Passage: Mark 8:11-21

The Big Idea

Two kinds of people meet Jesus in this passage. The Pharisees had seen miracle after miracle and still demanded a sign, because their proud hearts had already decided not to believe. The disciples forgot to bring bread and worried Jesus would hold it against them. Jesus wasn’t bothered by their mistake at all. What concerned Him was the “leaven” that can spread through a whole life: the religious hypocrisy of the Pharisees and the worldly compromise of Herod. There’s only one way that works: faith in Jesus. “Instead of that leaven filling your life, let Me fill it.”

Demanding a Sign (Mark 8:11)

The Pharisees came out and began to argue with Jesus, seeking a sign from heaven to test Him.

The Pharisees were the religious people. They prided themselves on being holier than anyone else.
They tried harder and worked harder. They cared most about following all the rules, and they looked down on anyone who wasn’t in their rule-keeping club.
But their hearts were far from God. They didn’t really want to know Him or love Him. They wanted to impress everyone with their lives. They wanted the glory.

Jesus was just coming back after months among Gentiles. Many of His countrymen expected a Messiah who would conquer the Gentiles, not save them, and a Messiah who loved their enemies didn’t fit. (Even though the prophets said the Messiah would be a light to the nations, Isaiah 49:6.)

As soon as Jesus walked into town, these religious men hit Him with a barrage of words and demanded a sign from heaven. Really? A sign? Mark says they were testing Him. They didn’t want an answer; their minds were already made up.

Consider what they had already seen:

Jesus had healed the sick.
He had raised the dead.
He had set people free from demonic bondage.
He had walked on water and calmed storms.
He had twice multiplied a tiny amount of food to feed huge crowds.
He had opened God’s Word and made its meaning plain to all who heard Him.
People were saying, “We’ve never seen anything like this!” (Mark 2:12) and “He has done all things well!” (Mark 7:37).

If you don’t believe Jesus is from heaven after all of that, you’ve decided ahead of time that you don’t want to believe.

Because if Jesus is who He says He is, if He came from heaven with the power of God, then I’m not in control anymore. No one needs me anymore. I’m just like everyone else. And the Pharisees’ pride would never let them accept that.

The poor, the sinners, the broken: those are the people who receive Jesus easily, people who know they’re wrong and needy. People who have it all together have a hard time needing Jesus. They’re blind to their sin.

A Deep Sigh (Mark 8:12-13)

Jesus sighed deeply in His spirit and said, “Why does this generation seek a sign? Truly, I tell you, no sign will be given to this generation.” And He left them, got back into the boat, and went to the other side.

Jesus was deeply affected by their decision not to believe. The word suggests a heavy groan from deep within.
“You won’t believe a sign. I am the sign, standing right in front of you.”

There are two basic problems with demanding signs:

When a sign is given, another is wanted. It’s never enough. Jesus could have opened the heavens and filled them with angels, and these men would still have wanted one more miracle. People who come for the sensational will always need more of it.
Signs don’t save; faith does. Jesus could have done every sign imaginable, and it wouldn’t save a single soul unless that soul reached out to Him in simple, childlike faith. When faith touches grace, the greatest miracle of all happens: the salvation of a human soul.

So He left them. That’s very sad. God respects our decisions, even our decision to refuse Him. Scripture describes this in several places: God gave His people over to their stubborn hearts to follow their own counsel (Psalm 81:12); He gave people up to the desires of their hearts (Romans 1:24); and of one hardened tribe He said, “Ephraim is joined to idols; leave him alone” (Hosea 4:17).

Forgetful Followers (Mark 8:14)

Now the disciples had forgotten to bring bread, and they had only one loaf with them in the boat.

What had just happened? Jesus fed four thousand people, and there were seven large baskets of leftovers. And they forgot to bring any!
Just one loaf.
But why worry? Jesus could obviously feed them all with one loaf.

Here’s the thinking behind their worry: “God won’t help me if I’m the one who messed up and caused my own problem. I forgot the bread, so now God will use this to teach me a lesson.”

Let me tell you: God doesn’t work that way.

He’s very willing to give you grace even when you messed up or forgot something. He wants us to learn that we can come to Him for everything, especially when we’ve blown it.
And here’s the secret: you always mess up. Even when you think you did everything right, you forgot something. You’re not perfect.
Our hope isn’t that we’ll learn to do everything right. It’s that we’ll learn to trust Jesus to do the work He’s called us to.

Beware the Leaven (Mark 8:15-21)

While they were worried about lunch, Jesus wanted to take them deeper. He warned them, “Watch out! Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod.”

They started discussing it among themselves: “It’s because we have no bread.”

Jesus, knowing this, said, “Why are you talking about having no bread? Don’t you see or understand yet? Are your hearts hardened? You have eyes; can’t you see? You have ears; can’t you hear? Don’t you remember? When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many baskets of pieces did you pick up?” “Twelve.” “And when I broke the seven for the four thousand, how many large baskets did you pick up?” “Seven.” He said, “Do you still not understand?”

“Guys, I’m not threatened by your forgetting the bread. Your weakness isn’t the problem. Your mistakes aren’t a problem for Me.”
“Let Me tell you what is a problem: the Pharisees and the people of Herod.”

The leaven of the Pharisees: religious hypocrisy

That doesn’t work with Jesus.
The Pharisees’ religion was external. It didn’t change their hearts. They claimed to love the Lord, but they were putting on a show.
And when their influence worked its way into people’s lives, like yeast, it corrupted them too. Jesus said they traveled over land and sea to win one convert, and then made him twice as much a child of hell as themselves (Matthew 23:15).

The leaven of Herod: worldly compromise

That doesn’t work with Jesus either.
Herod’s people lived like Herod. They loved sin, disliked restrictions, and wanted to live however they pleased.
They were worldly and secular, and they compromised with Rome to keep their power and comfort. Their leaven was materialism, worldliness and compromise with the world.

Jesus calls both of these philosophies leaven. Leaven spreads through a whole batch of dough and affects all of it, even a tiny bit.

Your life is like a loaf of bread. Jesus is saying these two philosophies will ruin the whole thing.

Religious hypocrisy: thinking God is impressed by your performance. He’s not. No matter how hard you try, you can’t measure up to His perfect standard.
Worldly compromise: thinking it doesn’t matter what you do, so you might as well live however you want.

Both lead to death. Both spread through the whole loaf.

The Right Way

So what’s the right way? Faith in Jesus.

No trusting in self, like the Pharisees trying to keep God’s law.
No indulging in sin, like the Herodians making up their own law.

There are really only three kinds of people:

Those who trust in their own religion. Legalism.
Those who don’t care and do whatever they want. License.
Those who trust Jesus. They turn from sin to Him, and they trust His works and His life instead of their own.

Jesus asks, “Do you still not understand?” And then He offers: “Instead of sinful leaven filling your life, let Me fill your life.”

Grace Takeaway

The Pharisees had every sign they needed and still refused to believe, because pride doesn’t want to need Jesus. The disciples forgot the bread and expected a lecture, but Jesus didn’t care about their mistake; He cared about what was filling their hearts. Don’t let religious performance or worldly compromise work its way through your life. Your mistakes don’t scare Him. Trust Him, and let Him fill the whole loaf.

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Phony Pharisees and Forgetful Followers