Mark 8:14-21

Hey everyone, this is the last reading for this year. The group is taking a break. My hope and prayer for you is that you have a blessed Christmas. Not blessed with things but blessed with joy and love. Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! See you in the New Year! The readings will start back on January 4^th 2016. I will send out the reading the Sunday before so be looking for it!

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Rachel Workman: ¹⁴ The disciples had forgotten to bring bread, except for one loaf they had with them in the boat. ¹⁵ “Be careful,” Jesus warned them. “Watch out for the yeast of the Pharisees and that of Herod.”

¹⁶ They discussed this with one another and said, “It is because we have no bread.”

¹⁷ Aware of their discussion, Jesus asked them: “Why are you talking about having no bread? Do you still not see or understand? Are your hearts hardened? ¹⁸ Do you have eyes but fail to see, and ears but fail to hear? And don’t you remember? ¹⁹ When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many basketfuls of pieces did you pick up?”

“Twelve,” they replied.

²⁰ “And when I broke the seven loaves for the four thousand, how many basketfuls of pieces did you pick up?”

They answered, “Seven.”

²¹ He said to them, “Do you still not understand?” It stood out to me that Jesus asked them are your hearts hardened? In others words are you seriously hearing this and seeing this and still not understanding?

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John Burnett:  ¹⁴ The disciples had forgotten to bring bread, except for one loaf they had with them in the boat. ¹⁵ “Be careful,” Jesus warned them. “Watch out for the yeast of the Pharisees and that of Herod.”

¹⁶ They discussed this with one another and said, “It is because we have no bread.”

¹⁷ Aware of their discussion, Jesus asked them: “Why are you talking about having no bread? Do you still not see or understand? Are your hearts hardened? ¹⁸ Do you have eyes but fail to see, and ears but fail to hear? And don’t you remember? ¹⁹ When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many basketfuls of pieces did you pick up?”

“Twelve,” they replied.

²⁰ “And when I broke the seven loaves for the four thousand, how many basketfuls of pieces did you pick up?”

They answered, “Seven.”

²¹ He said to them, “Do you still not understand?”  Christ is teaching the disciples to trust Him and Him alone.  They said they had no bread but they had one loaf.  He had just fed five thousand with five loaves, surely He could feed 13 people with one loaf.  He reminded them of how much abundance they had after feeding the large groups.  Jesus provides the bread of life and He does so abundantly beyond our imagination.  The Pharisees and Herod were not able to see this as their eyes and ears were not open to see or hear what Jesus was teaching.

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Allen Michaels:  ¹⁴ The disciples had forgotten to bring bread, except for one loaf they had with them in the boat. ¹⁵ “Be careful,” Jesus warned them. “Watch out for the yeast of the Pharisees and that of Herod.” Yeast in this passage symbolizes evil. Just as only a small amount of yeast is needed to make a batch of bread rise, so the hardheartedness of the religious and political leaders could permeate and contaminate the entire society and make it rise up against Jesus.

¹⁶ They discussed this with one another and said, “It is because we have no bread.”

¹⁷ Aware of their discussion, Jesus asked them: “Why are you talking about having no bread? Do you still not see or understand? Are your hearts hardened? The disciples had already seen Jesus perform so many miracles, including when he fed over 5,000 people with five loaves of bread and two fish, yet here they doubted whether he could feed another large group. Sometimes, I am slow to catch on too. Although Christ has brought me through trials and temptations in the past, sometimes I don’t believe that he will do it again in the future. Sometimes our hearts are too closed to take in all that God can do for us. We can’t be like the disciples. We must always remember what Christ has done for us, and have faith that he will do it again. ¹⁸ Do you have eyes but fail to see, and ears but fail to hear? And don’t you remember? ¹⁹ When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many basketfuls of pieces did you pick up?”

“Twelve,” they replied.

²⁰ “And when I broke the seven loaves for the four thousand, how many basketfuls of pieces did you pick up?”

They answered, “Seven.”

²¹ He said to them, “Do you still not understand?”

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