Sermon Tone Analysis

Mark 8:1-21

I. Feeding the 4,000 (1-10)

Reminded that we are dealing with a Gentile territory.

Remember the Syrophoenician woman’s faith.

The conversation is revealing, and what was said by Jesus earlier in seven is now fulfilled.

Mark purposely wants to show that the revelation of Jesus is available to Gentiles as well.

His work of Messiah is not just a Jewish coming, but a coming for the nations.

This crowd has come from long distances, and Jesus has compassion on them.

They were hungry for his teaching, and in turn, didn’t bring food to sustain them physically.

Again, this is another instance of compassion not just for the Jews but for Gentiles as well.

The dullness of the disciples is on display again, a reminder of the forgetfulness of then and for us.

They had already forgotten of the miracle of the 5,000.

But Jesus in his patience with his disciples (praise the Lord he does the same for us), instructs them to take the seven loaves they do have he will break it for the filling of those in attendance.

We see two things that are prefigured here: The Lord’s Supper and the messianic banquet.

The giving thanks for the bread is the same language used in the Supper.

The reminder is that though Jesus is giving a physical need, it has spiritual significance.

Jesus is the bread of Life himself.

The Messianic banquet is another prefigurement.

All the nations will gather around this one bread, Jesus Christ.

Though this is a physical act and sign, it is meant to point to the fact that Jesus is the one who fulfills the spiritual needs of those that put their faith in him.

To trust in Him as the Bread of Life means that He is enough for us, the food we need in order to truly live.

To follow Christ and to live for Him is enough.

II.

Demanding A Sign (11-13)

The Pharisees come with one purpose in mind, to argue with Jesus.

What was the issue?

That Jesus was not proving himself to be the Messiah like they wanted him to.

Let’s do a recap though of what Jesus has done though:

He sent a healed leper as a witness to them

He confirmed his authority to announce the forgiveness of sins by commanding the paralytic to walk, something everyone there could witness

When challenged, he explained why he ate with sinners

He justified his “breaking” of the Sabbath by appealing to OT precedent

Yet over and over again, they rejected his work.

What these Pharisees want from Jesus is a sign from heaven.

What does that mean exactly?

What they are asking for is a type of sign that refers to “apocalyptic pheneomena.”

In other words, they wanted Jesus to show a sign that signals Israel’s deliverance from their enemies and their crushing defeat.

What was ironic is that this comes just on the heals of Jesus feeding Gentiles and also healing Gentiles.

Jesus has come to give of himself, not crush the enemies of Israel.

He came to give his life for all of humanity.

This should then inform us as Christians that the Good News of Jesus is not that he is coming to crush my enemies, but that he saved enemies like all of us through His own compassion, grace, and mercy, through His own self-giving.

Another aspect of this rejection is with the nature of faith.

Jesus refuses to do anything to make scoffers believe.

His Gospel must be by faith in the way that he gives his life on the cross and his resurrection.

It’s not by declaration of angels proving his existence.

That will happen one day, and our faith will be made sight, but for those that have refused, it won’t be faith.

It will be a sobering realization that they rejected the truth and will face the consequences of it.

III.

Leaven of Unbelief (14-21)

A third encounter on the boat with Jesus will reveal the lack of belief in his disciples.

The first being when he calmed the storm and their fear of Him that He was able to have power over nature.

The second was that they feared him walking on water.

Now, we see lack of faith again.

On the boat, they apparently are worried about enough food again.

They seem to only have one loaf, which Mark is purposely pointing out so that we are seeing Jesus as the One Loaf, the bread that is enough for His disciples.

He as the bread is enough, while the Pharisees are the leaven.

What is leaven?

Leaven is used to make dough rise, to make it airy and fluffy.

The leaven used today is safe.

Leaven in ancient times was much more dangerous.

It produced by taking a previous weeks dough and storing it in suitable conditions, adding juices to promote fermentation.

This homemade agent though could be easily tainted and poisonous.

That is what Jesus has in mind when he refers to the Pharisees.

Their unbelief is a poison.

Beware of it.

Leaven is also seen as sin for the Christian.

Which again, sin is unbelief in God, that He isn’t enough and His standards are not good enough for us.

But, the disciples are confused of what Jesus is saying.

Is he still talking about physical bread?

Jesus then reminds them that it is He that provided physical bread.

But more importantly, it was Him that was the provider.

He is the bread of life.

He is the life giver.

Do you not yet understand?

And this is the case.

They didn’t.

And they wouldn’t realize in full until the resurrection of Jesus.

We will talk about this next week for Jesus will address this very issue with Peter and the disciples when he reveals he must die.

A great encouragement to us as a church, as a pastor and for anyone who desires to see the church grow, is that as Jesus was patient, we can be patient as well.

As patient as He has been with me, the good news is this:

The disciples saw dimly in a glass coated with the dust of traditional ways of viewing things and warped by the curvature of their own dreams and ambitions.

The glass we look through is no different.

We are no less in need of healing before we can see what God is doing, and it may not take on the first try.

Many get frustrated with others in their own church or denomination who seem to suffer from a terminal case of spiritual insensibility.

We can learn from the example of Jesus’ patience with his own dull disciples.

He does not give up on them, even after their disastrous failures during his trail and death.

The same one who could transform a few loaves into a banquet for thousands can transform the stony hearts and hardened minds of palsied disciples, who will then go into the world and preach the gospel.

- David Garland