DO YOU STILL NOT UNDERSTAND

Do you find that people these days seem constantly preoccupied with making life as satisfactory as possible rather than learning to live fruitfully with Kingdom-mindedness? The quality of human well-being seems centred around finances, job demands, children’s health and education, and even the next vacation plan. When we assume that living well means quickly resolving anything that brings unease and pain, we fail to become better at unpacking what we can learn through them.

This could explain why Jesus occasionally felt disconnected from His disciples. He often said one thing and they thought another thing. After they had experienced the miracle of feeding over 5000 people with the meagre resource of five loaves and two fish (Matthew 14:13-21), you’d think they would have a different conversation with Him when they faced the prospect of feeding another four thousand people. But no, they asked the same question, ‘“Where could we get enough bread in this remote place to feed such a crowd?”’ (Matthew 15:29-38). It was as though they never learnt anything from Jesus.

In another instance, they were running out of food again and Jesus used a bread-related euphemism to warn them about the subtle contamination of His teachings by learned elites like the Pharisees and the ruler, Herod (Mark 8:14-21). Instead of following Jesus’ cue, they dropped the ball and thought He was referencing their food scarcity! Exasperated that they seemed so dense, Jesus quipped, “Do you still not see or understand? Are your hearts hardened? Do you have eyes but fail to see, and ears but fail to hear? And don’t you remember?” (Mark 8:17-18) 

He was growing weary of His disciples’ lack of progress in understanding Kingdom realities. At one point, He pointedly asked, “Why are you talking about having no bread? Do you still not understand?” (v17, 21).

When we focus only on the comforts and advantages that life gives us and consistently neglect the lessons it offers, we live hollow lives. In the same way, when we move on too fast from problematic episodes because we want to quickly put it behind us, we deprive ourselves of the spiritual discipline that comes from deeper reflections.

Let’s take a little time to slowly trace back the conversational path that Jesus had with His disciples in Mark 8:14-21.

Why did Jesus use the word ‘yeast’?

Jesus often spoke in parables to reveal Kingdom truths because He promised that all believers would have the Holy Spirit to reveal their meanings to them (Matthew 13:11, 12a, 13). Parables are stories drawn from every day experiences and events. They make theological teachings relatable and relevant to daily life. On several occasions, Jesus taught His disciples deep concepts of faith with words like mustard seeds, birds, lilies, bread, water, wedding, lamps, etc. Parables invoke Kingdom realities in our imagination and change how we see things.

Yeast is a substance that quietly permeates the medium that it is added to – dough or liquid – and irreversibly changes the qualities and taste of its host. By using the word ‘yeast’, Jesus was referring to insidious influences from religious and legalistic groups of people who blended in so well with the disciples that it was hard to define them or single them out. Yet, their influence was sure and progressive.

Clearly, Jesus was using a coded message that His disciples decoded miserably!

What did Jesus mean when He said, “Be careful. Watch out for the yeast of the Pharisees and that of Herod.”

The current global pandemic has taught us that it’s impossible to protect ourselves from what we’re not conscious of. In the early days, the COVID-19 was played down in some countries that later paid a high price for it when many died from it, while others were super vigilant and quick to take preventive measures to stem its spread within their populations.

Studies have also shown that during times of change and confusion, people tend to turn to gossip-mongers and rumour mills to gain an understanding of the changes that are taking place. When Jesus introduced a new way of understanding the Kingdom of God, people, too, turned to varied sources of information. Notably, opinion leaders like the Sadducees and the Pharisees were respected because of their knowledge, education or political influence.

These were the people Jesus was warning His disciples about them because their arguments and ideas contradicted His teachings and created confusion among the disciples.

What is it that the disciples don’t understand?

The disciples consistently overlooked the hidden meanings and messages in their conversations with Jesus such as when He talked about the Bread of Life (John 6:35, 51), Living Water (John 4:10), and being a prisoner they visited (Matthew 25:35-40).

Instead, they took only the literal meanings of what He taught and consistently thought He was talking about material disadvantages, deficiencies and inadequacies. Once again, Jesus took them back to reflect on the surplus they had from feeding 5,000 and 4,000 people (Mark 8:19-20). From five loaves, they had twelve baskets of excess; and from seven loaves, they had seven baskets of excess. Did they move on too fast and fail to capture all that these miracles taught them about God?

In the same way, we, too, can easily lose sight of all that’s packed in God’s miracles when we rush to  eliminate pain and discomfort in the here and now. As soon as an uneasy experience is over, we move on. In doing so, we deprive ourselves of the benefits of quiet reflection that comes from moments of stillness and solitude. We fail to make time for unpacking God’s miracles when we are constantly on the move -immersing ourselves in activity after activity to distance ourselves from anything undesirable and painful. In moving on too fast, we become like those who ‘have eyes that fail to see and …have ears that fail to hear’. Gradually, we begin to lose touch with God and with ourselves as well.

Often, when we find ourselves asking God what’s happening, He may also be saying to us:

Finally, Jesus taught that ‘small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life’. (Matthew 7:14). It doesn’t say that the path of life has no twists or turns. And even when you feel unconvinced right now about staying on course with Jesus, He had promised that this is the path that leads to life.

Believe that God is doing a beautiful work of healing, grace, redemption and restoration in your life – no matter how it appears right now! Stay the course and watch what He will do for you.

This is a summary and reflection based on a virtual BIR Session held on 17 September, 2022.