Mark 8:14-21

Jesus' disciples (myself included) are often pretty slow to understand. Taken by itself this passage seems to come out of left field, but with the context we gain insight. Jesus’ warning about the leaven of the Pharisees and Herod is in the context of the demand for a sign. The Pharisees were nationalists and had decided what the Messiah would do. They failed to see the proof of the political Messiah they wanted. Jesus warns the disciples of the subtle, insidious nature of wanting our own way that always results in sin. Think of leaven as the favorite sin and when it is harbored, protected, and nurtured, grows and penetrates to the whole person. The Pharisees and Herod had almost nothing in common (at least this is how it might appear), but underneath they both wanted power and control.  They wanted to rule and would gladly use God to accomplish their ends. Behind their external motives there is the desire for selfish satisfaction. Jesus will not be used to accomplish our ends and agenda. No matter how good we try to make the ends sound or how good they may be, the Lord is not our puppet. 

 When the disciples were distressed about not having bread and perhaps not understanding what Jesus was talking about, He calls on them to remember. Can a person have eyes and not see? If a person has eyes and can't see, something is wrong. Can it be that a person has ears and they don't hear? If that is the case, something is wrong. Jesus links their failure in the present with their lack of memory. Remember! When faced with today's trials the correct first response is not to try to figure out a solution, the correct first response is to remember. To remember God's care, His provision, His power and His actions. That does not imply that we do not work. But it means that when we remember we operate from a position of strength and confidence rather than fear, doubt and worry. Our confidence is not in our ability; rather, it is in God.