September 22, 2022
Daily Devotion:
“Do You Have Eyes But Fail to See…“
Mark 8:17-18
New International Version
17 Aware of their discussion, Jesus asked them: “Why are you talking about having no bread? Do you still not see or understand? Are your hearts hardened? 18 Do you have eyes but fail to see, and ears but fail to hear? And don’t you remember?
Just how challenged are you by the thought that you know what you know (because you know it), but you don't know what you don't know (because you don't know it)? In other words-we can never comfortably assume we know everything we need to know. The student who is sure that she knows enough to get an A may be sadly disappointed to get a C instead, all because the teacher is testing not only what she knows, but what she doesn't know. You know? So imagine how disconcerting it must've been for Jesus to have his closest disciples so blind to what he'd been trying to teach them through parables, miracles, and innumerable direct discourses. How many times would it take, do you suppose, for Jesus' disciples to appreciate that he often spoke of spiritual realities in material terms? Yet when Jesus starts talking about "the yeast of the Pharisees," the disciples assume he is talking about their not having any bread to eat. Were that his concern, Jesus reminds them he could produce bread miraculously, as he had done twice when feeding the multitudes. Only by further explanation did they realize he was speaking of the corrupting (yeast-like) power of Pharisaical legalism. From our Scripture-informed vantage point, the disciples look pretty pitiful and undiscerning. You and I would never have been so stupid! But if Jesus ‘own disciples, who spoke with him face-to-face, were blind to higher spiritual realities, why should we assume that we ourselves are not so mired in worldly thinking that we too fail to grasp huge spiritual truths that are staring us in the face?
The alarming question is: For all that I think I know about the kingdom of God; what profound truths am I still missing?
