At this time I invite you to turn with me to your Bibles, to the gospel of Mark. Continuing where we ended last time and we are at Mark chapter 8. Where we will read and consider verses 1 through 21. And there was a little bit of a I don't know what you would call it, a goof with the printing of the outlines. You'll notice that the last point on the PM side of things, that third point there is actually the third point for the AM service here. So, just make that note that those got a little bit mixed up. We hear Mark chapter eight, beginning at verse one. Hear the word of our God. In those days, the multitude being very great and having nothing to eat, Jesus called his disciples to him and said to them, I have compassion on the multitude because they have now continued with me three days and have nothing to eat. And if I send them away hungry to their own houses, they will faint on the way, for some of them have come from afar. Then his disciples answered him, how can one satisfy these people with bread here in the wilderness? He asked them, how many loaves do you have? And they said, seven. So he commanded the multitude to sit down on the ground. And he took the seven loaves and gave thanks, broke them and gave them to his disciples to set before them. And they set them before the multitude. They also had a few small fish. And having blessed them, he said to set them also before them. So they ate and were filled. And they took up seven large baskets of leftover fragments. Now those who had eaten were about 4,000, and he sent them away. Immediately he got into the boat with his disciples and came to the region of Dalmanutha. Then the Pharisees came out and began to dispute with him, seeking from him a sign from heaven, testing him. But he sighed deeply in his spirit and said, why does this generation seek a sign? Assuredly, I say to you, no sign shall be given to this generation. And he left them. And getting onto the boat again, departed to the other side. Now the disciples had forgotten to take bread, and they did not have more than one loaf with them in the boat. Then he charged them, saying, take heed, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod. And they reasoned among themselves, saying, it is because we have no bread. But Jesus, being aware of it, said to them, why do you reason because you have no bread? Do you not yet perceive nor understand? Is your heart still 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 5,000, how many baskets full of fragments did you take up? And they said to him, 12. Also, when I broke the seven for the 4,000, how many large baskets full of fragments did you take up? And they said, seven. So he said to them, how is it you do not understand? So far our reading of God's holy, inspired, authoritative word. May he add his blessing to the preaching thereof. Well, Congregation of the Lord Jesus Christ, it's been a while since we've come to the gospel of Mark, and it is good from time to time to consider where it is we are in this gospel. And chapter eight of Mark has been called by some as kind of a continental divide of this gospel account. The continental divide is an invisible line that, at least in North and South America, runs the length of North and South America. And it serves as the boundary where the watershed or the river systems of the continent are separated into two directions. Water falls on the mountain and collects and goes to the Pacific Ocean, or it goes to the Atlantic Ocean. That's the divide, and so chapter eight of Mark is kind of like that, and it's not only because chapter eight serves as the midpoint of the gospel, so here we are, standing right at the very top there of that divide, looking at it, but we see also that it divides the gospel up into two major streams. Both with a different kind of character, or mood, or theme, or emphasis. There are certain differences, notable differences, between the first half of Mark and the second half of Mark. For example, the first half Noted that Jesus' ministry and everything seemed to surround and be limited to the Sea of Galilee and the regions surrounding that. There he is on the Gentile side and then crosses the sea again over to the Jewish side and a couple of times he does that. But then in the second half, we see that in the words of Isaiah, He has his face set like a flint. He's resolved, determined, unmovable. He has his face set like a flint to Jerusalem. There to fulfill his work as the Messiah, as the Christ. So in our verses here, What we see then is Jesus beginning to move in that direction, to the very heart of the nation of Israel, the covenant people of God. And all along the way, accompanying him in this are the 12 disciples. They've been with Jesus and they've seen all of the things that he has done and have experienced so much there. And all of that in the first half of the Gospel of Mark was to show them and help them understand, and us by extension, who Jesus is. He's the Messiah. We see that kind of come to a conclusion as the second or the first half closes with Peter's confession. Later on in this chapter. But they need to get that. It took them a while. Even after seeing all the magnificent things. They need to understand that because in the second half, Jesus has his face set like a flint to Jerusalem, and not just the city itself, but he has his gaze fixed upon a specific part of Jerusalem. And really, it's just outside the walls. He has his sights set on Calvary. on the cross, if they do not yet understand the basic facts of Jesus as the Messiah, what the Messiah has come to do, for whom he will do it, then they'll fail to understand how he accomplishes it. They'll fail to understand the fact of a suffering Messiah. And as they accompany him, face similar opposition against him. And that's what's behind that second question that we read in verse 17, which serves as our title. Do you not yet understand? That's the thing that we will unfold this morning, Lord willing, in three points. The first being the miracle that is repeated. Second, the sign demanded. And third, the disciples admonished. So first we consider then this miracle that is being repeated and here we find a familiar scene, a scenario, and if I may say this, and I do say it reverently, the disciples at this point should be feeling a little bit of deja vu because they've been here before, a couple of chapters back, where Jesus had done a nearly identical miracle, where instead of 4,000, he fed 5,000. And that was 5,000 men at that instance. So it was not counting the women and the children, probably many, many more. And that was done through just a few loaves of bread and some fish. And when coming to this text, many people like to focus on the differences between the two miracles, and there are many that can be noted here. And this is done in part to the noble and the worthy efforts to counter many of the liberal scholars who look at this and say, ah, well, some scribe lost his place in copying the text and accidentally just repeated that last miracle and rewrote it and, well, it just kind of stuck. And so many people focus on those differences. perhaps to draw out other truths and applications from that, but also to show that this is indeed a separate, a second, distinct miracle. And of course there are those obvious differences, the size of the crowd for one, and the amount of food, people being there with Jesus for three days instead of one, but for our purposes this morning, We shouldn't overlook these similarities either. It is absolutely striking how this second distinct miracle mirrors so much of Jesus' first miracle where he fed the 5,000. The fact that it's bread, the fact that it's fish, the fact that there's the blessing, the seeding of the people. The fact that there were leftovers and an abundance of leftovers. And we need to remember that nothing in the word of God is put there just willy-nilly. just to fill up some space to make it look like we've got a bigger book. All these things are put here intentionally by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit for our benefit, for our profit. There's purpose here for us. And so we must ask the question, why is it that Jesus performed this miracle, this second one that is in so many ways a lot like the first one? Well, one reason is because the disciples, and therefore by extension us, we have a lot to learn. How do we go about learning? Especially for those that are young. For those that are coming to maybe something new to them. Well, Jesus knows as that saying goes, repetition is the mother of all learning. And that's what he's doing here. That's how you memorize your Bible verses for catechism or for Sunday school. You got to say it over and over and over again. And then you do it again the next day. And then the next day after that, it's maybe a bit tedious. Don't really like it, but it is one of the most effective ways of making sure that something is secured within your mind and within the understanding and within the long-term memory of our understanding. And there are some fundamental things about Jesus that must be embedded within the understanding. of those that would follow Christ, of those that would believe on Him. This spreads out into so many areas of our lives and especially with the life of faith as we seek to follow and learn from Him. And the fact of the matter is, is that we as fallen individuals, as sinners, still struggle daily with weaknesses and infirmities. We need to be reminded Again and again of the same things, and even reminded of basic things, obvious things. It's one of the reasons why we read the Ten Commandments every morning service, and recite the Apostles' Creed in the evening. There are other reasons, but that's one of them. This is what Jesus is doing in repeating this miracle. He's embedding within there and therefore our understanding some of the basic things of who he is, what he's doing. He's declaring once again before they set off to Jerusalem and face great adversaries and temptation. It's even more desolate a wasteland than this wilderness they are sitting in, spiritually speaking. They need to be reminded that he himself is the one that sustains and upholds their life because he is the bread from heaven. He gives true spiritual life and sustains it. We need to be reminded to turn our eyes unto Christ as we ourselves sojourn in this wilderness of this fallen world. Reminds them of how dependent that we are upon him and upon his sustaining and his sustenance. We need to be reminded of the fact that the nourishment for our souls proceeds from him and his almighty power. And above all, it's a reminder of his heart, of his character, Why it is he feeds it all. The foundational reason stated in verse two, I have compassion. Compassion on the multitude. It's the same word that was used back in chapter six. This time it is now coming from Jesus' own mouth. It is then to remind us of what that compassion is. It's to be moved from very deep within the heart with pity, with mercy, with kindness upon those who are in need, regardless of their deserving. They're deserving being in their own misery. That's grace. And that's something that we need to be reminded of often, isn't it? Christ is compassionate and merciful toward his people. We need to be reminded of those things of Christ because we know the more negative things that garner a different kind of reminder, kind of reminder that we will see a little bit later in this passage. We're very familiar with our own shortfalls, things that happen again and again and again. So we are in need of reminders again and again and again. And it is important to note that this is occurring in a Gentile region, where the first happened in a Jewish region. And so by repeating this miracle to the Gentiles, to the unclean, to the sinners, the outcasts, the rejects, Jesus is showing once again and even more just that the breadth and the depth and the width and the height and the length of his compassion upon sinners. It's a good thing to be reminded of his compassion because he's about to exchange some hard words, give some hard lessons. So before we think that Jesus is too sharp here, either in this text or even with the chastisements perhaps that we face in life, What we must have above it all and through it all is this basic fundamental fact that he has compassion. And does everything for his people out of that compassion. Even if it's difficult to bear. It's good to bear in mind because we see then in the interaction with the Pharisees that Well, there's a bit more of a warning involved as they come to him and demand a sign. That brings us to our second point, the sign demanded. The sign demanded. And so we read of Jesus after feeding these 4,000, he departs and as soon as he lands, there come this posse of Pharisees who have come to ask certain questions, but the way that the text puts it, and it's a lot more forcible than the original, but it's clear that they are not coming to just have a discussion. They're not coming to have a simple debate with him. They're coming to harass, to corner, to harangue him. They're coming as a kind of force that is hostile and antagonistic to Jesus. to come to test him. Now think of when the last time we heard, or I should say the first time we heard this word in the gospel of Mark. The testing. It's not like an examination that you would get in school. This testing is sometimes thought of as tempting. It is an examination of sorts, not to see what it's all about, but it is an attempt to discredit. It is the same kind of thing that the devil did to Jesus while he was in the wilderness. And so we see that they come as those who are essentially in league with the devil himself, coming to test him. And so they come asking for a sign. This is not a sincere question. They're seeking to trap him. Because if you think about it, how many signs do they need? There's just one more. But Jesus had been going through this region for a while now with a train of miracles in his wake. He has been healing the deaf. He's been raising the dead. He's healed leopards. He's cast out demons. He's done this. He's done that. There should be plenty of evidence, so to speak, before them. But we need to remember that the Pharisees were convinced that these works that Jesus had done, Jesus did them by the power of Satan. Remember back in Mark where they said it is by Beelzebub that he does these things and casts these demons out and Jesus rebukes them by saying to the effect that A house divided against itself cannot stand. Satan cannot be against Satan. They're not seeking for a genuine question or answer. They're not sincere inquirers. They're not coming in humility. What they wanted was real divine authentication of Jesus as a prophet that was sent by God. What they want is the heavens to open up. They say, give us a sign from heaven. And they think that it will settle the matter once for all if you could just prove to us The answer that Jesus gives begins with a deep sigh. On the one hand, this can be a measure of grief, this deep sigh, whereas he sees them hardening their hearts and being hardened, and so stubbornly in their unbelief, It is grievous to see that. His word could also mean more of a sigh of exasperation. Where, humanly speaking, that is, where you're brought to your absolute limit. And for Jesus, he never goes past that. But it is, you're up to the brim, you've had it. And so that serves as a bit of a warning. Because it is an indication that there is an appointed limit to the patience and the forbearance of Christ with the hard-hearted unbelief that is out there in the world, that is out there by nature, within the heart of every single person, unless the grace of God comes and does a mighty work Yes, we confess that our Lord is long-suffering and patient and kind, but we need to reckon with the facts of Scripture that are laid out before us time and time again. There is a limit to his patience. Not because he is limited, but because he has a day appointed. where there is a day of reckoning, where he will not simply depart from their unbelief and their hardness of heart, but he will meet it with justice, with vengeance, with judgment. Let us not presume upon the mercy, upon the longsuffering, upon the patience of God. Let us not say that we will do something, we'll, as people say, get right with God tomorrow. Oh, but next week. He may exercise in his sovereignty and his good pleasure and plan. It may give you a year, two years, decade, and then another, and then another. But it is appointed for man once to die after this, the judgment. And here with this word, Jesus sighing deeply, it indicates that there is a kind of limit. A limit to the hardness of heart. A grief indeed of the ruin that they bring upon their own soul by their unbelief. So we think then of ourselves in this kind of circumstance. Where is there in our lives and in our hearts where there is still calluses of hardness of heart? Things in our lives where we want to stop our ears from the things of the word of God or block our eyes so we don't see. That needs repentance because the life of a disciple is, as we will read later on in chapter 8, one whereby we must take up our cross and deny ourselves totally, wholly. We see that this is not a sincere question of investigation or genuine inquiry here, but because the demand for a sign is seeking to gain by empirical means, by physical evidence, by something you can see, touch, feel, taste. What can only be received through faith and trust by the Holy Spirit. And a faith that depends upon something that can satisfy our own questions and our own minds and the things that we have set up for ourselves is not faith. It's just doubt. There are signs that God has given. We had sung before this, Psalm 19, the heavens themselves declare the glory of God. They are as though they speak and utter things to us regarding his majesty. But suppose that even if those things could be laid before us, I would then ask you to turn to Luke chapter 16. Turn to Luke chapter 16 with me. Be found on page 926. We'll read verse 31, but to give you the summary here, it is a parable of the rich man and Lazarus where there is a conversation where a man who is in Hades begs to be sent back to warn his family and says, we'll begin verse 30. Nevermind, we will begin. Verse 25. But Abraham said, son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things and likewise Lazarus evil things, but now he is comforted and you are tormented. Besides all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed so that those who want to pass from here to you cannot, nor can those from there pass to us. Then he said, I beg you therefore, Father, that you would send him to my father's house, for I have five brothers, that he may testify to them, lest they also come to this place of torment. Abraham said to him, they have Moses and the prophets. Let them hear them. And he said, no, Father Abraham, but if one goes to them from the dead, they will repent. But he said to him, they do not hear Moses and the prophets. Neither will they be persuaded, though one rise from the dead. In light of that, would the Pharisees be persuaded if they got the sign that they demanded? They would not. They would not. And so as we move on to our third point, we consider then why it is that Jesus asks this question that serves as our title. Do you still not yet understand? The issue that is at stake here is that there needs to be something more than just evidence, something more than just an experience of our outward lives. There needs to be more than just the mind knowing certain facts. Did the disciples forget the previous miracle? Did they already forget by the time they got onto the boat of the feeding of the 4,000? Clear by the answer that they give to Jesus when he asks how many loaves were left over or baskets left over that they remembered very well. The facts of the things were in their mind. And yet their vision was still very dull and dark. Their hearing muffled. They did not yet fully know and fully understand. But we need to realize that these disciples, they are indeed believers. So we know for sure, especially as we read on through the New Testament, as Peter is then an apostle, so is John and many of the others. But there's certain growth that happens. A certain growth that comes And that growth comes little by little, which means that there's still this hardness. There's still this lack of understanding that remains within each one of us. Even though we do have, by the grace of God, the Spirit dwelling within us in our hearts, giving to us the mind of Christ, giving to us the word which we can read, which we can perceive, but things that yet we do not fully understand. And so we are in need of, yes, constant reminders. And at times, these sharp rebukes. We need to beware, then, of the leaven that Jesus warns of, which Matthew describes as the doctrine of the Pharisees, and of Herod, which would be of things of this world, the allures that come by things that appear right and religious and good, but are not. The things that appear good and delightful and pleasurable to the flesh, but lead to our ruin. We go after them because of our remaining ignorance and our lack of understanding in these things. We need to beware on our guard, holding fast to the word of life, to the bread of life as we continue on in this life's journey. because it is a journey whereby we bear our cross. It is a journey where it is desolate and we need the bread of life to sustain us. And so we read and are fed by the word of God. It is a lamp unto our feet. And in the word of God, not one speck of yeast, of leaven, must enter into it, not one bit of falsehood. As Paul says in Galatians 6, a little leaven leavens the whole lump. So Jesus gives very stern, strong admonition to the disciples and to us by warning them a couple of times And with these questions, and to prod them on, to think, to understand, to dig, to mine, to pay attention. And it may appear by these seven questions that come one after another that Jesus is berating them. But he's trying to get them to think. He's trying to spur them and encourage them in these things. And we note that Jesus did not sigh deeply within himself. Though there was some of the leaven of unbelief within the disciples, a similar opposition that he had faced with the Pharisees, It is with his people, with his disciples, with those he has called to himself, that he bears patiently and eternally, because he's on his way to the cross to shed his blood for our sin, for our unrighteousness, that we may have the spirit and we may have understanding And we may have the assurance that with his people, he is compassionate. And he will never cease to be compassionate. Even as we journey through hard things and endure hard things. Jesus is the bread of life. And he will nourish and sustain us, guide us, direct us, teach us, remind us, all our days, until he brings us safely home. Amen. Let us pray. Gracious God and Father, we thank you for the wonderful truths here, as we thank you often. We do ask that the things that are mentioned here would be applied mightily by your spirit to grant understanding to us. And we may acknowledge that we do not yet understand fully as it is through a glass darkly but then we shall see face to face, and in that measure we will understand. And so, Lord, we do pray that you would come quickly, and in the meantime, may you give to us a strength, take heed to the leaven, to the false doctrine, to that which may be so subtly within us already, and that which continually bombards us in this world, which has brought more ruin upon your church than even the violent persecution that has been waged by the world. So we ask that you would preserve us, you uphold us, sustain us and feed us by your word, by your sacrifice. In Jesus' name we pray, amen.