Calvary Baltimore Weekly Sermons

Why doesn't Jesus give the Pharisees a sign? He knew they'd still view him as a deceiver, as he didn't follow the man-made traditions they consider on par with Scripture. In Mark 3:22, they already claimed he performs his miracles demonically. They've tried to create a no-win situation for him.

No sign will be given... three thoughts:

1. Jesus is giving a master class in how to handle difficult people: don't play their game. Just say no!

2. Oath... Jesus is emphatically saying "no", essentially making an oath that no signs will be given to this generation...

3. ...though he makes an exception in Matthew 16 for the sign of Jonah... (Matthew 16:1-4), meaning he himself will be in "the belly of the great fish" for 3 days when he descends into the heart of the earth. As Nineveh repented, the Pharisees will see the gentiles repent and be saved at the return of Jesus (the greater Jonah)!

Jesus himself is the missing loaf of bread, the Bread of Life.

The leaven spoken of in the gospels varies: In Mark, Jesus says to beware the leaven of the Pharisees and of Herod. In Matthew, it's the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees. Luke says the leaven of the Pharisees, and equates it to hypocrisy. The Pharisees are the common thread in each of these gospels! Those who oppose Jesus.

The Pharisees and Sadducees can't stand each other; the Pharisees also can't stand Herod. Yet, they've all united around their common enemy: Jesus.

Numbers... Feeding of the 5,000 + feeding of the 4,000 = 9,000. An incomplete number... maybe there will be a third feeding of 3,000 at some point, to arrive at a more significant number like 12,000? Yes, in Acts 2:41, Pentecost! Where 3,000 were added to the Church! They devoted themselves to fellowship, teaching, and the breaking of bread.

"Do you not yet understand?" This question launches the next section of Mark... join us next week!

In today's passage, Mark moves from a gentile-centric account to one focused on the Pharisees. Their demands for a sign from heaven come not from faith, but from a lack of it; they're trying to test Jesus (like Satan did), and he's having no part of it.

We see the same story in Matthew 16:2... Here, we find that the Pharisees can read lots of things, but are not able to read the signs of the times; they're blind where it really counts. 

Jesus gets frustrated with his own disciples when they worry about physical bread, while the Bread of Life himself is sitting right there with them!

We don't want to reduce Christianity to a set of rules and ethics. Our faith is about salvation through Jesus Christ.

In 2 Timothy 4:3... People won't endure sound teaching, but seek out their favorite (ahem, YouTube) preachers to suit their views! 

Beware: a focus on politics, regardless of viewpoint, can leaven us away from Chris's kingdom, in favor of an agenda.

Bread and leaven...

Leaven is a starter. It ferments and grows, like sin. It bubbles and expands, eventually infiltrating the whole loaf. 

In the Old Testament, we see during the first passover when Israel left Egypt, there was no time, and they were told to eat bread before it rose. They were to take no Egyptian leaven, and start with new leaven in the wilderness with God. What had been was now discarded, and God was doing a new work!

What's meant by the leaven of the Pharisees and of Herod? Spiritual blindness, hardheartedness. In Luke, we see it's also hypocrisy. Essentially, leaven is a teaching that ultimately rejects Christ!

A few thoughts...

Don't let the temple obscure who God is. Don't forget the feeding of the 4,000, of the 5,000! God instituted feasts in the old testament so the Jews would remember God's faithfulness, his might, his provision! It's why we take communion today, to remember what he's done for us. Even in tough times, we remember: God is good!

Look and beware. How should we interact with bad teaching? We are to reject heresy. But we don't need to hide or plug our ears where we hear it. We should earnestly learn other ideas, and see how they fall short of the truth of God. Sometimes atheists, Muslims say true things. We should be respectful, hungry to learn, but also be wary, wise and discerning. Christianity alone can stand on its own, as it is the only faith whose source is God himself!

Leaven expands... so we need to be aware of bad leaven, false teachers who suit our passions.

Beware news and politics 24/7. It's just trying to make you angry, spreading bad leaven. There are lots of bad ideas masquerading as Christianity. 

The leaven of God is the Word of God. In 2 Timothy 3:14-17, we see it is able to make you wise, is profitable for teaching, correction, reproof, and training in righteousness! Want to be a great husband? Go to the Word of God! Let it expand in you, to make you into something beautiful! Make it your way of life! It's the only solid foundation.

1 Sam 1:15-28

Hannah is barren; she represents Israel. Eli represents the high priests of Israel, with a bad eye, spiritually blind. He's a wicked father who has put his wicked sons in charge of the temple.

Hannah is godly, but a woman of great anxiety... anxiety is a given in this world; everyone experiences it and it's not necessarily a sign of weak faith!

When Eli tells her, "may God grant your prayer," she believes in the weight behind his words not because of who he is but because she respects his office. She was no longer sad, went home with her husband and had sex, and God remembered her: he acted on her behalf, and she conceived and bore a son, Samuel. She named him this because she asked the Lord for him.

Israel kept asking for a new "son" made in their own image, one of which turned out to be Saul.

Hannah's prayer... children are a blessing from God, and Lord willing, they'll one day bless God's people. Samuel was a gift from God to his country! We must keep these things in mind when considering issues such as abortion. Every child brought into the world has a place, a purpose, and God has a plan for them.

Hannah chooses not to bring the baby Samuel to the temple at Shiloh for the yearly sacrifice. Is she in sin? No, as Samuel is still a nursing baby, of no use to Eli. She'll bring him as soon as he's weaned. God gave a child to Hannah, and she's giving him back to God; so should we! We raise them to walk in the way, and be a blessing to the church.

When Samuel was weaned, she brought her best sacrifice, and took him to the temple as she'd promised.

Samuel was a gift to Israel, but also to his mother. And with his nazirite vow, he's going to serve God his whole life.

Hannah's promise... it's wrong to try to manipulate God in prayer, but it's fine to tell him what you'll do if his answer to your prayer is a yes. Hannah promised, and she delivered.

The story of Israel's monarch doesn't begin with Saul, but with a barren woman longing for a better future. Similar to Mary in the New Testament, or Zechariah and Elizabeth. God delights in starting big things through humble people! When we think, "Who am I to do anything great for the Lord," we're in good company.

Psalm 8:3-9 - who is man that God is mindful of him? Yet he puts even the humblest among us in an honored place in his creation!

Fire is more than a physical element in Scripture. It's the very essence of God's presence, his consuming love, and the transformative power that shapes us into his image. From the burning bush that wasn't consumed to the flames that danced on Pentecost, we see that God invites us to dwell in his glory without being destroyed.

God designed the entire universe to teach us about himself. Even his name, Yahweh, is pronounced with every breath we take—an exhale and an inhale that connects us continuously to him. The tabernacle, the temple, the altar—all were ablaze with God's presence, showing us that worship isn't just an activity but an experience of dwelling in his consuming yet life-giving fire.

Peter's denial by the wrong fire is a warning for us: in a world full of competing fires such as worldly approval, political ideologies and cultural pressures, we must warm ourselves by God's fire alone.

We must become fire-breathers in the best sense, carrying God's purifying presence into a dark world that desperately needs his light and warmth.

Jesus loves all people; he feeds Jew and Gentile. He provides for those who put their faith in him; he's the Good Shepherd who provides for his flock.

So much of Jesus' work rendered him "unclean" by the Pharisees' standards; he completely rejected the oral tradition of the Pharisees.

Jesus' journey was not direct through the region. It appears he went out of his way to reach the Gentiles in this passage.

His healing of the deaf man, involving the man's tongue and ears, may be foreshadowing Pentecost. This story may be the center of a chiasm, book-ended by the "bread" stories: the Syrophoenician woman, and the feeding of the 4,000.

In the feeding of the 5,000 there are five loaves; in the feeding of the 4,000, there are seven... 12 loaves total. After the 5,000 were fed, there were 12 baskets of leftovers (12 tribes of Israel). After the 4,000 were fed, there were 7 baskets of leftovers (7 equates to completion, "it is good"). Between the two miracles, 9,000 people were fed. Nine is a number of incompletion, possibly indicating the expansion of the church is not yet complete.

The feeding of 5,000 (mostly Jews) aligns with the Israelites leaving Egypt in ranks of five, and the feeding of 4,000 aligns with the Gospel spreading to the four corners of the earth.

In Mark 8:6, we see he makes his people lie down in green pastures. So all the numbers point to the fact that if the Lord is our shepherd, we will come under his compassion, his blessings! He will provide for us.

The 12 loaves echo the showbread in the tabernacle, where the lamp of God would shine forever; here Jesus' face, his compassion and love, shine on his people. And not just the Jews now, but the whole world! What makes us pure is not our ethnicity, but the object of our faith. If Jesus Christ is our Lord and our Savior, then we are under the shepherding care of our God!

Mark 7:31-8:10

Jesus healed a deaf man, and we know from elsewhere that the Pharisees are upset with his breach of cleanliness. He told people not to tell about the healing, but they did anyway, so the crowds became even more of a problem.

Then Jesus feeds the 4000, primarily gentiles, around the Decapolis. He'd fed the 5000 (mostly Jews) before, and now it's the gentiles' turn. 

Jesus has compassion for the crowd. He looks upon our suffering, our needs, and has a gut-wrenching, visceral compassion for us! If you're a Christian, there's a calling on your life to grow into the image of Christ. So we should be growing in godly compassion for others!

How many loaves does it take to feed the 4,000? Just seven. Add to the five loaves from when he fed the 5000, and you have 12 loaves... Like the showbread in the tabernacle.

Final thoughts...

Bread:

At the last supper, Jesus reveals that he is the bread, broken because of his compassion, for our sustenance! In him we consist, we survive. The bread of life is the only way we make it home. He's the only way, truth and life!

Eyes to see:

Our lives can sometimes get crazy, we're under fire, and we'd love nothing more than a big miracle... But not all his miracles are big and dramatic. The same God who parts the sea also simply clothes the lilies of the field. God is constantly at work in our lives! 

If you belong to Jesus: yes, he does big things, but he also does small things, the still, small voice. He will never leave you or forsake you.

In today's passage, the huge crowd ate and were satisfied... God provides, and he satisfies! He sees your needs and has a deep gut reaction. Gather near to him!

In this passage, we're being introduced to the fact, by and large, that the gentiles will be the ones who accept Jesus as Lord.

Jesus withdrew from Tyre and Sidon because he felt he has to leave. In parallel with Elijah, he meets a Syrophoenician woman, then tests the woman (with the parable about bread), and he heals her child.

Tyre and Sidon were supposed to be part of the tribe of Asher, but were a stronghold the Israelites never conquered. Jesus walked in, converted gentiles, and cast out demons; he did more for these cities in his 3 1/2 years of ministry than the Israelites did in hundreds of years.

2 thoughts...

1. A bad look:

The Bible was written without chapter separations. Reading Mark straight through, it's account after account of people not understanding Jesus' teachings... then this gentile woman just gets it! Mark admits the apostles just don't get it, then writes that this gentile woman does.

2. Intercessory prayer:

This woman isn't coming to Jesus for herself, but for her daughter. This, in part, is meant to encourage us to pray for others! It's a call for faithfulness to petition the Lord boldly and persistently on behalf of our loved ones. The unsaved may not yet have eyes to see, but they have us to rely on. God hears us, and we are to persist in prayer!

Jesus first came to the Jewish people... Feed the children (Jews) first, then the puppies/dogs (gentiles). 

This gentile woman from the region that gave us Jezebel was the first person outside the apostles to hear and understand a parable... and this is the only time in the gospels that Jesus concedes another person's point! And he heals her daughter. God is opening the eyes of the gentiles.

This woman was a model of great faith. The markers of her faith:

Authority - She calls him Lord, son of David. She seems to know who God is, and has a reverence for him. Great Faith begins with who we have faith in. Changing the Gospel to say God is different from what the Word says, is sin. Fear of the Lord is reverential awe for the one who has dominion over your soul! The darkness hates the light - Jesus is the light, opposed to Satan's kingdom. We are to say no to the darkness.

Identity - Though Jesus calls her a puppy/dog, she doesn't snap back; she agrees! She accepts the identity God attributes to her. He calls us sheep, an animal with barely any offense or defense, prone to wander. A sheep in the wild is lunch! But a sheep in a flock is protected by the Shepherd. We must be in church. We walk humbly before God and accept his designations, accept what he says about us. 

Faith alone - She seems to understand God's grace extends beyond the boundaries of the Jewish people. Faith is the gift of God, through grace alone, not by our works! We are saved because of the object of our faith.

Persistence - she won't let things go. Three times her request is shot down. Luke 15:5, 18:1... He answers the prayers of the persistent. Bring it to him, and keep bringing it to him. He owes us nothing, and we can't manipulate him. But he does reward persistence. The paralytic on the roof is a great example of persistence! When he saw the faith of the man and his friends, he healed the man.

When God returns, he wants to see us at work for his kingdom, to his glory. Persistence in faith!

To be of great faith, you must be all in! And stay in. Satan loves to feast on shooting stars who don't endure to the end. So we must be persistent in the things of God, faithful to the end!

Nothing outside a man can come in and defile him. Jesus explains this to the apostles from inside a house; the Pharisees want him dead, but it's not yet his time, so he often meets indoors, in secret.

The disciples ask Jesus to explain the parable because they need God to open their eyes. 1Cor1:21-25... the wisdom of men is foolishness to God. Only the Spirit of God can regenerate the unregenerate-- nothing man can do!

Matthew 15:10-20... The Pharisees were offended by Jesus' teaching on cleanliness, and his response was, "Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be rooted up. Let them alone; they are blind guides."

According to Jesus, what matters is not physical cleanliness, not social status or ethnicity, but the heart: does it belong to him? If it does, we are all one in Christ! If our heart does not belong to God, then from it will come every evil under the sun.

One thought: Mark 7 gives us 23 verses about clean vs unclean, ending with a warning about our hearts. We are really good at sin, and it's nobody's fault but our own. We have to guard our hearts! We must take every thought captive to his Word, taking in more of him and less of me!

Nothing outside a man can come in and defile him. Jesus explains this to the apostles from inside a house; the Pharisees want him dead, but it's not yet his time, so he often meets indoors, in secret.

The disciples ask Jesus to explain the parable because they need God to open their eyes. 1Cor1:21-25... the wisdom of men is foolishness to God. Only the Spirit of God can regenerate the unregenerate-- nothing man can do!

Matthew 15:10-20... The Pharisees were offended by Jesus' teaching on cleanliness, and his response was, "Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be rooted up. Let them alone; they are blind guides."

According to Jesus, what matters is not physical cleanliness, not social status or ethnicity, but the heart: does it belong to him? If it does, we are all one in Christ! If our heart does not belong to God, then from it will come every evil under the sun.

One thought: Mark 7 gives us 23 verses about clean vs unclean, ending with a warning about our hearts. We are really good at sin, and it's nobody's fault but our own. We have to guard our hearts! We must take every thought captive to his Word, taking in more of him and less of me!