Mark 8:31-21

Introduction

1) The Proper way to view Jesus

I mentioned this a couple of weeks back that Jesus spent much of His earthly ministry proving to His disciples that He is the Son of God. One of the reasons His disciples struggled with wrapping their mind around Jesus was they wanted an earthly Messiah, not a spiritual Messiah. There seemed to be a concerted effort in refusing to see Jesus from any other prism than physical, material, or earthly.

The Dangers of False Teaching

In as we approach the end of the earthly ministry of Jesus, He and His disciples left the upper room and are on their way to the garden of Gethsemane, where Jesus would be arrested and crucified the next day. His disciples must have sensed something big was about to happen as they left the upper room. They took two swords that were available to them, readying for the revolution. Even to the very end, His disciples heal out hope of an earthly Messiah. ≈

Yet, Jesus came to establish a spiritual Kingdom that has no geographic borders. The makeup of this Kingdom was completely spiritual. The citizens of this Kingdom are those who repented of their sins and placed their faith in the finished work of jesus Christ on the cross. Jesus is the King of their hearts; this is the Kingdom that Jesus came to establish. In fact, while on trial, Jesus said to Pilate that His kingdom is not of this world (). His Kingdom is not earthly or material. His Kingdom is otherworldly and it is not material. It is completely spiritual.

Back in our text, they are struggling with seeing spiritual things. Jesus just finished rebuking the Pharisees. He and His disciples entered a boat to sail to the other side. While on the boat Jesus, instructing His disciples said, “...Take heed, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, and of the leaven of Herod” (). Jesus was not talking about bread or the need of bread; rather, He used leaven as an illustration, pointing to the destructive teachings of the Pharisees. His disciples connected this instruction as a rebuke for them not having enough bread on the boat.

Commands His disciples

15 And he charged them, saying, Take heed, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, and of the leaven of Herod.

This was a continual process.

This charge exist today. Mark used the past tense for the word “charged” to explain this conversation took place in the past. Yet, because the word is in the imperfect tense this means the same charge applies today.

This also means the warning in necessary

Take Heed

This word gives prominence to the discerning mind. The disciples were to use their heads. There are a lot of Christians who do not want to use their minds. They do not want to think.

They were to put the teachings of the Pharisees and the Herodians to the acid test of experience, not in the actual doing of the things taught, but with the mind’s eye following out the ultimate conclusion of the act of practicing what they taught.

The verb is present imperative, commanding the beginning of an action and its habitual continuance.

Beware

The second verb is blepō "to perceive by the use of the eyes." It is used in a metaphorical sense, "to see with the mind’s eye, to discern mentally, understand, to turn the thoughts or direct the mind to a thing, to consider, to take heed." It is also present imperative, "Be constantly keeping a watchful eye open to consider and take heed of."

Leaven

, “Then understood they how that he bade them not beware of the leaven of bread, but of the doctrine of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees.

What was the teaching of the Pharisees and the Herodians

Pharisees

formalists, tradition-worshipers, and self-righteous.

Herodians/Sadduccees

sneering rationalism, unbelief, free thought, worldliness and corrupt politics

Danger

If we allow any teaching to get a foothold into our assembly than it will influence all aspects of our theology.

The Danger of Selfish Ambition

Rationalizing

They are not perceiving - That is, they are not exercising the mind.

They are not understanding - They are not able to connect the dots. Remember

Remember

Hardening of hearts - Petrify, like a stone- It means having a closed mind.

Not seeing and hearing

Not understanding

Conclusion

sneering rationalism, unbelief, free thought, worldliness