Coming Into Focus (Mark 8:1-26)

When's the last time you took a test for those of you who are in

school or college? Might have been 2 days ago.

One of our kids had something like 4 tests in this last school

week and I was just talking to a college student who's got like 4

coming up next week. You know, midterms before spring

break. That last time you took a test,

how'd you feel preparing for it and then during it?

And then what about when you're reflecting on your performance

afterward? Or maybe the last Test you took

was not any kind of school exam, but a medical test.

You don't prepare for those in exactly the same way, but

they're still revealing. They bring something hidden to

light. They disclose something about

you that your doctor at least wants to know and wants you to

know about. And sometimes the results of the

test could be encouraging, reassuring.

Sometimes they could be unsettling or disturbing.

Sometimes they can feel like your whole life is a test.

Maybe it's the daily grind just wearing you down and making it a

little bit harder every single morning to show up for work or

to get up and take care of your family.

Sometimes the tests of life can be much more acute and extreme.

Suffering and hardship can come at you out of nowhere.

Something life altering and heartbreaking can just take you

by surprise. That's also a kind of test.

How do you respond? What do you do?

What do you rely on and what does that show you about

yourself? This morning we continue our

series in Mark's Gospel with chapter 8, verses 1 to 26.

If you don't have a Bible, you can raise your hand and someone

will bring you one. If you don't have a Bible, like

you just forgot it, that's OK. If you don't have a Bible, like

you don't have a Bible you regularly read at home, we'll

just keep it, take it home with you, and read the scriptures for

yourself. We'd be delighted for you to do

that. I'm going to read the whole

passage at the beginning, and as I read, consider what tests does

Jesus set for us and what does it take to pass them?

Mark 8-1 to 26. In those days when again 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 loves 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 these also should be set before them.

And they ate, and we're satisfied.

And they took up the broken pieces, leftover 7 baskets full,

and there were about 4000 people.

And he sent them away, and immediately he got into the boat

with his disciples and went to the district of Dalmanutha.

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 him 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 5000, how many baskets full of

broken pieces did you take up? They said to him, 12 And the

seven for the 4000, How many baskets full of broken pieces

did you take up? And they said to him, 7 And he

said to them, Do you not yet understand?

And they came to Beseda, 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 let 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 people, but they look like trees

walking. Then 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. In this passage, we see Jesus

continue his saving mission, and that saving mission has a

particular shape and pattern. It's a fulfillment of the

Exodus, when God rescued his people from bondage in Egypt and

delivered them to the Promised land.

Jesus, too, is rescuing his people from bondage and leading

us into a land he's promised. And just like in the original

Exodus, the way in which God delivers us involves testing us

in the space between being rescued from Egypt and delivered

into the Promised Land. Our whole life is a series of

tests. So here's the point of the

sermon in a sentence. As Jesus leads us out of bondage

into his promised land, the key to every test is faith that only

he can give. As Jesus leads us out of bondage

into his promised land, the key to every test is faith that only

He can give. As we walk through the passage,

we'll consider 4 tests in the new Exodus that Jesus is leading

us through. 4 Tests in the New Exodus .1 Bread from Heaven We

see this test of the disciples faith in the 1st 9 verses Bread

from Heaven Look again with me at verses 1:00 to 3:00.

In those days when again 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. If you have a remarkable sense

of Deja vu, you're not alone. We've seen this before.

This setup is remarkably like Jesus feeding of the 5000 back

in chapter 6. The need is the same.

Huge crowd, desolate place, nothing to feed them with,

nowhere to go, no supplies. Jesus motivation is the same.

He has compassion on the crowd if they've taken a big risk by

coming out to hear him teach in this remote place without any

idea of how long they'll be with him or how they'll be supplied

for their needs. But the way the problem begins

to be addressed in this case is different.

Last time, the disciples brought up the issue to Jesus.

This time, Jesus brings the issue to the attention of the

disciples. His implication is, So what are

you guys going to do about it? The disciples reply in verse 4.

How can one feed these people with bread here in this desolate

place? Now if you're thinking about it

just on a human level, you bracket out what we've already

seen Jesus do. It's a reasonable question.

I can't feed 4000 people in the wilderness.

Neither can you. Not even Chick-fil-A could do

it. Humanly speaking, the objection

makes sense, but the disciples should know better.

They've seen this exact episode before.

Why are they so thick? Why don't they just tell Jesus?

All right, Jesus, we've seen you run this play.

We know you can do this one. It's not as if they've

completely forgotten. Later in the passage, Jesus

asked them about the first feeding of a multitude, and they

remember the details just fine. Their problem is not a lack of

information. The problem is a lack of

spiritual insight. The problem is they still don't

understand who Jesus is. They've seen a stunning miracle

and it hasn't sunk into their minds and hearts.

Their unbelief is so severe it's comical.

It's almost hard to believe. How could you see Jesus feed

5000 people in the wilderness and then not trust that he can

do the same thing over again? How can you see that and go,

well boy, wilderness? A lot of people, no food, don't

know how we're going to get out of this one.

That's exactly the point. You can't explain their unbelief

in rational terms. Their eyes are blinded.

It's like there's a screen over their eyes, so they can't make

sense of what they've already seen.

They've seen it, but they don't see it.

They've been there, but they don't get it.

It takes supernatural faith to receive the supernatural truth

of who Jesus is. Only by the miracle of faith can

you receive the mystery of His person.

In their lack of faith, the disciples echo the unbelief of

the generation of Israelites that God brought up out of

Egypt. Think about all that.

They saw the plagues in Egypt, deliverance out crossing through

the Red Sea. They'd seen God work marvel

after marvel after marvel, and yet they were unbelieving.

Psalm 78, verses 18 to 20 reflect on Israel's putting God

Psalms 78:18–20

to the test in the wilderness in words that strikingly anticipate

verse four of our passage. They tested God in their heart

by demanding the food they craved.

They spoke against God, saying, Can God spread a table in the

wilderness? He struck the rock so that water

gushed out and streams overflowed.

Can he also give bread or provide meat for his people?

Just as Jesus is about to re enact God's miraculous act of

providing bread in the wilderness, so the disciples re

enact Israel's unbelief. Can God spread a table in the

wilderness? That is one of those passages

where it's easy to sit in judgement on the disciples.

How dumb can you get? How thick can you be?

But if you're tempted to judge the disciples in that way, I

just want you to reflect on your own spiritual life and ask, has

God ever provided for you? Has God ever answered a prayer?

Has God ever intervened in your life in such a dramatic way that

you can only say the Lord has done it?

And then have you ever forgotten the lesson he taught you by that

answer to prayer or deliverance? Have you ever looked back and

gone, wait a minute, I've God has done this, I've seen him do

it. I know He can do it.

He's proved himself. And yet there's been a gap

between what God taught you the first time and how you responded

the second time. Jesus is about to prove that he

can spread a table in the wilderness and he can spread a

table in the wilderness of your life.

Who can do that? Only God can.

That's what Jesus is going to prove.

In verses 5 to 9. 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 haven't given thanks.

He broke them and gave them to the 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 these also should be set before them.

And they ate and were satisfied. And they took up the broken

pieces, leftover 7 baskets full, and there were about 4000

people. And he sent them away.

And immediately he got into the boat with his disciples and went

to the district of Dalmanutha, as Jesus did before.

He works with the supplies that the disciples had on hand.

As Jesus did before, He employs the disciples to distribute the

miraculously multiplied bread as Jesus did before.

He completely satisfies the hunger of the crowds that

there's even a bunch leftover. As Jesus did before, He

multiplies bread and fish from thin air.

He provides for the crowd's needs as only God can by putting

forth His power to create. The test here for the disciples

and for us is this. Will you trust in God's

provision when your situation is humanly impossible?

God loves to show off his power and grace and compassion by

providing for His people in situations that are humanly

impossible. He did that in the Exodus by

feeding his people with bread from heaven for 40 years.

Jesus did it here again by feeding 4000 people from teeny

tiny meagre supplies. And what Jesus did for them

then, he can do for you now. What do you need that only God

can supply? What situations in your life are

humanly hopeless? Whatever they are, cry out to

God and ask Him to do what only He can, the Puritan Thomas Case

wrote and his treatise on afflictions.

Israel learned more of God's all sufficiency in a land of drought

then she could have learned in the land flowing with milk and

honey. Namely, that God can feed

without bread and satisfy thirst without streams of water.

That He can make the clouds rain food and the rock give out

rivers. That the creature can do nothing

without God, but God can do what he please without the creature.

Thanks, Joe. When there's no food in the

wilderness, God can rain down bread from heaven.

When there's no way to provide for yourself, Jesus can multiply

what you need. That's how he provides for us.

That's how He provides not only our daily necessities, it's how

He provides salvation for us. Spiritually speaking, the

situation each of us is in by our fallen nature is even more

impossible than trying to feed 4000 people with seven loaves of

bread. Spiritually speaking, we're all

born blind to spiritual realities.

We're born with hearts deceived and distorted, set on the wrong

objects. We sin, and so we rack up a debt

that keeps getting bigger and bigger and bigger and bigger

than we could never repay. When you see the situation here

of Jesus providing for the crowd, doing something humanly

impossible, you should think that's what it took to save me.

And if you're not a believer in Jesus, you should understand

that what it takes to save you is something no human being can

do. You can't do it yourself.

No parent can do it for you. No religious leader can do it

for you. Spiritually speaking, your

situation is humanly hopeless, which is why God sent Jesus into

the world to live a perfect life, to die on the cross, to

pay the penalty for all the sins of all those who had turned from

sin and trust in Him, and to rise from the dead.

Talk about humanly impossible. Jesus did what was humanly

impossible by rising from the grave after three days and then

ascending into heaven where he sits at the right hand of God,

and he calls all people now everywhere to repent and

believe. Jesus did for you what is

humanly impossible, so that if you receive it in faith, you'll

be right with God forever. Jesus became bred from heaven by

becoming Incarnate, by giving his body on the cross to be

broken for us, and by rising from the dead to become life

imperishable itself, to offer that same eternal life to all

who trust in Him. So often God tests us in how He

provides for us. He tests us in order to teach us

that Our Daily Bread comes from Him.

He tests us to train us to look for provision more from Him than

from any human or earthly cause. God tests us by withholding what

we need for a time. He tests us by delaying.

He tests us by letting things get worse and worse, so that we

cry out to Him again and again, so that it becomes undeniable

that the solution to our problem came as an answer to our

prayers. He tests us by putting us into

positions that look humanly impossible, so that we come to

learn by experience that what is impossible with man is possible

with God. Look again at verse 4.

How can one feed these people with bread here in this desolate

place? What in your life most tempts

you to ask, how could God possibly provide?

Fill in the blank, whatever that is.

Make it a focus of persistent, persevering prayer.

Bread from heaven is a test because you have to look up to

God in prayer to receive it. Bread from heaven is a test

because God delights to provide by letting human means run clean

out so that it's evident that the means are all His.

God delights to provide for you in ways that put you to the

test. But because of that, and because

of the spiritual pride in all of our hearts, we're tempted to

turn the tables on God. We're tempted to put God to the

test .2 Testing Jesus. Testing Jesus.

We see the Pharisees put Jesus to the test in verse 10 to 13 of

our passage. Look with me at those verses.

And immediately he got into the boat with his disciples and went

to the district of Dalmanutha. 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.

The main point of this section is that Jesus does not perform

proofs of His saving power on demand.

Notice the Pharisees posture here.

Verse 11 tells us they sought a sign to test Him.

They were not humbly inquiring. This was not faith seeking

understanding. Instead this is unbelief

demanding proof. Surely the Pharisees had heard

of many of Jesus miracles, but they weren't enough.

The Pharisees wanted a sign on demand.

They they were looking for reasons not to believe.

They wanted to discredit Jesus. OK, Jesus, so you're something

special. All right, Prove it.

Now, verse 11 tells us they sought from him a sign from

heaven. So I don't think that means they

were just asking him to do one more miracle like he'd done.

I think they were asking him somehow to summon divine

authentication, almost like a voice from heaven.

All right, Jesus, you represent the Father.

You claim to be the Son of God. All right, get him to tell us

what's going on here. It's as if they're asking him to

to whip out on the spot a kind of divine ID verification card.

But this is not how Jesus works. He refuses to give them any

sign. Jesus is not a dog who will do

tricks on command. Sit, lie down, roll over, sit

pretty. You cannot tell Jesus to sit up

and bark so that you'll come to believe in him.

Specifically, Jesus says this generation won't receive any

sign. Why does he use that language of

this generation? It's because he sees the

Pharisees as representing the unbelief of the people as a

whole. They're just like the Israelite

generation whom God rescued from Egypt, but who still perished

because of unbelief. Jesus says this generation to

align his opponents with that generation that Michael's been

preaching to us about from Numbers.

That's why he groups them together as a whole.

Now what did that generation do? Deuteronomy 616 tells us you

shall not put the Lord your God to the test as you tested him at

Massa. The wilderness generation put

the Lord to the test. The Pharisees put Jesus to the

test. What does that teach us?

It shows us that Jesus is the Lord who is leading his people

in a new exodus and who's being tested just like they tested the

Lord himself. Why does Jesus refuse to give a

sign on demand? Both because that's not how He

works and that's not how faith works.

If you demand that God himself prove Himself to you or you

won't believe in him who's supreme in that situation?

Who has the upper hand? Who's in charge you are?

Who's setting the standards by which this relationship will be

evaluated? You are.

You can never come to a true faith in the true God by putting

God to the test. You can never come into a right

relationship with God by putting yourself in God's place.

If you tell God I will not believe in you unless you prove

yourself to me. That's not faith, it's unbelief.

You cannot come to God by setting an exam for him.

All right, God, the results are in.

We've graded your test. You got a 98.

Very impressive. You've been working pretty hard.

There's one little mistake, but we can, we can overlook that.

So now I'll believe in you. Congratulations, you've earned

my trust. Some thoughtful non believers

can struggle with this demand for faith.

If you're not a Christian, maybe you'd say you have a very

scientific mindset. You like how science operates

empirically, meaning there's demonstration and verification

and falsification. You can prove something or

disprove it. You like the confidence that

gives you. And so it seems reasonable to

try to use that scientific way of getting at the truth to try

to settle all of life's big questions and problems.

But I want to suggest to you that if you try to answer all of

life's biggest questions through a scientific, empirical mindset,

you will hit wall after wall after wall.

Can science tell you what love is?

Can science tell you whether life is worth living?

Can science tell you why human beings have an inviolable

dignity? Can science tell you whether

there's a God? Can science tell you what the

good life is or how to live it? Just this week I was talking

with a non Christian whom I'm getting to know better.

He's very thoughtful. He understands a lot about

Christianity. He told me that he tries to seek

answers to life's big questions from that kind of empirical,

scientific mindset. And I asked him if he ever hits

the limits of what he can find out that way.

He's very candid, very frank. He told me, yeah, all the time.

He doesn't know what to do about it.

He feels torn. He feels conflicted.

What about you? If that reflects your mindset at

all? Have you ever hit any one of

those walls? What do you do then?

Whether you're a believer or a non believer?

Are you putting God to the test? That will not lead you to saving

faith or true spiritual insight or right relationship with God.

Instead you have to let God put you to the test.

Brings us to .3. Tested by Jesus.

Tested by Jesus We see Jesus testing his disciples in verses

14 to 21. Jesus rebukes them, examines

them, and prompts them to examine themselves.

Just to preview what we learned from these verses.

True understanding of Jesus requires spiritual insight.

It takes spiritual perception. We don't have that by nature.

We can't gain it by the flesh. Jesus sees into your heart and

knows whether you have that true knowledge of Him or not.

And as we'll see at the end, only He can grant that true

knowledge of Himself. Look at me at verses 14 to 16.

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. Again, this is just getting

ridiculous. They forget to bring bread

except 1 little loaf. But is that really a problem

after what they've just seen? Should they be concerned that

they are going to have a very light lunch after what Jesus has

just done for them? In verse 14, the disciples again

display their spiritual dullness, their denseness.

They're preoccupied with an earthly lack that should be no

problem at all. And Jesus uses that and pivots

to give them a spiritual warning.

In verse 15, Jesus uses the metaphor of leaven.

We often think of leaven as yeast, but it's not exactly

yeast. It's some leftover dough from

the last batch that's still active that you could use to

then help mix up the next batch of dough.

It's a little bit like a sourdough starter.

In any case, Jesus uses the metaphor of leaven to warn the

disciples about both the Pharisees and Herod.

Now why is that? They might not seem to have much

in common. Well, what does leaven do?

It spreads. It imparts its character to the

whole new batch of dough. It's an active ingredient that

sets off a process. It changes what it comes into

contact with. And so throughout Scripture, in

the Old Testament and New Testament, leaven is used as a

metaphor for sins roots in the heart.

It's used as a metaphor for our inward inclination to evil that

spreads into our thoughts and words and actions.

Our inward inclination to evil infects our whole person.

So what Jesus is saying is don't follow their example.

Don't be motivated by what motivates them.

Don't imitate the unbelief of the Pharisees or Herod's fear of

man and licentiousness and power grabbing.

He's warning the disciples against the roots of all of

those sins. If Jesus were to warn you today,

right now, not to be influenced by someone else's leaven, who do

you think he would name? Could it be a friend or a family

member? Could it be a professional

mentor or coach? Could it even be a therapist?

Who in your life has influence over you in such a way that they

might subtly turn your heart away from God?

But the disciples still don't get it.

Verse 16 shows us they missed the point of Jesus metaphor

altogether. He warns them about leaven.

They go, OK, I guess he must mean we don't have any bread.

Bad disciples didn't bring bread.

Do better next time. Thank you Jesus.

Right, They think he's still talking about bread.

So Jesus responds with an extended rebuke of their

incomprehension. It's a series of searching

questions in verses 17 to 21. 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 5000, how many baskets full of

broken peas did you take up? They said to him, 12 And the

seven for the 4000, how many baskets full of broken pieces

did you take up? And they said to him, 7 And he

said to them, do you not yet understand?

In our passage, we're coming right up to the halfway point of

Mark's gospel. And here Jesus sets his

disciples a midterm exam. How are they doing so far at

understanding who Jesus is and what he came to do?

Of course, the questions themselves indicate the answer.

They're not doing so good. They are royally missing the

point. They're halfway through their

enrollment in Jesus class, Christology and Discipleship

101, and at this point they are failing miserably.

The answer to Jesus questions are pretty obvious.

They don't yet perceive or understand.

Their hearts are hardened. Their eyes don't see.

Their ears don't hear. Now, what's our new Exodus

connection here? It's that Jesus poses the same

challenge in the same wording that the Lord does to His people

in light of their hardness of heart in the wilderness.

So Psalm 95 verses 7:00 to 9:00 today, if you hear His voice, do

not harden your hearts as at Moribah, as on the day at Massa

in the wilderness, when your Father's put me to the test and

put me to the proof that they had seen my work.

The disciples are in danger of hardening their hearts against

all that Jesus is revealing to them, just like the wilderness

generation did. They're in danger of failing to

see Jesus, despite the fact that they're seeing him with their

eyes right now. There's also another connection

to the exodus here. Jesus asks them, do you not

remember? In the Exodus, God decisively

delivered his people and then established the Passover as a

yearly remembrance of that saving act.

Exodus 12/14. This day shall be for you a

Memorial Day, and you shall keep it as a feast to the Lord

throughout your generations. As a statute forever.

You shall keep it as a feast. Not only that, but in Exodus

1633 to 34, God tells Moses to put some of the manna into the

ark of the Covenant, to be preserved as a standing memorial

throughout all of Israel's generations of how the Lord had

provided for them in the wilderness.

So how do we remember what the Lord has done for us in saving

US? One way is by celebrating the

Lord's Supper, which He's given us for this very purpose, which

we'll do at the conclusion of the service, just like in the

miraculous feeding in chapter 6. In our passage, too, Jesus

previews the Lord's Supper in verse six.

He takes the loaves, gives thanks, breaks them, and gives

them to the disciples, just like he would at the Last Supper.

We also remember what God has done by reminding each other of

it. And if you're talking with

another member of the church and they're struggling to remember

God's goodness and mercy, remind that believer of the grace God

has shown in saving them and the goodness God has shown in

sustaining them. Remind that believer, as Psalm

1O3 says, to forget not all God's benefits.

The answer to the last three of Jesus questions is a little more

complicated. Do they not remember the feeding

of the 5004 thousand? Well, their answers show that of

course they do. They were there.

It was pretty remarkable. They haven't forgotten.

They answered Jesus questions just fine.

They remember how many baskets of food were leftover.

Now scholars speculate over whether the numbers 12 and seven

have symbolic significance. Maybe they do, I don't know.

I'm not confident in any particular interpretation.

I think the main point of Jesus reminding them of the leftovers

is simply to highlight the abundance of the provision.

Not only did all those people get fed, but there was stuff

leftover. Who can provide like that?

Only God himself, only the God who is Himself, our infinite

satisfaction can satisfy thousands of people by

multiplying bread from thin air. Jesus highlighted that detail

that demonstrated divine abundance as a clue to his

divine identity. The disciples should have been

able to draw a straight and short line from what Jesus did

to who he is. They should have been able to

conclude that because Jesus provides in a way that only God

can, he is himself the only God to come in the flesh to save

them. What Jesus is doing in this

series of questions, not only is he examining his disciples, but

he's requiring them to examine themselves.

They should have been able to draw the right conclusion.

Jesus even lays out the evidence again for them.

Do you remember how many baskets full?

Jesus is putting a burden on them to examine their own

hearts, to examine their own spiritual condition, and to look

at what He'd revealed and draw the right conclusion.

Brothers and sisters, one way we can serve each other is by

asking careful questions that foster self examination.

Jesus questions were a Searchlight that he was shining

into the hearts of the disciples to get them to look inward.

How can you grow in asking other church members questions like

that? Sometimes before I'll meet with

a church member, I'll try to come up with just one or two

questions in my head. Kind of get the exact phrasing

if I want to put it at some point in the conversation.

Sometimes you can serve a brother or sister better by

asking a question than by giving an answer.

How can you grow in asking questions that prompt spiritual

self examination? And of course, we can also turn

Jesus flashlight around and shine it on ourselves.

If Jesus was going to draw up a personal spiritual midterm exam

for you today, what questions would he ask you?

Kids and teens in the congregation do that exercise

with me really quick, but just one question.

If Jesus were going to ask you a question to show you your own

spiritual state, to help you see where you stand before God, what

question would he ask you? Write that question down.

Talk about it with somebody. If you go to youth group, talk

about it as a youth group leader.

If you have an older believer you meet with, talk with them.

You could even talk about it with your parents.

This portion of the passage ends in an awkward, uncomfortable

place. Jesus question just hangs there.

Verse 21. Do you not yet understand?

Earlier in Mark in chapter 4, verse 12.

Jesus quotes Isaiah chapter 6, verses 9 and 10 to explain why

Isaiah 6:9

he teaches in parables. Why does he do that?

It is so that people may see but not perceive and hear but not

understand. That's what we expect from

outsiders, Maybe the Pharisees, the people who oppose Jesus's

ministry. OK, but in this story, it's the

disciples who have eyes but don't see, who have ears but

don't understand. It's the disciples who have

hardened hearts. That's disturbing, that's

troubling, it's haunting. It almost feels hopeless.

What hope is there for disciples who have eyes but don't see?

The hope is that the one they're following can give sight to the

blind. That's .4 sight to the blind.

That's what Jesus shows us he can do in verses 22 to 26.

And they came to Beseda, 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 let him out of the

village. And when he had spit on his eyes

and laid his hand hands on him, he asked him, Do you see

anything? Just a little note there.

When it says Jesus spit on his eyes, presumably it means he

applied saliva to them, not like spit in his face in any kind of

rude way. He took saliva, put it on his

eyes, and he looked up and said, I see people, but they look like

trees walking. Then 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. Why does Jesus perform this

elaborate series of actions instead of simply healing the

man by a word? It's just like as we saw in the

healing of the deaf mute man last week.

I think Jesus has two reasons for this.

One is kindness, compassion, to show the man what he's doing and

walk him through it step by step.

He begins by literally taking him by the hand and leading him

to be alone. But I think another reason for

it is symbolism. He's showing us that what this

man needs, the disciples also need.

And we all need, we all need Jesus to touch our eyes so that

we can see. We need Jesus to give us

spiritual insights so that we can see him as he truly is.

We need Jesus to heal our blindness, just like we confess

from our statement of faith. God, God's Spirit, enlightens

sinner's minds to understand God's word.

But then why does Jesus do it only halfway at first?

In all of Mark's gospel, this is the only healing or miracle of

any kind that doesn't do it all right away.

He only gets the guy halfway there.

This is unique in Mark's gospel, and whenever something is the

only one of its kind in any book of the Bible, that should make

you pause and go, OK, what's going on here?

This one is not like literally all of the others.

I think we understand part of the reason for this by looking

backward, and we get the whole reason by looking forward to the

very next passage. The healing that's only halfway

symbolizes that coming to understand Jesus truly is a

process. It doesn't happen all at once.

So when we look back to Jesus exam of the disciples that

they're failing, it gives us hope that they won't keep

failing. They will make progress, but we

shouldn't expect them to instantly flip from failure to

perfection. It's going to be a process, and

we see that very concretely in the very next passage.

So just glance ahead at the next few verses from 27 to 33.

In these verses, like in verse 29, Peter rightly confesses that

Jesus is the Messiah. But then Jesus starts teaching

what that means. He's going to be rejected.

He's going to be killed. He's going to rise from the

grave. And Peter starts to rebuke Jesus

and tell him that those things cannot and will not happen.

So what does Peter do? He gets Jesus exactly half

right. He got the Messiah part.

That's good. But he doesn't get the crucified

part. The man Jesus heals at first

receives half sight, and then Peter right after gets Jesus

half right. The disciples will soon make

spiritual progress, but that progress will not be perfection.

How does this passage connect to our new exodus theme?

It does so by echoing the passage of Isaiah chapter 42

Isaiah 42 · chapter mention

that Kendra read earlier. Isaiah 42 prophecies how God's

servants will lead God's people through a new exodus.

And just as Michael taught us from Isaiah 49 verse six last

Sunday night, the servant is both the Messiah and God's

people. We see this super clearly in

chapter 42. So 1st to go back to verses 6

and seven, don't need to turn there.

We'll just read a few verses. Isaiah 42, six and seven.

I am the Lord. I've called you in

righteousness. I will take you by the hand and

keep you. I will give you as a covenant

for the people, a light for the nations to open the eyes that

are blind, to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon, from

the prison, those who sit in darkness.

Here God promises that His servant will open the eyes of

the blind. That's exactly what Jesus is

doing in healing this man. But then consider verses 19 and

20. Who is blind but my servant, or

deaf as my messenger whom I send?

Who is blind as my dedicated one, or blind as the servant of

the Lord? He sees many things, but does

not observe them. His ears are open, but he does

not hear. How can the servant both open

blind eyes and also be blind? Because the servant is both the

Messiah and Israel. It's as if those last couple of

phrases in that prophecy were written about the disciples who

have ears but don't hear. Jesus.

The Servant heals blindness. Israel the Servant needs her

blindness healed. And all of this is meant to

bring home to us our spiritual condition.

By nature, each of us is born spiritually blind.

No one knows God rightly. No one knows themselves rightly.

Sin puts scales over our eyes, blinders on our faces.

Sin distorts our vision and keeps us from seeing God and

ourselves as we really are. Each of us needs spiritual sight

that only Jesus can give. If you're not a believer in

Jesus, ask Him to give you that spiritual sight.

Ask Him to reveal Himself to you.

And if you are a believer in Jesus, praise God for the gift

of new eyes that He's given you. Praise God for the gift of

spiritual insight and ask Him to illumine your understanding.

When you come across a difficult passage of Scripture, pray for

insight. When you get up on Sunday

morning, pray for God to enable you to receive spiritual truth.

Pray for Him to work in your heart to do the work in your

heart by His Word and Spirit that only He can do.

Pray that God would open the eyes of your heart to behold Him

truly and to see yourself truly. What tests are you undergoing

right now, especially spiritual tests?

One of the keys to passing every test, both secular and

spiritual, is reviewing in order to remember what has God done

for you in saving you? Survey his goodnesses to you.

Review how God has loved you and cared for you.

And remember. Remember his love.

Remember Christ's saving death. Remember his death defeating

resurrection. Remember his soon return.

By God's grace, we intend to do all that together in just a few

moments as we celebrate the Lord's Supper.

Let's pray. Heavenly Father, we pray that

you would give us eyes to see Jesus as he is and to embrace

him by faith. We pray these things in Jesus

name, Amen.