May 23,2023

DON’T YOU UNDERSTAND YET?

TODAY’S SCRIPTURE

But the disciples had forgotten to bring any food. They had only one loaf of bread with them in the boat. As they were crossing the lake, Jesus warned them, “Watch out! Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and of Herod.” At this they began to argue with each other because they hadn’t brought any bread. Jesus knew what they were saying, so he said, “Why are you arguing about having no bread? Don’t you know or understand even yet? Are your hearts too hard to take it in? ‘You have eyes—can’t you see? You have ears—can’t you hear?’ Don’t you remember anything at all? When I fed the 5,000 with five loaves of bread, how many baskets of leftovers did you pick up afterward?” “Twelve,” they said. “And when I fed the 4,000 with seven loaves, how many large baskets of leftovers did you pick up?” “Seven,” they said. “Don’t you understand yet?” he asked them.

Mark 8:14-21 NLT

---

TODAY’S THOUGHT

This is an interesting story in the gospel of Mark. Jesus and the disciples are crossing the Sea of Galilee when the disciples realize they had forgotten to bring food. Jesus makes a weird statement, “Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and of Herod.” He uses their talk about bread to warn them about yeast. The Bible uses yeast, or leaven, as a picture of false doctrine (Gal 5:1-9), unjudged sin in the church (1 Cor. 5), and hypocrisy (Luke 12:1). In our passage today Jesus is warning about the false teachings of the Pharisees and the followers of Herod. The problem with the Pharisees was they said one thing and did another. They claimed to be strict followers of the law, yet their hearts were hard and judgmental. The followers of Herod were those Jews who believed they should adopt the Roman way of life. They saw in Herod the fulfillment of the promises of a Jewish nation. They had a very worldly mindset. Jesus was stressing the importance of being careful we don’t allow false beliefs to creep into our lives. Then Jesus reminds them of the miracles of feeding five thousand and four thousand. Jesus wanted them to realize that having only one loaf of bread for the disciples was plenty when they had Jesus with them. Two lessons we get from this passage. First, always be careful you don’t accept false teaching that may sound good but not line up with the heart of God’s Word. Secondly, remember what God has done for you and rejoice that when you are living with Jesus in your life you have all you need to go forward.

---

TODAY’S PRAYER

Holy Spirit please check my heart for any false beliefs I have allowed to get into my thinking. Help me to live a pure and clean life before You. Help me to remember Your miracles and trust in Your provision.

“Scroll down to share what you feel God is saying based on today’s reading.”