The Hardhearted and the Hardheaded?

Mark 8:10-21

If you brought your bibles turn with me over to the gospel of Mark chapter 8. The gospel of Mark chapter 8 and in a moment, we going to read verses 10-21 of the gospel of Mark chapter 8.

The tittle of the message this morning is: the Hardhearted and the Hardheaded because, those are the two type of people we see in this passage.

I heard a story this week about a businessman who was running late for work. When he got to the office, he couldn’t find a parking spot and had to drive around the building looking for somewhere to park.

So, he looked up to heaven and he said, “God if you give me a parking spot, I will change my life: I will quit drinking and start going to church.”

Just then, someone was backing out of a spot at the front of the building, and he looked back up to heaven and said, “never mind, I found one.”

There are some people, in this world who are looking for a sign from heaven, but even if God gave them one, they would not believe it, because their hearts are hard. They refuse to believe, no matter what they see.

Meanwhile, there are other people in this world, who are just hardheaded. They want to follow Christ, but they unknowingly, continue to make mistakes.

I heard a funny story that illustrates a hardheaded person. Did you know a recent study shows, that women who carry a little extra weight live longer than men who mention it?

If you are a man that has not learned when to keep your mouth shut, you are by definition Hardheaded. Today we are going to talk about the difference between hardhearted unbelievers and hardheaded followers of Christ.

Mark 8:10–21 KJV

And straightway he entered into a ship with his disciples, and came into the parts of Dalmanutha. And the Pharisees came forth, and began to question with him, seeking of him a sign from heaven, tempting him. And he sighed deeply in his spirit, and saith, Why doth this generation seek after a sign? verily I say unto you, There shall no sign be given unto this generation. And he left them, and entering into the ship again departed to the other side. Now the disciples had forgotten to take bread, neither had they in the ship with them more than one loaf. And he charged them, saying, Take heed, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, and of the leaven of Herod. And they reasoned among themselves, saying, It is because we have no bread. And when Jesus knew it, he saith unto them, Why reason ye, because ye have no bread? perceive ye not yet, neither understand? have ye your heart yet hardened? Having eyes, see ye not? and having ears, hear ye not? and do ye not remember? When I brake the five loaves among five thousand, how many baskets full of fragments took ye up? They say unto him, Twelve. And when the seven among four thousand, how many baskets full of fragments took ye up? And they said, Seven. And he said unto them, How is it that ye do not understand?

Lets pray together

Heavenly Father, I thank you for Your Word. I pray this morning, that as Your Word is spoken that it would be clear what You want to say.

I pray we would have ears to hear, eyes to see, and a heart prepared for Your Word. I pray we would grow in our understanding and wisdom from what we learn this morning and we could apply it to our lives.

I pray these things in Jesus Name, Amen!!

In our passage this morning, we see a great contrast between the Pharisees who were hardhearted unbelievers and the disciples who were hardheaded followers of Christ. Unfortunately, we all fall into one of these two categories.

Interestingly, you can look like one group and belong to the other. The Pharisees were religious leaders, they were very conservative, they prayed in public and went to the synagogue every time there was a meeting. Yet they were Hardhearted unbelievers.

Meanwhile, the disciples were just common men. They were fishermen, tax collectors and sinners, but they were devoted followers of Christ.

The Pharisees were hardhearted and every time we see them, they are standing in opposition of Christ. They were pawns in Satan’s tool chest, doing everything they could to prevent the plan of God in the world.

In this story they are trying to provoke Jesus. They are testing Him; they want to see a sign. They want Him to act out in pride, and do something miraculous, that will prove to them, He is from God.

As if feeding thousands of people with a loaf of bread, or healing the sick, or raising the dead was not enough. Nothing He could do would ever make them believers.

How ironic is it that God would use these hardhearted Pharisees to carry out His plan of redemption for the world? Romans 8:28 says, “God causes all things to work together for the good of those who love the Lord.”

These Pharisee’s were hardhearted, and their condition was terminal, because they were rejecting Christ.

Meanwhile, the disciples were hardheaded. They were just like us. They did not always understand what God was doing. They did not always understand why He was doing it.

They are spiritually apathetic at times, and completely unaware of what is going on. Sometimes it seems as though they are getting in the way of Christ, more than helping Him.

 We see that from Peter in vs. 31-33 of this chapter. As Jesus begins to teach the cross, Peter is used by Satan to rebuke Him, and try to prevent Him from going to the cross.

However, it was not that Peter was purposely opposing the plan of God; he did not understand it. I can not help but think that we are just like that. We are hardheaded sometimes, and we get in the way of what God is trying to do in our lives, because we don’t understand it.

 We have this natural tendency to gravitate away from the things of God. The world is like gravity, and we are a rock. God wants so much more for our lives, but we prefer to drag our feet in the mud.

We are just like the disciples, and what we learn from this story is: that we all fall into one of these two types of people. We are either Hardhearted unbelievers, or we are Hardheaded followers of Christ.

So, lets examine this story and see what it teaches us about Christ and ourselves. The first group of people I want to look at is:

I. The Hardhearted Unbelievers Vs. 10

As Jesus steps back into this conflict with the religious leaders of Israel. Notice, It begins in Vs. 10 when Jesus’ crosses over the sea of Galilee again.

Throughout the gospel of Mark, a boat is often used as Jesus’ mode of transportation, and it is no different here.

Vs. 10 tells us, “straightway” or immediately after feeding the 4000 people, Jesus got into a boat, and came to the district of Dalmanutha.

Dalmanutha does not exist anymore so, we do not know exactly where this took place. Matthew 15:39, calls this area Magadan.

What we do know is, Jesus was on the Eastern shores of the sea of Galilee, in the Decapolis, a Gentile territory, and He has now crossed over to the Western shore, into Jewish territory, and that is where the conflict begins.

 But, I believe this is a strategic move on the part of Jesus. He does this on purpose because, He is taking the temperature of the Jewish leaders. He wants to see if they have had a change of heart, since He has last saw them.

Because, by doing this, Jesus is poking the bear. He is literally a boy with a stick playing with a beehive.

 If you remember, From the beginning of chapter 7, the last time Jesus saw these Pharisees, He got into a heated dispute with them, because He refused to follow their traditions.

Jesus told them He was not going to follow their traditions, because their traditions were not from God, but they were man made traditions. And He called them a bunch of hypocrites.

Now, in our story this morning, He is back. He shows up on their doorstep as if to say, “hey fellas,” you guys did not forget about me, did you?

 He does this for two reasons; 1, to give them an opportunity to have a change of heart and repent, and 2, to make sure they still have a date, set up by God the Father at a cross in Jerusalem. Either way, He has stepped back into this conflict, in Jewish territory with the Pharisees.

The next thing I want to show you in this story are:

II. The Symptoms of a Hard Heart Vs 11-13

Because as followers of Christ we need to recognize these symptoms.

Notice Vs. 11 says “The Pharisees came forth and began to question Him.”

One of the main symptoms of a person with a hard heart is: they are always standing in opposition to God. It does not matter what you do or what you say to this person. You cannot reason with them, and you cannot change their mind.

If you say black, they will say white. They will always argue against God. That is because they are being used as pawns by Satan and they do not even know it.

 As Christians we need to recognize this in people because they are engaging us in spiritual warfare. From the moment Jesus came into the world He endure intense spiritual warfare.

Immediately following His baptism, He was compelled into the wilderness to be tested by Satan for 40 days and for 40 nights. And that would not end there, it would continue throughout His lifetime, all the way to the cross.

     Satan was trying to prevent God’s plan of redemption for the world. And because he could not stop Christ from reaching the cross, he must stop you from reaching the cross. He must prevent you from becoming a believer. And he will try to use people in your life to do that.

This phrase In Vs. 11 “The Pharisees came forth” implies: the moment they heard that Jesus arrived, they confronted Him. One commentator said, this is a military term that Mark uses.

It describes putting up a front, or drawing battle lines. No doubt their chests were pumped up and they meant business, as they came out against Jesus. A hard heart always stands opposed to God.

Another symptom, we need to recognize is a Hardhearted person, always seeks to discredit God.

Notice Vs. 11 says, they were seeking of Him a sign from heaven, tempting Him. They were not sincerely trying to find out who He was. They would have never believed in Him anyway, no matter what He did.

This is the same way that Satan tempted Jesus in the wilderness. Just like these Pharisees, Satan wanted Jesus to prove He was God.

What is interesting to me is: the reason they hate Jesus in the first place is: because of the miracles. Jesus was performing signs and wonders and winning the hearts of the people and that is why they want to kill Him.

So, You see it didn’t matter how many signs He gave them, their hearts were hard and they refused to believe.

The same thing can be true in our lives. There are people in our lives that it does not matter how much information they have, they refuse to believe.

 I am reminded of the story of the rich man and Lazarus, from Luke chapter 16. Lazarus was a poor man who begged for the crumbs, from the rich mans table.

Both men died, and the rich man went to Hades, a place of eternal torment. Meanwhile, Lazarus went to Abraham’s bosom: a place for Old Testament saints, who died in faith, waiting for redemption.

Well, the rich man begged Abraham to send Lazarus back to warn his brothers about this place called hades, because he did not want them to end up there.

 Abraham told the rich man that his brothers had Moses and the prophets to warn them, if they were willing to listen. But the rich man argued, that it wasn’t enough, they needed more information.

And what Jesus said next, in Luke 16:31 is chilling. He said “If they do not listen to Moses and the prophets, they will not be persuaded even if someone rises from the dead.”

And that is exactly what happened!! Jesus has rose from the dead and they still do not believe!!

 There are some people today, that it does not matter how much information you give them, their hearts are hard and they refuse to believe. The sad part about that is: When a hard-hearted person rejects Jesus, it can be final and it can be fatal.

That is what we see in Vs. 12-13. Jesus deeply sighs in His Spirit because He regrets their decision, and He knows these results are final.

Remember, it is not God’s desire that any should perish. And this same Jesus, would hang on a cross and look out at these same Pharisees, and say, “Father forgive them because they no not what they are doing!!

 Verses 12-13 tell us, He refused to give them a sign and He leaves them forever. The Pharisees think they have won the battle, but in reality, they have lost the war, because they are lost for all of eternity.

The final symptom of a hard heart is it is fatal. You might say to yourself: “well why didn’t Jesus just give them a sign and make them believe?” That is not the way that God operates. God doesn’t force us to believe.

From a theological standpoint, if Jesus would have gave into their testings, and proved to the Pharisees He was God, He would have been sinning in that moment, and that would have disqualified Him for the cross.

So, I am so grateful this morning, He was the sinless Son of God, who refused to prove anything to these unbelievers, because the cross was God’s plan for the redemption of the world, and it’s through the cross of Jesus Christ, that all whom put their trust in Him are saved, and spend eternity with God in heaven.

What we learn from this story is there are two types of people in the world: Hardhearted unbelievers and hardheaded followers of Christ. The question is: which category do you fall into?

The next thing I want to show you, in this passage, are the people I identify with the most:

III. The Hardheaded Disciples Vs, 14-21

The first thing we see is Jesus teaching His followers, to beware of the influence of the unbeliever.

Notice in Vs. 15, He uses this word “leaven” two times. And it is obvious to us, that Jesus is talking about the teaching of the Pharisees and the Herodians.

 In case you don’t understand, “leaven” is dough that has yeast in it. And it is called leaven because it spreads.

You take a large batch of dough that has risen, but hasn’t been baked yet, and you take a clump of that, and set it aside, and then you mix that clump in with the next batch of dough and it spreads.

So, You see Jesus is warning the disciples, not to let the unbelief of the Pharisees, to spread to them. He compares it to leaven because leaven spreads. What He is saying is: beware of their influence on your life.

There have been people in my life I have had to let go of, because I knew their influence was not good for me. People who at one time, I called friends.

I use the analogy of standing on a chair trying to lift someone from the ground. It is easier for someone to pull you down to them, than it is for you to lift them up!! That is what an unbeliever will do in your life.

 You may have the best of intentions; you might think you are going to witness to them, and help them to see the truth.

But the Bible tells us not to be unequally yoked with unbelievers, because in the end, they will prove destructive to your life. We have to be aware of the people we allow to influence us.

Have you noticed that movies today, always depict a Christian as a bigot or a moron? And the hero of the story is always someone who is living an immoral lifestyle. That is because Hollywood wants to influence your life. They want to glamourize immorality, because they are led by unbelievers.

For example, the Lord of the Rings series has a character named Gandalf. In real life his name is Sir Ian McKellen. Well, Ian McKellen is a committed atheist, and an activist, and he is very proud of it.

He says the only reason he doesn’t spend more time promoting his atheistic views, is because He is also a homosexual, and he thinks the LGBTQ views are more important. Either way, none of that is compatible with being a Christian.

 Most of us have heard of Daniel Radcliff, the star of Harry Potter. He is also a self-proclaimed atheist ,who says Richard Dawkins is his hero.

We have to be aware of the people who influence our lives. We cannot be hardheaded about this. We must understand; People who do not believe in God, do not want you to believe in God.

Not only do we need to be aware of who influences us, but the final thing I want to show you from this passage is:

IV. We Need to be Reminded Vs. 17-21

We need to be reminded of what Jesus has already done for us.

In these verses, Jesus is obviously aggravated by how hardheaded His disciples are, and I am certain God has felt this way about me at times.

In Vs. 17-18 He asks them a series of questions all intended to remind them of what He has already done. He says, how is it that you don’t understand? Have your hearts become hard? “Don’t you remember?”

Then in Vs. 19-20, He reminds them of the two most amazing miracles that took place: how He provided bread from heaven to feed thousands.

All of this is meant to remind them that He is the bread of life for the world. How He is the abundant supply from God that never runs out. They don’t need to worry about having enough eat, or finding satisfaction from the world because they are standing in the presence of the Savior.

What we learn from this story is: hardheaded followers of Christ need to be reminded of what God has already done for us.

We need to remember who He is, what He has done, and where He is taking us in the future. Someone once said, “If God never does another thing for me, He has already done enough.” And I believe that.

The key to living for Christ is to have a grateful heart. I know I am a hardheaded follower of Jesus but, I am grateful for the grace of God and the forgiveness of my sin.

I am grateful I have been set free from hell and death. I am grateful I no longer live with the guilt and the shame of who I was and what I have done.

I am grateful the wrath of God on my life has been satisfied by the work of Christ on the cross. I am grateful I have been redeemed, today I am a new creation in Christ, reconciled by the blood of Jesus.

     Matthew 20:28 says, “Just as the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and give His life as a ransom for many.”

The specific way that Jesus served the world is spelled out in that final phrase, “He gave His life as a ransom for many.” The death of Jesus was a substitute for my sin, and yours. He died in our place.

The very nature of what Jesus accomplished on the cross was His service to others, and He is a model of self-sacrifice for us all.

Jesus Christ has proven He is God; He doesn’t have to do anything else to prove Himself to us, it is up to us to remember what He has done. We don’t need a sign!!

I will close with this: there are two types of people in the world: Hardhearted unbelievers who reject Jesus and the gift of God and there are hardheaded followers of Christ that often do not understand the gift God has given them. The question is which one are you?

Lets pray together,

Heavenly Father We thank you for your word. We thank you for your patience Lord and your love.

We know My God that we don’t always understand what you are doing. We don’t always trust and we often times fail. But we love you Lord, and we thank you for Son.

It’s in the name of Jesus we pray, Amen!!