The Life of Christ in the Synoptic Gospels
THE SIGN AND THE LEAVEN
The Life of Christ in the Synoptic Gospels
THE SIGN AND THE LEAVEN
Lesson Plan:
1. Signs (vs 11-13)
2. The Leaven of the Pharisees (vs 14-21)
3. Gradual Progress Toward the Light (vs 22-26)
Lesson Setting:
Time: Soon after the last lesson; summer of A.D. 29
Place: In the region of Dalmanutha, on the west coast of the Sea of Galilee.
Research Thoughts: The Pharisees’ expectation of the work of the Messiah. Jesus’ ideals of the Messiah’s work and success. How only could the real Messianic times come? (Matt. 6:33) What kind of signs did the Pharisees want Jesus to give? What signs had He been giving? What was the leaven of the Pharisees? How did the giving sight to the blind man show what all needed?
Scripture Reading: Mark 8:11-13
1. Signs
At Dalmautha where our last lesson left Jesus and His disciples "the Pharisees came forth, and began to question with him" (v 11). In order to understand this temptation and the action of Jesus, the purpose of the Pharisees, and the warning Jesus gave to the disciples, it is necessary to have clearly before us the attitude of both the Pharisees and of Jesus as to the expected Messiah and what He would do.
The Prophetic Vision and Promise: Let us look first at the Vision and Promise which always lay spread out before the Jewish nation at this time, and which they expected the Messiah to make real. Read these glimpses of that glorious vision – I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion (Dan. 7:13). For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given, and the government shall be upon his shoulder; and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace (Is. 9:6). Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice, from henceforth even for ever (Is. 9:7). For from the rising of the sun even unto the going down of the same my name shall be great among the Gentiles (Mal. 1:11). The God of heaven shall set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever (Dan. 2:44). For the nation and kingdom that will not serve thee shall perish; yea, those nations shall be utterly wasted (Is. 60:12). He hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord (Is. 61:1). Thou shalt no more be termed Forsaken: neither shall thy land any more be termed Desolate; but thou shalt be called Hepzi-bah, and thy land Beulah: for the Lord delighteth in thee (Is. 62:4). And the Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising (Is. 60:3). These are promises which Jesus came to fulfill; and promises which the Jews were expecting to be fulfilled by the Messiah when He came. Both had the same goal. What then was the difference? The Pharisees’ Way: Misery from and by Oppression; A Worldly and Material Kingdom + Some Degree of Righteousness = The Kingdom of Heaven. Christ’s Way: Misery from and by Oppression; Righteousness, New Hearts, Heavenly Life + The Best Material Blessings = The Kingdom of Heaven. The Pharisees were looking for a great earthly King and Conqueror, more magnificent than Solomon in all his glory, with vast wealth, and invincible armies, breaking in pieces Rome and all its kingdoms, and making Jerusalem the capital of the world. They were questioning whether Jesus who could heal the wounded, feed multitudes, calm storms, raise the dead, could be this conqueror and redeemer of the nation, and they asked of...
v 11 ... "Him a sign from heaven" that would prove Him to be this kind of a King and Conqueror. They saw no other way of the fulfillment of God’s promises, for they had shut their eyes and were blind to a large part of them. It was really a repetition of Satan’s temptation at the beginning of His ministry. Hence it is said that the Pharisees were "tempting him." It was a real and powerful temptation to Jesus now as then. What do you think tempted Jesus? Do you think Jesus again saw "all the kingdoms of the world and the glory of them?" Perhaps splendid courts and cities like Rome? Do you think He might have seen and been tempted by the kingdom of literature, art, and culture in Greece? Could He have been tempted by the "barbaric pearls and gold" of the Orient? Perhaps He saw a vision of the future, with its glorious civilizations; its redeemed peoples, fulfilling all that the prophets foretold? Or perhaps He saw what John in Patmos saw of the new heaven and the new earth? Milton, in his Paradise Regained, pictures ‘our Lord as lost in meditation upon the means by which his kingdom can be founded and built up.’ It was simply to give up His present method that seemed almost a failure! But to yield would have been the utter ruin of His cause and work. For there is only one way to fulfill the great and precious promises, and redeem the world into the kingdom of heaven, and that is by renewing the hearts and characters of men first, then all these other things can be, and will be, added. What is the significance of the names? Surely it is this: Moses signifies emancipation from social bondage; the Lamb stands for deliverance from sin. Moses delivers from the wrong which man may suffer from his brother. The Lamb delivers from the wrong which man may suffer from himself. Moses delivers from the Pharaoh outside man. The Lamb delivers from the devil within man. Moses delivers from the gall of oppression and pain. The Lamb delivers from the gall of guilt and sin. "But when the Song of Moses has been sung, what then? Lead your exodus out of Egypt. When you have lifted the tyranny, what about those who have been set free? When you have given the seaman the protection of the load-line he may still reel about the port. When you have lifted the tyranny from the factory operative he may delight to be a beast. "The fact of the matter is, when we have lifted a man out of Egypt we may yet leave him in hell. And let it be remembered that a man may remain in the bondage of Egypt and yet be in heaven. "A man may be redeemed from Egypt and may become a more ignoble slave. The shackles may have been struck from his limbs but they are still on his soul. One tyrant is gone, but the greater tyrant remains. What, then, do we need? "We need another and a mightier exodus; we need another; a mightier Moses. The one can work the wonders of the Red Sea and smite and cleave the intercepting flood; we need one who can command and subdue the waters of passion and make its turbid waters clear and clean as the crystal sea. And so to the ‘Song of Moses’ it is imperative that we add the ‘Song of the Lamb.’ We shall find at Calvary what can never be found at the Red Sea." For thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation; and hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth. And there were great voices in heaven, saying, The Kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever. The Sign Refused: The Sadducees (Matt.), the worldly unbelievers, united with the Pharisees, who were religious in their way, in demanding of Jesus ...
v 11 ... "a sign from heaven," as a proof that He had divine authority and that He had the power promised to the Messiah. Some marvel, like the manna, or the crossing of the Red Sea, by Moses; or the sun standing still, by Joshua; or fire from heaven, by Elijah on Carmel; or the shekinah light in the tabernacle and temple, or the pillar of cloud and fire; or the leaping in safety from the pinnacle of the Temple as suggested by Satan. If Jesus refused, they would see nothing in Him proving Him to be their expected Messiah. If Jesus yielded, He would fail as God’s Messiah.
v 12 ... "And he sighed deeply in his spirit," distressed at the blindness of these people, and their obstinate attitude of opposition to all that was best for themselves and their nation, as when He wept over Jerusalem, a few months later. It is quite possible that Jesus also sighed over the perplexity of the problem and the seeming impossibility of the accomplishment of the work in the divine way.
v 12 ... "There shall no sign be given unto this generation." No sign of the kind this generation desired, no mere wonder for its own sake simply as a sign. It does not mean that he wrought no signs of any kind, for His miracles were signs, but in no case such signs as they desired, for the sake of the sign and wonder. His miracles were wrought because they were needed and they thus became signs of His love, His character, His authority from His Father. "There was an absolute refusal of signs in their sense" (Expositors Greek Testament). In Matthew, Jesus refers them to certain signs which were always before them. (a) The signs of the times (Matt. 16:2, 3). They indeed studied the signs of the weather, but they refused to discern the signs of the times on every hand. The spiritual sky was full of signs. John the Baptist was a sign. Jesus speaking the words of God and doing the works of God was a sign of the dawn of bright and beautiful day. On the other hand, there were very different signs of the times, signs of the approaching storm which swept the nation away as with a whirlwind, signs in their own character and conduct, signs in the sins and crimes which in Deuteronomy were threatened with direst punishment. (b) The sign of the Prophet Jonah (Matt. 16:4). He warned the Ninevites, who could be saved only by repentance. There was no other way then or now. Read your own history and you will find it full of signs.
v 13 ... "And he left them," going in a boat northward to Bethsaida, and thence continuing His journey northward to the Mount of Transfiguration.
Scripture Reading: Mark 8:14-21
2. The Leaven of the Pharisees
During the voyage: How Jesus Impressed a Great Truth – "The disciples had forgotten to take bread" (v 14), in their anxiety and interest in the attack of the Pharisees against Jesus. As the voyage proceeded and the excitement quieted down, they began to feel hungry, and look around for something to eat, when they discovered that they had in the boat "no more than one loaf," one of the round flat loaves they were accustomed to carry, "three of which were not too much for a meal for one person." Jesus of course noticed their search and disappointment, and took occasion to call their attention to something of infinitely greater importance.
The Leaven of the Pharisees: "Take heed, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees" (v 15). Leaven is the type of an active, pervasive influence, whether for good or bad. "Leaven was a mystery to the Jews. It worked out of sight; it ate its way in the dark; it never ceased till it made a full end. A dull, unlikely something was hid in a measure of meal, and it proved itself there a secret, silent force that first impregnated and then changed the whole" (Armstrong Black, The Expositor). Something had been working in the Pharisees that had ruined their character, that had eaten out the best in their soul, till they had become opposed to the best man, the best principles, the very life of heaven which, only, could save the nation. What was it? The leaven of the Pharisees originates and begins to work in a high supercilious religiousness and strikes down until righteousness becomes self-righteousness, and morality becomes spiritual pride, and all the finer virtues of the character become hard and insensate, and spiritual life itself is strangled in a network of form and ceremony (Armstrong Black). It was the spirit of hypocrisy, and formalism. Once admitted to the heart or into society, this principle spreads until it renders spiritual service to God impossible.
The Leaven of Herod: This was Herod Antipas, murderer of John the Baptist. The leaven of Herod is the taint and fester of the lower nature spreading and prevailing, till even a man’s higher and diviner nature is involved, and his soul invaded by the power of the flesh, making him insensible to God and spiritually dead while living. He had to put down either his sin or his savior; and, as he preferred his sin, he shut John up in prison. He was fool enough to hear and heed the dreadful suggestion: "Kill thy physician and the fee bestow Upon the foul disease!" It was at first only a spot, a speck, i.e., the heinous freckle of the flesh; but it grew from less to more, from little to much. From a small beginning it spread all through his nature, permeating even his soul and entirely prevailing over the good. Sin had eaten the god out of him, and yes, the man, too. Even though Herod lived, his soul was dead.
v 16 ... "It is because we have no bread." At first they misunderstood what Jesus meant.
v 17 ... "Why reason ye, because ye have no bread?" How can you be troubled about bread when within six weeks you have seen me provide bread for thousands?
v 17 ... "Have ye your heart yet hardened?"
v 20 ... "How is it that ye do not understand?" The real need is of a better life. The real danger is not from hunger, but from the forces and influences around you that are working silently in so many hearts. Put down, crush out, destroy, in yourselves the first signs and workings of these leavens of evil. Note: The stimulating question which leaves the twelve to think out the matter for themselves is characteristic of our Lord’s method of dealing with souls.
Scripture Reading: Mark 8:22-26
3. Gradual Progress Toward the Light
After landing at Bethsaida on the eastern side of the Jordan near its entrance into the lake. It does not require much imagination or knowledge of our own hearts to almost hear the disciples saying to one another: Why didn’t we see? How could we be so blind! Then came an opportunity for Jesus to encourage them by the acted parable of the way a blind man was enabled to see gradually till the perfect sight came, illustrative of the darker blindness of the soul and its gradual removal to perfect vision.
v 22 ... "They bring a blind man unto him," apparently from the neighboring region.
v 22 ... "Besought him to touch him" as a means of cure. Jesus did more, He took him "by the hand, and led him out of the town" away from all hindering influences that he might concentrate his thoughts upon his cure and the Healer. Jesus without doubt talked with the man on this walk, and opened the eyes of his soul to higher things. The Method of Cure: The blind man needed signs that he could understand. Jesus gave him two to aid his faith. He put ...
v 23 ... "spit on his eyes," and "put his hands upon him." After a moment Jesus asks him "Seest thou aught?" (R.V. more vivid than the Authorized). He began to see. Sight had come, but imperfectly.
v 24 ... "I see men as trees, walking." ‘I see men; I know they are men for they are moving about; but they are blurred like trees, indistinct.’ No doubt the disciples, perhaps others were moving around.
v 25 ... "He put his hands again upon his eyes." Now look up. Then he "saw every man clearly." Applications: (a) Jesus is the light of the world. He saw the truth just as it was. And it is this clear vision of truth with every taint of error eliminated which He would give to us, i.e., Himself, His teachings, His life, our duties; all exactly as they are in reality. (b) But the revelation comes to us gradually. These things, like the men the blind man saw, are before us exactly as they are, but we at first see them as trees. We know they are men for they move, but we do not see them as they are. And the source of most of our errors lies in the fact that we argue and reason from our imperfect vision, from the blurs like trees, as if we saw the truth as it is. The truth is there, but the various theories, inferences, and emphases of men have made it seem what it is not, and obscured the truth itself. Paradox of our time in history: We have taller buildings, but shorter tempers; Wider freeways, but narrower view points; We spend more, but enjoy it less. We have bigger houses and smaller families; More convenience, but less time; We have more degrees, but less sense; More experts, but more problems; More medicine, but less wellness. We have multiplied possessions, but reduced values. We talk too much, love too seldom, and hate too often. We’ve learned how to make a living, but not a life. We’ve been all the way to the moon and back, but have trouble crossing the street to meet a new neighbor; We’ve split the atom, but not our prejudice; These are the times of tall men, and short character; Steep profits, and shallow relationships; There is much in the show window and little in the stockroom; Technology can touch the world, and we can choose to make a difference, Or just hit delete! (c) But the comfort and hope lie in the fact that Jesus is still touching our eyes, so that we are seeing spiritual things more and more clearly. Meditating on our Savior’s life, death, and resurrection, we are seeing Jesus Himself more nearly as He is. His teachings stand out more truly as He Himself meant them to be. By degrees the mists of prevailing opinions and philosophies, the distortions of prejudice, worldliness, self-interest, creeds, inwrought customs, are being removed. Yes, the process is slow, but if you truly seek Jesus Christ as He is revealed in Holy Scripture, then it is going on. The Upward Slant: "Yes," said a Christian teacher, "I have immense hopes in our preacher." "How could you?" urged a friend. "His sermons seem so materialistic, self-centered, self-motivated, and, frankly, it appears to me that his spirituality is questionable." "Yes, it does look that way," admitted the Christian, "but I pray he will soon begin to show the infallible sign of advancement." "Sign of Advancement?" "Yes, I’m praying that he will become discontented not with his condition; but with his character."
