This morning I continued my reading of Mark's Gospel. I saw some things that caught my attention in the following verses - Mark 8:11-21 NIV:
[11] "The Pharisees came and began to question Jesus. To test him, they asked him for a sign from heaven. [12] He sighed deeply and said, “Why does this generation ask for a sign? Truly I tell you, no sign will be given to it.”
[13] Then he left them, got back into the boat and crossed to the other side. [14] The disciples had forgotten to bring bread, except for one loaf they had with them in the boat. [15] “Be careful,” Jesus warned them. “Watch out for the yeast of the Pharisees and that of Herod.”
[16] They discussed this with one another and said, “It is because we have no bread.”
[17] Aware of their discussion, Jesus asked them: “Why are you talking about having no bread? Do you still not see or understand? Are your hearts hardened? [18] Do you have eyes but fail to see, and ears but fail to hear? And don't you remember? [19] When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many basketfuls of pieces did you pick up?”
“Twelve,” they replied.
[20] “And when I broke the seven loaves for the four thousand, how many basketfuls of pieces did you pick up?”
They answered, “Seven.”
[21] He said to them, “Do you still not understand?”
This is an interesting section for a couple of reasons. First, the warning that Jesus gives about the Pharisees and the Herodians. The Pharisees are a pretty common theme in the Gospels, and their focus on the rules of man, versus relationship with God is pretty clear. They had their power base in religion, and Jesus was clearly upsetting their apple-cart. When I read Jesus' warning this morning, the fact that he included the Herodians caught my attention as they are rarely mentioned. Most of the dealings with Herod are found at the beginning of Jesus life (three magi ) and the end of His life (interview during Jesus trial), and surrounding the death of John the Baptist, but otherwise very little coverage.
My thinking is that the Herodians were concerned about a few things. First, Jesus did come from royal lineage, and He had an incredibly large base of followers. The Herodians were clinging to the vestiges of the former glory of the Kings of Judah. They longed for a king, relished the grandeur of that individual, and his trappings. They weren't big fans of religion, but held an uncomfortable truce with them, for each required the other, but anything or anybody that threatened their power base was a problem. Jesus came and started proclaiming a new Kingdom, and in reality a new King. He was directly confronting their whole power base, for everyone knew what happened when a new King took over from an existing King, usually there was a bloody purge of the old King's family and friends. On top of that Jesus was talking about the Kingdom of God, and that meant that Herod was not God's king. Since the time of Saul, the Jew's had a king, in one form or another, and this position was supposed to be chosen by God, as Saul, David and Solomon were chosen. For someone to be proclaiming a NEW Kingdom of God, had to be very unsettling to the Herodians. Their sole connection to power had to do with the kingly position of Herod, and his "royal" title. They had very little actual power to rule, or govern, but that little they had they clung to passionately.
So the yeast of the Pharisees was religion and religious practices, and the yeast of the Herodians would appear to relate to the royal position and throne and power to govern. Both of these have the ability to control people, and as such are attractive to those who would desire such power. Jesus came as a servant, not as a ruler. He had authority and power, but He used it to free people from sickness, disease, demons and religion. He was warning the disciples to not give themselves to the way of thinking that desires power for the advancement of one's self, or to have power over others.
The second thing that I found interesting was the logic behind Jesus' correction of the disciples. His main point was that they were thinking about the wrong thing. They were thinking about their own stomachs, and thought He was also thinking the same way. He wanted them thinking about the bigger picture, the purpose and practice that go hand in hand, and they were thinking about their next meal. He was warning them about dangerous paths to tread in life and they were missing the point because they were hungry.
What I thought was particularly interesting was the fact that Jesus was basically telling them that if they were ever hungry that He could do the same thing - multiply the food. His question at the end - "Do you still not understand?" was directed specifically at His ability to provide more than enough food through the miracle of multiplication, apparently whenever He would need to do it. Jesus talked only a few times about multiplying the food, and it was usually in response to people asking Him for a sign (food). He didn't take kindly to this prosperity focus, for many of the people were interested in following Him so they didn't need to pay money to provide food for themselves. They missed the point of what Jesus was doing, because they were focused on themselves. I guess that is a main topic this morning.
Back to Jesus' statement about multiplying food, Jesus was saying that if we are in relationship with Him, in this Kingdom reality that He was proclaiming and demonstrating, that there is no need to worry about our provision. He can, and will provide. He could have multiplied that one loaf and fed them all. He spoke about this several times, and the disciples were still not grasping the essence of what He was saying. In Matt 6: 25-34, Jesus directly addresses the topic of provision of food, clothes and drink, and says that we should seek first His Kingdom, and then these things will be given to us as well. We don't need to worry, to scheme, to run after power and authority so that we can turn those positions into more for ourselves, for He will provide all we need. The key thing we should be worried about is relationship with Him, and having His heart and mind and focus of ministry. We don't need to worry about our bread (provision).
So, this morning I am encouraged to reflect on my life, my focus, my relationship with Him. Am I more worried about my food and drink, my daily provisions than I am about relationship with Him? Am I following Him for what I can get in terms of power, authority and prestige? Is my heart and mind focused on the Kingdom, or am I focused on myself? Do I have an unhealthy attraction to religion or human establishments that provide power?
Lord, my desire is relationship with You first and foremost. Help me break away from my selfish pursuits and focus. Help me to be concerned about more than my bread!
Amen!
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