Do you not yet understand

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, "I have compassion on the crowd, because they have been with me now three days and have nothing to eat.  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."  And his disciples answered him, "How can one feed these people with bread here in this desolate place?" And he asked them, "How many loaves do you have?" They said, "Seven." 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. And they had a few small fish. And having blessed them, he said that these also should be set before them. And they ate and were satisfied. And they took up the broken pieces left over, seven baskets full. And there were about four thousand people. And he sent them away. And immediately he got into the boat with his disciples and went to the district of Dalmanutha. The Pharisees came and began to argue with him, seeking from him a sign from heaven to test him. 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."  And he left them, got into the boat again, and went to the other side. Now they had forgotten to bring bread, and they had only one loaf with them in the boat. And he cautioned them, saying, "Watch out; beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod."  And they began discussing with one another the fact that they had no bread. 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?  Having eyes do you not see, and having ears do you not hear? And do you not remember?  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." "And the seven for the four thousand, how many baskets full of broken pieces did you take up?" And they said to him, "Seven." And he said to them, "Do you not yet understand?" - Mark 8:1‭-‬21 ESV

Rev. Dwight Yoo

Struggles in grasping the reality of Jesus

The struggle of Forgetfulness

Jesus wanted to feed the crowd. The disciples said, how should we do this in such a desolate place? But this isn't the first time. Jesus has fed crowds before. How could the disciples have forgotten such a miraculous thing? But this is not just the disciples, it is also with us. We forget God and his lessons, even for those who grew up in the church. During times of crises, we forget how God has provided in the past. We are gripped by fear, anxiety, and panic because we forget God. Not only that, but we drift into becoming workaholics because we forget that we have a solid identity grounded in Christ.

The struggle of Stubbornness

The Pharisees rejected Jesus because because he didn't fit their categories. Jesus wasn't the Messiah they were looking for. So the Pharisees looked for everything to reject him. They looked for anything and everything to reject the Lordship of Jesus. The religious leaders had something to lose, if Jesus was who He said He was. They did not want Jesus to be Lord. They had already decided prior to examining the evidence. So it is with us, we often choose to believe or not because it supports what we desire. 

But it was not the irreligious, but rather the religious leaders who crucified Jesus. So how does it apply to the modern day? We, Christians, make arguments, make exceptions, come up with theologies that are more agreeable to us. If Jesus never offends, challenges, or disagrees with us, then perhaps we are not following Jesus. We are likely following an idol of our own making. Christians are called to take up their cross, love & pray for their enemies... This is not natural for us. Following Jesus will not come naturally 

The struggle of Dullness

Jesus tells them to beware of the the leaven of the Pharisees. The disciples then argue about bread and who's fault it was that they didn't bring enough bread. It was a failure to see spiritual realities. The disciples lived and walked with Jesus and still did not understand or see the spiritual realities. 

Leaven here is used to allude about the pervasive and negative effects of the Herodians. This was a warning to the small growing church to be on watch against the pride of the Pharisees. They tithed down to the herbs, but neglected justice and mercy. Is it not with many Christians today? Pharisees refused to eat with sinners, perhaps the original cancel culture. Just preach the gospel and don't mind this justice thing. But Jesus addressed this directly, we must pursue reconciliation, justice, and mercy in the light of the gospel. We must beware of how the religious leaders got caught up in theological minutae and neglected the pursuit of mercy & justice. We need both. 

Where does that leave us? 

We will struggle with all these things. So we must run to Jesus. Pray for hearts that remember and are convicted for the things of God. We need to ask for eyes to see and ears to hear. A church without the centrality of the gospel will only get lost in the world.