"Let's say another word of prayer together. 'Lord, thank you
once more for this meal we can have together. No doubt if we are
open in faith to hearing you, we will be fed, we'll walk away
satisfied. So I ask, God, that you give us the faith so your Spirit
would just be upon us this morning. And I pray this in Jesus name,
Amen.'
Let's begin in verse 1, Mark chapter 8. "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 houses, they will faint on the way, for some of them have
come from afar.' And 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 set them also before them. So they ate and were filled
and they took up seven large baskets of left-over fragments. Now
those who had eaten were about 4,000, and they sent them away.
Immediately he got into the boat with his disciples and came to
the region of Dalmanutha (Mark 8:1-10). Sound like you
read that before? Maybe sound familiar to you? We were in a text
very similar just a couple weeks ago. You know, I remember the
first time I read about the two different feedings, it was a struggle
for me. I was, 'What's up with that?' Two different feedings,
sounds kind of questionable to me, you know. Did somebody, maybe
a scribe, recopy the same event twice? Just change some of the
detail or just get confused. It just sounds very odd to me. And
I began to question, this is a number of years ago, and I began
to study, and every time I've come to a point in my life where
I begin to question the Bible, the Word of God, I always find
as I begin to seek through, find some answers, God just increases
my faith--faith that this is the Word of God and that it's accurate,
it's authoritative. There are some critics that will use this
text, and many other texts to just bring questions to the Word
of God. But as you compare the feeding of the five thousand with
the feeding of the four thousand, the five thousand we've studied
before in Mark just a couple chapters ago--you're gonna see a
lot of different details as you begin to lay them side by side.
Obviously, there's a different number of people, there are different
numbers of fish and loaves, a different number of baskets that
are collected at the end, even a different type of basket--if
you look at the Greek. In the first feeding there were small baskets,
and in this feeding they were large baskets, probably due to the
fact they were in different regions, one feeding is on the west
side of the Sea of Galilee, the other on the east side. The number
of days that the crowd is with Jesus is different. In the first
feeding they're with Jesus about a day, a little less than a day.
And here they're with Jesus three days. That's a long time. Three
days, imagine. The time of the year is probably different because
in the first feeding Jesus has them sit down on green grass. Here
it says they're seated upon the earth, just literally the earth,
the dirt. So it's probably a different time of year. The number
of blessings, Jesus prays once in the first feeding, here he prays
twice, so there's a difference there. But it's very possible too
that the density of the crowd is different, because on the west
side of the Sea of Galilee it's probably mostly Jews that are
before Jesus. On the east side, here, it's a good chance there
are many Gentiles that are before Jesus. So it's a different crowd,
a different make-up of a crowd. It's also possible that, well,
the disciples are the source of the bread and the fish here, to
feed the crowd. Before it was a small boy, if you put all the
accounts together that has the fish and the loaves. But here the
disciples just produce the bread and the fish, so it's possible
that it's their very own bread and fish that they used to feed
the crowd with, this time. It's pretty interesting.
Well some think though that it would be absurd for Jesus to confront
his disciples with this same situation twice, and with the same
question. Basically he asked them the same question. Some say
that's absurd, and some critics would say it's even worse, or
that the disciples would respond in the same manner. But you know,
as I read the Old Testament I don't think it's ridiculous at all,
when I watch the Israelites, that's for sure. And then when I
look at my own life I say it's not absurd when I find that God
has to repeat things over and over with me before I begin to clue-in.
You know, how many times does God have to provide for me or us
before we begin to trust him and believe in him for what he can
and will do. So quickly we do forget the miracles and forget about
his compassion for us. This crowd has been with Jesus three days,
so the crowd is very, very hungry, obviously, if you could imagine.
If you've ever tried fasting for multiple days, the third day
is about the worst when it comes to going without food. And Jesus,
realizing that of course, in his compassion wants to meet their
need and minister to them. And he uses this as an opportunity,
the situation, to teach his disciples once more.
Now Jesus doesn't desire anyone here this morning to leave hungry.
Jesus doesn't desire anyone here to leave unsatisfied. As we study
this account and study the Word of God, God wants all of us to
leave this morning satisfied, because he has what we need to be
satisfied. Jesus has compassion upon you as he sees your need.
He doesn't want you to leave and later faint in despair. He doesn't
want that to take place in your life. You may wonder also, 'I'm
in the wilderness, things are pretty barren around me! How can
I possibly be satisfied?' Or 'How can Jesus possibly satisfy the
many needs of those folks around me?' We're gonna be reminded
today that Jesus truly satisfies, truly satisfies--truly satisfies
the deepest yearning in our heart, if we just allow him to do
that. Paul declared in Colossians chapter three, he says, "When
Christ, who is our life, appears..."--what is Paul saying when
he says that? He says that Christ not only came to give us eternal
life, but also that the life that he now gives us is his very
life. The life that you have today is the very life of Christ.
The life that you can experience today is the very life of Christ.
Bob Hoekstra, in the Calvary Basic book "The Psychologizing of
the Faith", he put it this way, he said "The life that Christ
gives to us, when we believe on him, is his own life." The life
that Jesus shares with us is the life that we are yearning to
live. You know, all of us have desires. We all desire to be satisfied,
and so often we find ourselves looking in other places to be satisfied.
But Bob Hoekstra reminds us that Jesus is our life. He wants to
satisfy you completely. He doesn't want you to be a dissatisfied
person, a discontent person. He wants you to experience contentment.
There is absolutely no doubt that Jesus can satisfy every single
heart, every single need here this morning. He is the answer to
the yearning of every heart.
Paul a few verses later in Colossians chapter 3, verse 11, he
declares "But Christ is all in all." You know, we sing that song, "Our
all in all"? Do we let him be that? But Paul says, "Christ is
all, and in all." [If you want to get technical, through the omnipresence
of the Holy Spirit, Jesus Christ dwells in the midst of every
single atom in the Universe, and holds every single atom together
(Heb. 1:1-3).] Is he your all? Is he your everything? It's God's
purpose that you would be satisfied. It's God's purpose that you
would be content, because he's provided his son, who's ultimately
the only place you're gonna find contentment and satisfaction.
You know that's why Paul can say in Philippeans
"For me, to live is Christ." To live is Christ, man. He's so satisfying.
He just meets my needs. You know, we're just like the disciples,
aren't we though? Rarely trusting, often doubting, often questioning.
But Jesus, as he was with the disciples, is right here this morning.
He's right here with us. He's right here ready to satisfy, ready
to be our everything, ready to meet every need. Why do we look
elsewhere? Why are we in despair, you know, seeing the wilderness
around us. Sometimes you look, you say, 'Oh there's a wilderness.
Man, it's barren, bum deal.'--assuming there's greener grass somewhere
else. But Jesus is our all in all. He wants us to realize that
he is the Bread of Life--that he satisfies our every yearning
and our every desire. The Christian life is a life of contentment.
It's a life of joy, because of who Jesus is, because of what he
desires to do in our life. He says, "I'm the Bread of Life and
I've come to give life"--and that's abundant life. Maybe it's
a little barren in your life, things around you. But it's abundant
life in Christ. And that's where satisfaction is. Jesus is come
to be your everything, to satisfy all your needs. If you are dissatisfied
it's because you haven't understood that basic truth that Jesus
is all and in all. You haven't understood that he can be and should
be your everything, that he is the answer to the yearning in your
heart, and that he is the Bread of Life coming to give life abundantly.
If you're not satisfied, so often we're discontent, Paul says, "For
me, to live is Christ", Christ my life. Allow Jesus to satisfy
you today.
As you read there, at the end of this feeding--you know, Mark
is just a fast-moving gospel, forty-two times he says "immediately"--when
Jesus is done, and immediately, probably because he doesn't want
them to, you know, he's fed them--and he doesn't want them to
use him for some type of personal or selfish motive, so he gets
into the boat and they depart and they go to this region of Dalmanutha.
And there's little known about this region. We can only guess
and speculate where it is. We don't have much historical data
to go by as far as this region of Dalmanutha. But it's evidently
on the west side of the Sea of Galilee.
Let's continue in verse 11. "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.'" A little later we find the Pharisees
once again, they come to Jesus, dispute with him, and just confront
him. They're just bugged by him. And here they're seeking a sign
from him, a heavenly sign, to validate his ministry. For some
reason the miracles that he's performed in the past aren't enough,
you know. I mean, he's raised a paralytic from the ground, you
know. The guy ran out the door, and yet, you know, it wasn't enough
to validate that he's the Christ [Messiah] to them. So they've
come asking for a sign. You know, you remember before, they try
to write off his miracles as 'a demonic thing', you know--got
his power from Satan. So they've come just to say, "Hey, we need
a heavenly sign Jesus, if we're gonna accept your ministry." You
know, I wonder what sign would be enough for these guys? What
sign would be enough to satisfy them. If they can't believe already,
they write off his other miracles as demonic empowered, I would
think that no matter what he did, they're gonna really still question
his ministry, and eventually arrive at the same conclusion. If
he responded to their pressures here, I'm sure it would only temporarily
satisfy them. They would see, maybe, this great fire come from
heaven, you know, and all these angels fly around. And they would
leave and they'd begin to question, 'Well, you know, he could
have done it with a trick, it could have been magic', and go back
and say, 'You know, yeah, we're not satisfied. We need some more
Jesus. Need something else, man.' Are you this morning awaiting
a sign from Jesus also?--in order to determine whether or not
he's the real thing? What sign could possibly satisfy you? What
do you want to see? I mean, even if the heavens opened and you
saw God on his throne and saw the angels and you saw all the throne
room there, would that be enough to satisfy you? Maybe it would
be. Maybe it wouldn't be. But would it be enough for you to chose
to turn away from your ways and follow the ways of God? Would
it have any effect on your heart? Maybe you say, 'Well God, you're
real, and Jesus you're real. But maybe your heart would say, 'I'd
rather go this route anyway.' 'I like what I do, I don't really
like the things that your Word says that I'm supposed to do and
not supposed to do.' Would a miraculous sign change the condition
of your heart? It didn't change Pharaoh's heart. He saw a lot
of miracles. It changed his heart a little bit to let the Israelites
go, but as far as putting his faith in God, not a chance, man.
Not a chance. He saw some great miracles. You know, seeking a
sign, a lot of people are sign-seekers. Seeking a sign can be
very dangerous. It can be very dangerous. The Pharisees were right
in deducing that demons and Satan can perform miracles and use
people as instruments to do that. They're right in deducing that.
We read in the Bible that sometimes false Christ's come and do
exactly that. They do the miracles, perform miracles, they raise
the dead sometimes, in order to deceive those hearts that are
just seeking signs. Paul wrote in Thessalonians, he said, "The
coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan,
with all power, signs and lying wonders, and with all unrighteous
deception among those who perish, because they did not receive
the love of the truth that they might be saved. And for this reason
God will send strong delusions that they should believe a lie
that they might be condemned who did not believe the truth but
have pleasure in unrighteousness."
If you don't respond in the greatness of God's love today, if
you don't respond to that--just the love and patience he's had
toward you today--certainly a miracle or two is not going to have
too much effect on your heart. I mean, God is just so loving with
you as it is, so patient, just willing you to himself. If the
love of God isn't gonna change the condition of your heart. When
it comes to God, salvation is by faith. Faith pleases God and
asking for a sign just shows unbelief. But faith pleases God.
Verses 13-21, "And he left them, and getting into 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 or 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 five thousand, how many baskets
full of fragments did you take?' They said to him, 'Twelve.' Also
when I broke the seven for the four thousand, how many large baskets
full of fragments did you take up?' And they said 'Seven.' So
he said to them, 'How is it that you don't understand.'"
Because they're in the boat, and he says 'Beware of the leaven
of the Pharisees and of Herod, and they're like, 'Oh man, we don't
have bread!' 'You know, we don't have bread, what are we gonna
do?' And Jesus is like, 'Wait a minute, what does it have to do
with the quantity of bread? Don't you remember, I multiplied bread,
I made abundance of bread, you know I could fill a whole grocery
store with bread from one piece? What do you mean 'We don't have
any bread?' 'What does having enough bread have to do with anything?
I've already shown you that.' They still aren't quite getting
it. You know, here you see Jesus refer to the two feedings. Matthew
also records the same conversation as you see here, so it's highly
unlikely that Matthew, and Mark probably writing from Peter's
data, that Peter and Matthew got confused about the, you know,
there's two feedings instead of only one. It's pretty clear as
you put it all together, there were two feedings, and Jesus is
trying to teach those around him, especially the disciples, something
that they're still not quite clueing into. Well, what is he warning
the disciples about here? He's warning them about the leaven of
the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod.
And what is the leaven of the Pharisees? What is the leaven of
Herod? We learn in Matthew 16 that the leaven of the Pharisees
is the doctrine of the Pharisees, we read right there in Matthew
16. In Luke 12 you can also learn that the leaven of the Pharisees
is hypocrisy. It says both of those directly. So you have hypocrisy
and you have doctrine, that's the leaven of the Pharisees. Putting
the two together, the leaven of the Pharisees is then the doctrine
of the Pharisees that leads to a hypocritical, a self-righteous
lifestyle. That's the leaven of the Pharisees. It's a doctrine
that causes you to think that you can become righteous as you
strictly adhere to the traditions of certain men. It's that 'holier
than thou' type doctrine. And Jesus exhorts us, 'Beware, beware
of the leaven of the Pharisees.' This doctrine that teaches you
that you can get righteous by doing certain things.
And then the leaven of Herod is most probably something to do
with political trickery or worldliness, as you look at Herod's
life. It doesn't say directly anywhere in the Bible. But that's
a good guess at what it is. It's those teachings or movements
that get you focussed on the world, the worldly kingdom rather
than on the Godly kingdom. You know, politics can be good, we
have certain freedoms here in America, but sometimes politics,
political movements come through that really get us focussed on
this earthly kingdom a lot--they start to rip you off, start to
get you angry, start to get you just focussed on this or that
political agenda rather than on the heavenly kingdom. And that,
I think, is part of what Jesus is warning of, because that's a
leaven. These doctrines are really alluring to us at times, especially
as they get mixed with truth, you know. They throw in the stories
of Jesus, they pull out a Bible verse and say 'Well you need to
go do this, you need to go do that.' And they become very alluring
to us. But the net effect upon our life is not good. The net effect,
he refers to it as a leaven, is bad. So he says 'Beware, beware
of these doctrines.' You know, Paul challenged the church in Colossi.
He said this, "Beware, lest anyone cheat you through philosophy
and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according
to the tradition of the world, and not according to Christ"
(Colossians 2:8). He says these doctrines, if you get into them,
they're gonna cheat you. They're gonna rip you off, you're gonna
miss out on what you really need. You're gonna be cheated if you
get into the philosophies of men and the traditions of men. You're
gonna miss out on the real power that God wants to work in and
through you. And as Paul says, verse 8, he goes into verse 9,
he says this, "For in him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead
bodily. And you are complete in him..." "You are complete in him,
who is the head of all principality and power." As Christians,
he says he doesn't want you to get cheated in these other things,
because in Christ, Christ satisfies. You and I are complete in
Christ. You're not missing out on anything. You're not coming
short on anything, you have all you need. You're complete in Christ,
completely satisfied. If you adhere to someone's philosophy or
someone else's teaching to improve yourself, you're going to find
that you get cheated and probably find yourself in bondage to
other groups. But we're already complete, those of us that are
Christians this morning, we're complete in Christ. We're not missing
out on anything, we've got it all. He's our all in all, we just
need to accept that in faith and experience the power of it. Well,
maybe today you're being cheated, trying something else. You know,
you think "I look around and I know Jesus says this, but don't
know, I don't know if I get it, so I'm going onto these other
things, going to try these other methods." So often too, the methods
are the methods of psychology. That is why Bob Hoekstra wrote
the book The Psychologizing of the Faith [available from http://www.thewordfortoday.org,
click on "Products", then on "Other Materials" and then scroll
down and click on "Calvary Basics Series" (second booklet down).]
because psychology is just moving into the church. And psychology
is just human humanism and thinking. I'm not saying it isn't good
to study the behaviors of man, but psychology itself tries to
reason things out by man's wisdom. But the Bible teaches that
you are complete in Christ. You're not missing anything. You're
complete. You're not missing anything. You don't need to seek
other answers. You've go it all already in Christ. He's all you
need, if you would just accept it in faith. You know I was talking
to someone yesterday on the phone, somebody who was just struggling,
trying to encourage this person. You know, I knew how they were
going to receive it, because you say these things, you're like "Well,
they've heard it. But they don't accept it in faith." But I try
to say again, "You know, if you just would get along with the
Lord." This person was really having a hard time, man, I just
never experienced that in my life, so I can understand the pain.
But I said "If you get along with the Lord and just experience
him, you're gonna find strength and hope and life. You will. You
will experience it." And you know, their response was what I expected. "But,
but, but, but..."
The truth is, you are complete in Christ. What does that mean?
If you're complete in Christ, what does that mean? What else do
you need?--if you're complete. You're not falling short. You have
it all. He's your all in all if you would just let him become
your everything and experience that in your life, accept it in
faith. And it's the good life to have Christ. He wants you to
know that he is the Bread of Life. Well, are you being cheated?
You know, leaven man, leaven symbolizes evil, and leaven can really
sour, if can ruin the whole batch when you look at it from the
biblical perspective. I've seen leaven, man, I've seen the fruit
of leaven and how it works. I can't help but think of Galatians
and Paul when he wrote to the Galatians, he says, "You ran well.
Who hindered you from obeying the truth? This persuasion does
not come from Him who calls you. A little leaven leavens the whole
lump." You know, when we start questioning God, and "Ah, this
isn't enough, I've got to go somewhere else", then that leaven
gets in there, man, it just spoils. And when the church opens
up to psychology we begin to just spoil. We miss out on the power.
I was reading through Leviticus in my daily devotion [personal
daily Bible study], and I thought it interesting in Leviticus,
one of the earlier chapters, when it was talking about the grain
offering. God was focussing and making the Israelites understand
that there shouldn't be any leaven at all in that grain offering.
It should be without leaven at all in that grain offering. It
should be without leaven, because it's to be Holy, set aside to
him, and if there was any leaven in it he wouldn't accept it.
And then Paul kind of carries those thoughts also in 1 Corinthians
5. He says 'You know, just purge yourself of that leaven, so you
can enjoy the feasts and sacrifices of God' kind of referring
back to Leviticus, that as a church we need to be pure, in the
truth, to enjoy the power of God in our lives. I tell you, leaven
comes in man, and it just spoils. You get your eyes off just Jesus
and being completely in him and being satisfied in him and start
having, adding other things, you're getting leaven into your life--and
you're being cheated. That is the result, you're being cheated.
Why would we want to be cheated? I don't like to be cheated. Jesus
wants you to know that he is the Bread of Life. He doesn't want
you to be cheated from the experience of his goodness and his
power. He doesn't want you to leave hungry and dissatisfied today
or later find yourself in despair. He wants to be your life, and
life abundantly. So feed on him, taste and see that the Lord is
good, the psalmist says.
Verses 22-25, "Then he came to Bethsaida and they brought
a blind man to him and begged him to touch him. So he took the
blind man by the hand and led him out of the town. And when he
had spit on his eyes and put his hands on him, he asked him if
he saw anything. And he looked up and said, 'I see men like trees
walking.' And he put his hands on his eyes again and made him
look up and he was restored and saw everything clearly. Then he
sent him away to his house saying, 'Neither go into the town nor
tell anyone in the town.'" So these people again, as
many times, just urging, begging Jesus to heal themselves or heal
a friend, and here there's a group that has a friend as Jesus
is in Bethsaida, and say 'Hey, heal our blind friend Jesus, you
can do it.' And interesting, this is the only time that Jesus
does a progressive healing, where he does it in stages. In every
other instance, and we can only theorize as to why, but there's
this man when he comes to Jesus, you know his friends are really
eager, and this man maybe has some questions. So Jesus is even
helping his faith a little bit, by, you know, giving him a little
bit he says "Wow!" Alright, I believe man. Give it all to me!" And
that's a possibility. I don't know. But you know, it does tell
me that sometimes there is progressive healing. Sometimes there
is stages for some reason. You know, some come to Christ and Boom!--they've
got it all and experience it all. And of course, we've all got
it all. But some of them, you just see the experience right up
front, they're just delivered from every bondage, and they're
just rolling in Christ right off. And sometimes, for some of us,
it's a progressive thing. You know, we're healed a little bit,
and experience life a little bit, and then we go on a little bit
more and we experience a little bit more life, it's a progressive
thing. But just because you're not all the way there doesn't mean
you're not going to get there. Just because you haven't been healed
completely doesn't mean you're not gonna get there. You can just
look back and know where you've come from. Look at where Christ
has brought you from. Rejoice in that. Sometimes it does seem
that there's a progression sometimes for some of us, you know.
A little bit at a time. Maybe it's just an issue of our faith--we
accept, a little, a little bit more, a little bit more. I'm not
sure. Well don't be disappointed anyway if you're in progress.
Don't be disappointed in that. Just rejoice. Look back where you've
come from. Rejoice in that, and walk in faith.
Verse 27-30, "Now Jesus and his disciples went out to
the towns of Caesaria-Philippi, and on the road he asked his disciples,
saying to them, 'Who do men say that I am?' So they answered,
'John the Baptist, but some say Elijah and others one of the prophets.'
He said to them, 'But who do you say that I am?' And Peter said
to him, 'You are the Christ.' And he strictly warned them that
they should tell no one about him." We don't have everything
in this account. We learn a little bit more in other gospels.
But Jesus is teaching them, obviously he's teaching, teaching
them about who he is. So now he's even beginning to question them
and see if they're learning, if they're growing. So he says "Who
do people say that I am?" and they say "Some say that you're Elijah,
some say you're a prophet, a good teacher, a great man." But he
says "Who do you say that I am? What do you guys believe? What
is true to you?"
And Peter stands up and says "You are the Christ. You're the Son
of God." If you're the Christ, you're the Son of God. Isaiah,
you know, God says through him that God's gonna send his Son.
We read in other gospels, that he says "that you are the Christ,
the Son of God, the Living God." Well this morning who do you
say Jesus is? Jesus is just talking to you saying "Who do you
say I am?"
"Who am I to you? Who am I to you? What do I mean to you? What
do I mean to you in your life? Am I your life? Am I your everything--your
all-in-all? Maybe just your ticket to heaven, you know. 'Hey,
I purchased the ticket, I took it. I'm on my way, but now I have
to deal with these other things, on my own.' Who is Jesus to you?--the
Christ? You know, if you say the Christ, Paul says in Colossians,
he says, "In him, the Christ, is the fullness of the Godhead." Man
it's just all of God is in Christ, all of Him is there. Is he
that to you? Who do you say Jesus is? Maybe not just verbally,
but by your life? What does your life say that Jesus means to
you?
Verse 31, "And he began to teach them that the Son of
man may suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and chief
priests and scribes and be killed, and after three days rise again.'
He spoke this openly, then Peter took him aside and he began to
rebuke him. But when he had turned around and had looked at his
disciples he rebuked Peter saying, 'Behind me Satan, for you're
not mindful of the things of God for the things of men.'" You
know, this is an interesting account here with Mark, because it's
a good chance he's getting his source from Peter, so it's interesting
to note because in the verses 27 to 30 when just a minute ago
Peter says "You are the Christ", and Jesus' response is 'Blessed
are you, Peter, you know, only the Father in heaven revealed that
to you.' So he kind of looks pretty good. But Peter doesn't include
that in this part, evidently, as he's talking to Mark. Doesn't
include the good thing that Jesus says, just points out that a
few minutes later he was rebuked by Jesus. Interesting to note.
I guess, a statement of his humility. But Jesus earlier said, "Blessed
are you Peter", in a different gospel account, and a minute later
he's going
"Get behind me Satan!" You know, I can relate to that. I'm doing
good for a moment, you know, behind the pulpit, just sharing the
Word, and get in my car and get alone with my kids for whatever,
and it's totally opposite, you know. Well, Jesus says, he's just
beginning to teach them, that you know, 'I've come this initial
time for the very purpose to bring salvation and I'm going to
suffer and be rejected by men and the Pharisees and Scribes are
going to get me and they're going to kill me. But after three
days I'm gonna rise again.' And he's teaching them that, and with
that, Peter comes to him and says 'What?! No way, man!' Maybe
all the disciples are thinking the same thing, so Peter's the
only bold one. So Peter goes up to him and says, "No Way! Jesus,
you got to assert yourself, man. You can't let these Pharisees
and Scribes push you around, man. What are you talkin' about?
I mean, look at things you do, you could just dust these guys,
you know. Come on, stop thinking so pessimistic man. Optimism
is what we need around here, you know?' Just not understanding
the things of God. And maybe that's you too this morning, questioning
God, you know. 'God, how can it be? What'ya mean, suffering? Come
on Lord. Rejection, hard times, what are you talking about? We
need some optimism around here Lord. No suffering Lord.' Are you
questioning God? Maybe not verbally, but maybe your actions are
speaking, just that you're having a hard time with what God is
doing. It's possible, and I would say it's a good guess, because
you have the perspective of man. That's the perspective of man,
to question the ways of God. Say it doesn't quite go the way I
think it should, or, 'This doesn't make sense to me.' That's what
Peter's doing, as he (Jesus) says, 'You've got the perspective
of man.' And it says "Get behind me Satan", he rebukes him. And
it's possible, I mean, Satan basically tried to get Jesus off
his course, and here Peter is actually doing the same thing, you
know, saying "Don't go ahead with that." And, you know, it's about
six months until Jesus is going to go to the cross. And as a man
he understands where he's going. So you can only understand from
the human side, he's going, "Wow, this is what I got before me." So
in a sense, you know Peter's just trying to side-track him. And
of course, the human side would be tempted by that. So he just
rebukes him, he says, "Get away from me Satan! I don't want to
hear that. I don't want to hear this easy-road stuff." Well, sometimes
we just need a perspective change and get alone with the Lord
and see that all things work together to the good that (for those
who) love God.
Verse 34-38, "When he had called the people to himself
with his disciples also, he said to them, 'Whoever desires to
come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and
follow me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it,
but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel's will save
it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world
and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for
his soul? For whoever is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous
and sinful generation, of him the Son of man will be also ashamed,
when he comes in the glory of His Father with the Holy angels.'"Well
Jesus goes on and just begins to talk of the ways of God from
that point. He says "I'm gonna suffer and you're having a hard
time with that. Well let me tell you about the ways of God here,
and the ways of Christ. He says, "My ways and what is required
is that those who desire to follow me, it's the way of the cross,
taking up the cross and following me, it does include suffering,
challenges and rejections. It is the good life, but if you can't
handle that, if you desire to save your life, this type of lifestyle
you have, this goal you have, this thing you desire--well you're
going to lose out on life from my sake and the gospel's. But if
you lose all that other stuff and just say 'I want you Jesus,
regardless of what it is, you satisfy, you're the Bread of Life,
you're the Bread of heaven, that's what I want', he says you're
going to find life. And then he says in verse 36, "What will it
profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul,
what will it profit a man?" You know, you've been reading in the
newspapers, maybe listening to the news about different people
in the world that seem to have it all. On the top, man, they got
it all. From the looks, to the power, to the money--but man, it
can leave you pretty quickly. The grave is still there. Having
it all, what is it gonna profit you, in the end? What is it gonna
profit you? You know, there's the story of Charlemagne, this great
king. 180 years after his death officials of the Emperor Ortho
were sent to open his grave and, you know, probably get the treasures.
So these guys went into Charlemagne's grave, this tomb he had
been buried in 180 years before. Of course they found some great
loot, a lot of great treasures buried there with the king. But
they were also surprised to find something else, and that was
the skeleton of the king sitting on his throne, still had the
crown on his head. A little eirie to see. But his bony finger
was laying on a part of parchment of the Gospel. It was laying
on this exact text, his finger, right here on verse 36, "What
will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses his
own soul?" That would give you the chills, you know, I'd go in
there and I see this gold and I'm stuffing my pockets, you know,
I see the treasures and I'm filling my truck, and then I see the
skeleton there saying "What will it profit a man if he gains it
all but he loses his own soul?" Pretty heavy statement, powerful
statement that was said there. Jesus, let's look at Luke 12, "Then
one from the crowd said, 'Teacher, tell my brother to divide the
inheritance with me.' But he said to him, 'Man, who made me a
judge or an arbitrator over you?' And he said to them, 'Take heed
and beware of covetousness, for one's life does not consist of
the abundance of the things he possesses.' Then he spoke a parable
to them saying, 'The ground of a certain rich man yielded plentifully
and he thought within himself saying, 'What shall I do since I
have no room to store my crops?' So he said, 'I will do this.
I will pull down my barns and build greater, and there I will
store all my crops and goods. And I'll say to my soul, 'Soul,
you have many goods laid up for many years. Take your ease. Eat,
drink and be merry.' But God said to him, 'Fool, this night your
soul will be required of you, then whose shall those things be,
which you have provided?' 'So is he who lays up treasures for
himself and is not rich toward God.'" You know, you can't help
think of the news and think of this parable, you know. Just storing
it up, storing it up, and then find that God comes to them and
says "Fool, man you just made yourself rich, but you didn't have
any of God in your life, and you've really come up on the short
account. Jesus said, "I am the Bread of Life." He says "Take heed,"
right here, "and beware of covetousness, for one's life does not
consist in the abundance of things he possesses." That's not life,
man. The abundance of things, that'll just keep you going, you'll
never get enough. But Jesus said to Satan when he was being tempted,
he said, "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word
that proceeds from the mouth of God" [Matthew 4:4]. That's a meal,
man. That's what satisfies the yearning and the heart--the Word
of God, His Truth, abiding in it and obeying it, receiving it
in faith--being complete in Christ. I wonder, some of the people
we've been reading about in the paper and watching on the news,
what they're thinking now. Now a little while ago, thinking they
had it all, on top of the world, man. But some of those people
on top of the world, life takes a change. Life comes to an end,
and you wonder what they're thinking later, as they have to confront...Is
God saying
"Fool!--you all that, but you didn't have me. Look what you get
now in the end. And all your possessions are left with other people." Jesus
wants you to know that you are complete in him, that he is the
Bread of Life, that he gives abundant life. He does not want you
to leave today dissatisfied, discontent. He wants you to be fed
and be filled to overflowing with his love and his Word and himself.
That is what we have in Christ.