The Stumbling Disciples

Introduction

Last week:

Jesus crossing cultural boundaries into Gentile land

Today:

Jesus is continuing his ministry in this land, but our focus this morning isn’t necessarily the missional focus to outsiders

We are going to be looking at some of the slip ups and failures of the disciples and what it means for us

Scripture Reading

(SLIDES)

Mark 8 1-26

As we just read, we see some pretty significant stumbles on the disciples part

And we might look back and laugh at them but the reality is, we all often face the same trip ups when it comes to following Jesus

So today, we are going to talk about some of the disciples failures and how we face the same problems

And how Jesus is faithful to restore us and keep us on the right track

(SLIDES)

Outline

The Problem of Forgetfulness

The Dangers of Leaven

The Gradual Restoration

The Problem of Forgetfulness

Many of us know the feeding of the 5,000

But did you know there was a feeding of 4,000?

And the significance of it is immense

Jews->Gentiles

But we see that the disciples were caught off guard by this miracle:

(SLIDES)

Mark 8:1–4 CSB

1 In those days there was again a large crowd, and they had nothing to eat. He called the disciples and said to them, 2 “I have compassion on the crowd, because they’ve already stayed with me three days and have nothing to eat. 3 If I send them home hungry, they will collapse on the way, and some of them have come a long distance.” 4 His disciples answered him, “Where can anyone get enough bread here in this desolate place to feed these people?”

Remember, they had already fed the 5,000

They had witnessed and taken part in that miracle

But when they are faced with similar situation, they completely forget what Jesus has done in the past

It really seems silly, how could they possibly forget the feeding of the 5,000?

But this is demonstrating a lasting problem we see throughout the Bible: Forgetfulness

It plagued the Israelites

It’s seen here with the disciples

And we all face the same danger

We all have a form of spiritual amnesia

We must time and time again…remember

Remember all that God has done for us

Remember the story of the Bible (and our place in it)

Remember God’s character

We must remember because we are forgetful creatures

Ways to remember:

Regular Prayer/Bible Reading

Journaling/Gratitude journal

The second problem we see in this text is:

The Dangers of Leaven

(SLIDES)

Mark 8:14–15 CSB

14 The disciples had forgotten to take bread and had only one loaf with them in the boat. 15 Then he gave them strict orders: “Watch out! Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod.”

After the feeding, the Pharisees came and began to argue with Jesus, but he leaves them and uses this time as a teaching opportunity for his disciples

Mark 8:14–15 CSB

“Watch out! Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod.”

Does anyone know what leaven is?

Its a metaphor that was prevalent in Jesus’s time, but to us its a biblical word

It represents a teaching or compromise

And Jesus tells us to beware of two different types of leaven: the Pharisees and of Herod

and these two groups couldn’t be more different

Pharisees: separatists - Holy men

Herodians: assimilators - adopted the Roman way

The leaven of the Pharisees: Legalism

The leaven of the Herodians: Compromise

Jesus is warning against two extremes that we still see in the Church today

On one hand you have Christians that are legalistic

They boil down Christianity into a set of rules to follow

They tend to look down on people that don’t take things as seriously as them

On the other hand you have Christians that are compromised

They live in willingly live in sin

They use God’s grace and forgiveness as an excuse to live in sin

They tend to look down on people that are legalistic, because they don’t emphasize grace

And there is an important point Jesus is making here:

Someone doesn’t become legalistic or compromised in an instant

It starts off as leaven

It’s very small—but it grows and affects the whole being in time

Legalism:

Relating to God via your works

Looking down on people who sin without grace

Justifying yourself before God and others

Compromise:

Not taking sin in your life seriously

Looking down on people who take holiness seriously

Numbing yourself to the effects of sin

Jesus is saying beware

These things start off small—but they become uncontrollable if not kept in check

As Christians we must take the middle ground

We aren’t legalistic

We are justified by Christ’s righteousness

We don’t relate to God based on our own works

We aren’t compromised

We acknowledge that we will fail, but but we don’t become passive—We actively seek holiness

It’s quite a profound teaching…

Again, Jesus is speaking in parable, and the disciples don’t seem to get it:

(SLIDES)

Mark 8:16–18 CSB

16 They were discussing among themselves that they did not have any bread. 17 Aware of this, he said to them, “Why are you discussing the fact you have no bread? Don’t you understand or comprehend? Do you have hardened hearts? 18 Do you have eyes and not see; do you have ears and not hear? And do you not remember?

One of my favorite parts of this is that Jesus is firm with the disciples—but he doesn’t abandon them

They have been missing the point left and right

But he is patient with them

And he is patient with us

(SLIDES)

Isaiah 42:1–3 CSB

1 “This is my servant; I strengthen him, this is my chosen one; I delight in him. I have put my Spirit on him; he will bring justice to the nations. 2 He will not cry out or shout or make his voice heard in the streets. 3 He will not break a bruised reed, and he will not put out a smoldering wick; he will faithfully bring justice.

Next in the story we see the healing of a blind man, and we’ll look at the symbolism behind it

The Gradual Restoration

(SLIDES)

Mark 8:22–26 CSB

22 They came to Bethsaida. They brought a blind man to him and begged him to touch him. 23 He took the blind man by the hand and brought him out of the village. Spitting on his eyes and laying his hands on him, he asked him, “Do you see anything?” 24 He looked up and said, “I see people—they look like trees walking.” 25 Again Jesus placed his hands on the man’s eyes. The man looked intently and his sight was restored and he saw everything clearly. 26 Then he sent him home, saying, “Don’t even go into the village.”

This is a strange healing

Partial healing

Only found in the gospel of Mark

To understand its significance we need to understand the structure of Mark

8/9/10

Predictions of Jesus’s death

Followed by a failure of the disciples

Sandwiched between two healings of blind men

After He enters into Jerusalem

This story is preparing us for the next few chapters of Mark

Jesus is going to be revealing his true nature and mission—the cross

And just like this man—the disciples will receive partial vision—and they won’t see the full picture until after the resurrection

The vision doesn’t come all at once

But there is so much here for us too…

First we see Jesus takes him out of the village

Away from distraction

1-on-1

Next we see that the restoration happens gradually

When we are first saved (restored vision)

As we mature we see more and more clearly

We have just seen the disciples stumble and fail to understand Jesus

And they will continue this in the coming chapters

But slowly, over time, they begin to see things clearly,

They become leaders of the early church and grow in wisdom and maturity

I want to end with a couple of quotes from Paul:

(SLIDES)

1 Corinthians 13:12 CSB

12 For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I will know fully, as I am fully known.

2 Corinthians 3:18 CSB

18 We all, with unveiled faces, are looking as in a mirror at the glory of the Lord and are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory; this is from the Lord who is the Spirit.

As we look upon Jesus we become more like him

And we might not see the full picture now

But we will in time

Conclusion

The biggest take away for me in this Scripture is Jesus’s patience with the disciples

They forgot about how he worked in the past

They lacked faith to see him work again

They didn’t get the lesson he was trying to teach them

They were distracted

But Jesus did not give up on them

Jesus didn’t send them off

He didn’t chew them out

I love Jesus for this

I have stumbled and failed so many times

I have forgotten God at work in my life

I have lacked faith when it was needed

I’ve been distracted and missed lessons God was trying to teach me

And I am so glad that Jesus is patient with me

That he has never given up on me

That he is gradually making me more like him, each day at a time

Guys you’re never too far from Jesus

There’s nothing you can do to blow it so bad that Jesus is done with you

The enemy wants us to believe that

Like the Leaven of the Pharisees

Or the Leaven of the Herodians

But we are only here because of grace

“God loves us as we are… but he loves us so much he won’t let us stay there”

I’m inviting each of us to come back to the loving arms of our father—strictly by grace

Not because of our accomplishments

God doesn’t relate to us based on our performance

Because of the cross—We have the very same love that the Father has for Jesus

Reflection Questions

(SLIDES)

1. What are a few times in your life that God has show up or answered your prayers?

What is the bigger temptation for you legalism (Pharisees) or compromise (Herodians)?