Usually, when you hear about a trilogy, you expect the third part of the story to be the most epic. And so, when I found out there is a Sea of Galilee trilogy in the Gospel of Mark, I was very excited. I don't know if you've heard about this, but there are three different stories that take place in the Gospel of Mark with Jesus and his disciples on a boat. And the first one we already looked at together, it was “even the wind and sea obey him.” And maybe, you remember there was a storm, and they thought, we're going to perish, and Jesus rebuked the waves, he rebuked the wind, and it was immediately still, And the disciples were afraid of Jesus in the boat, because “who is this that even the wind and sea obey him?” Then we got to the second thing that happened when they were in the boat on the Sea of Galilee. That was when Jesus passes by. You want to talk about a sequel that even goes further than the first, when Jesus walks on the water, showing them that he is God, passing by them, revealing his glory, just like God did with Moses and Elijah on the mountain. And then he gets in the boat, and they're trembling, they're worshiping him. And immediately, the boat is where they were going. Oh, wow. So, if there's a third part of this trilogy, you're thinking, what could be next? And then I read the third story that happens, and it's just like this normal story of Jesus in the boat with his disciples, and they have just one loaf of bread.
And so, this is not what you would expect for the end of a trilogy, but I want to read this to you. If you could open up your Bible with me to the Gospel of Mark. This is a passage maybe you've never heard preached or talked about before. This is Mark, chapter 8, verses 11 to 21. If you don't have a Bible, there is a handout there in your bulletin where we have printed up the verses on the right hand column so you can read along with us. We've seen the wind and the sea be stilled. We've seen Jesus walk on the water. Well, what happens here in the third part of the Sea of Galilee trilogy? Out of respect for God's Word, I invite everyone to stand for this public reading of Scripture, and listen to what Jesus says here, because we all need to hear it. Please follow along as I read Mark 8:11-21.
The Pharisees came and began to argue with him, seeking from him a sign from heaven to test him. And he sighed deeply in his spirit and said, “Why does this generation seek a sign? Truly, I say to you, no sign will be given to this generation.” And he left them, got into the boat again, and went to the other side. Now they had forgotten to bring bread, and they had only one loaf with them in the boat. And he cautioned them, saying, “Watch out; beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod.” And they began discussing with one another the fact that they had no bread. And Jesus, aware of this, said to them, “Why are you discussing the fact that you have no bread? Do you not yet perceive or understand? Are your hearts hardened? Having eyes do you not see, and having ears do you not hear? And do you not remember? When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many baskets full of broken pieces did you take up?” They said to him, “Twelve.” “And the seven for the four thousand, how many baskets full of broken pieces did you take up?” And they said to him, “Seven.” And he said to them, “Do you not yet understand?”
That's the reading of God's Word. Please go ahead and have your seat. I want to welcome all of you who are joining us for the first time. Can we give them a warm welcome here this evening? Every week, I'm meeting new folks here at the church. So, we've been going through the Gospel of Mark now for a while. This is our 26th time opening up to this gospel together. And so, we already know who these Pharisees are. They're the religious leaders of the Jews. And if you were here last week, Jesus was out among the Gentiles outside of Israel. Well, clearly he's back now, because the Pharisees are coming to test him, and they want to see a sign. And what Jesus gives them is a sigh.
And I want everybody to feel this sigh of Jesus in verse 12. If you're a parent, I think you've probably felt this sigh before. If you're a boss, who manages people in your workplace, I think you've probably felt this sigh before. Right? Look at this. “He sighed deeply in his spirit.” Can I get an amen from anybody on this? Like, you're trying to give it to the people, you're trying to share the wealth, you're trying to teach them, you're trying to show them the way. And they keep asking you not just these questions. If it was sincere questions, it would be okay, but they just say things, you know what? I mean, can you feel Jesus her? Like, these Pharisees, these guys, you know, there's a big sigh here, because they want to see a sign and they want to test Jesus. They're acting like Jesus hasn't shown it to them. They're acting like Jesus hasn't given them something to see. Okay, Jesus, we just need to see a sign from heaven. He gives them a sigh.
These are the same Pharisees that already know he healed on the Sabbath in Mark, chapter 3, verse 5. That's why they teamed up with the Herodians to destroy him, because they saw him heal a man on the Sabbath. These are the same Pharisees that already know Jesus can cast out demons. Remember, that's why they had to come up with the accusation that he casts out demons because he has the power of the prince of demons? So, they've already seen the healings. They already know the demons are trembling, and yet, they want to see a sign from heaven. And see, we have to really think this through, because we are living in a world in which we are surrounded by unbelief. So many people are disrespecting Jesus every single day. And you might have gotten used to all the people who don't believe in Jesus, and you’ve got to realize the problem is not that Jesus hasn't proven it to them, the problem is they can't see it, and Jesus, these blind Pharisees, how long is he going to endure this generation? That's what he says.
So, let's get this down for number one, if you want to take some notes: “If you need a sign, then you have not seen.” If you need a sign, then you have not seen. See, when they ask this question, it's like they're going to put Jesus to the test. What they're really revealing when they ask for a sign is they can't see it. Jesus is the sign. The miracles of Jesus are the proof, the teaching with authority, the fulfillment of the prophecy. Jesus is God's own Son. He is the one who came from heaven. Jesus, he is the sign.
They can't see it. And so, they want to talk tough, like God hasn't proven it to them. But really, all they're doing is revealing how blind they really are. And a lot of people do that today. They act like, well, if there's a God, why doesn't he prove it? If there's a God, why does he let this happen? If there's a God, if there's a God, if there's a God! How do you think we all got here? You really think we evolved from random chance mutations? Like, how do you think this all happened? Or how do you think that you are like this, thinking, conscious being that has a sense built within you of what is right and what is wrong. And when you do what you know is right, there's like, this good feeling about it, and when you do what you know is wrong, there's this bad feeling in your own conscience. like, where did that come from? The whole Heavens are assigned to the glory of God, and the very makeup of our spiritual being shows we've been made in his image. But people are still testing him. Give me a sign. Just because they can't see, not because he hasn't proven himself. And so, we're giving the critics way too much credit, and what Jesus gives them this generation. Here we go again. And this is Jesus, beginning to tell us what he really thinks here in the Gospel of Mark, and he's had about enough of this generation.
Go with me to chapter 8, verse 38, and look what he says in the very next chapter, when he describes to the crowd this generation. He says, “For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation.” You don't want to be ashamed of Jesus, and you don't want to be ashamed of what Jesus says. His words of eternal life in this adulterous and sinful generation. Well, if you're ashamed of Jesus now, well, Jesus, the Son of man, he'll also be ashamed of you when he comes in the glory of his Father, with the holy angels. This generation, they're cheating on God. They're going after idols. They're going after other loves. They have fallen short of God's glory. This is an adulterous and sinful generation. You don't want to be a part of the generation, because then you're not with God.
Go over to chapter 9, verse 19, when his disciples don't have the faith to cast out this demon, here in chapter nine, and Jesus comes on the scene, and this man, he’s got a son who's demon possessed, and his disciples haven't been able to cast out the demon. And look at how Jesus says, “And he answered them, ‘O faithless generation?” This generation has no faith. Look at what Jesus says in Mark 9:19, “how long am I to be with you? How long am I to bear with you? Bring him to me.’” You still don't think we can cast out a demon? Oh. How long do I have to endure this generation that has no faith? Jesus does not act like the problem is, people need to see a sign. He acts like the problem is, people aren't believing the signs they already have seen. And he's calling the generation adulterous, sinful, faithless.
Now this idea that Jesus is tapping into here of the generation, this is a theme throughout the Scripture. In fact, go over to Philippians chapter 2, verse 15. Philippians chapter 2, verse 15. Paul describes this idea of the generation. I'm going to start reading in verse 14. I'm going to read all the way to verse 16. And look at what Paul is saying to the church in Philippi, the church that had so much joy. Paul, writing to them from prison full of joy, encouraging them to rejoice in the Lord. And he says in Philippians 2:14, “Do all things without grumbling or disputing, that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, holding fast to the word of life, so that in the day of Christ I may be proud that I did not run in vain or labor in vain.” What does he mean? On the day of Christ, you're going to be standing there with me, because you're not a part of this crooked and twisted generation. A generation that doesn't believe in God, will always find something to complain about. They will always find something to grumble about. They will always say, well, if God's real, he should do this, he should do that. And they will always find negative things to harp on. But we should be set apart from that. Is, what Paul says to this church, we should be blameless from that the way the generation is. We should be innocent from that. No, we should be apart from the crooked and twisted generation. We should shine like lights. We have the word of life, and we should hold fast to Jesus and his gospel. And we have seen him, and we have believed in him, and we have come to know him, and we have nothing but grace in the past, and nothing but glory and more grace yet to come.
And so, we should be different than the skeptical, critical, faithless generation all around us. And when it uses the word “generation,” when Jesus uses the word, when Paul uses the word, there's already this idea about the generation that it's supposed to recall to your mind. This was a big moment for me in my life. I remember it was the summer of 2019, we were going through the book of Philippians as a church, and I read Philippians 2:15, and it talked about the crooked and twisted generation. And I realized that when Paul said that quote, just like when Jesus says generation here in Mark 8, they're both referring to something that they expect people to already know. And I didn't know what they were referring to. And I realized, oh, I don't know the Bible the way that I should, because they're referencing something and I don't get the reference. And so, I went to Deuteronomy 32. If everybody can turn with me to the book of the second telling of the Law. Deuteronomy 32. This is the song of Moses here. And Moses is describing this generation, the generation that God wanted to bring into the promised land, the generation that God delivered out of Egypt with the 10 plagues, and he brought them through the Red Sea, and he fed them with manna from heaven, and led them with a pillar of fire by night and a pillar of cloud by day. These people heard the very voice of God. They saw the lightning and the thunder and the fire of his glory. And God said, I'll give you a land flowing with milk and honey. I'm ready to judge those other nations, and I'm ready to give it to you. Just go in. And Joshua was like, let's take it. And Caleb was like, the Lord has given it to us. And then the other 10 spies that they sent into the land said, Nope, we can't do it. The people are too big for us. It's going to be too hard for us. And the people were like, oh no, we're never going to make it. That's the generation that started all this generation talk, the generation that did not believe God's promise, even though he gave them so many signs. But they wouldn't believe that he could give them the land that he promised them. And so, they're known as the faithless generation, the generation that even though they had so many signs, they still did not believe, and they turned back away from God, and God left them to wander in the wilderness for forty years until they all died off.
And then Moses wrote this song. And he says in Deuteronomy 32, verse 5, he says, “They have dealt corruptly with him; they are no longer his children because they are blemished; they are a crooked and twisted generation.” So, you can see Deuteronomy 32:5 is where this first title of this “crooked and twisted generation” comes from. Look at verse 20. He continues this idea where this is God saying, God sees their lack of faith. God sees they're not believing in him. They're going after other gods. They're going after idols. “And he said, ‘I will hide my face from them; I will see what their end will be, for they are a perverse generation, children in whom is no faithfulness.” See, if you can look back on the people that were slaves in Egypt and then God rescued them to become the nation of Israel, and God led them through Moses. Well, you know those people saw miracles, and you know those people saw manifestations of the glory of God. You know those people literally had bread falling from the sky to feed them. They had plenty of signs, even signs from heaven. Did that mean that they believed? That's what Jesus is referring to.
So, we're surrounded in a generation right now that is not known for its faith. I mean, we're praying for a revival of faith, but we're not known for that right now. In fact, most of us, during our lifetime, we have seen a decrease in faith throughout our life, a decrease in acknowledging God, more of a denial of God and Jesus. He wants to make it very clear; the problem is not that you need to see a sign. The problem is you are a faithless generation. You can't see that's the problem. It's not that the signs haven't been there. No, you're crooked, you're twisted. You want to go your own way. You don't even want to see God. And so, Jesus gets back in the boat and just leaves the Pharisees there. He has had enough of them testing him. And so, he gets back in the boat.
Go back to Mark, chapter 8 and look at verse 14, because he wants to talk about the evil and adulterous generation. But now he wants to talk to his disciples, and he's still frustrated. He's still feeling the effects of this sigh. And so, he says to his disciples, and see the disciples here, as they're getting back in the boat, you can imagine, this was a really quick stop, right? We basically got out here, and the Pharisees said one thing Jesus didn't like, okay, change of plans. We're getting back in the boat. We're going now. Maybe the disciples thought, while they were out and about they would pick up some bread, but they have forgotten the bread. Now they're realizing they've only got one loaf. So, you can see that there in verse 14, the disciples are realizing we don't have enough bread to go somewhere and have a meal right now. And Jesus, he's still thinking about what happened with the Pharisees in verse 15, and he cautioned them, saying, watch out, beware. Be on the lookout. Be on your guard. “Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod.” Hey you guys. You guys here in the boat with me, my disciples, watch out. Watch out for the leaven of the Pharisees. Watch out for the leaven of Herod.
Now, because he uses the word leaven, the disciples are like, oh no, we're in trouble now, because we only have one loaf of bread. Do you think he knows about the bread? Which, at this point, I don't even know why you're thinking? You can think when Jesus is around and he's not going to know what you're thinking. Like, I don't even know why we're still thinking out loud here with Jesus in the boat, right? You guys are over here on the other side of the boat, being like, we've only got one loaf of bread. Is that why he brought up the leaven? What do you think, bro? Bro, he can hear your thoughts. He can hear your whispers. And so, there's a misunderstanding that happens here. Jesus is still fired up by the faithless generation, represented by the Pharisees, and he's trying to warn his disciples, and they're focused on the physical matter that they only have one loaf of bread.
And so, there's a lack of understanding in this moment. First thing I want to do is I want everybody here to hear Jesus say that in verse 15, “watch out for the leaven.” Right? The leaven is the word he uses of the Pharisees and of Herod. A little leaven leavens what? The whole lump. Right? It's like a substance like yeast that makes the dough rise, and all you’ve got to do is mix in a little bit of the leaven and it affects the entire thing. Notice what are the two Leavens that he tells us to watch out for, to be on the lookout for, to have our guard up about? One is the leaven of the Pharisees. Who are the Pharisees? They are religious people, religious leaders. They are people who like to make up their own traditions and follow them. Hey, watch out. You just mix a little bit of manmade religion in and it'll mess the whole thing up. Just a little bit of following the traditions of man, and you'll forsake the commandments of God. And people here at our church, people today, they need to hear this. Don't pursue religion just because it's old, just because it's ancient, just because it's a tradition. Watch out. Just a little bit of that, it can mess up the whole thing. You'll start following people rather than God. Be careful. Watch out. But then he says the leaven of Herod. Who is Herod? We've already seen King Herod in the Gospel of Mark. What did King Herod do that we really didn't appreciate in the Gospel of Mark? He was having these conversations with John the Baptist, and then he was at his party to celebrate, and they asked for the head of John the Baptist on a platter. And out of fear of people, King Herod, he killed John the Baptist. And instead of understanding the power of God that John the Baptist had, King Herod, he got caught up in the power of pleasing people. Herod, he represents the politics. He represents the people trying to be in power of the day. Hey, watch out. Just a little bit of that leaven can ruin the whole thing. Jesus is like, our enemies are the Pharisees and the Herodians. They're trying to destroy us. Watch out. Just a little bit of the way they think can ruin the whole thing.
And the disciples are over here completely missing the point. Let's make sure we don't miss the point. There's a danger to manmade religion. There's a danger to try and get power through the way that King Herod was through ruling over other people. Just a little bit of that kind of thinking, it can mess with the whole thing. That's what Jesus is saying. See their lack of faith. See how they want to make religion about what you can see and what you can experience and what's on the outside of you. See how they're trying to make something that is spiritual, all about things you can do. Just a little bit of that could ruin the whole thing. Watch out. And they're over here thinking, oh no, guys, oh no, he's going to figure it out any moment, we don't have enough bread.
Now that is supposed to be very ironic to us the way that Mark writes it. One loaf of bread. That's all you’ve got for the guys in the boat. Because this isn't just the trilogy of episodes in the boat. This isn't just the third part of the Sea of Galilee series. This is the third time we've talked about how many loaves of bread we have. And if you've read the passage, Jesus is going to recount the other times where we only had, what? How many, guys? Was it five loaves of bread we had? How many did we feed with that? Five thousand men, not counting the women and children. And then what was it the next time, guys? seven loaves of bread. And how many did we feed with that? Four thousand. So, if you're doing the math, if you're doing the ratios, one loaf of bread for the number of people they got in this boat right now, probably plenty. You know what I mean? But they're not getting it. So, not only are they not hearing what Jesus is saying, they're over here worrying about something that has already been proven to them they should not need to worry about. And Jesus now, he doesn't just have a rebuke for the unbelieving Pharisees. He's got a rebuke for the little faith disciples. And if you read this passage in Matthew 16, verse 8, he says, “Oh, you of little faith.” And we've kind of made that like a cute little catchphrase in modern American Christianity. When Jesus says, Oh, you of little faith. He's not talking about a mustard seed type faith. He's not talking about faith like a child. He's talking about, where is your faith? Why don't you have faith? Hey, this is something that you should believe, that you should be trusting in.
And so, look, he gives a series of questions from verse 17 to verse 21 and you would not want to hear Jesus ask you this series of questions. He says at the beginning in verse 17, “Why are you discussing the fact that you have no bread?” And then notice this, “Do you not yet perceive or understand? Jump down to verse 21 where he wraps it all up. “And he said to them, ‘Do you not yet understand?’” So, if you could, if you're taking notes, write down that line, or circle that line, “Do you not yet understand?” That's how he starts his many questions to the disciples that. How he finishes his many questions to them, “Do you not yet understand?” What does that question imply? It implies that you should already understand. Enough has been shown to you to see, enough has been said to you, to hear enough has happened for you to remember that you should already understand. So, do you not yet understand? So, the opposite of “not yet” would be then “already”. Hey, you guys should already understand that we don't need to worry about how many loaves of bread we have in the boat. We need to worry about those guys and the unbelief that they're spreading across the land and now how they're making people twice the sons of hell that they are. We need to worry about those guys. We don't need to be worried over here about how many loaves we have.
Do you not understand yet? This has been a theme that Mark has been building, and this is kind of a unique idea to the Gospel of Mark, where he wants to show you that the disciples did not understand, and he wants you to see that they didn't get it. I think the point that Mark is trying to do is he's trying to bother you. No, no, surely the disciples got it by this point, right? No, they really didn't get it. And they were right there. They saw it all. They heard it all. They saw the miracles on the sea, if you want to remember those, they saw the miraculous feeding of thousands. If you want to remember those. They have so much they could see in here, but Jesus has to say to them, where's your faith? Do you not yet understand? And the questions here of Jesus are meant to really get us thinking, well, where does faith come from? And how do I have faith if even the disciples who are with Jesus aren't responding with faith? Whoa, that really gets me thinking about it. Okay?
So, go back to chapter 7, verse 18. Let's just review what we've already seen, because when Jesus was talking to the disciples, remember Jesus had already confronted the Pharisees’ false teaching. He said, You're into the traditions of man. The traditions of man, all the things that get passed down from generation to generation, they are against the commandments of God. You either go straight to God and get his commands, because if you're getting the traditions from man, they will void the commandments of God. In fact, don't clean the outside, but you have to clean the inside. Don't try to just wash your hands on the outside. You've got to deal with where you're really defiled. You're defiled in your heart. Sin comes from within. And notice in verse 17 here, when he went into the house now and it's just the disciples, the disciples asked him about what he was saying versus the inside and the outside. You can't just clean the outside. You’ve got to clean the inside. Look at what he says in chapter 7, verse 18, “He said to them, ‘Then are you also without understanding?’” Wait, you guys are my disciples, and you don't get it, just like the crowd.
Now go back to chapter six, verse 52 we've quoted this verse a lot in our series through Mark, because after he passed by them and walked on water and showed them his glory, you can see this in verse 51. Last time we were on the Sea of Galilee, he got into the boat with them. The wind ceased and they were utterly astounded. They were just purely overwhelmed with Jesus walking on the water and entering the boat with them. It was just something beyond what they could have imagined or foreseen. They're astounded. They're amazed by it, and here's why they're so amazed by it. Verse 52, “For they did not understand about the loaves, but their hearts were” what, everybody? Hardened. So, notice how Mark keeps bringing this up. Like, every chapter, they didn't really get the feeding of the five thousand. Yeah, they're asking questions because they don't really understand. It goes all the way back to chapter 4, verse 12, when Jesus was saying, hey, I'll tell you what the parables mean. To you have been given the secret of the Kingdom of God and those outside, it's all in parables. And then he quoted here Isaiah, chapter 6, verses 9 and 10. Because he quoted Isaiah when he said, “so that they may indeed see but not perceive, and may indeed hear but not understand, lest they turn and be forgiven.” This is how it's going to work. People are going to see but they're not going to see. They're going to hear, but they're not going to hear. They see it on the physical level, they don't get it on the spiritual level, they're not really turning to God and being forgiven of their sin. And then notice verse 13, “Do you not understand this parable?” So, Mark, more than any other writer of the gospel, he wants you to deal with the fact that the disciples, just because they saw, it does not mean they believed it. Just because they heard it does not mean they had faith. In fact, it took them longer than it should have to really trust Jesus. And Mark wants you to know that. I don't know if you've ever thought about this.
But how do we know about Jonah? Have you heard the story of Jonah, the prophet that God sent to Nineveh? And where did Jonah go? The opposite direction. And he got in a boat, and they had to throw him over the side of the boat, and God had a fish bring him back to the land. A second chance, Jonah. Now you can go to Nineveh. And then he goes to Nineveh, and the people repent, and there's a massive revival. And the city, the capital city of Assyria, the enemies of Israel at that time, they're all saved. And so, Jonah, he goes outside of the city, and he's like waiting, hoping maybe they'll be destroyed, I guess, but upset that God saved all these people that are the enemies of the Jews. And then this plant grows up next to Jonah, and he gives him shade. And Jonah's like, I like this plant. This is very nice. And then God sends a worm, and the plant dies. And Jonah's angry about the plant dying. And God's like, wait, you're going to be angry about a plant? Do you realize how many babies there are in this city? Do you realize how many animals there are in this city? And then the story of Jonah ends. Have you ever thought, how did we get that story of Jonah? How did we know Jonah was sitting under a plant? How do we know God said those things to Jonah? There's really only one source who could give us that information, who must have ultimately turned himself in on that one, Jonah.
How do we know these guys didn't understand this bad? How do we know everybody in the boat was actually arguing over one loaf of bread? It's kind of embarrassing to think that you're the disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ, and he's already used five loaves to feed thousands, seven loaves to feed thousands, and now it's just a smaller crew in a boat, and you've got one loaf, which is more than what Jesus needs to create lunch. And you've got one loaf and you're, how did we even find out about this? It must be from the sources that were there. They must have turned themselves in. Even the disciples want you to see that, just because you see and just because you hear, doesn't mean you have faith.
Point number two, let's get it down like this: “Do you need to see another miracle, or do you remember Jesus?” Do you need to see another miracle? Or do you remember Jesus? See, are we going to be living the rest of our lives with just one loaf, wondering how's this time going to work out? Or is just one loaf with Jesus more than enough for you and me? And so, the question is, how many miracles do we need to see? How many times does God need to prove it to us? How many times does he need to answer our prayers? How many times does he need to show himself faithful to do what he says, what he's promised in his Word? What is it going to take to really trigger your faith? Or are you always going to be seeing but not really believing, always hearing but not really responding with faith? See, these are the questions that Jesus is asking. Look at these questions with me in Mark 8 again. And imagine if you were with Jesus, and he was asking you these questions, right? This is humbling here, when he says, in Verse 18, “Having eyes, do you not see?” Wait a minute. You know he quoted Isaiah 6, about the crowd, but now he's asking you, if you can even see having eyes. Do you not see having ears? Do you not hear? And do you not remember, when I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many baskets full of broken pieces did you take up? And what do they say to him? Like, have you ever been scolded by someone before? And they asked, did you do something that you clearly, obviously did, right? And you're just there, and you're just like, yes. Have you ever felt that way before? Like, this has got to be the lamest twelve in the history of twelve right here. Like, how many baskets were left over? And they're all just like, twelve. And how many of them are there that he called to be his special men? The number of them is twelve. How many leftover baskets were there? I mean, you’ve got to feel sheepish when you're saying twelve. Here on the boat, we had twelve leftover baskets. We started with five loaves, and we're over here thinking one loaf is not going to be enough? Then he says, hey, when I started with seven loaves, which just happened earlier in chapter 8. We just talked about it last week. He did another miraculous multiplication of bread out among the people of the Decapolis, among the people from far away, the people from other nations, the Gentiles. How many loaves of bread did we start with that time, guy? Seven. And how many baskets did we have left over? Seven Do you see we had as many baskets of leftovers as we had loaves of bread to begin with? Do you not yet understand? Like, this is the third time we're talking about how we don't have enough bread. This is the third time we're on the Sea of Galilee in the boat and recorded for us here in the Gospel of Mark, and we've already seen Him go full creator mode and stop the wind and the waves. We've already seen him reveal himself by walking on water. What more do we need to see? You should have already understood. You should have already had faith. But the question is, do you not yet understand? Now, I want to really think some things through with you here. Okay?
So, we've got some dashes here under point number two. First thing we want to observe: “Seeing miracles is not the advantage you think. Seeing miracles is not the advantage you think. Okay, you got it. You’ve got to change your thinking about this. You have to learn what the Scripture is teaching you over and over again. The eyewitnesses of some of the most amazing things that God ever did were some of the people with the least faith ever in response to God, the generation that it all refers to, the original, crooked and perverse generation. They heard the voice of God speak to them from Mount Sinai, and they did not believe.
So, if you think, well, if I really saw something, then I would believe, or if I really heard God's voice, then I would believe. The answer to that is no. That's not how it works. Faith does not come from seeing. Faith is the opposite of seeing. So, if you think, well, and I feel like a lot of people are doing this, even people who go to church. You're just waiting to see something. Well, let me tell you, even if you saw it, it won't get you going. If you're a wait and see kind of person, well, when I see it, then I'll get fired up, you will never get fired up. Because the people who saw Jesus, the miracles that Jesus did, you just bring somebody to him that's sick. He touches them. They're well. Hey, there's clearly demonic activity going on. They flee from him. They know who he is. They get away from him. He speaks in crowds, thousands just want to hang on every word that he says, because he speaks not as the scribes, but as very authority of God. I mean, when Jesus is there, people are like, wow. Does that mean a whole bunch of people believed in Jesus? No. In fact, some of the main cities where Jesus did most of his miracles, most of his teaching, most of his casting out of demons, they are a pile of rocks to this very day because Jesus pronounced woe on them. And he said, if I did these miracles in other places, they would have believed, but I did them here, and you did not believe.
So, if you think that seeing would lead to some kind of radical change in your life, you need to realize that the people, even these disciples, who saw some of the most amazing things that have ever happened in the history of our planet, it did not lead to understanding. In fact, Jesus is calling them out. Why do you have such little faith based on what you've seen, based on what I've shared with you, based on all that's been revealed. You should have way more faith than what you've got. So, the answer is not, if I see it, then I'll believe it.
Now go with me to Luke 24. Let's jump kind of straight to the end of this problem. Let's go to the end of the Gospel of Luke. And here, after he's died on the cross, after he's risen from the dead. And here in Luke 24, he appears to his disciples. Okay, so he's died. They've seen him die on the cross. Three days later, on the third day, he arose, and now they're seeing him after he has risen. And he said to them in Luke 24:44, “Then he said to them, these are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled. Then he opened their minds to understand the” what everybody? The “scriptures, and said to them, ‘Thus it is written that the Christ should suffer, and on the third day, rise from the dead, and that repentance for the forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem.” So, notice Jesus, after all they've seen and heard, he comes now to open up their minds according to the Scriptures, and then he reveals to them the gospel, that Jesus is the Christ, that he died on the cross for our sins, and on the third day he was raised.
So, let's get that down for our second dash: “Seeing Jesus in the Gospel is salvation.” That's where you want to see Jesus. You want to see Jesus that he is the Anointed One of God, the Chosen One, the sacrifice, the servant of the Most High, and he came to die in your place for your sins. And then he rose again to give everyone who believes in Jesus, you have a new life, an abundant life, an eternal life, even if you die, if you believe in Jesus, you will live. That's where people see Jesus in his death and resurrection. They don't see him in miracles. They don't hear his voice. And it changes everything. It's through the Gospel. And notice, what did he have to open up their minds to see him in the what? The Scriptures.
Let's get that down for our third dash: “Hearing Jesus in the word inspires faith.” Hearing Jesus in the word inspires faith. The disciples don't become the strong men of faith who are known as the apostles, who flip the world upside down, who fill Jerusalem with the name of Jesus until the gospel has happened and until he opens their mind to understand the scriptures. Have you ever heard the story of the two disciples on the road to Emmaus, and how Jesus, after he's resurrected, he walks with these two disciples, but they can't tell it's Jesus? And Jesus begins to open to them the Law, the Prophets, all these prophecies, all these scriptures that are about him. Well, of course, he had to die. Haven't you read Isaiah 53? Haven't you read Psalm 22? Of course, he had to be risen from the dead. What about what David said in Psalm 16, verse 10? What about all these passages? And then he's there with them, breaking bread. And at the moment he breaks bread for their meal, they realize it's Jesus. And as soon as they realize it's Jesus, he disappears. And the two disciples look at each other, and what do they say? They say, “Did not your heart burn when he opened to us the scriptures?” They're more excited. These two guys who just saw the risen Lord are more excited about seeing him in the Scriptures than they are about seeing him with their eyeballs. See, we underestimate what we have and we overestimate the miracles. People today, Christians today, think if I lived in Bible times, I'd have some really big faith. Well, you do live in Bible times, and you don't have really big faith. Do you not yet understand? You literally have the full canon. You have four versions of the gospel; you have instructions and letters to the church. You even have the end of the story written for you way before it was ever going to happen. You already know that Jesus wins in the end. Do you not yet understand? Do you think they were in a better position to believe than you? No, they didn't really fully have the faith that Jesus wanted them to have until after the gospel happened and they saw him really the way he wanted them to see him, through the Scriptures, as he opened their eyes of their hearts, as he opened their minds to perceive and then what was the thing that really kicked it up a notch? What was the thing that really took these guys to the next level that made them bold, that made them fearless, that made them men of faith in the generation all around them?
Well, go with me to 1 Corinthians 2. Let's go to 1 Corinthians 2. What was the gospel? The Scriptures were opened. But what was it that took them from praying, huddled up in an upper room, and set them on fire on the streets of Jerusalem? Well, it says here in 1 Corinthians, chapter 2, verse 14, that “The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned.” The natural person cannot understand the things of God. There is one who has to convict him, there is one who has to bear witness, there is one who has to come and, well, cause you to walk in a spiritual way. No, it is only through the Holy Spirit that you really get true understanding of the things of God.
Let's get that down for our fourth dash: “Having the Holy Spirit gives understanding.” Having the Holy Spirit is what gave them understanding. Once Peter was filled with the Holy Spirit, he doesn't say as many dumb things as he does in the Gospels. In fact, he says things that even the enemies, even the religious and political leaders, are like, wow, that's bold. How did he say that? He's just a common man. He's not educated; he's not trained. Where does a man like him get a faith like that? Because he was filled with the Spirit.
So, I have heard this my entire life, Bible times, Bible times, Bible times, like they were times of long ago, when God was working in ways that were like better than how he's working now. And you know what's sad growing up in churches, I believed that nonsense, and I thought, yeah, it would have been cool if I was live in Bible times. Maybe the Rapture will happen so I can be alive in Bible times, when no one has ever been more in Bible times than us right here. Where is our faith? Do you not yet understand? Seeing, do you not really see? Hearing, do you not really hear?
We know the story better than these guys inside the story. We know the full story. We have the Spirit indwelling us. The Spirit has given us understanding. We should be responding with great faith to all that we have seen, to all that we have heard, and that Jesus says something that's like heartbreaking when he says it, “Do you not remember?” Like, did the stuff we already did in this boat not matter? Did the stuff we already did with the bread not matter? Is all of this written down so it can do nothing and not matter? Do you not remember? Because Jesus was there. He was a part of it. He did it, and then he sees you, and you're acting like it didn't happen. Jesus was there when he saved you. Jesus was there when he answered your prayers. Jesus was there when he provided for you. Again and again and again and now, here you are with your one loaf. Oh, no, we're in trouble this time. Could you hear Jesus say to you, “Do you not remember?” all that I did for you because he did it? He's very aware of what he did. You don't just calm the wind and the sea and forget about you. Don't just show them who you are by walking on water. And forget about you don't just fulfill the prophecy of being the good shepherd and feeding thousands of people. “Do you not remember,” Jesus says.
Go back to Mark, chapter 8 and look at how this has got to be painful at this point. When I broke the five loaves, how many baskets were left? When I broke the seven loaves, how many baskets were left? Now, he's just not just asking questions. Now he's bringing up specific details. And we all saw the people eat until they were satisfied. I mean, have you ever been to a picnic like this? I mean, just imagine, thousands of people. Oh, this is such a great time. Jesus, what a guy. And now you guys are here, and you're, I'm over here warning you about the danger of the unbelief of the Pharisees, and how a little bit of that unbelief can ruin the whole thing. And you guys are over here, like, what are we going to do? We've only got one loaf.
Just one loaf with Jesus is more than enough. Can I get an amen from anybody on that? But he asked them these questions in 19 and 20. I tried to start thinking, what questions would Jesus ask me? What are the key moments in my life with Jesus that he would bring up, the moments where I had reached my limits, the moments where I thought this person was never going to get saved, the moments that I thought what we were trying to do here in Huntington Beach was impossible. I wonder if Jesus could bring some of those moments up with me. Do you not remember this? Do you not remember that? Then I started typing them out. I started thinking, what are the things that he would bring up, that he would want me to remember, things that he did? Things that because he did that I should be leaping for joy. I should be running through walls. I should be believing that anything is possible with God, because look at what he did. And I'm over here with my loaf, being like, I don't know this time.
What are the things that we should be remembering that we should be calling to our understanding and saying, oh, he did this, and he did this, and if he did that, surely now he'll do it again. No one has ever proven himself more faithful and then been responded to with less faith than Jesus. And it's happening right here among us, where he has continued to prove himself. The issue is not him, and if he's going to come through, the issue is, why don't we believe? Why don't we trust him?
Let's get this down for number three: “What has Jesus “already” done? If the question is, do you not yet understand, well, that implies that there already has been enough evidence to inspire faith. There has already been enough proven that we should understand by this point. So, if the question is, do you not yet understand the way we want to learn to think? The opposite of that is, well, what has Jesus already done? What should I be remembering? What have I heard about in the Scripture that I should be recalling to mind? That's the way we need to think. In fact, in 2 Timothy, chapter 2, if everybody could turn over to Second 2, chapter 2, the last letter that Paul writes before he gets killed for his faith, and he writes it to his true son in the faith, Timothy. And he wants to stir up Timothy's faith. He wants Timothy to fan into flame the gift of faith that he has. And so, in 2 Timothy, chapter 2, verse 5, he's like Timothy, you’ve got to fan into flame the gift of God that is in you. Hey, you’ve got to, verse 6, he says, “For this reason.” 2 Timothy 1:6, “For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God.” Timothy, stir thyself. Timothy, remember when I laid hands on you and you were sent out to be a pastor? And then in, chapter 2, verse 1, he says, “You, then my child, be strong by the grace that is in Christ Jesus,” and what you've heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, you’ve got to pass it on. You’ve got to entrust it to faithful men who will be able to teach others also. You’ve got to be like a soldier. You’ve got to be like an athlete. You’ve got to be like a farmer. You need to act. You need to have faith. And then he says this, this is the part I want you to write down in 2 Timothy, chapter 2, verse 8, he says, remember Jesus Christ. Can you remember him? Remember what he did, risen from the dead? Do you remember that the third day? Do you remember Easter, the offspring of David. Do you remember that the covenant that God had, that he's the king of Israel, that he's the king of the Jews, the King of kings, and Lord of lords, prophesied thousands years beforehand, not even fulfilled yet, because he hasn't returned to reign as King yet. “Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, the offspring of David, as preached in my gospel, 9 for which I am suffering, bound with chains as a criminal. But the word of God is not bound! “Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they also may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory.” Timothy, do you remember why we're doing this? Because there are more people that need to be saved. Do you remember our mission, our purpose? Do you remember why we set out to do this in the first place? Do you remember? See, too often we are easy to forget. We're prisoners of the moment. We're thinking we have limited resources. We're thinking we're running out of time, and we're wondering, how is it going to happen when, if we simply remembered what Jesus has already done, there would be no reason to worry, stress, fear. There would just be faith.
And then let's get that down. The first way we want to remember what Jesus has already done is “in the Scriptures.” Is in the scriptures. There are so many things, so many prophecies that Jesus has fulfilled, so many miracles that Jesus did, so many eyewitnesses who testified to Jesus. This has all been written down for our instruction. All these signs of Jesus have already been recorded, so we could see the signs, so we could believe. We don't need to see them in in our time, in our faithless generation. No, that's why they were written down so that you could already know, you could read. Really see and really hear and really remember Jesus as the Holy Spirit gives you understanding through the Scriptures.
What are the Scriptures that are going to help you remember I believe in Jesus, right? In fact, if you flip your handout over, you can see there are two questions on them. On the other side of this handout, there are two questions that I'm asking everybody here to do. Okay? Everybody needs to answer these two questions. Number one: “What has Jesus already done in the scriptures for you to see him?” I want you to put down specific Scriptures. This is what Jesus did. This is what I can believe about him. This is what I can trust in him for.
And then the second dash, if you go back to the front side, is, let's remember what he's done “in the scriptures.” Let's remember what he's already done “in your life.” What are the key moments if you were on a boat with Jesus and he was saddened and frustrated by your little faith? And what baskets would he be bringing up? What loaves were multiplied in your life? I want you to go back and think of some moments where Jesus came through in such a way that since that moment on, I should have trusted him wholeheartedly. I should have never gone back to doubt after that, and that's why he brings up the previous two times of the loaves as they're talking about. The loaves. And I think it's also interesting that it's the third time in the boat, and we've already had two amazing things in the boat. So, I feel like it's the end of three, two trilogies. Two three-part stories, both end with these guys having one loaf in the boat, and what a sad ending of a trilogy. It is when Jesus has done so much and he's responded to with so little.
And I can just remember, once you start really writing them down, once you start really typing them out, it just starts to pour out of you, and you realize I have probably forgotten more prayers that Jesus has answered than I can remember in my life. There are so many times where I felt like, how is it going to work out this time? And he worked it out every single one of those times. And how slow am I to thank him? How belated am I to praise him? And where is my understanding of what Jesus has already done driving my faith into the future? We should be running into walls because we have seen them fall down many times in our lives. We should be praying like the mountains can move, because we've seen mountains move many times in our lives. And so, I want to really encourage you to remember what Jesus has done and let that inspire faith. Because I did go to the Sea of Galilee, and I got on a boat the last time I was there. And we have video of us on that boat. And what we did is we opened up to the miracles of Jesus, and we talked about how he calmed the wind and the waves, and we talked about how he walked on the water. And let me tell you when we were there, that day that this video was taken, the last time I was in Israel, we saw no miracles. But on that boat, we opened up this book. We read what happened, and we saw Jesus, and people wept, and people cried. Being on that boat on that day, on that sea, totally normal day, totally calm sea, no storms were stilled. Nobody walked on water, nobody even tried, right? Nothing amazing happened on that day. It was one of the most amazing days of my life, because we saw Jesus and we didn't need to see another miracle. We already had him recorded for us, and we worshiped him there, and we believed in him there. This is how you're going to see Jesus if you really want to see him. This is where you're going to find him. This is where you will respond with faith. Let's pray.
Father in heaven. We come before you, and we have to confess that we're like these disciples in many ways, where we would hear Jesus say to us, oh you of little faith. And God, I just want to confess that we are not like these disciples in many ways, because we have the full gospel of Jesus revealed that he died and rose again. We have the full canon of Scripture recorded for us to read and to study and to pray through, to teach one another. We have your Holy Spirit convicting us and bearing witness of Jesus and coming and living within us to help us discern spiritual things we could not understand without him. With the gospel, with the Scripture, with your Spirit to help us God, we have so much that we should understand we could respond with faith, and yet we're so often like these disciples, here we have just one loaf. What will we do? And we don't realize that just one loaf with Jesus is more than enough. And so, Father, we confess our little faith and we pray that you will use not some experience in our lives, or not some sign from heaven. We pray that you will use a list of very convicting questions that Jesus asked the disciples, and that we will hear those questions and ask them of ourselves. We will ask ourselves, why do I not yet understand? Why do I have such little faith? Why have I seen so much church and heard so much Scripture and not really responded in the way that I could have, believing, trusting, enduring, praying, always ready for the next adventure of faith. God, please forgive us. You have given us all the resources. You have given us so much to remember in the Scripture and in our lives. You have given us everything we need to respond to you with faith. Please, God, forgive us for our little faith. Open the eyes of our hearts to see what you have done for us in Jesus, and let us be people who trust and obey Jesus, no matter what happens. We believe that he is able, and we will follow him to the very end. We pray this in Jesus’ name. Amen.