Mark 8:11-21
(A Bible Study Led by Dr.
Larry Reynolds)
August 2, 2012)
This section of Mark contains
two events which are described in a little more detail in Matthew 16:1-12.
Mark 8:11-13 – Another conflict with the
Jewish religious leaders - After feeding the large multitude of Gentile people in
the area of Decapolis which is south and southeast of Sea of Galilee, Jesus
crossed back over the small body of water and landed on the western shore a
little south of Capernaum...earlier Jesus had some conflict with the Jewish
religious leaders in this area, and He criticized them for being spiritually
blind and hypocritical (see Mark 7:1-23)...when Jesus returned to their area,
they were waiting for Him...
The following notes are from Bob Utley’s excellent study
guide: The Gospel According to
Peter: Mark and I & II Peter:
8:11
“Pharisees … began to argue with Him”
This was a common occurrence. The word translated “argue” is syzetein which
means “to dispute or debate.”
“a
sign from heaven”
… refers to the Pharisees’ request for proof of His authority, possibly (1) a
prediction (cf. Deut. 13:2–5; 18:18–22); (2) a heavenly sign (cf. Isa. 7:11;
38:7–8); or (3) an apocalyptic sign (militaristic victory over enemies).
“to
test Him” The
word peirazō has the connotation of
to try, test, or tempt “with a view of
destruction.”
8:12
“Sighing deeply”
This is a compound and thereby intensified form of “groaned” (cf. 7:34). Jesus
had showed them His authority already by deed and word, but their spiritual
blindness remained.
“in
His spirit” This
refers to Jesus’ personhood (cf. 2:8). It has the same connotation in 14:38 in
respect to human beings. The term “spirit” is used in Mark for
1. the Holy Spirit (1:10, 12)
2. unclean spirits (i.e. demons, 1:23, 26, 27;
3:11, 30; 5:2, 8, 13; 6:7; 7:25; 9:17, 20, 25)
3. the human spirit (2:8; 8:12; 14:38)
“ ‘this
generation’ ” - Denoted
the nation of Israel represented by these religious leaders (cf. 8:38; 9:19;
13:30). They continually rejected God’s gracious dealings with them (cf. Deut.
32:5-20; Ps. 95:10). [1]
“Truly”
This is
literally “amen.”
“ ‘I
say to you, no sign will be given to this generation’ ” This is a Hebrew idiom of strong
negation … involving an understood, yet unexpressed, oath. When compared to
Matt. 16:4 Jesus obviously meant no further signs. Jesus had given them many
signs (i.e. OT prophecies fulfilled in His acts and words), but they refused to
accept them or Him because He challenged their traditions, cultural position,
and popularity. Matthew cited the only exception, “the sign of Jonah” (Matt.
16:4), that is, Jesus’ resurrection (cf. Matt. 12:39-40).[2]
8:13
Jesus traveled
extensively in northern Palestine because He wanted all to hear His message but
also because of the press of the crowds.[3]
This event challenges us to
examine the basis of our belief in Jesus.
Why do we believe what we believe about Him? What is it that moves a person to cross the
line between unbelief and belief? Based
on this incident and the larger context of the events occurring at this time in
Jesus ministry, I want to point out to you three kinds of belief – two that are
inadequate and one that will stand the test of time.
I. There is a kind of belief which demands
too much evidence
1. That was the problem of the Pharisees in this
passage...as I've shared with you before, the Pharisees were the religious fundamentalists
among first century Judaism...they viewed themselves as the sole possessors and
protectors of truth...they had already been stung by Jesus' accusations in
chapter 7 that they cared more about their traditions than the commandments or
will of God...
2. So they came back to challenge Him...in
effect said, "If you're really who you claim to be, if you're the Messiah,
prove it. Give us some sign, some miracle."...was a custom of the Jews to
demand some sign or wonder from anyone claiming to be a messenger from God,
especially if that person were teaching something new or unusual...and that's
what the Pharisees demanded of Jesus...
3. What is wrong with that? What is wrong with saying, "I will not believe in Jesus until God
gives me some irrefutable sign or miracle?"...I think several things--
·
It is never really satisfied - Evidence
is never quite good enough...for this kind of belief to survive, the miracles
have to become more and more spectacular...truth is, those who demand more and
more evidence have a predisposition not to believe...was problem with
Pharisees...why would they possibly need more miracles from Jesus?...were well
aware of things had already done...sick who had been healed, storms which had
been calmed, multitudes which had been fed...why possibly need more
signs?...because belief which demands too much evidence is never
satisfied...and Jesus refused give them additional evidence because knew would
be fruitless...
·
It tends to confine God to abnormal experiences - Ministry
of Jesus and indeed entire NT reminder more likely find God in midst of
everyday lives than in some highly unusual experience...Barclay said it well:
"God never shows Himself to us so much and so continuously as in the
ordinary things of everyday life."
·
It borders on sensationalism - Very
early in His ministry Jesus rejected sensationalism as means of winning people
to Himself...during temptation experience Satan took Him pinnacle of Temple and
said, "Jump and let the angels catch you.
The people will see it and recognize you as the Messiah." But Jesus said, in effect, "I'm not
going do it that way...don't want people coming to me because of some external
act...want them come based on their internal commitment..."
And for all those reasons, belief
which demands too much evidence, which must have a sign or miracle is
inadequate belief...
II. There
is a kind of belief which demands too little evidence
1.
Certainly wasn't problem of the Pharisees, but was
problem of the great crowds of people who were following Jesus at this time in
His ministry...without really thinking through the implications of their
commitment, just because they saw or heard of Jesus doing something
spectacular, they chose to follow Him...but that their belief was superficial
is obvious from the fact that by the time Jesus went to the cross, they had all
deserted Him...they made an emotional commitment with no intellectual
foundation...and because of that, their commitment didn't last...
2.
There have always been people who have insisted on
divorcing Christian faith from intellect and reason...people who believe that
it's somehow unspiritual to apply thought and reason to Christian belief...never forget the well
meaning but misinformed person who pulled me aside for a little heart to heart
talk just before I when left home church to go to seminary...said, "Watch out for those professors in that
school. If you listen to them, you'll
lose your faith!" But my experience at seminary and since then has
been just the opposite. The more I study
and read and think, the more convinced I become of the claims of Scripture.
3.
There are two types of people who attempt to separate
thought from faith...
·
Some are just intellectually lazy - Blind
faith, as some people call it, is not very demanding intellectually...as I've
said before, it is much easier to say, "The
Bible says it, I believe it, that settles it" than it is to say what
the Bible says, why I believe it, and what it settles...
·
Some are spiritually and intellectually insecure - Afraid
their faith cannot stand the test of critical thought...can't understand
that...if God is God, will always be larger than anyone's puny thoughts and
questions about Him...early Christians not afraid take their faith into any
arena...good example of that is Paul sharing gospel with the Epicurean and
Stoic philosophers in Athens, a city where many people spent their time doing
nothing but debating philosophy...
The kind of belief with demands
too little evidence is just as inadequate in long run as kind of belief which
demands too much evidence...
III. There is a kind of belief which is based on
available evidence
1. This is the kind of belief which eventually
characterized Jesus' disciples...they watched Him, they listened, and they made
a rational decision to cast their lots with Him...
2. Don’t misunderstand what I'm
saying...Christianity certainly involves faith...but real faith is not belief
which is compelled by some miracle nor is it belief which ignores one's
intellect...real faith is belief based on evidence...
3. There is a little game I play with my
youngest grandchildren. Will hold them
in my arms, walk over to a soft sofa in their home, and drop them on the sofa
from about three feet up. For them to allow me to do that is an act of faith on
their part, but it is not blind faith.
If I wanted, I could choose to drop them on the floor or on a
table. But based on what they know about
me and what they have experienced with me, the trust (have faith) that I will
drop them in a safe place.
4. That’s the way it is with Christian faith...one
famous Christian philosopher-theologian spoke of people making a “leap of faith”
into Christianity. Christian faith is a
leap, but not a leap into the dark...it's a leap into the light and God gives
us ample reason for making that leap of faith...look at the evidence for
yourself--the evidence in nature...in history...in God's word...in the
testimonies of millions of believers--and decide for yourself whether or not it
makes sense to commit your life to Jesus.
5. Malcolm Muggeridge, the famous British
intellectual, explained his conversion to Christianity with this wonderful
statement: "...I have concluded, having failed to find in past
experience, present dilemmas, and future expectations any alternative
proposition. As far as I am concerned,
it is Christ or nothing."
What is basis of your belief in Jesus Christ?
·
If your belief is based on signs and miracles, that kind
of belief will crumble when the miracles don't come.
·
If your belief merely a blind, thoughtless commitment, that
kind of belief will not stand the test of adversity.
·
If your belief based on the evidence God has made
available to us, that kind of belief will stand the test of time.
Mark 8:14-21 – Another teachable moment with the disciples - Easy for us read passage like
this and almost laugh at those first century disciples...how could they have
been so blind?...why couldn't they understand who Jesus was and what He was
trying to teach them?...but truth is, more times than we would like to admit,
we are very much like them...wonder how often we are surrounded by spiritual
truth but are unable to see it...from this paragraph want share with you a
simple formula which can help us avoid spiritual blindness...
I. To avoid spiritual
blindness we must look for God in the ordinary things of life
1. After the confrontation with the Pharisees in the previous paragraph,
apparently Jesus and the disciples hurriedly returned to their boat and crossed
back over the Sea of Galilee...
2. In their haste, the disciples had forgotten
to take bread for their journey...may not seem significant to us, but was very
important to them...in a culture where there wasn't a McDonald's every few
miles, one would never go on even a short trip without taking some bread...so
on the boat trip across the Sea of Galilee, the main topic of conversation
among the disciples was their failure to bring bread...and Jesus seized the
opportunity of their discussion of an ordinary, everyday concern to teach an
important spiritual lesson...in effect said, "Since you are
discussing bread, let me remind you to beware of the leaven of the Pharisees
and of Herod."
3. In Scripture leaven or yeast is often a symbol of evil and
corruption...just as only a little yeast is necessary to make large amount of
bread, only a little evil and corruption can do great damage...in warning the
disciples about the leaven of the Pharisees and Herodians was saying, "Don't develop kind of spiritual
blindness which emphasizes laws and rules and regulations over people...don't
be overly harsh, judgmental, unbending...don't fail to extend to others the
grace and forgiveness which God extends to you..."
4. And what want you see now is how Jesus built a spiritual lesson on
an ordinary, everyday thing such as the disciples' concern about having enough
bread for their journey...
1. It was Elizabeth Barret Browning
who wrote the famous lines:
Earth is crammed with heaven,
And every common bush afire with
God;
But only he who sees, takes off
his shoes,
The rest sit round it and pluck
blackberries.
2. Afraid we've so developed mentality of looking for God in the
spectacular, abnormal, extraordinary experiences that we miss Him midst of our
everyday lives...life would be so much more meaningful and fuller if we would
do what Jesus did...if would develop habit of looking for God in midst of the
ordinary things of life...
II. To avoid spiritual
blindness we must remember what God has done in the past
1. The statement Jesus made about the leaven of the Pharisees and
Herod seemed go right over disciples' heads...was as if they never even heard
it...just continued to talk about their lack of physical bread...so Jesus asked
His disciples a series of stinging questions...you can hear the frustration in
His voice in verses 17-18..."Why do you discuss the fact you have no
bread? Do you not yet see or understand? Do you have a hardened heart? Having eyes, do you not see? Having ears, do you not hear? "
2 And
the clincher in that series of questions is the phrase in the last part of v.18
- "...do you not remember...?"...Have you forgotten
what I just did? How can you be worried
about having less than one loaf for the 13 of us in this boat when I fed 5000
with only five loaves and there were 12 baskets left over and I fed 4000 with
only seven loaves and their were 7 baskets left over? Have you so soon forgotten?
1. Truth is, all of us too easily forget the blessings and activity
of God in our lives...time and time again God meets our needs, but in times of
crisis we tend to forget His faithfulness as ring hands in anxiety and
fear...we need to work at remembering all that God has done for us...
2. In OT there is a beautiful story...Israelites, under leadership of
Joshua, had just crossed Jordan River and entered Promised Land...had been
long, difficult journey of more than 40 years... Joshua instructed one person
from each of the 12 tribes to take a large stone from the Jordan at the place
they crossed...carried those stones to Gilgal, the place of their first camp in
the Promised Land...there in Gilgal built memorial from those stones as
reminder of God's leadership of the nation across the Jordan...and Gilgal
became Joshua's headquarters during the campaign to conquer the Promised
Land...time and again came back to the stones to remember God's leadership in
the past...and remembering, he gathered the wisdom and strength to go on...
3. We all need some Gilgals in our lives...memories of God's
leadership and activity to which you can return to draw strength for what lies
ahead...
4. All
of us would do well to follow the admonition of the Psalmist when he wrote:
"Bless the Lord, O my soul; and all that is within me, bless His holy
name. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and
forget none of His benefits." [Psalm 103:1-2)...
[1]
Walvoord, J. F., Zuck, R. B., & Dallas Theological Seminary. (1985). The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An
Exposition of the Scriptures (Mk 8:12). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.
[2]
Walvoord, J. F., Zuck, R. B., & Dallas Theological Seminary. (1985). The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An
Exposition of the Scriptures (Mk 8:12). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.
[3]
Utley, R. J. D. (2000). Vol. Volume 2:
The Gospel According to Peter: Mark and I
& II Peter. Study Guide Commentary Series (91–92). Marshall, Texas:
Bible Lessons International.
