Is your bread poisoned?

When the Pharisees heard that Jesus had arrived, they came and started to argue with him. Testing him, they demanded that he show them a miraculous sign from heaven to prove his authority.

Our Scripture begins with this demand.

Miracle? They want a miracle now?

What about the previous miracles?

Mark 6:35–37 NLT

Late in the afternoon his disciples came to him and said, “This is a remote place, and it’s already getting late. Send the crowds away so they can go to the nearby farms and villages and buy something to eat.” But Jesus said, “You feed them.” “With what?” they asked. “We’d have to work for months to earn enough money to buy food for all these people!”

You see, here Jesus fed 5,000 with 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish

The Disciples were concerned with $$$ enough to buy food.

Jesus miraculously provided.

Fast forward a bit, and here is Jesus doing it again...

Mark 8:6–7 NLT

So Jesus told all the people to sit down on the ground. Then he took the seven loaves, thanked God for them, and broke them into pieces. He gave them to his disciples, who distributed the bread to the crowd. A few small fish were found, too, so Jesus also blessed these and told the disciples to distribute them.

In the beginning of ch 8, Jesus feeds 4,000

7 loaves of bread & a few small fish

This is the second time Jesus feeds many with only a little. again

This miracle was again WITH the 12 disciples present.

Mark 8:4 NLT

His disciples replied, “How are we supposed to find enough food to feed them out here in the wilderness?”

The Disciples were concerned again with HOW they could feed so many. They were worried about limited resources.

Again, Jesus provided.

But this time, Jesus had the Disciples distribute the food.

They were part of the miracle!

Mark 8:6–7 NLT

Two of life’s most common main concerns are:

Having enough money

and, having enough resources

Isn’t it interesting that in both cases, Jesus was the one who provided?

Time and time again, Jesus demonstrated His divinity, authority, & power to His followers.

I count 23 previous miracles from Jesus (recorded).

Has God ever worked a miracle in your life? If so, what was your reaction? Is it still fresh in your memory?

Did it have to do with money or resources?

Was it clearly a miracle? IOW, What made it a miracle?

Sometimes we miss the miracles & blessings God bestows upon us.

Even the one’s right in front of our eyes.

Enter the Pharisees...

“We want a sign!”

After the feeding of the 4k, Jesus & the Disciples head out in a boat for Dalmanutha.

When they arrive, they were recognized and...

The pharisees began to argue with Jesus… They began testing Him.

They wanted a “...miraculous sign from heaven...”

and Jesus seems to just say “NO”.

Mark 8:11–12 NLT

When the Pharisees heard that Jesus had arrived, they came and started to argue with him. Testing him, they demanded that he show them a miraculous sign from heaven to prove his authority. When he heard this, he sighed deeply in his spirit and said, “Why do these people keep demanding a miraculous sign? I tell you the truth, I will not give this generation any such sign.”

Two points here:

1) What do the Pharisees mean by a miraculous sign from heaven?

Aren’t all signs miraculous & from heaven?

2) Did Jesus really say that the current generation would not get a sign?

After all, didn’t we just see 24 signs?

I did some cultural & language digging:

First

“A sign from heaven” does not refer to the author of the sign—a sign from God. Signs by their very nature came from God, so that the phrase “a sign from God” is redundant.

The Pharisees specifically ask for a sign “from heaven.” They have in mind a peculiar type of sign distinct from another sign they may have requested.

Jeffery Gibson in the “Journal for the Study of the New Testament” argues that “a sign from heaven” refers to “apocalyptic phenomena which embody or signal the onset of aid and comfort for God’s elect and/or the wrath that God was expected to let loose against his enemies and those who threaten his people.”

This generation, represented by the Pharisees, asks Jesus to do something that will signal Israel’s deliverance from her enemies and their crushing defeat.

A sign from heaven is something that “is apocalyptic in tone, triumphalistic in character, and the embodiment of one of the ‘mighty deeds of deliverance’ that God had worked on Israel’s behalf in rescuing it from slavery.”

Ironically, this request comes after the miraculous feeding, a miracle that pointed to the blessing, not the destruction, of Gentiles.

Jesus refuses to give the Pharisees a sign from heaven because God has sent him to give his life on the cross for all humanity, not to smash the enemies of Israel or to give the nation political mastery of the world. He will not give in to pressure to take a course of action different from God’s purposes.

Garland, David E.. Mark (The NIV Application Commentary Book 2) (pp. 308-309). Zondervan. Kindle Edition.

All of Jesus’ signs and miracles were life giving and blessings, and never for the sake of showing power alone.

Jesus’ response?

“I tell you the truth, I will not give this generation any such sign.”

Can you see the similarity to Israel’s wandering in the wilderness?

Psalm 95:10–11 NLT

For forty years I was angry with them, and I said, ‘They are a people whose hearts turn away from me. They refuse to do what I tell them.’ So in my anger I took an oath: ‘They will never enter my place of rest.’ ”

Jesus is using similar language with the Pharisees.

This Generation = Pharisees

A little more digging into the ANE culture & language, and there is a “snarky” nuance to Jesus’ response.

The text literally reads,

“If a sign will be given to this generation.”

and it is part of an oath formula.

“I’ll see you tomorrow, if the Lord’s willing and the creek don’t rise.”

If this scripture were spoken today, it may read:

“If a sign will be given to this generation.”

…may God strike me down!

I love when scripture comes off the pages and becomes animated.

So, let me ask:

What signs have you asked Jesus for?

Were they requests for signs of power, to prove something?

Or, were they for the benefit & blessing of someone?

Another lesson learned by the Disciples, from dealings with the Pharisees.

Or is it?

What will we do?

SO, Jesus and the Disciples get back into their boat and head out for the other side of the lake.

Previously, Jesus worked miracles with the Disciples while on a boat.

Mark 4:39–40 NLT

When Jesus woke up, he rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Silence! Be still!” Suddenly the wind stopped, and there was a great calm. Then he asked them, “Why are you afraid? Do you still have no faith?”

The Disciples had a first-hand view of the Authority & Power of Jesus.

In an earlier scene the were witness to Jesus walking on water, where they had a first-hand view to the Divinity of Jesus

Mark 6:49–52 NLT

but when they saw him walking on the water, they cried out in terror, thinking he was a ghost. They were all terrified when they saw him. But Jesus spoke to them at once. “Don’t be afraid,” he said. “Take courage! I am here!” Then he climbed into the boat, and the wind stopped. They were totally amazed, for they still didn’t understand the significance of the miracle of the loaves. Their hearts were too hard to take it in.

So, twice (in a boat) the disciples saw miracles.

Maybe this time they would catch on.

Would their hearts still be hardened and unable to comprehend?

Jesus, knew ahead of time what was going to happen next.

Mark 8:14–15 NLT

But the disciples had forgotten to bring any food. They had only one loaf of bread with them in the boat. As they were crossing the lake, Jesus warned them, “Watch out! Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and of Herod.”

“Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and of Herod.” Wait what?

Let’s look at the verbiage here.

First we must understand that Yeast is synonymous with Leaven.

And, leaven symbolized corruption and the infectious power of evil in the OT.

We think of yeast as something good that makes dough sweet and makes it rise and give it a light airy texture.

However, leaven had “dangerous” stigma in OT times.

Why?

It was produced by keeping back a piece of the previous week’s dough, storing it in suitable conditions, and adding juices to promote the process of fermentation. But this homemade rising agent was fraught with health hazards because it could easily become tainted; it would then spread poison when baked with the rest of the dough. It, in turn, would infect the next batch.13 That is the idea Jesus uses to refer to his enemies.

Garland, David E.. Mark (The NIV Application Commentary Book 2) (p. 310). Zondervan. Kindle Edition.

Poison, what was the poison Jesus could be referring to?

Simply put, booth the Pharisees and Herod would inevitably reject Jesus and His Gospel message.

Jesus, knew that a little evil goes a long way, and could easily infect the Disciples’ own thoughts.

Leaven was a word picture to warn against allowing a little poisonous thought, which could grow from generation to generation, to infect one’s own thoughts.

Is there any remnant of “poisonous thought” in your walk with Christ?

Do you have any notions that are contrary to scripture?

How do you know?

What other sources of opinions do you allow to mold your thoughts?

Are there any that seem benign, but have potential to poison your thoughts with uninformed opinions or personal preferences?

Jesus knew the Disciples were listening to both Him, and those who reject Jesus.

So, Jesus gave them a pre-warning to watch out for poisonous thought which lead to rejection of Christ & His Gospel Message.

Well, they began to quarrel over forgetting to bring bread on the boat to eat during their journey.

Then Jesus rebukes them:

Mark 8:17–21 NLT

Jesus knew what they were saying, so he said, “Why are you arguing about having no bread? Don’t you know or understand even yet? Are your hearts too hard to take it in? ‘You have eyes—can’t you see? You have ears—can’t you hear?’ Don’t you remember anything at all? When I fed the 5,000 with five loaves of bread, how many baskets of leftovers did you pick up afterward?” “Twelve,” they said. “And when I fed the 4,000 with seven loaves, how many large baskets of leftovers did you pick up?” “Seven,” they said. “Don’t you understand yet?” he asked them.

Jesus outlines what the Disciples are missing.

They are quarreling about not having enough loaves of bread...

…and the Bread Maker is sitting IN THE BOAT!

The Disciples lived with Jesus, they traveled with Jesus, they even took part in the miracles Jesus performed. Yet, they had trouble understanding.

It’s easy for us to look back with 20/20 hindsight and say, “Silly Disciples.”

It’s easy for us to think we are better than that.

Especially, when we have scripture to explain what happened.

But, we are no different!

How often do we miss God sightings and the miracles He performs, that are right in front of every day?

How often do we take it all for granted?

Birth of a baby?

That Job that provides for our families>

The house we complain about having to fix or pay a mortgage on?

The family & friends we have?

The air we breathe?

SO, what can we learn from today’s Scripture?

How can we learn to see God’s provisions and miracles first-hand,

and be aware of the Gospel Message in every area of our lives?

What should we do?

Experience

Remember

Trust

Experience - God

The Disciples experienced God thru Jesus.

While we can’t see Jesus face-to-face yet, we can experience God thru:

personal life

Slow down & take it in

Why are you always in a rush?

Put margins in your life

scripture

Given to us to learn God’s Nature & Character

Don’t believe other’s interpretations alone

Read it for yourself!

life of others

God works incarnately!

Experience

Remember - God

Jesus called the Disciples to “remember” the miracles He performed.

We too are to remember what we have seen, read, and learned about God and His blessing us with reconciliation thru Jesus.

once you’ve experienced God

Remember Him, His deeds, His Word, His character, His Nature

Memory has a HUGE effect in our lives.

Yet they are short.

How many time in biblical history did God have to remind people who He is, “THE ONE TRUE GOD”, and who they were, “HIS CHILDREN?”

Experience

Remember

Trust - God

What does it take to trust someone?

It takes a history of:

seeing the other person’s goodness

seeing their actions match their words

seeing their actions happen when they are promised

What does it take to distrust someone?

It could be a simple as just one action fail, or not happen at all

It could be seeing that person be selfish

It could be seeing that person not tell the truth

10 atta-boy’s for every 1 Gotcha

How does God rank?

Poisonous thought can spread like leaven through bread. Like the Disciples, one needs to continually refresh and renew one's mind on the Goodness of God by Experiencing God, Remembering God, and Trusting God.

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