Introduction
Before we get to the gospel according to Mark this morning, I want to consider the Old Testament character, Gideon. Maybe you remember Gideon as the fellow who led an army of 300 men armed with torches and pots and pans against the vast host of the Midianites. Perhaps you recall how his army was whittled down to 300, because God didn’t want Gideon to take the glory for the victory.
But I would guess that Gideon is best known for an incident before all of that happened. Back in Judges 6:36-40, we read this:
36 Then Gideon said to God, “If you will save Israel by my hand, as you have said, 37 behold, I am laying a fleece of wool on the threshing floor. If there is dew on the fleece alone, and it is dry on all the ground, then I shall know that you will save Israel by my hand, as you have said.” 38 And it was so. When he rose early next morning and squeezed the fleece, he wrung enough dew from the fleece to fill a bowl with water. 39 Then Gideon said to God, “Let not your anger burn against me; let me speak just once more. Please let me test just once more with the fleece. Please let it be dry on the fleece only, and on all the ground let there be dew.” 40 And God did so that night; and it was dry on the fleece only, and on all the ground there was dew.
Maybe you’ve heard (or said) something like this: “I’m just not sure what the Lord’s will is in this, so I’m laying out a fleece.” Or “you need to put a fleece out to determine if this is truly God’s will for you.”
But is this really a good way to find God’s will? Is the author of Judges using this story to praise Gideon’s faith? I think not. It seems in the narrative of Judges 6 that Gideon is doing everything he can to get out of doing what God has already clearly called him to do, and at this is the point where he’s basically asking God to write it in the sky with an airplane. Though Gideon does ultimately obey, and God works a great victory and provides peace throughout his days, the seedbed of shallow faith leads to bad places toward the end of his rule. He makes an idol and it becomes a snare to the people. Because in the end, Gideon was more sure of himself than God.
What does that have to do with Mark 8? A lot, I think. Because as we turn back to Mark, Jesus is going to warn his disciples about sign-seeking. He calls it, “the leaven of the Pharisees.”
Jesus is Able to Do Everything You Need
We’ll look at three scenes from Mark 8 this morning, and in the first section we learn this: Jesus is able to do everything you need.
In those days, when again a great crowd had gathered, and they had nothing to eat, he called his disciples to him and said to them, 2 “I have compassion on the crowd, because they have been with me now three days and have nothing to eat. 3 And if I send them away hungry to their homes, they will faint on the way. And some of them have come from far away.” 4 And his disciples answered him, “How can one feed these people with bread here in this desolate place?” 5 And he asked them, “How many loaves do you have?” They said, “Seven.” 6 And he directed the crowd to sit down on the ground. And he took the seven loaves, and having given thanks, he broke them and gave them to his disciples to set before the people; and they set them before the crowd. 7 And they had a few small fish. And having blessed them, he said that these also should be set before them. 8 And they ate and were satisfied. And they took up the broken pieces left over, seven baskets full. 9 And there were about four thousand people. And he sent them away. 10 And immediately he got into the boat with his disciples and went to the district of Dalmanutha.
Now, if you remember from the last couple weeks, this part of Mark’s gospel is focused on Jesus’ ministry to the gentiles. He cleansed the daughter of the Syrophonecian woman of an unclean spirit, he healed the man who was deaf and had a severe speech impediment, and now a great crowd has gathered for three straight days - presumably for him to heal and to listen to him teach.
And it’s at this point that you might have a flashback: deserted place, large crowd, nothing to eat: this sounds a lot like chapter 6 and the feeding of the 5,000, right? There are several similarities, but there are also differences, which are worth pointing out. When you have two similar stories, one of the best ways to learn from them is to set them side by side, ask “what’s the same - and what’s different?”, and then see if those similarities and differences are significant.
Jesus also has more to work with - seven loaves, rather than two. And the number of people is smaller - 5,000 men (6:44) could easily mean 10-20 thousand people. Here there are 4,000 people total (8:9). The number of loaves left over also differs - twelve baskets in chapter six, and seven baskets left over here in verse 8. There are some interesting theories on how significant those numbers are, though I’m not totally sure what to make of them - but their repeated place in the text does mean we ought to notice them.
The overlaps between the stories are very clear, though: Jesus’ compassion compels him to feed a multitude. The normal material limitations which apply to mere human beings do not apply to the same Lord who provided manna for his people in the wilderness. And that brings into sharp relief the biggest difference between chapters 6& 8: the crowd. This time it’s mostly Gentile, rather than the Jewish crowd of chapter six. Which reiterates the point of the past couple weeks: Jesus has come for, and will provide for, anyone who comes to him. No matter who you are or where you come from, Jesus can provide for all of your needs.
This crowd was in need, and Jesus took bread, gave thanks, and provided them with all the bread they could need. He took the few small fish, gave thanks, and provided for their needs of protein as well. His provision was abundant to the point that seven baskets full of extra pieces were left over. It’s not only the compassion of Jesus to provide which we should notice. We should also see the abundant capacity and generosity with which he provides.
The disciples have seen this over and over, which makes one other similarity in this story both puzzling and troubling: the question of verse 4. “How can one feed the people with bread in this desolate place?” Well, nudge nudge, don’t you guys remember who you’re with? But their hearts were still hard.
Jesus Will Not Do Everything You Want
Once that scene is over, they get in the boat and head for Dalmanutha - now, we don’t really know for sure where that is. But based on the way the narrative flows and clues from the other gospels, it’s probably on the western side of the sea of Galilee. Because once they land, the town marshalls - I mean, Pharisees - come out to confront Jesus.
11 The Pharisees came and began to argue with him, seeking from him a sign from heaven to test him. 12 And he sighed deeply in his spirit and said, “Why does this generation seek a sign? Truly, I say to you, no sign will be given to this generation.” 13 And he left them, got into the boat again, and went to the other side.
This is jarring. We’re prepped for it in most of our Bibles because we have section headers that break this off from the rest of the text and tell us “The Pharisees Demand a Sign” (ESV). But remember that those aren’t part of the actual text. And if you are reading through without those indicators it flows, “he got into the boat with his disciples and went to the district of Dalmanutha. 11 The Pharisees came and began to argue with him, seeking from him a sign from heaven to test him.” Whoa. It’s like the second he steps off the boat these guys are marching down there with their robes flowing, their phylacteries prominently displayed, ready to bring the hammer down on this disturber of the peace, this troubler of Israel.
Most commentators agree that the force of the verb “seeking” in verse 11 is something more along the lines of “urgently demanding.” The Pharisees come down and they want to argue about who he is, what right he has to teach the way he does, how dare he heal anyone of the Sabbath day, and what does he think he’s doing in our town? Jesus, you had better give us a sign from heaven to prove you are who you say you are.
But was this request genuine? David Turner and Darrell Bock put it well: “Since Jesus had done nothing but give signs, the request for a very specific sign ignored the great variety of evidence Jesus had already provided concerning his authority from God.”
And this kind of hard-hearted disbelief frustrates Jesus. We might not think of Jesus getting frustrated, but that clearly seems to be what is indicated here in verse 12: “he sighed deeply in his spirit.” He has been clearly showing, via demonstrations of his power and his authoritative teaching, for over two years at this point the divine nature of his person. He truly is the Son of God, the Messiah of Israel, and anyone with eyes to see could see it. But the Pharisees want more signs.
We might expect Jesus, then, to give them one more sign. But he doesn’t. They’ve had sufficient opportunity. We ought here to think of the words of Deuteronomy, which the Lord Jesus quoted in his wilderness temptations: “You shall not put the LORD your God to the test” (Deuteronomy 6:16, Luke 4:12). The Pharisees, verse 11, are doing just that. Testing Jesus, the Lord God in the flesh. But he refuses to comply. If you start making demands of Jesus, you can count on that going poorly for you. R.C. Sproul comments,
“Remember, the Bible often talks about God’s patience, His forbearance, His longsuffering, but nowhere does it ever say that His patience is infinite. In the days before the flood, when the wickedness of men was growing exponentially, God said, “My Spirit shall not strive with man forever” (Gen. 6:3). Scripture plainly teaches us there are limits to God’s patience. He may forbear with us week after week, month after month, year after year, decade after decade, until we become at ease in Zion and think, “He will always forbear with us.” But there have been times in redemptive history when God’s patience was exhausted and He gave people over to their sin.”
Jesus doesn’t acquiesce the demands of the Pharisees. His patience with these men has run out, and he leaves them behind. Though Jesus will pass through Galilee again, Mark does not record any more miracles being performed in that region. Jesus’ response to this confrontation is to load the disciples in the boat, and head for Bethsaida. Which brings us to our final scene.
Don’t Wait for More Signs Before You Trust Him
14 Now they had forgotten to bring bread, and they had only one loaf with them in the boat. 15 And he cautioned them, saying, “Watch out; beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod.” 16 And they began discussing with one another the fact that they had no bread. 17 And Jesus, aware of this, said to them, “Why are you discussing the fact that you have no bread? Do you not yet perceive or understand? Are your hearts hardened? 18 Having eyes do you not see, and having ears do you not hear? And do you not remember? 19 When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many baskets full of broken pieces did you take up?” They said to him, “Twelve.” 20 “And the seven for the four thousand, how many baskets full of broken pieces did you take up?” And they said to him, “Seven.” 21 And he said to them, “Do you not yet understand?”
The disciples apparently aren’t great at packing their own lunches - but, remember, these are a bunch of men in their late teens to early twenties, so maybe that isn’t surprising. I lived on puffcorn and energy drinks at that point in life. Be that as it may, they only had one loaf. And Jesus makes the comment verse 15, perhaps as they eat that single loaf: “Watch out; beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod.” They somehow infer from this that Jesus must be concerned about the bread situation, and begin discussing the fact that they are now out of bread.
You can imagine the conversation. “Will there be a baker open for business when we land in Bethsaida? Or will it be too late and we’ll be hungry all night?” “I wish the wind would shift, those two bites of bread just made me more hungry.”
Jesus, however, wasn’t concerned about baker’s yeast. He had a different leaven in mind - and he thought the disciples should grasp this fact: he starts rattling off questions which expose their failure of spiritual perception:
“Why are you discussing the fact that you have no bread? Do you not yet perceive or understand? Are your hearts hardened? 18 Having eyes do you not see, and having ears do you not hear? And do you not remember? 19 When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many baskets full of broken pieces did you take up?” They said to him, “Twelve.” 20 “And the seven for the four thousand, how many baskets full of broken pieces did you take up?” And they said to him, “Seven.” 21 And he said to them, “Do you not yet understand?”
It’s as if he is saying, “do you not understand that if I am with you you need not worry about provision? Do you not yet understand that I am the bread you need, the provider of life both earthly and eternal - why are you hung up on flour and salt and yeast? Are you really this dense to the presence and actions of God? The paragraph ends with that devastating question: “do you not yet understand?”
The force of the rhetorical question is brutal, because they didn’t yet understand.
The Danger of Leaven
So the disciples missed Jesus’ warning about leaven, because they were hung up on their hungry bellies. What is the leaven of the Pharisees and Herod that we are supposed to be warned about? Each of the Synoptic accounts of this story have a different emphasis: In Luke 12:1, Jesus identifies the leaven of the Pharisees as hypocrisy. In Matthew 16:12, Jesus states that the leaven of the Pharisees (and Sadducees) was their teaching. And here in Mark, the question is left hanging, waiting for us to make contextual inferences. I would argue, and this is back to our point on Gideon, that the leaven of the Pharisees in Mark chapter eight is this: sign-seeking. Demanding more proof, more evidence. One more sign, and then I’ll believe. That is the leaven of the Pharisees in verses 11-12 of this chapter, and we see the same thing in Herod over in Luke 23:8, when he hoped to see Jesus - not because he wanted to hear Jesus’ words, but because he was hoping for a sign, a miracle, a show.
Now, you might ask if I’m claiming that Matthew, Mark, and Luke changed Jesus’ words about leaven to suit their own purposes, or put different reasons in his mouth. To which I would say, no. They emphasize different aspects of this leaven, because they are coming at the gospel with unique audiences and narrative structures in mind. But all three descriptions - hypocrisy, bad teaching, and sign-seeking - are tied together.
The hypocrisy of the Pharisees is tied to their position as the teachers of the law. In Luke 11 and Matthew 23, we read of Jesus unloading on the Pharisees in a series of “woe” statements, which was a classic prophetic form of pronouncing God’s judgment: “And he said, “Woe to you lawyers also! For you load people with burdens hard to bear, and you yourselves do not touch the burdens with one of your fingers” (Luke 11:46). They tied up heavy burdens, they carefully, scrupulously, maintained every detail - and they neglected the weightier matters of the law, such as love and faithfulness (Matthew 23:23). They looked good on the outside, but their religion was hollow and lifeless.
And this led to a bad form of teaching: teaching people to anticipate the Messiah and then reject him when he comes! Instead of being eager to receive the evidence which Jesus gave (which was ample), they sowed seeds of suspicion and doubt. They tried to make Jesus look bad in public (never a good idea, but they kept trying). And this played itself out in a sort of faithless sign-seeking. Matthew 16:4 says, “an evil and adulterous generation seeks a sign.” Which brings us back to today.
Conclusion
Are you trusting Jesus, or are you waiting for a sign? Wanting evidence of something is not wrong. But here’s the deal: if you are sitting here, hearing God’s word - if you have a Bible at home, and can pick it up and read it - you have evidence of God’s love, his power, and his provision for you.
Jesus came into this world, displaying his compassion, humbling himself to the point of death, even death on a cross. There he bore your guilt and God’s wrath, and freely gives God’s forgiveness and eternal life to all who receive him by faith. There is literally nothing he could add to that to make it more clear that he cares about you, and not both the desire and the power to save you. The Scriptures make clear that if you look at this evidence and refuse to believe, the problem lies within you, not in the Lord Jesus or in the signs he has already accomplished.
The problem with “throwing out fleeces” in determining whether you are going to trust God or obey him, is that you are making yourself the final authority, not God. “If God does what I want, then I will…x, y, or z.” But that’s not how Biblical faith works. Faith works at the accomplishments and trustworthiness of God in the past, and looks forward to the future knowing that he will supply all of your needs according to his riches in Christ Jesus.
So quit waiting for more evidence. 2 Corinthians 6:2 says “now is the favorable time, behold, now is the day of salvation.” Joshua 24:15 says, “choose yourselves this day whom you will serve.” Choose to trust Jesus now. If you have never trusted him for salvation, now is the time. And if you have, then trust him for today. Trust him in your circumstances tomorrow. Does your faith feel small? Brothers and sisters, that’s okay. It is not the size of your faith, but the object of your faith, that matters most. Mustard seed faith in Jesus will go further and mountain-sized faith in a lesser Savior. Cry out with the father in Mark 9:24, “I believe - help my unbelief!”
Ask Jesus to provide for your needs, and more than that - your desires, your wants, bring them all to his feet. And trust that he will answer from his abundant compassion, kindness, and wisdom. Let me finish here with the words of Lina Sandell’s hymn, “Day by Day,”
1 Day by day and with each passing moment,
Strength I find to meet my trials here;
Trusting in my Father's wise bestowment,
I've no cause for worry or for fear.
He whose heart is kind beyond all measure
Gives unto each day what he deems best–
Lovingly, its part of pain and pleasure,
Mingling toil with peace and rest.
2 Ev'ry day the Lord himself is near me,
With a special mercy for each hour;
All my cares he gladly bears and cheers me,
He whose name is Counselor and Pow'r.
The protection of his child and treasure
Is a charge that on himself he laid:
"As your days, your strength shall be in measure"–
This the pledge to me he made.
3 Help me then in ev'ry tribulation
So to trust your promises, O Lord,
That I lose not faith's sweet consolation
Offered me within your holy Word.
Help me, Lord, when, toil and trouble meeting,
E'er to take, as from a father's hand,
One by one, the days, the moments fleeting,
Till I reach the promised land.
