lot

of commentators

on this chapter

this week,

that's basically

what a lot

of commentators

said that Jesus

was doing here.

He's saying

that no,

faith is sort of

you just have

to take a leap.

Friends,

that's not at all

what Jesus

is saying here.

He's saying

that faith

involves

something more

than just

evidence.

Does it look

at the evidence

and investigate

it and move

on the basis

of it?

Yes.

But faith

also involves

your heart.

And if our

heart is filled

with all sorts

of biases

and presuppositions

and if we've

already made

up our mind,

then friends,

no amount

of evidence

is going to

overcome it.

faith.

Because you see,

faith is more

than acknowledging

the truth

of a fact.

Faith is

commitment

to a person.

And if there's

no openness

to that sort

of commitment,

if that door

has already

been shut,

and if like

the Pharisees

were simply

looking for ways

to debunk

Jesus'

claims,

then Jesus

knows that

signs are

pointless.

You see,

the problem

with the Pharisees

is that they

were determining

the definition

of the Messiah

themselves,

and they were

putting up

their own

criteria that

this Messiah

had to fit,

and then,

of course,

they took

their own

standards and

their own

criteria,

and Jesus

fell short.

And when Jesus

gets into the

boat with

his disciples,

what does

he say?

He says,

watch out for

that sort of

thinking.

He says,

it's like

leaven.

It's like

yeast that

spreads everywhere

and affects

everything.

Because don't

we often do

the same thing?

How often do

we have similar

thoughts run

through our

minds?

God, if you

loved me,

then you would

do this.

You'd show me

a sign.

You'd solve

this problem

in my life.

You'd get me

that job.

You'd bring me

a spouse.

Jesus, if you

were really God,

then you'd fix

this or that.

You'd stop the

pain I'm feeling.

Etc.

Etc.

You see how

easy it is to

fall into this

trap?

But it can be

like yeast.

It starts to

spread.

And suddenly,

we're calling

the shots,

and we're setting

the standards

that God has

to meet.

And if God

doesn't jump

through our

hopes,

then we start

to turn away.

God wants

to come to

Him and

pour out our

hearts to

Him.

But as soon

as these

desires of

our hearts

become the

criteria,

the test,

that God

has to

meet,

friends,

then our

hearts are

in a

dangerous

place.

Instead,

let Him

define the

criteria.

And have

your eyes

open to

what He's

already done

to demonstrate

His love

and His

power toward

you.

Now, of

course, all

this talk

about leaven

and about

yeast makes

the disciples

think that

Jesus is

talking about

physical bread.

And they

start to think

that Jesus

is correcting

them because

they forgot

to pick up

some lunch

before they

got into

the boat.

And Jesus

says,

don't you

get it?

Don't you

get it?

It's not

about bread.

It's about

who I am.

And then He

reminds them of

what they have

just experienced,

12 baskets

left over from

5,000.

Seven baskets

left over from

4,000.

Imagine what that

must have felt

like in their

minds.

Twelve disciples,

you feed a

crowd of 5,000

people with

tiny amounts

of food,

and at the

end you're

all standing

there with a

basket full

of bread.

In your arms

the evidence

that Christ

is no mere

man.

And then

weeks or

months later

you've got

seven loaves

for 4,000

people,

and at

the end

of that

experience

you're

holding

seven

baskets,

each one

of those

loaves

having turned

into an

abundance.

The Greek

word there

actually,

one translator

translates it

a hamper,

a hamper

full of

bread.

Adela Collins

actually from

the Divinity

School translates

it as a

hamper full

of bread.

It's a lot

of bread.

Jesus says,

don't you

see who I

am?

I'm trying

to show

you.

What is it

that's going

to turn the

lights on?

If Jesus

is the

satisfier of

our souls,

if he's

God come

down to

us to

bring us

back to

himself,

how do

we come

to believe

it?

And that

brings us

to the

last section

of our

passage

tonight.

This very

unique,

two-stage

healing of

this blind

man at

Bethsaida.

Now,

Jesus is

giving,

obviously,

his disciples

an object

lesson here.

Certainly,

Jesus could

have healed

this man

all at once.

At this

point in

Jesus'

ministry,

in Mark's

gospel,

I mean,

he's done

incredible

things,

right?

He's calmed

storms and

cast out

legions of

demons and

fed thousands

of people

and made

blind people

to see

and mute

people to

speak and

lame people

to dance.

With just

a word,

he could

have opened

this man's

eyes,

but instead,

he's teaching

us a lesson.

You see,

the disciples

had begun

to see.

They'd begun

to have their

eyes open

to who Jesus

is,

and yet,

they didn't

see it all

clearly.

They were

kind of like

this man.

You know,

at one stage

of the healing,

he could see

people,

sort of,

but it was

all a bit

blurry,

like trees

walking around,

he says,

which is a

great little

detail.

And the

disciples in

Mark's gospel

see Jesus,

and they kind

of begin to

understand who

he is,

but it's not

totally clear

yet.

And next

week,

we'll see

that even

when Peter

makes his

great declaration

at the heart

of Mark's

gospel,

people,

that you,

Jesus,

are the

Christ,

you are

the Messiah,

immediately

find out

that his

vision is

still a bit

blurry.

But then,

comes a

second stage.

Jesus lays

his hands

on his

eyes again,

and his

vision is

completely

restored,

and he

finally

sees.

You see,

friends,

the point

is this,

Jesus isn't

just the

satisfier of

our souls.

But he

is the

opener of

our eyes.

He's the

one who

grants us

the sight

to see

him and

know him.

And that

means three

things as we

close tonight.

First,

if we're

going to

approach

Jesus at

all,

if we're

going to

make any

spiritual

progress,

if our

searching

after God

is going

to make

any

headway,

then there

has to

be

humility.

We have

to admit

that our

vision is

skewed,

that we

don't see

things clearly,

and that we

need to

have our

eyes opened,

that we

bring with

us all

sorts of

biases and

presuppositions that

may be right or

may be wrong,

and we have to

be ready,

unlike the

Pharisees,

to let those

things be

questioned and

challenged in

the light of

who God has

revealed himself to

be in Christ.

Second,

if Jesus is the

opener of our

eyes,

it means that

being a

Christian,

friends,

is all

of grace.

You and

I cannot

take credit

for believing

in Jesus as

if that somehow

makes us better

than other

folk.

It makes us

incredibly humble

people to

know that it

was Christ who

opened our

eyes, not

me who pulled

myself up by

my smarty

bootstraps and

figured it out.

But doesn't

that also make

us very hopeful,

people?

that if Jesus

is the eye

opener, and

if he can

open my

dull eyes,

then surely

he can do it

for anyone

else.

And that

brings us to

the third

point.

And the

third point is

that it's

Jesus.

Our passage

begins with

Jesus saying,

I have

compassion on

the crowds.

And don't

you see that

his compassion

for us is

so great that

he not only

feeds our

souls, but

opens our

eyes.

He not just

gives bread to

the weary, but

he gives a

sight so we

can see it and

so we can

take it.

In other

words, friend,

the picture of

Jesus that we

have here is

that he is an

utterly complete

savior.

That he

accomplishes our

salvation, and

he applies it,

and he brings it

to us.

That what he's

done for us on

the cross,

he doesn't

just leave

there for

anyone who's

sort of strong

enough to go

get it, but

he brings it

to us and

opens up our

eyes so that

we can take

it and take

him.

Friends, you

want to see

tonight?

Then you have

to come to the

sight giver.

You have to

come to Jesus.

Tonight, are you

struggling to

trust him and

to believe him?

And brothers and

sisters, instead of

demanding a sign to

test him, humbly

ask him to open

your eyes to

see what's really

going on.

And that kind of

prayer, he will

always answer, and

he will not turn

you away.

Let's pray.

Jesus, you know

our hearts tonight.

Lord, you know that

some of us here are

feeling weary and

hungry.

God, we've been

searching for

satisfaction in

things.

Lord, in coming up

empty.

God, we've been

looking for it in

friends and in

work.

God, we've been

looking for it in

pleasures and in

experiments.

God, tonight, as we

look into our hearts,

we see that it's

empty.

And Lord, we need

the bread that only

you can give.

So God, for those

here tonight who are

in that position, I

pray that they would

come to you and

find you.

Lord, that you would

grant them the

sight to see, that

you can satisfy

their souls, that

what you've done for

them on the cross

and in the

resurrection is

enough for them for

all eternity.

God, grant them the

vision to see you

clearly.

And God, for those

who are here tonight

who are wrestling with

their circumstances, who

are wrestling to

trust you, God, would

you too give them

vision to see, to

see your presence

with them, to see

that you have loved

them with an

everlasting love, that

on the cross you have

demonstrated your love

in fullest degree for

all who come and

receive it.

God, help us to be a

people who are deeply

dependent on you.

God, increase our

faith for your

name's sake.

Amen.