Dwell in the Word Mark 8:14-21

Consider these questions as you dwell in Mark 8:14-21:

1. What is the significance of Jesus using the metaphor of leaven to caution his disciples about the teachings and agendas of the Pharisees and Herod? How does this relate to the broader message of spiritual nourishment?

2. How does Jesus demonstrate to the disciples that their primary need is not material provision, but rather, spiritual nourishment? What does the feeding of the 5000 and the feeding of the 4000 teach them about Jesus' ability to provide?

3. In your opinion, what does it mean to trust in God for all things, including both material needs and spiritual growth? How can one prioritize seeking spiritual nourishment over an excessive focus on material concerns?

Transcript:

Alright, so the story here as we land in Mark, chapter eight, verses 14 through 21, is a continuation of the story we looked at on Monday. Now, it's also a continuation of the feeding of the 5000. And you see that here. But the idea here is, is that Jesus is using this idea of the bread to teach his disciples something. And so, they get into the boat.

We see them getting into the boats quite often here in Mark, don't we? They get into the boat and he says to them, watch out. Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod. Now. What is Jesus saying?

Well, he's saying that the Pharisees and Herod, they are after something that is not what he is after. They're after the things that are material. They're after the things of their own agenda. And so he's telling them to watch out for that. Well, he uses this imagery of bread, this idea of leaven, to make his point that if this leaven gets within them, it will expand just as yeast expands in the bread.

Right? That's the idea that Jesus is conveying here. But the disciples can't see beyond the material. They can't understand that Jesus is speaking to them in a figurative way. And so, Jesus is know, you can see, but you don't understand.

You hear, but you have ears, but you don't really hear me. And so, to prove his point, he says, do you remember when we fed the 5000? How many baskets were left? Twelve. When we fed the 4000, there were seven baskets.

How many of those were full of pieces? Well, seven of them. And so Jesus is saying, hey, I provide the physical things that you need. There is more than enough. I am in control of that.

What you need is not the physical, it's not the material needs that you have, but it is the spiritual needs that you have. Now, there's nothing wrong with going to God for the material needs that we have and praying to Him. But is that what our focus is? Do we see God as a vending machine? I think we all have been guilty of that at some point in our lives, right?

But what is Jesus really giving us? That's the point here. What does he really want us to understand? What does he want us to come to an understanding of? And that is that he provides all things.

He provides everything. But most importantly, he is providing spiritual nourishment for us. We don't need the material. He is going to provide that. What we need is him.

What we need is the spiritual good that he brings to us. And so that's the question for us. Are we trusting in God for all things or are we worried about the material? Are we trusting and truly believing that what we really need in this life isn't the material things that are in front of us that we think that we should be asking God about, and not that we shouldn't ask God about them, but making those the priority of our lives. Is that what we're doing?

Is that the reason we're going to God? Are we going to Him because we trust Him and we know he will provide those things? Are we understanding that what we really need from Jesus is the salvation that he brings us in his life? Death, resurrection, ascension. Which one are we going to trust in?

Are we going to trust in Him to give us those things? Are we going to go after them on our own? Are we going to go after them like the Pharisees did? Are we going to be looking for laws and rules and signs? Or are we going to say, no, I trust that Jesus provides enough for me that His Word and His Spirit is more than enough for me to grow in faith, for me to have assurance that I have been saved by his grace.

And so, may we let the leaven that expands in us. May the yeast that rises in us be God's Word and His Spirit. Not outside teaching from that, not teaching like the disciples were hearing from the Pharisees or from Herod, but instead, may the yeast that we have, what grows up within us, be from Jesus. May we trust in His Word and the sufficiency of it in all that we do, because that is the place that we hear the message that saves us. And so, may we trust in that Word and that good news of the gospel today.