Jesus - Teaching His Kids to 'Swim' - Mark 8:10-26

Sermon Series: Spare Me the Details - Just Give Me Jesus

Trying to teach my oldest daughter and son how to swim has been a really difficult task for me.  Swimming isn’t one of those things that you just get in the pool and start doing.  We’ve all joked at one point or another about being thrown into the pool and being told to swim.  Sometimes we joke that that’s how we actually learned to swim.  Other times we use the expression as an analogy to explain another difficult situation we’ve been forced into.  But quite honestly and in a literal sense none of us were thrown in a pool, told to swim, and then just started to do it.  Last summer I tried to work with Maddie and Davis on just some of the basics – things like holding your breath, putting your face in the water, and using your legs to kick.  But at times I have gotten so frustrated with the both of them.  Sometimes it’s because they won’t believe me when I tell them that getting water in their eyes doesn’t actually hurt.  Sometimes it’s because they don’t listen well and follow the instructions that I give them.  And sometimes it’s because they’ll run off to do something else like get a snack, go wipe their faces off, or whatever else they can think of that will help them get away from the lesson.  Both Maddie and Davis want to learn to swim, but neither one will believe some of the things I tell them, and neither one will stick with me long enough to let me help them develop some of the skills they need to swim.  Until they learn to believe me and until they learn to stay with me long enough to learn and practice the skills I try to teach them, they will never learn to swim.

Did you know that just like I am trying to teach Maddie and Davis to swim, Jesus is trying to do something in each of our lives too.  Jesus is trying to grow us in our understanding and our faith.  But like swimming, it doesn’t happen after just one encounter.  And just like my kids and swimming lessons, we all do some things that frustrate and complicate the process of growing in our understanding and our faith.  So we need to identify what it is we do that frustrates Jesus and what it is He is wanting to do in our lives.  As we examine the text of Mark 8:11-26 I’ll argue that we will see both – what we do to frustrate Him and what He is wanting to do in our lives.

After Jesus feeds the 4,000 Gentiles in Mark 8:1-9, verse 10 says that He gets in a boat with His disciples and sets out for Dalmanutha.  Dalmanutha was located on the western side of the Sea of Galilee which signals for the readers that Jesus has left Gentile territory and re-entered Jewish territory.  And in verse 11 the Pharisees show up on the scene once again with the purpose of opposing Jesus.  They come to argue and to demand that He give some attesting sign that would prove who He was.  But Jesus doesn’t give into their request.  Instead verse 12 begins by telling the reader that Jesus “sighed deeply in His spirit.”  Why does Jesus sigh deeply in His spirit?  Is it a sigh of great joy and relief?  Is Jesus encouraged by this question?  Or does His sigh represent something else?  In the rest of verse 12 Jesus responds by saying, “Why does this generation seek a sign?  Truly, I say to you, no sign will be given to this generation.”  Then Mark says that Jesus left them and that He and His disciples got into a boat and took off again.  I would suggest that the context of the passage (both what Jesus says and what He does) indicates that Jesus sighs deeply in His spirit and responds the way He does because of His frustration.  That leads us to ask the next question, “Why is Jesus frustrated?”  And the answer appears to be because of the unbelief of the Pharisees.  The Pharisees do not believe that Jesus is God’s Son, the promised Messiah of the OT.  So they come at Jesus every chance that they get to oppose Him and to try to prove their disbelief.  In this particular instance they’re asking Him to give them some sign from heaven that would prove He is who He claims to be.  Jesus has done some great miracles that the Pharisees can’t discredit but it seems that they are looking for something different here.  They are wanting some attesting sign from heaven.  It seems that from their perspective they aren’t going to change their minds or their opinions of Him unless He does something like this.  Their mindset seems to be, “Give us the particular proof we’re looking or we’re going to continue to act in disbelief and oppose You and You’re ministry.”  We’ve seen plenty of evidence in the gospel of Mark that proves Jesus is God’s Son.  And we also know that Jesus places more emphasis on drawing people to faith based on what He teaches than the miracles that He performs.  And so it doesn’t come as a surprise to the readers when Jesus refuses to provide the sign that they are looking for. 

What we must understand is that even though the Pharisees oppose Christ and act in active disbelief, and even though Jesus certainly demonstrates some signs of frustration, He does not stop loving these Pharisees.  It’s easy for us at times to associate frustration with not loving or not liking someone.  Many of the people who frustrate us are hard for us to like, and even harder for us to love.  It’s something we see in politics and sports and in many other areas in our culture.  But understand that frustration with someone and loving someone are not necessarily exclusive.  They can, in fact, co-exist.  That’s incredibly important to understand.  Jesus is certainly frustrated with the disbelief of the Pharisees and the active way in which they demonstrate that unbelief.  But while Jesus is frustrated with these Pharisees He never stops loving them with a deep and passionate love.

Jesus and His disciples must have quickly gone to get in the boat and depart because we find in verse 14 that in their hurry to leave they had forgotten to bring bread and only had a total of one loaf with them.  We’ll see in verse 16 that this weighs heavily on the disciples and causes them some anxiety.  But it appears from verse 15 that Jesus’ isn’t at all concerned with how much bread they had, but rather He is concerned about and gives warning to the disciples regarding something else – the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod.  The question that comes to mind for the readers is “What does Jesus mean when He talks about ‘the leaven of the Pharisees’ and ‘the leaven of Herod?’”  What exactly is He warning His disciples about?  Mark doesn’t exactly spell that out for us so we have to use the context to try to help us draw some conclusions.  As Mark continues he turns his attention back to the disciples.  In verse 16 he says that the disciples began having a discussion about the fact that they had no bread.  And in verse 17 Jesus becomes aware of the discussion and then answers them.  What we’ll notice is that Jesus’ response to the disciples is filled with frustration, just like His response to the Pharisees was.  Consider Jesus’ response and see if there are any other clues for us regarding the warning He just gave His disciples.  “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? . . .”  That first question that Jesus’ asks is so important, “Why are you discussing the fact that you have no bread?”  What’s the answer to that question?  Doesn’t it appear that the disciples are concerned about what they are all going to eat?  So let’s go with that answer and then consider the other questions that Jesus asks.  If the context is the disciples’ concern about what they are going to eat, what do the following questions reveal to us?  “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?”  Then Jesus reminds the disciples of the both the feeding of the 5,000 and the feeding of the 4,000 and the number of leftovers that remained after each.  So what is it that the disciples are failing to perceive or understand?  It seems, given the context, that they are failing to understand that even with just one loaf Jesus is able to provide enough to satisfy them and enough to care for their needs.  In a sense the disciples are failing to believe in Jesus and His ability to meet and satisfy their needs.  It is unbelief that the disciples are wrestling with and although it is not demonstrated in an active sense, like the Pharisees’ unbelief was, it was still frustrating to Jesus.

Jesus warns the disciples in a strong way, using two imperatives (commands: i.e. ‘watch out’ and ‘beware’), to make sure that they avoided the ‘leaven of the Pharisees’ and the ‘leaven of Herod.’  Based on the context of the narrative it appears that the ‘leaven’ of both the Pharisees and of Herod was disbelief.  Neither the Pharisees nor Herod chose to believe in who Jesus was and what He had come to do.  In verses 11-13 the Pharisees put their disbelief on display when they were demanding from Jesus a sign from Heaven to attest to who He was.  Jesus responded in great frustration to this active disbelief that looked for opportunities to oppose and challenge Him.  And having left them, this frustration with their disbelief would have been fresh on Jesus’ mind, perhaps stirring Him to warn the disciples themselves against disbelief.  But there, inside that very boat at the very same time, were the disciples having a discussion about their concern over the lack of food that had been brought along with them.  While Jesus was warning the disciples not to fall into disbelief, that’s exactly what they were doing.  They were anxioius about the amount of food that had been brought with them because unbelief was filling their hearts.  But Jesus on the other hand was anxious about their unbelief. 

The unbelief of the disciples wasn’t as active as the unbelief of the Pharisees.  The disciples weren’t trying to oppose Jesus as a result of their unbelief.  Their unbelief was more of a passive unbelief.  It was an unbelief existing in their hearts that only really showed itself in doubt.  But their unbelief still frustrated Jesus.  Even though they weren’t looking to discredit Jesus or hinder His ministry, He was still frustrated that those who were so close to Him physically were failing to believe in Him.  And again we have to remind ourselves that frustration and love are not exclusive.  They can in fact co-exist.  While Jesus is frustrated with the unbelief in the hearts and lives of His disciples, He still loves them deeply and passionately.

So I would suggest that Mark is using these two short narratives to communicate to his readers that Jesus is frustrated by unbelief – both active and passive.  In fact, we will see Jesus become frustrated again next week when Jesus begins to teach His disciples that He will be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and that ultimately He will be killed.  While Jesus is proclaiming these things to the disciples we’ll see Peter pull Jesus aside and begin to rebuke Him because He does not believe what Jesus is saying.  And Jesus’ response to Peter we’ll see is, “Get behind me, Satan!  For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man” (Mark 8:33).  Without doubt this comment was filled with frustration because Peter was refusing to believe what He was teaching Him.

The application of these verses comes from Jesus, Himself.  Those of us who are disciples of (or followers of) Jesus today need to make sure that we do our best to avoid the ‘leaven of the Pharisees’ and the ‘leaven of Herod.’  We have to look out for and be aware of unbelief in our lives.  Jesus wants us to understand that He loves us and that He cares for us and He wants us to take Him at His word.  So we need to ask ourselves today, “Are there areas in our lives where we are failing to believe Jesus?”  “Are there promises He has made that we are choosing to doubt?”  “Is there any unbelief at all in our hearts about who Jesus is, what He has said, or what He has done?”  If so we need to repent, or turn from our disbelief and understand that Jesus is truth that we can base our lives on.

Verses 22-26 of Mark 8 follow the two narratives about Jesus’ frustration with reason for Mark’s readers to hope.  The news in verses 22-26 is really great news.  When Jesus and His disciples arrive at Bethsaida the people bring a blind man to Jesus and beg Him to heal Him.  Verse 23 tells us that Jesus took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the village.  When they arrive outside the village Mark says that Jesus spit on His eyes and then laid His hands on the man.  Then Jesus asked the man, “Do you see anything?”  In this narrative (as in the verses we just examined) Jesus is concerned about those who don’t see.  And in this narrative Jesus begins to work on this man’s behalf.  Jesus spits on the man’s eyes, lays His hands on him, and then verse 24 says the man responds to Jesus’ question by saying, “I see men, but they look like trees, walking.”  The man’s vision was beginning to be restored, but it wasn’t completely clear.  So in verse 25 Jesus laid His hands on the man once more and when he opened his eyes again, his vision was completely restored and he could see clearly.  Having healed him, Jesus then sends the man home telling him not to enter the village.

This miracle has some very distinct features to it that cause it to stand out in comparison to the other miracles in Mark’s gospel.  In all of the other miracles in Mark’s gospel thus far Jesus has made a pronouncement and the miracle has occurred.  In this narrative Jesus asks a question.  It is also the only miracle in Mark’s gospel that takes place in stages, rather than immediately taking effect.  Why the unique differences.  The question Jesus asks the blind man calls to mind the questions that Jesus was asking the disciples in verses 17 and 18.  Mark is using a literary technique to help his readers see a connection between compare this miracle to the unbelief of the disciples in the previous verses.  The reason Jesus lays His hands on the man more than once also reveals something to Mark’s readers.  First, be sure to understand that it does not indicate any insufficiency on Jesus’ part.  We know that to be the case because Jesus has performed much greater miracles than this already in the gospel.  Instead, it “suggests a process of revelation” (James Edwards).  “Like the blind man, the disciples, who ‘have eyes but fail to see, and ears but fail to hear’ (8:18), can also be made to see and hear.  But it will not happen on their own.  The ability to see, both physically and spiritually, is a gift of God, not of human ability” (James Edwards).  In the case of the blind man, it was Jesus’ touch alone that caused him to go from no sight, to partial sight, to complete sight.  Jesus can do the same for His disciples.  He can take them from disbelief (vs. 14-21) to complete understanding and belief, but it happens only after repeated touches in their lives.

In John 15:1-11 Jesus speaks of abiding in Him.  It’s the idea of remaining in and with Him.  In the context it’s the abiding in Christ that leads us to bear fruit.  But whether it’s to bear fruit in this context or in our text to grow in our belief in and understanding of Christ, we have to abide or remain in Him.  Neither bearing fruit nor growing in belief in and understanding of Jesus takes place after one encounter.  We have to remain in and with Him in order for Him to work in us in these ways.

Jesus’ work in our lives to grow us in our belief and understanding (and in our fruit bearing according to John 15) happens when we put ourselves in the presence of Christ and allow Him to speak into our lives and work in our lives.  It is a work that He is doing in stages.  So it is going to require patience on our part.  While Jesus is undoubtedly able to make us understand and believe in one encounter or touch in our lives, that’s not the way He chooses to work.  He chooses to grow us in our belief and understanding through ongoing and consistent encounters.  So we have to make sure that we draw near to Jesus and remain in Him.

Do we resemble Maddie and Davis in their swimming lessons in any way?  Are we choosing not to believe words spoken to us – that getting water in our eyes really doesn’t hurt?  Or are we running off to do other things to get away from the instructor so that He can’t speak into our lives and help us to grow?  Because Maddie and Davis aren’t willing to believe me and spend consistent time with me practicing they haven’t learned to swim.  And if we aren’t believing Jesus and spending time with Him we won’t grow in our belief and understanding.  Our failure to believe in Jesus frustrates Him terribly.  He loves us and wants the best for us – but when we choose not to believe in Him we can’t grow in Him.  So we have to draw close to Christ and allow Him to speak into or lives.  We have to remain with Him so that He can do the unique work of helping clear our spiritual eyes to know who He is, see Him clearly, and believe in Him whole-heartedly.

Small Group Questions for Discussion

1. Read Mark 8:11-13.  In these verses we saw the Pharisees opposing Jesus once again, this time seeking from Him a sign from Heaven that would attest to who He really was.  We noted that Jesus responds in great frustration because of the consistent misunderstanding and unbelief of the Pharisees and the way in which they actively act out their disbelief.  While we don't like to admit it, a lot of times our lives look more like the lives of the Pharisees then they do the lives of Gentiles.  If we are honest with ourselves, can we identify any ways in our own lives where we are actively resisting Jesus and what He is trying to do in our lives because of our misunderstanding or disbelief?

2. Read Mark 8:14-21.  In these verses we saw the disciples wrestling with misunderstanding and disbelief.  They were worried about what they would do for bread.  But while the disciples were anxious about bread, Jesus was anxious about their disbelief.  The disciples didn't act out in their disbelief to oppose Jesus.  But their disbelief was leading to doubt.  What are some of the potential consequences of doubt in the lives of followers of Christ?  Do those consequences help explain why Jesus' warning to avoid misunderstanding and disbelief are so strong?  Do we ever find ourselves in situations where we as a goup are all struggling with misunderstanding or disbelief?  What can we do to spur one another on to belief and understanding instead.

3. Read Mark 8:22-26.  In these verses we saw Jesus healing a blind man by continually putting His hands upon the man and progressively healing him in stages.  We noted that Jesus would do the same for the disciples in a spiritual sense and can do the same for us.  He can open our eyes to see Him and understand Him more clearly.  But it means that we have to continually draw close to Him and allow Him to continually speak into and touch our lives. It's the practice of abiding in Him rather than just occassionally encountering Him.  Why is abiding in Christ difficult?  Why is the practice of occassionally encountering Jesus so appealling?  How do we go about our jobs, marriages, families, hobbies, etc. if we believe that occassionally encountering Jesus is all we need to do as a follower of Christ?  How do we go about those those things if we are in the practice of continually abiding in Christ?  Is there any area of our lives right now that needs the grace of Jesus to help bring about change so that we do a better job of abiding in Him?

4. What step of faith does this passage of Scripture require us to take as individuals and as a small group?  How do we work this out on mission?