Do You Not Yet Understand?
Notes
Transcript
Continue through the book of Mark. If you like to take notes, the title of the sermon is Do you not yet understand? This is a direct quote of the last verse in our text this morning. This is such a powerful question that summarizes how our faith sometimes slips and Jesus is bringing us back in by keeping us in check.
11 The Pharisees came and began to argue with him, seeking from him a sign from heaven to test him.
12 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.”
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.
15 And he cautioned them, saying, “Watch out; beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod.”
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?
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?”
Prayer
Everyone seeks understanding. We all have certain things that we want to know more of. So we search out ways for us to grow in our knowledge and subsequently our understanding of these things.
Every year, my wife asks me what I want for Christmas. And every year, I give her the same answer, nothing. So I am finally tired of it. So I decided that I wanted to find some things to give her an idea of what I want for Christmas. But, there is an issue with this as well. Because I am not one to just go and impulsively buy something. I want to know as much about it as possible before I buy it.
So I have picked out a few things that I have been thinking of. And now, I am in the process of doing my research. What this entails for me is going and finding reviews of them to see how people have enjoyed it. But I take it even further and I go on to Youtube and find videos. So I will watch hours of videos of people talking about the products and really breaking them down to point out the good and bad of the ins and outs of it. I want to understand the product before I spend money on it.
But what if we took this kind of mindset that we have when we are spending money on presents, and translated it to our walk with Christ. What if when we find something in scripture that doesn’t make sense, that we spend hours upon hours researching and doing our best to find the truth and make a educated stance on the issue.
Maybe that does not appeal to you as much as picking out things you want for Christmas. But I will guarantee you that it has much greater significance in your life that watching a youtube video on someones opinions about a product you will buy.
Today, we are diving into God’s word and looking at two different interactions that Jesus had. One with the Pharisees and one with his disciples. There are things that we need to see with both of them. But the main thing to see is their lack of understanding.
So we take their lack of understanding and we turn it into ways that we need to understand. We will have 3 points in our text today to apply to us for things that we need to understand.
Understanding the Deity of Jesus
Understanding the Deity of Jesus
Leading up to the events in the next couple of verses, Jesus has had several encounters with the Pharisees. And I think it is safe to say that the Pharisees were not the biggest fans of Jesus. Before this encounter we see today, they had accused him of blasphemy, of eating with sinners, of not fasting, and that he broke the sabbath.
They had also accused him of being possessed by the devil, and in the chapter before this one, they accused him of ritual defilement. So it is safe to say that they do not care for Jesus. Now, they have encountered him once again and begin another argument.
11 The Pharisees came and began to argue with him, seeking from him a sign from heaven to test him.
These men sought out Jesus and they had one goal in mind, testing him. So they strike up an argument.
This past week, we celebrated what we call Thanksgiving. We had the opportunity to gather with our friends and family and enjoy some of the best food that you have had in months probably. This event though may have been a little different at your house than it was mine. Because when certain people get around one another, sparks begin to fly.
People will just argue with each other. Just like the Pharisees liked to do with Jesus, they would try to provoke him. Maybe you were in line and you got the last bit of Mac and cheese and the person behind you did not appreciate it. And it led to an argument.
These Pharisees would provoke Jesus. It says that they wanted to test him to see a sign from heaven. Now, this was not a test of authenticity. They were not wanting him to prove anything in the positive of him being God. What they were doing was wanting to discredit him before the people. It was not a test out of them wanting to grow in their faith in him. It was a test that was brought on from their unbelief.
12 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.”
This is the second time in the last couple of chapters that Jesus had to visibly sigh. The first was when he was taking on the weight of the disability of another man. This time was to shrug off the condemnation that was coming from the Pharisees. The first time was when he was dealing with a man who could not hear and had a speech disorder. Now he is dealing with men who did not have ears to hear and eyes to see the truth that was Jesus.
They wanted a sign. The problem was that they could not see Jesus as God in the first place, so a sign would have been wasted. So Jesus does not give them a sign.
I have said it before. Too many people go to Jesus looking for a sign even today when a sign is not what they need. Jesus is all that we need. He is sufficient, he is all knowing, all powerful. He is God in the form of man.
We take time during this season to highlight the fact that Jesus came in the form of man to live a perfect life, die on the cross and raise from the dead 3 days later. He could do none of this if he were not God. And we celebrate that. These Pharisees refused to see it. So they were withheld from a sign.
13 And he left them, got into the boat again, and went to the other side.
And Jesus left them. What a feeling this must have been, and not a good one. To have the God of the universe standing in front of you, and you decide to try to argue with him, and he leaves. Wow. This really puts into perspective how depraved the Pharisees were. I heard a preacher say one time that the Pharisees get a bad reputation because they were misunderstood. I completely understand what they were doing right here. They were denying that Jesus is God. Plain and simple.
What we need to realize is that we are living in a world full of people who are just like the Pharisees. They do not have ears to hear and eyes to see. They do not understand the deity of Jesus. Yea, they may think that he really existed, that he was a good man and a good teacher, or that he was a social justice warrior. But none of these things truly describe who Jesus is. That he is God.
Paul, when writing Colossians, describes Jesus as God.
9 For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily,
10 and you have been filled in him, who is the head of all rule and authority.
As believers living in the world today, we are the ones who hold the truth to understanding. Understanding coming through the Holy Spirit in us. When the Holy Spirit comes into someone and saves them, they then have the ability to understand that Jesus is God.
But we must still be active in our evangelism so that people can hear the good news of the gospel. We are the ones who help people to understand the deity of Jesus.
Understanding the Teachings of Jesus
Understanding the Teachings of Jesus
Sometimes, things are said to us plainly or done in front of us very clearly, yet we miss the mark on it. I have learned by experience of raising a child, that there are 2 different languages that are spoken in our house at times. One of them is English, and I am not sure what the other one is yet. But I can say things clear as day and it doesn’t register. I could write it out and draw a picture and it still wouldn’t help. You folks who have raised children know my pain. And there will come a day when we will speak the same language. So pray that happens soon. But here, we have Jesus and his disciples again and it is almost as if Jesus is speaking a different language to them. They are having a hard time understanding the teachings of Jesus.
14 Now they had forgotten to bring bread, and they had only one loaf with them in the boat.
We know in the previous verses that Jesus had fed the 4,000 and afterwards they had collected 7 baskets full of leftovers. Some of y’all just flinched when I said the word leftovers. You have probably had your fair share of leftovers this week. But they had left the scene of the feeding, encountered the Pharisees, and were now on the boat. Now, we don’t know how much time has passed in between these events. But I think we could assume that they had plenty of bread left over since we have the detail that they had forgotten bread and only had one loaf left with them.
So Jesus takes an opportunity to teach them. Not only does he teach them, but he uses the situation around them to do so. Because of the lack of bread, he uses an analogy of bread to teach them.
15 And he cautioned them, saying, “Watch out; beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod.”
The word leaven used here is the same thing as yeast. Now, if you have ever baked bread, you know that you need yeast to do so. So, if you were to bake some bread, you could just go to the store and buy some yeast and pour the pack of it into the mixture. But, times were much different back then. That is why we could look at it today and wonder why the idea of leaven would be dangerous. Because Jesus uses this as an illustration of what you don’t want to happen.
The ancient world would use a leaven that was much more dangerous. They didn’t have the grocery store to go to so they could just buy a pack of yeast. What they had to do was save some of the dough from the last batch, store it in a good place, and add to it to promote fermentation in it. The problem was that if you were not careful, this delicious recipe could turn very dangerous. You had to keep a close watch on the batch or it could go bad and become very dangerous.
This is what Jesus is talking about with the Pharisees and Herod. These two groups do not have much in common, but there is one thing that they do share, not acknowledging that Jesus is God. And that is what Jesus is warning his disciples. I said last week that we are getting closer to the turning point in the gospel of Mark when things begin to click with the disciples. We are taking another step toward that in our passage today.
Jesus is warning them to not be like the Pharisees and Herod. To stop avoiding the truth that Jesus is God. To know only admit the truth but to embrace the truth. That is what Jesus telling them. But yet, once again, it goes over their heads.
16 And they began discussing with one another the fact that they had no bread.
They totally missed it. Jesus was teaching them about how they should not miss what is going on, and they go right back into a normal conversation.
Here we have another instance where it would be very easy for us to say, “if I were there, I would have gotten them back on track”. No you wouldn’t have. This just goes to show us that these men, who were walking with Jesus, working with Jesus, and learning from Jesus were nothing more than unbelievers until it came alive to them. Did they believe some things? Absolutely they did. But we do not see a conversion in them yet to the point where they have fully surrendered themselves to Jesus and his teachings.
What was going on was the fact that Jesus was speaking about the spiritual things while the disciples still had their minds on the natural things. How often do we miss out on something that Jesus is teaching us about the spiritual things because we can’t get past the natural. We tend to over analyze things that we miss out. We are like the Pharisees and want Jesus to give us some sort of sign when at the same time he gave us the greatest sign that we overlook which is the cross.
We have been given the greatest teachings that have ever been recorded. Let us not squander this. Let us strive to understand the teachings of Jesus.
Understanding the Works of Jesus
Understanding the Works of Jesus
Jesus not only taught, but he worked as well. We have an extensive record in scripture of the miracles of Jesus. What would have been even greater though, was if we were there to witness them. But, like I have said already, without us coming alive to the fact that Jesus is God, we still would have had a hard time believing the things that we saw. The disciples are a great example of this.
Jesus hears that they go right back into their discussion on not having enough bread. So he speaks up and takes this opportunity to teach them.
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?
Why are you still worrying about the natural things when you have seen the supernatural at work? These words ring true for us today. We have witnessed and experienced the supernatural. But yet we still want to focus on the natural things. We are just like the disciples.
And Jesus takes it even further. Do you not understand? The answer is clearly, no. They do not understand. Even though they have been with Jesus, even though they have heard the things he has said and seen the things that he has done, they still don’t understand.
We don’t always understand the things that Jesus is working around us. Many times, we think that we have things figured out and know how something is going to turn out and then, bam. What we weren’t expecting is the thing that happens. Maybe it is a death, maybe it is a diagnosis. But things just take a turn. Does this mean that Jesus has stopped working? Not at all. It just means that we need to realize that we don’t always know what is going on.
But for the disciples, it was because they had not yet come to the knowledge of Jesus being God. They have had glimpses, but not a full awakening. Because then Jesus goes on and asks them if their hearts were hardened.
Now we don’t need to skim over the fact that this is very strong language. This is language that was used in the Old Testament to describe what God did to the heart of Pharoah. Whenever Moses was going to Pharoah to set the Jewish people free, God hardened his heart. You might think, why would God do that? Even through the hardening of someones heart, God is glorified. Even through the hardening of the disciples hearts right here, God will be glorified.
And then Jesus just goes into questioning his disciples.
18 Having eyes do you not see, and having ears do you not hear? 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.”
I can imagine that this is just like a father to his children. Of telling them over and over again the truth of a situation, yet the child still does not see it. This is one of the most frustrating things for a parent. To want your child to see the truth of everything. You tell them and you show them, yet they still refuse to believe. This is what it means to have a hard heart.
Jesus recounts events that they have been part of here. The feeding of the 5,000 and 4,000. And he asks them if they remember how much abundance there was. And they answer. I can see them answering like a child. “yes, we remember”.
They do remember. They were there. They had seen it. We do this so often. We put in the back of our mind all of the good things that God has done for us while we focus on the one loaf of bread that is before us. And we need to be reminded.
But they would soon see the fullness of the truth of Jesus. In the moment, it is like they have blinders on. Yes they remember, but they still can’t see exactly what is going on. He even asks them that even though they have eyes and ears, do they not see and hear. The answer is no, they don’t.
We could look at this as Jesus trying to shame his disciples about them not understanding, but this would be wrong to do so. Jesus is asking these questions as a means of instruction. He is pointing them yet again to the truth. That he is God and they should trust in him.
Yes, they are slow learners. But we are too. For me, it took years of Jesus putting people in my path to speak truth to me before my eyes were opened to his truth. Let’s not dwell on the times that we have been stubborn and slow to learn. But let us focus on the works of Jesus. Both in scripture where he has revealed himself to us, and in our lives where he has proven himself to be steadfast.
Conclusion
So I am going to wrap this up with our last verse today.
21 And he said to them, “Do you not yet understand?”
This is our question today. Do we understand? Our time of reflection is centered around this verse. Jesus has been very clear in his word to us. We have an advantage over the disciples because we have the full account of what is going to happen. They were in the middle of it at this point.
So do you not yet understand? I think that for the most of us, the answer is yes, we do. If the answer to this question is yes, then you can have faith that you are a follower of Christ, what we would call a born again believer. You have your place in heaven waiting for you. But there is still much that we can get from these verses even as believers.
We can look to the disciples and be encouraged. Yes, sometimes we fall and sometimes we forget. But we can’t let this be what keeps us in this place. Be reminded of how good Jesus is to us. That he is always there to pick us up and correct us and point us to the truth. In this, we can worship. We can sit and be in awe of how good and gracious God is to us even in our fall backs.
But maybe you don’t understand because your eyes have never been opened to the truth. Maybe your heart has been hardened to the gospel of Jesus. I am going to give you an opportunity right now to hear the gospel of Jesus and respond to him.
Gospel presentation and call to respond
If you have put your faith and trust in Jesus, come and let me know. Our church wants to walk beside of you and disciple you in God’s word.
We are going to end our time together here this morning by singing a song together. Behold our God. During this time, you can stand and sing, or you can sit there and spend time in quiet prayer. What God wants from everyone in this moment is to behold him. So let’s do that.
Prayer
