Mark 8:1-29
There is a strange assumption in the Western world today that “Christian” is another word for gullible. I have often had people expecting me to be interested in whatever pseudo-spiritual New Age crystal healing human-centred philosophy they happen to be flogging. Oh, you’re religious, therefore you’ll be interested in this.
Well, quite frankly I’m not. I am, by nature, a sceptic.
I need evidence, convincing evidence, robust evidence, scientific evidence, before I believe. I don’t believe in crystal healing, chakra, horoscopes, aura energy, “angels”, avatars, outer-body experiences, etc. etc. Why? There’s no evidence. Just a mass of emotive words backed up by...nothing.
For the same reason I find other religions completely unconvincing. Bhuddism, Hinudism, Zoroastrianism - none of them have a concept of truth. It doesn’t matter if Bhudda actually existed or not – all that matters is the path to enlightenment. Hinduism has thousands of gods- take your pick. It also has Holy Scriptures, but they are written in a language no-one understands! It doesn’t matter. There is no evidence, just believe.
Islam, likewise, has no evidence. Mohammed received revelation from the angel – believe it on faith. Joseph Smith also received revelation from an angel – believe him, and you can be a Mormon. Mohammed and Joseph Smith both fulfilled no prophecy, did no miraculous works, and both died (Smith was killed by a mob after he was accused of treason). With all these religions, you just have to have faith. There is no evidence to back up that faith. If you like it, or are born into it, then simply trust that this is the way the world works.
This is NOT how Christianity works. This is not how the God of the Bible expects us to respond. It is not how Jesus expects us to respond. We respond with faith on the basis of evidence.
I am a sceptic, but also a deeply committed Christian. Why? Because I cannot get away from the overwhelming evidence that Jesus is who he says he is. And he proved it by rising from the dead. That’s something you can’t fake. And if he is who he says he is, if he truly is God almighty, who can create something out of nothing (like food for four thousand out of seven small loaves of bread), then I have to believe it. I am not rational if I simply ignore the evidence of Jesus’ resurrection. I am a fool. I’m living in as much of a fantasy world as every other New Age guru claiming to be in touch with Mother Earth.
Christianity has always been about the evidence. That is what the early Christians proclaimed. That is what we proclaim.
Christ crucified, Christ risen, Christ will come again.
Investigate the evidence, and believe on the basis of evidence. There is no emotionalism, no manipulation, no trying to pull the wool over your eyes. It happened.
Who do you say that I am? Disciples, you’ve been with me for over two years now – who am I?
And what have they seen? Power over evil spirits, even 2000 at one time. Power over sickness – even at a word, even over great distances! Power over creation, storms lie flat at his command, and he can walk on water as if it were dry land. And power to forgive sins.
Who is this man?
“You are the Christ”.
Let’s take a closer look at tonight’s passage, and see what it tells us about Jesus.
1. Evidence of great power – even over Gentiles
Why another feeding miracle?
Firstly, he’s not in Israel, with Jews – he’s in a Gentile region, with a crowd of Gentiles – and does the same Exodus-type feeding miracle. Gentiles, now, are included in this true Exodus. The “unclean” can now be made “clean” (that is, holy) through Jesus.
We saw last week that unclean food was declared clean (7:15 it is not what goes into a man that makes him unclean, but what comes out of a man) – now an unclean people are declared clean.
Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of Herod – beware of the old way of thinking that will poison your mind and make you unable to see the truth. The disciples are so dull. They don’t understand! They need a miracle to open their eyes, to free their mind, to let them see the evidence that is so clearly before them, but they’re too wrapped up in old ways of thinking.
Jesus is able to take seven loaves, and feed everyone with seven baskets left over. Seven is symbolic for completeness, fullness, holiness. It’s a further indication or confirmation of Jesus’ masterwork: declaring the unclean, clean, the unholy, holy. 7:37 He does all things well.
Secondly, his power is not territorial. He’s not a God of Israel only, but of the whole world. He proved it with Legion, proved it with healing the Syrophoenician woman’s daughter as we saw last week, proved it by walking on the water. He is Lord over all peoples, all nations, all territories, all countries. Whoever you are, wherever you’re from, he is Lord and Master – and can declare you holy. (That’s why we’re Rock INTERNATIONAL Church!)
He is, indeed, the Messiah, the Christ, the Anointed One who would fulfil the Abrahamic Covenant, to be a blessing to all nations. He is the King, the fulfilment of the Davidic Covenant, the eternal king who will rule forever. And he is the fulfilment of the Mosaic Covenant – the one who chose life by following the Law, then gave up that life in order to give life to others. He is the better Abraham, the better David, the better Moses, the better sacrifice, the better Temple, the better leader of the Exodus, the one true Saviour, Almighty God.
There’s a fantastic story in the Old Testament, when the Philistines beat Israel, and take the Ark of the Covenant, the symbol of God’s presence with his people. Now God had done this to warn his people because of their continued rebellion – but the Philistines thought their god, Dagon, had beaten Israel’s God. So they took the Ark and put it in front of the idol of their god. When they came into the temple the next day, Dagon had fallen off his pedestal and was lying face down before the Ark of God! Oops. So they dutifully picked their god up, and put him back on the pedestal. Needless to say, God knocked Dagon down again, and the next day when the Philistines came in, Dagon once again lay face down before the Ark, and this time his hands and head had broken off! God is not God of a nation, but of the Universe. Nowhere is beyond his power, no-one beyond his reach, and no god is greater than our God, Father, Son and Spirit.
Application: Be thankful that Jesus can save anyone, no matter their background, ethnic group, family, sexual orientation, past history, nationality, religious belief (or lack thereof), language group, colour, or anything else
Impossible Application: I am beyond Jesus. My friend is beyond Jesus. My sins / their sins exclude them. Jesus doesn’t have power over Norway/Sudan/wherever.
Possible application: Spend time in prayer, asking God to save your friends, family, work colleagues, neighbours. And tell them the gospel (Jesus Christ our Lord). And invite them to church.
2. Evidence from the signs
Verse 11 is rather strange, don’t you think? The Pharisees came and began to argue with him, seeking from him a sign from heaven to test him.
How many more signs do you want?! Good grief! There’s more than enough evidence to convince them, but they don’t want to be convinced.
“I’ve made up my mind – don’t confuse me with the facts” says a humorous poster… but that’s exactly what the Pharisees are doing. They have made up their mind about Jesus, and nothing, not even mighty miraculous works which show how wrong they are, will change their mind. “I’ve made up my mind – don’t confuse me with the facts”
But that’s not just a first century problem is it? How many people today have the same attitude to Jesus? Resurrection is impossible. There’s no such thing as God. The Bible’s full of errors. Christianity’s just a crutch for the weak-minded. They operate from the “scientific” basis of a closed system – forgetting what any true scientist knows: that the closed system is an assumption, not a fact, and subject therefore to being overturned in light of the facts. Don’t make up your mind before you’ve heard the facts!
And that’s kind of the warning Jesus is giving the disciples as they Duuuuh talk about forgetting bread. Beware the leaven of the Pharisees and Herod. Don’t be caught in the judgement of Isaiah 6 (back in Mark 4) “They shall be ever-hearing but never understand, seeing, but not perceiving”
The Pharisees, like Herod, do not see because they are in love with their own power. They will not repent, and so are exiled from the Exodus.
Jesus’ words here echo the judgement warning in Isaiah, where he predicted the destruction of Jerusalem because of the people’s idolatry, and the leaders’ hard hearts. They claimed to love God with their lips, but their hearts were far from him. Jesus is leading the new Exodus, the new people of Israel, but their hearts are far from him.
This quote also echoes Jeremiah 5:21 and Ezekiel 12:2 (in fact, more directly than the Isaiah quote, although in Mark the Isaiah echoes are stronger). In both Jeremiah and Ezekiel, rebellious Israel is in view – hard hearts, rebellious actions. In Ezekiel the rebellion is by the exiles! They have learnt nothing from their punishment. Is there any hope?
Is there any hope for Israel?
Well, not for the Pharisees, it seems, as they have stopped their ears, and refuse to listen to Jesus. And so comes his terrifying judgement in verse 12b : “No sign will be given to this generation” And he left them.
But who is still with him? The disciples. The faithful remnant of Israel. Yes, they may be just as dull and uncomprehending as the Pharisees, but they’re still with Jesus. And with Jesus is where the miracles happen.
In movies like The Pelican Brief, Murder at 1600, and Clear and Present Danger, our heroes stop at nothing to uncover the truth, no matter what the cost, no matter how unpleasant the truth (Gasp! Not the White House! Surely the President couldn’t be involved). They are heroes because they don’t give up. The truth matters. How much more when it comes to our eternal destiny. The truth matters. Don’t be a close-minded fool, but seek the truth, no matter how unpleasant the revelations about humanity, or how fantastic the revelations about grace!
Application: There is evidence enough for the open-minded to see that Jesus is God.
Impossible Application: There is no evidence.
So? Trust the truth. Trust Jesus. Trust the evidence that reveals that he is God. He is the Messiah, the Christ. He is the Saviour and he is strong enough to be saved, so if you trust in Him you are truly saved. No need to fear! And he is strong enough to save those you know, too.
3. Evidence is not enough
Last week we saw the real problem behind Israel’s rejection of Jesus: the heart. Our hearts are evil and rebellious, it is what comes out of us that makes us unclean. So, although the evidence is there, we reject it, our friends reject it, the media reject it – because we are sinners, and want to go on sinning. We want to justify ourselves, call our wrongs right: It’s love. It’s just business. I had to. I had no choice. He was going to do it anyway. Everybody’s doing it.
It’s a spiritual problem, and requires a spiritual solution. And only Jesus can provide that solution.
Why do you think there’s a strange two-stage healing miracle sandwiched between Jesus saying “Are you so dull” and Peter suddenly making the good confession “You are the Christ!”
What caused the sudden change?
Having eyes, [Peter], do you not see (v18). No, he is blind, and he needs Jesus to open them - which is exactly what Jesus does. Again we see a spiritual reality reflected with a visible miracle. Previously we saw a paralysed man get up and walk to demonstrate that Jesus has the power to forgive sins. Now we see a blind man receive his sight – and the disciples suddenly see with spiritual eyes: You are the Christ! You are the Christ!
This is a typical technique of Mark’s, where he sandwiches three stories together – the centre (meat) explaining the two slices of bread. How do blind people see? Only through Jesus.
Yes, the evidence is compelling, but if we want our friends, our work colleagues to see Jesus, we must be praying for them. Only Jesus can change their hearts. Only Jesus can open their eyes.
I was raised in a fantastic Christian home. I had one of the most privileged upbringing one could have- in all possible ways, including spiritually. I knew all the right answers, read my Bible dutifully every day, but I was a dull as a brick. My lips professed faith, but my heart was far from God. My life gave little evidence of my belief in Jesus. Until one night, in the autumn of 1995, God laid his hands on me, challenged my unbelief, and commanded me to repent. It was a miracle. The next morning, the world was the same, but it was as if the previous day it was grey and faded, and today it was filled with sunlight and colour, everything bright and wonderful. I could see! Suddenly I could see.
Jesus is the Christ, the promised rescuer, the faithful servant, Almighty God. The evidence is there for those who are open-minded. It is intellectually defensible.
Jesus is the Saviour, and he is powerful to save. So trust him. If you believe in Him (that means, place your life in his hands and seek to live by his command, not to earn salvation but because you are already saved and that’s how saved people live!) - if you believe in him, trust that you are saved.
And if you don’t believe? Well, have you looked at the evidence? No? Well, keep coming on Sundays at 5pm as we work our way through Mark – eyewitness testimony to Jesus’ life. And come to the Church Bible Studies on Wednesday nights at 7:30pm as we read the book of Romans together, which lays out exactly what Christians believe and why.
And if you’ve examined the evidence and understand that Jesus is God. Then repent of living for yourself, ask Jesus to be your Saviour and Master, and live for him, in the freedom of forgiveness.
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