Of Bread and Blindness

Open your Bibles with me, if you will, to Mark 8:

We’re going to start right where we left off last week in verse 11, but as you find your place, let me tell you a story:

When I was in seminary, I worked for a while for a company that ended up going out of business.

I saw it coming from a mile away. Lots of things made it obvious that we were on a downward trajectory and I started looking for another job long before it was too late.

But I had a friend that just couldn’t see it.

When we were locked out of our offices one day, it wasn’t that they didn’t pay rent, but that the landlord was trying to strong arm a higher rent rate.

When they were a week late paying us, it wasn’t because funds were low, but that a transfer didn’t go through.

When the complaints piled up of people saying the company was in breach of contract, it was that people expected too much of us.

Proof after proof after proof presented itself, but my friend wouldn’t believe the company was in trouble because he had decided that it wasn’t true, and so he couldn’t see the truth.

You see, it turns out that you can only see the truth if you are willing to see it.

With that in mind, let’s turn our attention to Mark 8:11, and as we do so I invite you to stand in honor of the reading of God’s Word.

Mark 8:11–26 CSB

The Pharisees came and began to argue with him, demanding of him a sign from heaven to test him. Sighing deeply in his spirit, he said, “Why does this generation demand a sign? Truly I tell you, no sign will be given to this generation.” Then he left them, got back into the boat, and went to the other side. The disciples had forgotten to take bread and had only one loaf with them in the boat. Then he gave them strict orders: “Watch out! Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod.” They were discussing among themselves that they did not have any bread. 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? Do you have eyes and not see; do you have ears and not hear? And do you not remember? When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many baskets full of leftovers did you collect?” “Twelve,” they told him. “When I broke the seven loaves for the four thousand, how many baskets full of pieces did you collect?” “Seven,” they said. And he said to them, “Don’t you understand yet?” They came to Bethsaida. They brought a blind man to him and begged him to touch him. 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?” He looked up and said, “I see people—they look like trees walking.” Again Jesus placed his hands on the man’s eyes. The man looked intently and his sight was restored and he saw everything clearly. Then he sent him home, saying, “Don’t even go into the village.”

Pray, invite people to sit.

What we see in our passage today is that Jesus told His disciples reject to reject spiritual blindness and that only He opens eyes to truly see.

and this morning, His challenge to us is the same.

You must reject spiritual blindness; only Jesus can open your eyes to see.

Jesus can open your eyes to the truth.

The truth of who He is and your desperate need for relationship with Him.

The truth of your sin that is wrecking your life and carrying you to death and eternal separation from God.

The truth of the freedom and life that can only be found in Him.

The truth of the goodness of God that will fill your life as you pursue knowing Him and making Him known.

As a church family, we are always pointing each other and others to Jesus because He is the only one that can open eyes and bring healing.

But for Him to open your eyes, you first have to stop living in spiritual blindness, and our passage today tells us how to do exactly that.

look at verse 11:

Mark 8:11–13 CSB

The Pharisees came and began to argue with him, demanding of him a sign from heaven to test him. Sighing deeply in his spirit, he said, “Why does this generation demand a sign? Truly I tell you, no sign will be given to this generation.” Then he left them, got back into the boat, and went to the other side.

If you are going to reject spiritual blindness and allow Jesus to open your eyes, the first thing you need to do is

Stop demanding signs.

Jesus had just gotten out of a boat, and the pharisees are already demanding signs- “Show us a sign from heaven.”

Basically, they were saying “show us proof your teachings are true and from God by working a miracle.”

They wanted proof on their terms, not faith.

The pharisees stood demanding signs as though Jesus hadn’t given them any.

Feeding 5000 people and 4000 people on separate occassions wasn’t enough.

Healing the blind and the lame wasn’t enough.

Curing the sick wasn’t enough.

Stopping unstoppable bleeding wasn’t enough.

Casting out demons wasn’t enough.

Raising someone from the dead wasn’t enough.

Walking on water wasn’t enough.

Stopping a storm wasn’t enough.

But what Jesus tells them is that they don’t need a sign! They need to open their eyes!

And it’s easy to look at the pharisees and shake our heads and say “how many signs do you need?”…but we do the same thing.

We feel in our hearts we’re supposed to talk to someone we don’t know, but we say “if they come to me, I’ll share.”

We feel conviction for our sins, but we say “God will show me if that really matters.”

We hear Him tell us to give of our time, our money, and ourselves, but we say “if God gives me a raise or if God makes it rain, or whatever other condition we can think of to put on our obedience because we don’t want to believe He’s asking us to do it.”

Don’t miss this, friends: Blindness clings to control and demands God prove Himself, while denying the proof in front of us.

When God told my family to move to Idaho, I didn’t want to believe that was really what He wanted. I prayed and asked God that if He really wanted us to go to Idaho that He would give me a sign.

And He did. He gave me sign after sign after sign.

He allowed my daughter to catch a fish with no bait.

He broke over 300 flooring tiles into the shape of the state of Idaho.

Idaho was literally everywhere.

It went on so long, that Bethany finally said to me “sweety, I’m afraid for you. How many times will you ask God to prove Himself to you?”

And as amazing as it was to see all of those signs, I share this to my shame because I didn’t want to see it. And my prayer this morning is that you my story, you will hear this passage, and you will listen.

Stop saying in your heart “I’ll believe if God proves Himself.”

Reject the heart that says “God must prove Himself for me to believe.”

He already proved Himself.

He created the world and gave evidence of Himself in every corner of it.

He sent His one and only Son to die on a cross He didn’t deserve so that you could find life in His death.

What more must God do for you before you’re willing to believe?

It’s time to stop demanding signs from God. Let’s continue:

Mark 8:14–21 CSB

The disciples had forgotten to take bread and had only one loaf with them in the boat. Then he gave them strict orders: “Watch out! Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod.” They were discussing among themselves that they did not have any bread. 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? Do you have eyes and not see; do you have ears and not hear? And do you not remember? When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many baskets full of leftovers did you collect?” “Twelve,” they told him. “When I broke the seven loaves for the four thousand, how many baskets full of pieces did you collect?” “Seven,” they said. And he said to them, “Don’t you understand yet?”

To reject spiritual blindness and allow Jesus to open your eyes, you first must stop demanding signs. Secondly, you must

Strike down the idols that keep you blind.

As they ride along in the boat, Jesus is tries to warn the disciples about a real danger!

The pharisees thought that they were self-sufficient.

“All we have to do is to keep ourselves holy and we’re good,” they thought.

They were so tied into their pursuit of their religion that they thought there was nothing they needed.

They were blinded to the God they really needed Who was standing in front of them.

The irony, is that the disciples miss the point because they had a similar problem.

Jesus calls the “religious self-sufficiency” the pharisees taught “leaven” and tells the disciples to be ware.

All they hear is leaven, and they go “oh no! we didn’t bring any bread! Our needs won’t be met! Jesus is going to be mad. I’m hungry!”

And I want you to see that in some regards, this is also self-sufficiency.

They are with Jesus! They should be listening to Him, watching Him, seeking Him.

Instead, they are worried about providing for themselves.

In fact, as you read Matthew’s telling of the same event their realization after Jesus corrects them says”

Matthew 16:12 NASB95

Then they understood that He did not say to beware of the leaven of bread, but of the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.

The pharisees’ idol of self-sufficiency came through control through signs and rules.

The disciples’ idol of self-sufficiency came from security in bread rather than in Jesus.

I don’t know what your idol is this morning. I don’t know what is consuming your thoughts and blinding your eyes.

Maybe its…

worry, religion, security, comfort, success, or approval.

Self-sufficiency or just plain self.

What I do know is that whatever it is, these things keep you enslaved and they blind us because your trust is in yourself and not in Jesus.

Idols demand trust that belongs to Jesus

Idols promise sight or tell you Jesus can’t give it to you-both things produce blindness

The only way past an Idol is to strike it down.

Isaiah 41:29 CSB

Look, all of them are a delusion; their works are nonexistent; their images are wind and emptiness.

Isaiah 55:7 CSB

Let the wicked one abandon his way and the sinful one his thoughts; let him return to the Lord, so he may have compassion on him, and to our God, for he will freely forgive.

Consider Jesus’ reply to the disciples in our passage?

Guys, what happened with the 5000 and the bread I broke?

What happened with the 4000 and the bread I broke?

Weren’t there more leftovers than what we started with?

Guys, BREAD IS NOT A PROBLEM FOR JESUS!

And what we see here is that Jesus is in control of all these other things that we put in front of Him.

You don’t need to be good enough-Jesus already is.

You don’t need to be sufficient-Jesus already is.

You don’t need to worry-Jesus takes care of your needs.

You don’t need anyone’s approval-you’ve got the love of Jesus the KING!

Stop demanding a sign. Strike down your idols that are keeping you blind and turn to the only one that can make you see.

Let’s look at the last few verses:

Mark 8:22–26 CSB

They came to Bethsaida. They brought a blind man to him and begged him to touch him. 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?” He looked up and said, “I see people—they look like trees walking.” Again Jesus placed his hands on the man’s eyes. The man looked intently and his sight was restored and he saw everything clearly. Then he sent him home, saying, “Don’t even go into the village.”

The final thing our passage shows us you must do to reject spiritual blindness and allow Jesus to open your eyes is this:

Come honestly to Jesus for sight.

This blind man stands as such a contrast to the pharisees and even the disciples.

He comes to Jesus, knowing that He can’t see.

Do you remember in John, when the pharisees questioned their own blindness?

Jesus had healed another blind man, and had said he comes to give sight to the blind.

John 9:40–41 NASB95

Those of the Pharisees who were with Him heard these things and said to Him, “We are not blind too, are we?” Jesus said to them, “If you were blind, you would have no sin; but since you say, ‘We see,’ your sin remains.

Could you imagine a blind person insisting that they could see just fine?

I’ve met a few that were close, and their wives were their saving grace!

In general, a blind man living as though he could see doesn’t go well.

This blind man depends on others to lead him to Jesus.

This blind man is overjoyed just at a partial healing.

But when Jesus puts His hands on the man’s eyes, and the man looks intently on Jesus, His sight is restored.

The man looked to Jesus and His sight was restored.

The man looked to Jesus and He could see.

The answer to this man’s blindness was Jesus.

The answer to your blindness is Jesus.

But the only way you are going to come from spiritual blindness to spiritual sight is to come to Jesus.

First, you need to admit that you are blind-you need the help of Jesus to let go of your idols and find your sight.

Then, you need to come to Jesus and ask Him to make you see.

Matthew 7:7 CSB

“Ask, and it will be given to you. Seek, and you will find. Knock, and the door will be opened to you.

Jesus wants you to seek Him.

He wants to open your eyes to the truth of who He is.

He wants to free you from all of those things that keep you blind to what life is really about.

He wants to welcome you into a new life in Him, a life like you have never known.

But you are going to have to stop worrying about bread.

Stop looking to yourself, and find that only in Jesus can you see.

In a few moments, we’re going to celebrate the Lord’s Supper together.

But first, before we eat of bread and remember how broken Jesus was for us, we need to take a moment alone with Him.

In this place, right where you sit, it’s time to get alone with Jesus.

tell Him you’re sorry for demanding signs while trusting in yourself.

Confess to Him your worship of yourself through your worry, self-seeking, and attempts at self-sufficiency.

Admit to Him that you have been blind, but that you are here with Him because you want to see.

And the God of matchless grace will give you His sight this morning.

WON’T YOU PRAY With ME.

Pray.