MORE MIRACLES AND SIGNS.
Mark 8:1-26.
We have had occasion before to comment on Jesus’ compassion (cf. Mark 6:34). Now we see it in relation to another hungry crowd of worshippers, who had been willingly following Jesus for three days (Mark 8:1-3).
How like us the disciples were, who could only see the size of the problem: so much “bread” needed, “in the wilderness”, to fill so great a multitude. But we need to remember how great His faithfulness, whose compassions they fail not (cf. Lamentations 3:22-23)! “From whence?” at least shows a willingness to share in the task, so Jesus asks what they do have (Mark 8:4-5).
The amount is indeed small among so many, but when we hand it over to Jesus our little becomes much. The people sat on the ground; Jesus gave thanks, broke, and handed to His disciples; the disciples distributed to the multitude. They all ate - 4000 men besides women and children - and were filled: and they took up seven baskets full of fragments (Mark 8:6-9).
There were twelve baskets full after the feeding of the 5000 (cf. Mark 6:43), representative of the twelve tribes of Israel. Seven baskets full after the feeding of the 4000, representative of completeness (Mark 8:8). Our compassionate Lord could now dismiss the crowd, and took ship to Magdala (Mark 8:10).
The Pharisees came asking, of all things, for a sign from heaven. Jesus was vexed by the unbelief that lay at the back of the request, and refused to give them such a ‘sign on demand’ (Mark 8:11-12). Could they not see what was happening everywhere Jesus went?
This message does not just belong to those who walked with Jesus in those days, but also to those with whom Jesus is walking in our own day. We also need to discern the times as we await His return. Let us be ready!
Jesus left the Pharisees, got into the boat again, and set out for the other side. The disciples suddenly realised that they had forgotten to bring bread. Ignoring their evident hunger, at least for the time being, Jesus used this as an opportunity to issue a solemn warning: “Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod.” “Is it because we have no bread?” wondered the disciples (Mark 8:13-16).
Jesus scolded them for their lack of understanding. What He said, in effect, was ‘Here you all are thinking about bread for eating: even if you lacked that, surely you have learned by now that I am your provider?’ Thus, lack of faith makes us carnal {Mark 8:17-21).
Now “leaven” here relates not to bread, but to false doctrine (cf. Matthew 16:12).
This leaven is still with us, and we are to be on the watch for it. Even within the visible church, we have the self-righteous formalists on the one hand, and the sceptical rationalists on the other. The one will add to Scripture, as we have seen repeatedly with the Pharisees: and the other will take from Scripture, denying angels and resurrection with the Sadducees; and these days denying Creation, miracles, and the written Word of God itself!
Such false teaching permeates the whole church, and would swallow up our own souls, if it were possible (cf. Matthew 24:24). “Take heed and beware,” says Jesus (Mark 8:15).
The writer, next tells us of a blind man whose healing by Jesus took place - somewhat unusually - in two stages. First, the blind man was anointed by Jesus, had holy hands laid upon him, and received sight - but could not discern what he was seeing. So Jesus laid hands on him again - and told him to ‘look up’ - and now the man could see clearly (Mark 8:22-25).
The no-longer-blind man was sent home and was told not to go into the town or to tell anyone about what had happened to him (Mark 8:26). These exhortations to secrecy were necessary because of the divergence between the people’s perception of what Messiah should be, and Jesus’ own agenda. Until we recognise that there is no short cut to the reward of our faith, we will all be left, like the man who saw “men as trees, walking” (Mark 8:24), floundering about with a limited vision of what God is trying to show us.
