MARKAN MEDITATIONS

Meditations in the Gospel of St.Mark

St. Mark 8:14-21

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THE NIV gives the title to this section of Mark's Gospel as the yeast of the Pharisees and Herod. This subject occupies just one verse in the passage, and although it is a subject in the passage, it is not the main one. The main one is in the revelation of Jesus, shown so vividly in the feeding of the 5000 and the 4000, and the slowness of the disciples to learn this lovely truth. In this meditation we shall look at both these matters in turn.

Firstly, the warning of Jesus in verse 15 concerning the yeast of the Pharisees and Herod. Yeast describes an element in society and religion which permeates the whole. Though it may be small in relationship to the whole, just as only a very small quantity of yeast is put into a much large quantity of dough in the making of bread, yet it effects the whole radically, just as yeast in bread causes the whole of the loaf to rise and become much larger.

The effect of yeast in bread is good and desirable. However when the analogy of yeast is used in Scripture, it most often expresses an adverse effect, and the importance of the analogy here is the fact that a small bit of yeast has an effect out of all proportion to its size. It is a bad effect that Jesus is warning against here.

The yeast of the Pharisees were the wrong rules and habits that they had introduced into the religion of the Jews. The yeast of Herod was the bad moral example by which he had reduced the standards of God. The additions to religion the Pharisees had introduced into the life of Israel altered the law and religion given by God, laying down laws that God had never laid down, so placing the people in bondage. Further the result of their emphasis was that religion became merely an external thing. As long as the rules were kept outwardly, it did not matter whether the heart was pure and in tune with God. Further the Pharisees by their emphasis and additions obscured the grace of God, and made acceptance with God simply a matter of keeping the rules outwardly.

The yeast of Herod was the lowering of moral standards, so that things which God had told Israel he hated, and which would bring misery into their lives, were now being more openly indulged in. In both the case of the Pharisees and Herod true religion and worship of God was being destroyed, and the souls of the people were being put in jeopardy.

This warning is far from academic for us today. The religion of most of our churches, at least in the Church of England, shows the same yeast as the yeast of the Pharisees, in this respect, that there has been introduced into Christianity things which are not prescribed by the Gospel or required by it. The result is the same, that religion has become more of an outward thing, and the Gospel of the grace of God in Christ has been obscured. Thus the souls of the people have been and are in jeopardy. I am just sorry that there is not room here to go into all the ways where there is bad yeast in the church today. As far as the yeast of Herod is concerned, this type of problem is all around us today. Standards have been lowered which have perverted the holiness of God, and the church has acquiesced in accommodating the churches teaching to the temper of the day.

The way to watch is to read deeply and meditate deeply in the Scriptures, and like the Bereans in Acts, who searched the Scriptures to see if Paul's teaching was true, to do the same, and judge all things by the pure revelation of God in the Bible. This can never be an easy or superficial task. It requires great diligence and honesty before God, and the will to live and correct our lives by the revelation we see in the Bible.

The main message of this passage is found in the drama that unfolds. The disciples were worried because they had forgotten to bring enough bread with them. They were worried how they were going to feed themselves, and were worried that once Jesus knew, he would be angry with them. When Jesus spoke of the leaven of the Pharisees their worry stupidly made them think Jesus was criticising them, and they worried all the more.

They had not realised that Jesus knew all about their worries already, which he demonstrates in verse 17. This is another revelation of his divinity, and it reminds us that we are not able to hide anything from the Lord. He knows all about our problems even before they cause us trouble.

What disturbed Jesus so much, and what he seeks to correct in them, was that they had got a totally wrong view about him and the situation. There was no need to worry and to be anxious. It also grieved Jesus that the disciples had not really taken in the lessons found in the feeding of the 5000 and the 4000.

These two incidents teach two wonderful truths. The first is the infinite compassion of the Jesus for us in our failings. The disciples just did not need to worry or be anxious that Jesus would be cross with them. He corrects us, but he doesn't angrily go for us and cause us pain when we fail and are foolish. This had been amply demonstrated in both the feeding of the 5000 and the 4000. In both cases the people and been foolish and careless, but Jesus just wanted to help them and sort out their problem. Jesus is the same today with us, both Christians and non-Christians. He woes us with his love. He is not always chiding and picking at us, in spite of our fears and what the attitude of some Christians may seem to indicate. His love and compassion is far deeper and lasting than we can know or exhaust.

The other lesson is that the disciples did not need to worry about how they would have enough to eat. If Jesus could feed 5000 and 4000 people with practically nothing to start with, he certainly could feed the disciples. Further Jesus is never niggardly. When he fed the 5000 and the 4000 he provided twelve and seven baskets full of food over and above what was needed to satisfy all of them. We too are like the disciples. We worry so much about how we are going to provide for ourselves, or get through all sorts of different problems. Our Lord is well able to meet all our needs, and bring us through all difficulties. In these days when Jesus is reigning in heaven, his help and intervention usually comes in indirect ways, but it is nonetheless real and available. We do not have to worry in anything, but in prayer make our requests known to God. Then his peace will fill our hearts as we rest our need on his sure strength.