Mark 8:16-20
Mark 8:16 (KJB)
And they reasoned among themselves, saying, It is because we have no bread.
The disciples then reasoned among themselves concerning what Jesus had just
said. It was obvious that they did not understand what Jesus had meant. Jesus
was looking at the spiritual bread which was the Gospel and the disciples were
looking at the physical bread. They probably thought that once they reached the
shore, they would look for a place to buy bread.
Mark 8:17 (KJB)
And when Jesus knew it, he saith unto them, Why reason ye, because ye have no
bread? perceive ye not yet, neither understand? have ye your heart yet hardened?
Then Jesus was listening to them and placed them all in the same boat as Peter
when he sank while walking on the water, as men of little faith. They reasoned
among themselves instead of asking Jesus what He meant by the statement. Many of
our misunderstandings can be solved by going to the Scriptures. They seemed to
have forgotten that they just recently witnessed two major feedings of thousands
of people. It was only a short while ago that Jesus fed the multitudes with the
loaves and fishes. Did they still not understand the principle they partook of?
Was their understanding still very dull? Was it due to the fact that their
hearts were hardened and incapable of understanding spiritual things, especially
when it was done right in front of them? The fact that they forgot physical
bread should not have even been an issue since Jesus could take even one left
over and feed them in the same way. They had focused on the physical and when a
Christian does the same, their faith level plummets and that is why they would
then be of little faith. Jesus had referred to the Pharisees and Sadducees as
evil and adulterous. That should have been the hint as to what Jesus was
speaking about.
Mark 8:18 (KJB)
Having eyes, see ye not? and having ears, hear ye not? and do ye not remember?
(Jer 5:21 KJV) Hear now this, O foolish people, and without understanding;
which have eyes, and see not; which have ears, and hear not: Jesus uses a
phrase from Jeremiah to describe the apparent spiritual blindness of the
disciples. They were eye witnesses to the miraculous feedings of the two large
multitudes and even partakers of them with Jesus and it seemed yet they could
not understand what took place, even though it happened in plain sight. It seems
the disciples were as hardened as the crowds they ministered to. It seems like
they have just blotted out the memory of these two events, suffering from
spiritual amnesia. Many times in the Bible someone is asked to remember the
great works of the Lord as a catapult for future service. (Exo 13:3 KJV) And
Moses said unto the people, Remember this day, in which ye came out from Egypt,
out of the house of bondage; for by strength of hand the LORD brought you out
from this place: there shall no leavened bread be eaten. (Luke 24:6 KJV) He is
not here, but is risen: remember how he spake unto you when he was yet in
Galilee,
Mark 8:19 (KJB)
When I brake the five loaves among five thousand, how many baskets full of
fragments took ye up? They say unto him, Twelve.
Then Jesus begins His response by causing them to remember the two feedings
which just took place. He refers to these two feedings to help with their
understanding and specific knowledge. When a person responds to a specific
event, it is responded to according to their faith. For example, two cars crash
and both drivers escape injury. One states that God saved them from death and
the other states they were lucky. One has faith in God and the other has a
random faith in something which does not exist. Jesus was trying to narrow the
faith of the disciples by bringing up the two miracles which they partook of.
They were unable to make a connection between the spiritual lessons of the two
feeding miracles and the leaven of the Pharisees and how different having faith
and not having true faith is. Unfortunately, it seems the disciples did not
learn any spiritual lessons from the two miracles. They did not understand that
since Jesus was able to take care of the 5,000 plus, He could take care of His
disciples.
Mark 8:20 (KJB)
And when the seven among four thousand, how many baskets full of fragments took
ye up? And they said, Seven.
Then Jesus refers to the second miracle concerning the four thousand the seven
big baskets of leftovers. He wanted them to cogitate on both specific miracles
so they would see the spiritual picture that Jesus will take care of them. The
Pharisees and Sadducees concerned themselves with hoarding all the world’s goods
they could because their trust was in material things, especially money. Jesus
wanted His disciples to know that He could take care of them much better than if
they had all the gold in the world. Material possessions are a deception because
they look like they can sustain a person when in reality they could be valuable
one day and valueless the next, or someone could steal the possessions but no
one can steal the relationship between Christ and His children.