St Louis UBF University Bible Fellowship
7375 Tulane Ave University City, MO 63130, USA
314-898-3512 choi8149@yahoo.com
A SENSE OF HISTORY
Mark 8:11-21
Key Verse: 8:19 “When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many basketfuls of pieces did you pick up?” “Twelve,” they replied.”
Last week we learned about the compassion of Christ. When Jesus saw the crowd who were like sheep without a shepherd, he had compassion on them and fed them by the help of his disciples. Compassion is not only to have sorry feeling for the needy, but to concern about their needs. A few days ago, missionary James Lee’s family received an approval letter for their petition for green card from the US Immigration office. The family was so thankful. But, they should not forget love and care of church members, especially missionary Luke Yang’s family who support them with earnest prayer behind the scenes. God is always pleased with compassionate love and bless those who co-work together in the love of Christ.
Today’s passage is a continuation of Jesus’ teaching for his disciples. Especially Jesus teaches them a sense of history. Studying history is very important. It is because by studying history, we review the past, view the present and preview the future. In order to grow a leader, whether it is spiritual or political, we should learn how to master history. May God open our ears to hear his word and eyes to see his work and mouths to speak his story. Amen.
First, miracle-seeking people (11-13) Look at verse 11. “The Pharisees came and began to question Jesus. To test him, they asked him for a sign from heaven.” The Pharisees was the most popular and dominant religious group in Jewish society at Jesus’ time. They ruled synagogues and exercised their influence on people’s religious life. They believed in the written law, the Old Testament, and oral law, their traditional rules. They memorized the five books of Moses and kept all the ritual duties such as fasting prayer, tithing, and so on. So they became very legalistic and intolerant for those who did not keep the rules and laws. That was why unruly and erring disciples were criticized by the Pharisees. The word “Pharisees” means “Separated one”. They were proud of thinking that they were different from other vulgar people. (Lk 18:11)
The Pharisees came to Jesus to test him if he were the Christ. They asked him for a sign from heaven to prove himself to be the Christ. What did Jesus answer them? Look at verse 12. “He sighed deeply and said, “Why does this generation ask for a miraculous sign? I tell you the truth, no sign will be given to it.” Jesus already showed them how he had fed five thousand people with five loaves of bread and two fish. Jesus also proved that he is the Promised Messiah by feeding four thousand with seven loaves of bread and a few fish. Previously Jesus had healed a demon possessed man by driving out evil spirits with the power of God and made him whole to live a new life in God. (Mk 5:1-20) Jesus also healed a deaf and mute man with the compassion of God so that the deaf and mute man could praise God and speak plainly.(Mk 7:31-36) Jesus showed enough signs for the people so that they could believe in him as the Son of God and the Promised Messiah. Still, the Pharisees were asking for a miraculous sign from heaven.
We wonder why these religious people like the Pharisees did not believe in Jesus and kept asking Jesus for a sign. It was because their stubbornness and fixed idea made them spiritually blind not to see Jesus as the Messiah and Christ. As you know, the most difficult person for us to help is the one who has fixed idea. There are many Jewish students in Wash U. Those who attempted to share the gospel of Jesus to them experienced the difficulties, as if they were trying to throw eggs to the rock, in explaining that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, not a mere prophet. It was because the Jews teach their children about Jesus as their own way.
But, thank God for opening the spiritual eyes of a young girl to see Jesus as the Messiah and accept him as Lord and Savior. She has been grown up under Buddhistic culture and country. So, it was not easy for her to accept the Bible as the word of God and Jesus as her Lord and Savior. But, one day when she read the Bible, the Holy Spirit worked in her heart and opened her spiritual eyes to believe the Bible and Jesus as her Lord and Savior. Now she became a precious daughter of God and heavenly princess who will share the glory of God in the Kingdom of Heaven with our Lord Jesus Christ forever and more. In order to meet God personally and know him deeply, we must overcome our fixed idea. In order to know the truth and find the real object of love and devotion, we must open our hearts widely and pay attention to the word of God. Those who do not believe in the word of God always are seeking for a miracle. Those who do not have sense of God’s history are always for miraculous signs from heaven in their lives. So they are wondering here and there by seeking for miracle.
These days there are many miracle-seeking people. But what did Jesus say, “Why does this generation ask for a miraculous sign? I tell you the truth, no sign will be given to it.” (12) In Matthew 16:4 Jesus said, “A wicked and adulterous generation looks for a miraculous sign, but none will be given it except the sign of Jonah.” In this verse Jesus meant that the sign of Jonah indicates “repentance.” There is no other message of Jesus for this wicked and adulterous generation than the word ‘Repent”. To the Pharisees what really needed was not a miraculous sign but repentance. I met many students in Wash U who said that they were still seeking for the truth. To skeptical and exclusive young people what really needed for them was not wisdom or knowledge, but repentance. We cannot heal this corrupted and adulterous generation with teaching moral and ethics. We cannot change this crooked world with many miracles. This world can be changed better and right before God only through repentance and believing in Jesus Christ.
Second, Watch out for the yeast of the Pharisees and that of Herod.(14-15) After encountering the Pharisees, Jesus left them, got back into the boat and cross to the other side (13). In the boat, the disciples suddenly felt hungry and were seeking for something to eat. Look at verse 14. “The disciples had forgotten to bring bread, except for one loaf they had with them in the boat.” Now the disciples confronted a serious practical problem, which was bread problem. They were all thirteen including Jesus, but they had only one loaf of bread. The disciples began to worry about what to eat and how to solve this bread problem.
While they were feeding the four thousand, they were full of spirit and faith. They experienced the love of God and the power of God through Jesus who fed the four thousand with seven loaves of bread and a few fish. They saw all people ate and were satisfied. They also picked up seven basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over.(8) They should have faith in Jesus who would feed them. They should have trusted in Jesus who would take care of them in all circumstances. Still they began to worry about bread problem.
We are not much different from the disciples when we meet a serious practical problem, especially our future security problem. Abraham was a great man of faith who obeyed God and left everything to obey his command. But, even such a great man of faith Abraham feared for hunger and went down to Egypt to get some food with his wife. God brought the Israelites from the hand of Pharaoh with the mighty power. They crossed over the Red Sea as on a dry land when they had faith in God the Almighty. But, in the desert, when they were a little bit hungry, they complained to God and cried out. When they were a little bit thirsty, they tried to stone Moses, the servant of God. Insomuch, to overcome bread problem is difficult. So one family, both husband and wife, chose Philippians 4:6 as their new years key verse to overcome their future security problem.
How did Jesus help these anxious disciples? Look at verse 15. “Be careful,” Jesus warned them. “Watch out for the yeast of the Pharisees and that of Herod.” Jesus did not sympathize on the disciples humanly saying, “O, I am sorry that I forgot your next meal.” But, he warned them to be careful and watch out for the yeast of the Pharisees and that of Herod. What, then, is the yeast of the Pharisees and that of Herod? Yeast is fungi which agitates or causes fermentation. Originally the yeast comes from the word ‘yes’ which means, boil, foam or bubble. In the Bible the word ‘yeast’ is used for a bad influence. So when Jesus warned his disciples to watch out for the yeast of the Pharisees and that of Herod, he meant that the disciples should be their guard against bad influence of the Pharisees, which was the sin of hypocrisy, and the influence of Herod, which was the sin of immorality. According to Matthew’s gospel, Jesus meant the teaching of the Pharisees. (Mt 16:12)
The disciples were young and passionate, but vulnerable. To the eyes of the poor and unruly disciples, the Pharisee’s pompous robes with long sleeves looked gorgeous. The Pharisees always sat on the seat of honor. They looked pious and austere. But, Jesus warned his disciples from the influence of hypocrisy. The problem was that they had form, but no contents. They taught people traditions and rules but did not teach the love of God which was the spirit of the law. They did not do what they taught. In a word, they were hypocrites.
We must also be our guard against hypocrisy. Biblically speaking hypocrisy means to pretend to be holy. Pretending to be holy must be the most difficult effort which human beings can take. But, people easily pretend to be holy, pretend to be right, pretend to be okay. As the servant of God, hypocrisy is the most serious sin against which we must struggle before God. It is because God is holy and no matter how we hide our sins and pretend to be holy, he knows everything even though he is invisible.
Jesus warned his disciples to be honest, transparent and real, not pretending. Jesus wanted to protect his disciples from the bad influence of the hypocritical Pharisees. Next, Jesus warned his disciples from the yeast of Herod. Herod was an immoral man. In order to take his brother’s wife Herodias, he killed his brother Philip. He also beheaded John the Baptist in order to please his step daughter and his guests in the banquet. We also must be careful from the sin of immorality. Last week, I was severely rebuked by my wife because I rent a R-rated movie from the library. Her timely rebuking reminded me of the word of God which says, “But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God’s holy people.” (Eph 5:3) May God help us to repent and be our guard against the sin of hypocrisy and the sin of immorality. Amen.
Third, a sense of history (16-21) When Jesus warned the disciples against the yeast of the Pharisees and that of Herod, the disciples immediately discussed this with one another. They said, “It is because we have no bread.” (16) When they heard about the word “yeast”, immediately they thought about ‘bread.’ In fact, in baking bread people put yeast in dough. Their formula was “yeast” equals “bread” and “bread” equals “future security”. Then, they began to worry about bread problem again.
How did Jesus help these anxious disciples? Look at verses 17-21. “Aware of their discussion, Jesus asked them: “What are you talking about having no bread? Do you still not see or understand Are your hearts hardened? Do you have eyes but fail to see, and ears but fail to hear? And don’t you remember? When I broke the five loaves for the five thousands, how many basketfuls of pieces did you pick up?” “Twelve”, they replied. “And when I broke the seven loaves for the four thousand, how many basketfuls of pieces did you pick up?” They answered, “Seven” He said to them, “Do you still not understand?” In these verses why did Jesus ask his disciples about the previous events not once, but two times? It was because Jesus wanted to teach his disciples a sense of history. What is a sense of history? To have a sense of history means to remember what God has done for us in every, and all situations. The disciples must have remembered how Jesus had fed the five thousand with five loaves of bread and two fish. They also must have remembered how Jesus had fed the four thousand with seven loaves and a few fish. If they had remembered what Jesus had done, they could have believed that Jesus is the Son of God the Almighty. If they had remembered how Jesus fed such a huge crowd, they could have believed that Jesus is the compassionate shepherd and the Savior of the world. If they had the sense of history, they did not worry about what to eat, what to wear and what to drink. But, they totally forgot what Jesus did for the crowd even a few hours ago.
In the life of faith, to have a sense of history is very important. After taking his people the Israelites out of Egypt and put them into the desert, God repeatedly taught his people through Moses that they should remember what God had done for them when they were in Egypt. God taught them history education so that they might not be anxious about anything, but trust in God and rely on him. Above all, God wanted them to believe that their God is the real God whom is worthy to be worshiped and honored. For the purpose of education, God taught the same message again and again to his people. History education needs continuous repetition until the law of God may be engraved on the tablets of their hearts.
We must pray that Americans must learn the sense of history for this nation. They must remember how God established this country around three hundred years ago through our Founding Fathers. Before starting the committee meeting, they always prayed and asked God’s divine guidance. When they wrote the constitution, all the fathers knelt down before God and prayed at the chamber. They had fear of God. They put the word “In God we trust.” as national motto, proclaiming that America is a Christian country which was established in God, by God and for God. The Founding Fathers wanted America as a city on a hill, which brighten the dark world with the gospel of Jesus Christ. God blessed this country when we lived according to his will. God blessed America when our fathers built a church before they built their own houses. God blessed America when she sent more than hundred thousands of missionaries to every corner of the world. Two days from today, we will have new President, the President Barak Obama, who is the first African-American president in US history. Billions of people in this world will watch his inaugural ceremony and hear his speech. At that time, we must remember what God has done for this country America and how he established for this country. Now people of the world suffer from financial crisis. Now it is time to remember what God has done for us and to find what God wants us to do for him. In a word, we must have the sense of history for this country, and for ourselves. Those who have the sense of history know who they are and where the world is going. Those who have the sense of history know what they have to do and not to do. Above all, those who have the sense of history believe that Jesus is the Son of God, the Most High and that Jesus is the Savior of the world.
We remember clearly what God has done for each of us among co-workers. When missionary Grace Park’s family came to USA three half years ago, she had nothing but faith. She had no job, no green card, and no Bible students. But, when she and all St. Louis UBF members trusted in God and prayed for her, what happened? Today she has a job as RN with permanent resident card and teaches two faithful students. Each person and each family experienced the power of God and presence of God in each situation. We must remember how God has been with us and helped us miraculously in the time of need. We must not forget how Jesus showed his love and care for each of us when we were lonely, broken and wounded. Above all, we must remember that Jesus is the Son of God and the compassionate shepherd for his flock of sheep. We must have a sense of God’s history. We also must teach a sense of history to our children and our Bible students. Amen.
In today’s passage we learn that Jesus rebuked the hypocritical Pharisees. We don’t have to be pretend. We must be honest, real and our life should be transparent. We must pray hard for this country America to become a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. Above all, let us pray that we may have the sense of God’s history in our lives and teach the word of God to our children and to our sheep. Amen.
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