The Understanding of God: Mark 8:14-16
God is far more patient and understanding than we generally deserve. It’s simple, but true. I’ve lived on this earth for several decades and am still learning lessons and not getting everything right. The bad news is I’ll still be learning and still making mistakes even after a few more decades under my belt. Thankfully, He is patient and understanding.
The disciples give us a facepalm moment after getting in the boat. They only have one loaf of bread. While they might not have anticipated the debate with Jesus and the Pharisees, you’d think they would be more ready than this. Who goes anywhere with Jesus and only carries a single loaf of bread?
Focus on the context. The disciples have Jesus in a boat. They’ve got one-on-one time with the Son of God. Instead of talking to Jesus about something of importance, they focus on their lack of food. Instead of having a mind set on the higher things, their attention is quite literally on their stomachs.
Jesus doesn’t miss the opportunity. Hearing the disciples’ focus, He offers up a thought for them to consider. Jesus tells the disciples to beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod. Jesus opens doors for two different discussions. The disciples could choose to talk about the ways of the religious elite or the ways of the worldly leaders.
In one case, the disciples could learn about ways Jesus disagrees with the religious elite. It would be the perfect opportunity to be trained by Jesus about where the religious leaders have flaws in their thinking. It would be great for the disciples to learn from Jesus how God wants the disciples to shepherd the people and what points God wants the disciples to lift up before the people.
In the second case, the disciples could talk about the ways the world lives contrary to God’s ways. It would be the perfect opportunity to hear from Jesus about where the world makes the wrong choices. It would be great for the disciples to learn from Jesus where the people are in the most need to hear from God and on which topics the people are most likely to listen.
Unfortunately for the disciples, they miss Jesus’ point. They don’t take advantage of either opening Jesus provides. Hearing Jesus mention leaven, the disciples focus back on the bread. They erroneously conclude that Jesus mentions leaven because they had been talking about bread.
The reality is I’ve been there before. Being discipled is hard. When a person begins to think critically about deep topics, it is easy to miss connections and not see places for deep conversations. It can be difficult to see where relationships can be developed. It is easy to focus on things that feel important in the moment rather than focusing on things with eternal importance. We frequently need forgiveness and refocusing. Thankfully, God is far more patient and understanding than we generally deserve.
