Mar 8:14-21 | KingComments | STEP | The crowd of more than four thousand had no bread, and Christ satisfied them by using the seven loaves of the disciples. Now the disciples appear to have nothing with them except one loaf. That is not much for thirteen people. The question is, have they learned what He can do with it? After all, they have Him with them? The Lord knows they’re worried about that. They’re hungry, but they won’t be satisfied by that one loaf. In the spiritual application we can say that distributing spiritual food does not always mean that one’s own spiritual hunger is also satisfied. Then it is necessary to take your own food as well. But sometimes there is so little time to ‘eat’ yourself, that spiritual life becomes weaker. The Lord knows this. The lack of bread and their concern about it gives Him the opportunity to teach them a lesson other than that He can provide for all needs. This lesson is also related to bread, for it is about leaven. The Lord speaks about “the leaven of the Pharisees”. By this He means adhering to outer religious forms, of whatever kind, by which God and His Christ are set aside. The leaven of the Pharisees is hypocrisy ( ); it is the pious appearance to the outside world, while the heart is cold and empty. There is also “the leaven of Herod”. By this is meant the worldliness, the covetousness of things that give a good name in this time or maintaining conformity to the world. So it’s all about legalism and conformity to the world. They are two extremes that are similar at the same time. They are both evil. Legalism is a form of conformity to the world. It is important to learn the lesson of the spiritual dangers that threaten a servant’s life and make his service useless and even harmful to others. That the disciples need this lesson is evidenced by their reaction. They have forgotten that they have the one bread plus the Lord with them. That is why they seek the solution among themselves and not with Him. They connect His teaching with their own needs and do not understand the warning. They see these people as respectable and therefore are not prepared to the radical condemnation that He is expressing. Only in Christ we can be freed from these stumbling blocks and tricks. Are we content with the one loaf, or do we think we should add some of the leaven of the Pharisees or of Herod? We can apply this to the life of the church. There is a danger that we are not content with the one bread, that is Christ. Then we believe that by legalism or forms of the world we can protect or enrich our faith in Him. If that happens, we have not paid attention and have not watched out for the leaven of the Pharisees and that of Herod.

‏ Mark 8:14-21

The Leaven of the Pharisees and of Herod

The crowd of more than four thousand had no bread, and Christ satisfied them by using the seven loaves of the disciples. Now the disciples appear to have nothing with them except one loaf. That is not much for thirteen people. The question is, have they learned what He can do with it? After all, they have Him with them?

The Lord knows they’re worried about that. They’re hungry, but they won’t be satisfied by that one loaf. In the spiritual application we can say that distributing spiritual food does not always mean that one’s own spiritual hunger is also satisfied. Then it is necessary to take your own food as well. But sometimes there is so little time to ‘eat’ yourself, that spiritual life becomes weaker. The Lord knows this.

The lack of bread and their concern about it gives Him the opportunity to teach them a lesson other than that He can provide for all needs. This lesson is also related to bread, for it is about leaven. The Lord speaks about “the leaven of the Pharisees”. By this He means adhering to outer religious forms, of whatever kind, by which God and His Christ are set aside. The leaven of the Pharisees is hypocrisy (Lk 12:1); it is the pious appearance to the outside world, while the heart is cold and empty.

There is also “the leaven of Herod”. By this is meant the worldliness, the covetousness of things that give a good name in this time or maintaining conformity to the world.

So it’s all about legalism and conformity to the world. They are two extremes that are similar at the same time. They are both evil. Legalism is a form of conformity to the world. It is important to learn the lesson of the spiritual dangers that threaten a servant’s life and make his service useless and even harmful to others.

That the disciples need this lesson is evidenced by their reaction. They have forgotten that they have the one bread plus the Lord with them. That is why they seek the solution among themselves and not with Him. They connect His teaching with their own needs and do not understand the warning. They see these people as respectable and therefore are not prepared to the radical condemnation that He is expressing.

Only in Christ we can be freed from these stumbling blocks and tricks. Are we content with the one loaf, or do we think we should add some of the leaven of the Pharisees or of Herod? We can apply this to the life of the church. There is a danger that we are not content with the one bread, that is Christ. Then we believe that by legalism or forms of the world we can protect or enrich our faith in Him. If that happens, we have not paid attention and have not watched out for the leaven of the Pharisees and that of Herod.

Teaching About the Leaven

The Lord observes how they discuss His warning. He asks them three questions. The first question makes it clear that He does not mean by His warning the lack of loaves, but exposes their lack of trust in Him. In the second question He reproaches them for their lack of understanding and awareness of the spiritual dangers that threaten them and for which He has warned them. They did not consider things in the light of Who He is and therefore came to the wrong conclusion. In the third question He points out the cause of their lack of understanding. That cause is their hardened heart. They haven’t yet learned to trust Him completely because they still have a high regard for religious and worldly status.

They do have eyes, but they don’t look well because they don’t look the way He does. They are not completely blind, but they cannot see clearly either. The Pharisees and Herod are completely blind, but the disciples cannot see well either because they also have something of the Pharisees’ and Herod’s leaven. They do not use their spiritual ability to judge the deeds of the Lord they have seen. In the same way they misjudge His words. They do have ears, but still listen too much to people who are religiously esteemed.

To awaken them and reach their hearts, the Lord reminds them of the first wondrous feeding. He asks what was left. They remember. A vivid and accurate reminder of what the Lord has done or said is an important factor in spiritual life. This “reminding” is used by Peter in his second letter (2Pet 1:12-13 ; 15 ; 2Pet 3:1). Therefore, the Supper is a meal of remembrance (1Cor 11:24-25). See also Psalms 38 and 70, which are ‘memorial’ psalms (Psa 38:1 ; Psa 70:1).

To teach them the lesson well, He also reminds them of the second wondrous feeding. Here, too, He asks the question of what was left. They also remember that. Then He asks the question if they don’t understand it yet. There is no answer to this last question. They have understood. The Lord does not give answers, He only asks questions.