WEBVTT 00:00:00.650 --> 00:00:03.169 Hello, you are listening to Second City Sermons, 00:00:03.270 --> 00:00:06.209 a ministry of Second City Church in Midtown Harrisburg. 00:00:06.870 --> 00:00:08.750 It's our hope that these sermons will draw you 00:00:08.750 --> 00:00:11.169 more into the life of following God, Father, 00:00:11.310 --> 00:00:14.150 Son and Holy Spirit. Please consider coming and 00:00:14.150 --> 00:00:16.469 joining with us each Sunday morning at 10am in 00:00:16.469 --> 00:00:18.809 the heart of Midtown Harrisburg. You can find 00:00:18.809 --> 00:00:22.329 us online at SecondCityChurch .org and on Facebook, 00:00:22.629 --> 00:00:25.030 Instagram and YouTube. We hope you enjoy this 00:00:25.030 --> 00:00:35.640 sermon. God Bless. Lord, the pattern among your 00:00:35.640 --> 00:00:40.320 people. Israel being brought out with wild, miraculous 00:00:40.320 --> 00:00:44.539 signs that you gave Moses to do there in Egypt, 00:00:45.920 --> 00:00:51.039 one after another, and then not remembering you 00:00:51.039 --> 00:00:53.020 and not trusting in you. And they come to the 00:00:53.020 --> 00:00:56.700 Red Sea and having passed through the Red Sea, 00:00:57.060 --> 00:01:01.570 thinking, that the food was better back in Egypt, 00:01:01.570 --> 00:01:06.049 Lord, not remembering your care. I've got to 00:01:06.049 --> 00:01:09.489 pray for us this morning, Lord. We who often 00:01:09.489 --> 00:01:14.530 have spiritual amnesia, that you'd be at work 00:01:14.530 --> 00:01:19.989 in us, Lord, and that we would live a life of 00:01:19.989 --> 00:01:26.310 faith in a God who provides wildly, abundantly, 00:01:26.730 --> 00:01:32.150 graciously. Perfectly. Teach us now, we ask Lord. 00:01:33.129 --> 00:01:39.930 Amen. All right, so it is funny, but not really 00:01:39.930 --> 00:01:47.629 the things you forget, right? I'm gonna guess 00:01:47.629 --> 00:01:50.530 that we have all had this experience where we've 00:01:50.530 --> 00:01:52.290 had breakfast and we're about to leave and we 00:01:52.290 --> 00:01:55.810 go into the bathroom to brush our teeth and we 00:01:55.810 --> 00:02:00.519 ask ourselves, Why am I in here? What am I doing? 00:02:01.480 --> 00:02:04.239 We go to a room, we're like, what was I supposed 00:02:04.239 --> 00:02:09.379 to grab again? There is something in our family, 00:02:09.800 --> 00:02:12.800 we mostly laugh at it, but we also, oh, my kids 00:02:12.800 --> 00:02:16.599 and Malish shake their heads. There's these three 00:02:16.599 --> 00:02:19.939 plates. They're just like, you know, the three 00:02:19.939 --> 00:02:22.759 plates, each color goes to one of my children. 00:02:22.800 --> 00:02:25.460 They've been using the same colored plates for... 00:02:27.280 --> 00:02:29.939 Seven years probably I mean since Henry was born. 00:02:30.379 --> 00:02:32.620 I could not tell you which color goes to which 00:02:32.620 --> 00:02:37.599 child And I'm telling you I am never gonna get 00:02:37.599 --> 00:02:43.360 it So ridiculous, but But I can't tell you for 00:02:43.360 --> 00:02:46.180 the most part most the time how my kids like 00:02:46.180 --> 00:02:48.139 their ham sandwiches But then on Friday morning, 00:02:48.139 --> 00:02:49.960 I was making ham sandwiches for them, which I 00:02:49.960 --> 00:02:53.060 have done hundreds of times Because that is the 00:02:53.060 --> 00:02:55.729 preferred sandwich in their own household And 00:02:55.729 --> 00:02:58.069 Lily and Henry, they like mayo on their ham. 00:02:58.689 --> 00:03:02.129 And for James's, I put mustard on one side and 00:03:02.129 --> 00:03:04.629 I put it just like, I mean, I made it so that 00:03:04.629 --> 00:03:07.129 it just went to the edge of the bread perfectly. 00:03:07.430 --> 00:03:09.110 And then I put mayo on the other side and I did 00:03:09.110 --> 00:03:11.030 the same. It was just like so perfect. And so 00:03:11.030 --> 00:03:12.490 I made this sandwich for him and he only likes 00:03:12.490 --> 00:03:14.629 cheese. I gave him two pieces of cheese. It was 00:03:14.629 --> 00:03:16.069 just a really nice looking sandwich. And so I 00:03:16.069 --> 00:03:18.250 was like, hey, bud, look at this beautiful sandwich 00:03:18.250 --> 00:03:20.189 I made. And you wouldn't believe it, but inside 00:03:20.189 --> 00:03:22.770 the mustard is perfectly to the edge and the 00:03:22.770 --> 00:03:25.729 mayo is perfectly to the edge. And he goes, but 00:03:25.729 --> 00:03:31.969 I don't eat mayo. Like, oh, yeah, I know that. 00:03:32.710 --> 00:03:37.530 I have made so many ham sandwiches. I know that. 00:03:38.250 --> 00:03:41.469 I mean, we are forgetful people. And of course, 00:03:41.490 --> 00:03:43.449 sometimes it's funny and sometimes it's not. 00:03:43.669 --> 00:03:46.030 It's not very funny if you, oh, I don't know, 00:03:46.129 --> 00:03:50.810 forget your anniversary or to call your mom on 00:03:50.810 --> 00:03:54.169 her birthday. or to leave that homework assignment 00:03:54.169 --> 00:03:57.449 that you belabored over for two hours at home 00:03:57.449 --> 00:03:59.409 when you're supposed to turn it in. Those aren't 00:03:59.409 --> 00:04:04.449 very funny. Amnesia seems to be something that 00:04:04.449 --> 00:04:06.509 all of us experience to different degrees or 00:04:06.509 --> 00:04:08.830 another. And I think this is also why there are 00:04:08.830 --> 00:04:12.990 so many songs about remembering. Dave Matthews, 00:04:13.050 --> 00:04:20.509 Do You Remember, right? Maroon 5, Memories. How 00:04:20.509 --> 00:04:23.029 about the great Seattleite Macklemore, good old 00:04:23.029 --> 00:04:28.149 days? Remembering the good old days. It's why 00:04:28.149 --> 00:04:31.110 there's a whole industry really in crossword 00:04:31.110 --> 00:04:34.129 puzzles and Sudoku, right? Because we believe 00:04:34.129 --> 00:04:36.569 that if we do these, our memory will last a little 00:04:36.569 --> 00:04:41.569 longer as we age. And I think it's also interesting 00:04:41.569 --> 00:04:43.670 that the Bible seems to talk about remembering 00:04:43.670 --> 00:04:48.250 a lot. It talks about remembering quite a lot. 00:04:48.310 --> 00:04:51.009 I mean, Isaiah, again, talked about how the people 00:04:51.009 --> 00:04:54.350 forgot the lords just after he brought them out 00:04:54.350 --> 00:04:57.189 and saved them, as if he was not able, right? 00:04:57.689 --> 00:04:59.670 And then if you keep going, right, actually in 00:04:59.670 --> 00:05:01.490 Deuteronomy, the book that is written right before 00:05:01.490 --> 00:05:03.509 they enter the promised land again and again. 00:05:04.500 --> 00:05:06.899 Deuteronomy saying, remember, like in chapter 00:05:06.899 --> 00:05:09.379 five, verses 15, for example, you shall remember 00:05:09.379 --> 00:05:10.980 that you were slaves in the land of Egypt and 00:05:10.980 --> 00:05:13.019 the Lord your God brought you out of there with 00:05:13.019 --> 00:05:14.939 a mighty hand with an outstretched arm. Again, 00:05:14.939 --> 00:05:17.860 Isaiah, remember the former things of old for 00:05:17.860 --> 00:05:20.160 I am God and there's no other. I am God and there's 00:05:20.160 --> 00:05:22.959 none like me. Or Romans to get into the New Testament 00:05:22.959 --> 00:05:25.779 chapter 11. Remember, it's not you who support 00:05:25.779 --> 00:05:32.459 the root, but the root who supports you. Or our 00:05:32.459 --> 00:05:37.290 passage this morning. passage this morning. Part 00:05:37.290 --> 00:05:38.769 of what's going on our passage this morning is 00:05:38.769 --> 00:05:43.009 this call to remember, okay? So if you look actually 00:05:43.009 --> 00:05:46.430 at the last sort of paragraph first with me, 00:05:46.529 --> 00:05:48.629 the paragraph that begins in chapter, in verse 00:05:48.629 --> 00:05:54.529 14, here we have this call to remembrance. Jesus, 00:05:54.790 --> 00:05:57.769 we learned right in verse 13 that he's back in 00:05:57.769 --> 00:06:00.620 the boat again. He's done this a few times, right? 00:06:00.620 --> 00:06:03.060 We've had a few boat crossings so far in Mark. 00:06:03.300 --> 00:06:06.439 He's back in the boat with his disciples and 00:06:06.439 --> 00:06:11.220 verse 14 says pretty starkly, now they had forgotten 00:06:11.220 --> 00:06:15.939 to bring bread. Actually then down in verse 16, 00:06:16.000 --> 00:06:17.980 right? It says, and they began discussing with 00:06:17.980 --> 00:06:20.959 one another the fact that they had no bread. 00:06:22.160 --> 00:06:24.740 I imagine what they're doing actually is they're 00:06:24.740 --> 00:06:27.980 discussing. I wonder if it was more argumentative. 00:06:30.329 --> 00:06:33.290 Peter, you were supposed to bring the bread. 00:06:35.149 --> 00:06:41.410 John, you didn't grab it. Or maybe it was Thaddeus 00:06:41.410 --> 00:06:44.029 and Bartholomew because we don't know anything 00:06:44.029 --> 00:06:46.269 about those guys. Maybe they were the bread keepers, 00:06:46.370 --> 00:06:50.709 right? What's going on with them? I'm thinking 00:06:50.709 --> 00:06:54.290 it was them. Whoever it was, they're in the boat 00:06:54.290 --> 00:06:56.329 and immediately we know that they've forgotten 00:06:56.329 --> 00:06:58.439 something. right? That they've forgotten something. 00:06:58.740 --> 00:07:00.040 They've, specifically, they've forgotten the 00:07:00.040 --> 00:07:03.019 bread there. But then Jesus asks questions and 00:07:03.019 --> 00:07:04.839 he seems to ask question after question after 00:07:04.839 --> 00:07:07.000 question. And the last thing he leaves you with 00:07:07.000 --> 00:07:09.139 is a question and it's, he doesn't really kind 00:07:09.139 --> 00:07:10.899 of even get into their answers. He doesn't wait 00:07:10.899 --> 00:07:13.620 for another answer. Here's what he does, right? 00:07:15.100 --> 00:07:16.680 Why are you discussing the fact that you have 00:07:16.680 --> 00:07:19.819 no bread? Do you not yet perceive and understand? 00:07:20.399 --> 00:07:22.879 Are your hearts hardened? Having eyes, do you 00:07:22.879 --> 00:07:25.240 not see? And having ears, do you not hear? And 00:07:25.240 --> 00:07:29.129 do you not remember? When I broke the five loaves 00:07:29.129 --> 00:07:32.110 for the 5 ,000, how many baskets full of broken 00:07:32.110 --> 00:07:35.550 pieces did you take up? And the seven for 4 ,000, 00:07:35.550 --> 00:07:38.910 how many baskets full of broken pieces did you 00:07:38.910 --> 00:07:43.829 take up? Do you not understand? Just question 00:07:43.829 --> 00:07:46.029 after question after question after question. 00:07:46.629 --> 00:07:48.649 And don't you kind of wonder what Jesus' face 00:07:48.649 --> 00:07:56.089 looked like? I do. He had just said, watch out, 00:07:56.089 --> 00:07:58.449 beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the 00:07:58.449 --> 00:08:01.230 leaven of Herod. So maybe there was a little 00:08:01.230 --> 00:08:06.829 bit of that parental corrective look, you know? 00:08:10.850 --> 00:08:12.970 I also like to think that maybe there was a little 00:08:12.970 --> 00:08:17.170 glint in his eye. Oh, we're back to bread. Be 00:08:17.170 --> 00:08:21.269 fun. He may be a smile on his face in a way. 00:08:21.689 --> 00:08:26.019 Maybe a little bit of both. What is clear is 00:08:26.019 --> 00:08:28.680 that he's wanting them to understand, to think, 00:08:28.860 --> 00:08:31.560 right? To think about who he is. Think about 00:08:31.560 --> 00:08:33.240 whether or not they will be cared for. Think 00:08:33.240 --> 00:08:36.159 about whether or not they will have enough. Think 00:08:36.159 --> 00:08:37.559 about whether or not they can make it to the 00:08:37.559 --> 00:08:41.000 other side as they have had some storms in the 00:08:41.000 --> 00:08:45.559 past, even there in Mark. He's calling them to 00:08:45.559 --> 00:08:50.200 remembrance. Calling them to remember maybe way 00:08:50.200 --> 00:08:52.340 back when, when the people were there facing 00:08:52.340 --> 00:08:54.240 the Red Sea. How are we going to get across? 00:08:54.769 --> 00:08:56.490 How are we going to live? How are we going to 00:08:56.490 --> 00:09:01.830 eat? He's saying, do you not yet understand? 00:09:03.850 --> 00:09:08.750 Do you remember? We don't know that he gave them 00:09:08.750 --> 00:09:11.590 any bread there in the boat, but we do know that 00:09:11.590 --> 00:09:14.070 he's calling them to a place of trust, trust 00:09:14.070 --> 00:09:18.220 in him remembering who he is. And what is he 00:09:18.220 --> 00:09:20.440 calling them to remember? He's calling them to 00:09:20.440 --> 00:09:22.340 remember that he is enough, that he is sufficient, 00:09:22.379 --> 00:09:24.460 that he is the compassionate shepherd, that he 00:09:24.460 --> 00:09:27.940 cares for his sheep, that he provides perfectly 00:09:27.940 --> 00:09:32.019 the provision of God. Okay, so he's obviously 00:09:32.019 --> 00:09:33.840 doing this. He's got all these questions. He's 00:09:33.840 --> 00:09:35.600 calling them to remember, but why is he doing 00:09:35.600 --> 00:09:41.279 this, right? Why do we not remember? Why do we 00:09:41.279 --> 00:09:46.740 not remember? Verse 11, some of the Pharisees 00:09:46.740 --> 00:09:50.220 came to him and since they began to argue with 00:09:50.220 --> 00:09:53.399 him, which is what we're getting accustomed to 00:09:53.399 --> 00:09:56.100 with these Pharisees, it says that they sought 00:09:56.100 --> 00:09:59.159 a sign for him because they wanted to test him. 00:10:00.039 --> 00:10:02.320 Now, keep in mind that they came to him because 00:10:02.320 --> 00:10:04.639 they had probably heard of his teachings. Maybe 00:10:04.639 --> 00:10:06.980 quite a few of them had sat under his teaching. 00:10:07.500 --> 00:10:09.940 Maybe some had seen some of the miracles, but 00:10:09.940 --> 00:10:12.559 at least they'd heard of that, heard of Jesus 00:10:12.559 --> 00:10:16.570 and his miracles. If they had been there, they 00:10:16.570 --> 00:10:19.110 probably would have seen, right? The blind seeing, 00:10:19.190 --> 00:10:21.470 that's the previous story that we have, right? 00:10:22.090 --> 00:10:24.649 Or, you know, the, sorry, the deaf hearing and 00:10:24.649 --> 00:10:26.889 the mute speaking, and maybe they saw the blind 00:10:26.889 --> 00:10:29.110 being healed and the lame walking and all that. 00:10:29.370 --> 00:10:31.309 And they knew their Old Testament well, and maybe 00:10:31.309 --> 00:10:33.470 they, well, at least they were supposed to put 00:10:33.470 --> 00:10:35.269 together that this was the kind of thing that 00:10:35.269 --> 00:10:37.629 the Messiah would do when he comes, when God 00:10:37.629 --> 00:10:40.210 would restore his people. But here's the other 00:10:40.210 --> 00:10:43.350 thing with the Pharisees is that they saw Jesus 00:10:44.120 --> 00:10:46.940 eating with the wrong kinds of people. They saw 00:10:46.940 --> 00:10:52.220 his disciples not cleaning their hands like they 00:10:52.220 --> 00:10:54.860 wanted people to. They weren't kind of going 00:10:54.860 --> 00:10:59.100 along with the religious stuff of the day. Which 00:10:59.100 --> 00:11:02.539 is to say in some ways that the Pharisees are 00:11:02.539 --> 00:11:04.799 double -minded spiritually, spiritually double 00:11:04.799 --> 00:11:08.460 -minded people. They knew the law of God, but 00:11:08.460 --> 00:11:09.980 they didn't have it written on their hearts. 00:11:11.860 --> 00:11:13.799 And so when God was right in front of them, they 00:11:13.799 --> 00:11:16.639 couldn't see him. And so they sought a sign. 00:11:17.700 --> 00:11:20.279 And how did Jesus respond? He doesn't respond 00:11:20.279 --> 00:11:25.820 very warmly, does he? He sighs deeply, which 00:11:25.820 --> 00:11:27.360 is, by the way, actually a little bit different 00:11:27.360 --> 00:11:29.659 of a word than what we had heard him sigh with 00:11:29.659 --> 00:11:32.360 the woman in the previous passage. He sighs deeply 00:11:32.360 --> 00:11:34.980 in his spirit and says, why does this generation 00:11:34.980 --> 00:11:38.700 seek a sign? Truly, I tell you, no sign will 00:11:38.700 --> 00:11:43.070 be given to this generation. Now I think that's 00:11:43.070 --> 00:11:47.129 kind of odd Why do I think it's kind of odd? 00:11:47.970 --> 00:11:51.549 It's kind of odd because he doesn't tell them 00:11:51.549 --> 00:11:58.110 I'm not giving you a sign Does he I'm not giving 00:11:58.110 --> 00:12:07.029 this generation Like a whole age of people And 00:12:07.029 --> 00:12:10.779 he says no sign will be given And yet we had 00:12:10.779 --> 00:12:14.759 plenty of signs. The three previous stories are 00:12:14.759 --> 00:12:19.440 Jesus giving signs, feeding lots of people, healing 00:12:19.440 --> 00:12:23.360 the deaf man, healing the woman's daughter who 00:12:23.360 --> 00:12:25.299 had the unclean spirit. There's plenty of signs 00:12:25.299 --> 00:12:29.220 happening in that generation. And so what is 00:12:29.220 --> 00:12:33.919 he saying? What's he saying? I think what he's 00:12:33.919 --> 00:12:36.019 saying is what sign is gonna suffice anyway? 00:12:38.119 --> 00:12:42.240 What's going to do it for you? You're not inclined 00:12:42.240 --> 00:12:46.159 to hear anyway. What's going to do it for you? 00:12:46.500 --> 00:12:48.639 They were so caught up in their spiritual double 00:12:48.639 --> 00:12:51.700 -mindedness that there was no sign that would 00:12:51.700 --> 00:12:55.120 be sufficient for them. In fact, in Matthew's 00:12:55.120 --> 00:12:57.759 account of this story, he says that no sign will 00:12:57.759 --> 00:13:00.419 be given except the sign of Jonah. What's the 00:13:00.419 --> 00:13:04.059 sign of Jonah? Well, Jonah goes into the belly 00:13:04.059 --> 00:13:05.840 of the fish for three days and he comes back 00:13:05.840 --> 00:13:08.409 to life, right? It's the sign of the death and 00:13:08.409 --> 00:13:10.129 resurrection of Jesus. And he says, no sign's 00:13:10.129 --> 00:13:13.610 gonna be given except that one. And how many 00:13:13.610 --> 00:13:17.929 people rejected even that one? God dying and 00:13:17.929 --> 00:13:20.269 rising to new life. And some people say, no, 00:13:20.629 --> 00:13:25.730 no, not for me. The way what he's saying is, 00:13:25.870 --> 00:13:31.450 what will help you remember? What sign will suffice? 00:13:32.289 --> 00:13:37.399 What sign is enough? Why do we not remember? 00:13:39.820 --> 00:13:42.100 I think in part, at least, because we are often 00:13:42.100 --> 00:13:45.159 looking for a spiritual Jesus that is sort of 00:13:45.159 --> 00:13:47.759 fashioned after our whims or the whims of our 00:13:47.759 --> 00:13:51.039 friends or whoever. And then when we come to 00:13:51.039 --> 00:13:53.000 Jesus, we're like, I don't know, I kind of want 00:13:53.000 --> 00:13:54.960 to go along with you a little ways, but maybe 00:13:54.960 --> 00:13:58.080 not that far. I like this part of your teaching 00:13:58.080 --> 00:13:59.700 and maybe not that. We're kind of spiritually 00:13:59.700 --> 00:14:03.149 double -minded a lot of times. Jesus sometimes 00:14:03.149 --> 00:14:07.129 isn't quite who we want him to be. He says things, 00:14:07.129 --> 00:14:09.789 right? Like when he spoke to that woman there 00:14:09.789 --> 00:14:11.950 up in Tyre in Sidon, they were a little bit like, 00:14:11.950 --> 00:14:14.549 oh, that's a little cringy. Really want to share 00:14:14.549 --> 00:14:21.669 that part with our friends. He calls his people, 00:14:22.850 --> 00:14:25.110 he calls people to himself that sometimes we 00:14:25.110 --> 00:14:27.210 kind of go, do we need to worship with those 00:14:27.210 --> 00:14:30.159 folk? Like picture this, right? His disciples 00:14:30.159 --> 00:14:34.360 are made up in part of Matthew, who's a tax collector, 00:14:34.399 --> 00:14:35.840 which would have meant that he was in cahoots 00:14:35.840 --> 00:14:39.519 with the imperialists, the Romans. And then he 00:14:39.519 --> 00:14:43.340 calls Simon the Zealot, another guy that we don't 00:14:43.340 --> 00:14:45.620 really know much of anything about. I don't know 00:14:45.620 --> 00:14:49.360 why there's these silent disciples. But Simon 00:14:49.360 --> 00:14:51.639 the Zealot would have been the revolutionary 00:14:51.639 --> 00:14:53.620 trying to overthrow the imperialists. And he's 00:14:53.620 --> 00:14:56.200 like, hey y 'all, why don't you come and sit 00:14:56.200 --> 00:14:58.570 in the pew? And even if they're like, hey, we'll 00:14:58.570 --> 00:15:00.529 sit over here and we'll sit over there. Sometimes 00:15:00.529 --> 00:15:01.830 you're looking around, you're like, I don't know 00:15:01.830 --> 00:15:06.090 about this. I don't know. I'm not sure about 00:15:06.090 --> 00:15:11.230 who Jesus calls to himself. He sits down, of 00:15:11.230 --> 00:15:13.570 course, and eats with the unclean that, of course, 00:15:13.789 --> 00:15:15.629 the Pharisees found offensive, but often, of 00:15:15.629 --> 00:15:17.549 course, we find sometimes offensive. We're like, 00:15:17.669 --> 00:15:22.009 do you have to have those folk love those people? 00:15:23.049 --> 00:15:25.690 We go along for a little while. and then we want 00:15:25.690 --> 00:15:30.929 him to conform to our vision, what true spirituality 00:15:30.929 --> 00:15:34.570 is like, to do our bidding, to do science for 00:15:34.570 --> 00:15:38.330 us. But I also thought that it was really interesting 00:15:38.330 --> 00:15:42.190 that what Jesus does actually in verse 15, he 00:15:42.190 --> 00:15:44.509 says, watch out, beware of the leaven of the 00:15:44.509 --> 00:15:46.730 Pharisees, but then he also says, and the leaven 00:15:46.730 --> 00:15:53.000 of Herod. And so why don't we remember? Well, 00:15:53.000 --> 00:15:54.700 partly we remember because we've got a different 00:15:54.700 --> 00:15:57.600 spiritual idea of what should be done. But I 00:15:57.600 --> 00:15:59.200 think we also have this kind of other thing. 00:15:59.200 --> 00:16:03.259 It's not just the Pharisees. It's also Herod. 00:16:04.700 --> 00:16:07.179 He also warns them about Herod. And why would 00:16:07.179 --> 00:16:13.860 they be tempted to be like Herod? Is Herod's 00:16:13.860 --> 00:16:15.840 temptation another reason why we don't remember 00:16:15.840 --> 00:16:19.460 who Jesus is, who God is for us? I think so. 00:16:20.460 --> 00:16:22.799 Y 'all think back with me about John the Baptist. 00:16:22.860 --> 00:16:26.059 Remember when John the Baptist died? It's just 00:16:26.059 --> 00:16:29.740 a few weeks ago when Jed preached. It's this 00:16:29.740 --> 00:16:34.559 close to this passage. Right there, right? It's 00:16:34.559 --> 00:16:39.000 just in chapter six. And one of the things that 00:16:39.000 --> 00:16:41.740 we read is that Herod thought John to be a righteous 00:16:41.740 --> 00:16:45.659 and holy man. So it says, and it says, he sought 00:16:45.659 --> 00:16:48.919 to keep him safe. That's what it says in the 00:16:48.919 --> 00:16:55.179 passage of John's beheading. Because he thought 00:16:55.179 --> 00:16:57.659 him a righteous and a holy man and sought to 00:16:57.659 --> 00:17:03.200 keep him safe until, until it was politically 00:17:03.200 --> 00:17:09.220 not helpful. Until it messed with his image with 00:17:09.220 --> 00:17:12.279 the people that were at his party. I mean you 00:17:12.279 --> 00:17:14.539 probably remember there in chapter six when Herod's 00:17:14.539 --> 00:17:17.750 brother's wife Herodias Her daughter came and 00:17:17.750 --> 00:17:20.849 did a little risque dancing there, and Herod 00:17:20.849 --> 00:17:24.869 liked it, and he promised her half the kingdom, 00:17:24.910 --> 00:17:26.710 up to half the kingdom, and she says, I just 00:17:26.710 --> 00:17:30.450 want John's head. And even though, again, he 00:17:30.450 --> 00:17:32.750 thought it to be righteous and holy and sought 00:17:32.750 --> 00:17:39.289 to keep him safe, Herod said, well, sure. And 00:17:39.289 --> 00:17:42.609 specifically, what Mark tells us in chapter six 00:17:42.609 --> 00:17:49.299 is because of his oath, and his guests. Guests. 00:17:50.519 --> 00:17:53.859 Herod was politically double -minded, right? 00:17:55.579 --> 00:17:59.359 How about that? I mean, we want Jesus to give 00:17:59.359 --> 00:18:02.880 us all kinds of signs, right? So we don't forget 00:18:02.880 --> 00:18:05.880 who he really is, but we really want him to conform 00:18:05.880 --> 00:18:07.880 to our image and do the kind of signs that we 00:18:07.880 --> 00:18:12.299 like, right? And we often want to go along with 00:18:12.299 --> 00:18:17.900 Jesus while is expedient for us. We get caught 00:18:17.900 --> 00:18:20.119 up, of course, with political power. How does 00:18:20.119 --> 00:18:23.740 Jesus fit in with with my party's vision of life? 00:18:24.559 --> 00:18:27.039 We want to go along with Jesus just so long as 00:18:27.039 --> 00:18:30.160 the crowd around us kind of is OK with it. And 00:18:30.160 --> 00:18:32.380 as soon as their eyes go, what are you going 00:18:32.380 --> 00:18:34.940 to do? We go, I don't know. Let's be done with 00:18:34.940 --> 00:18:38.480 them. And Jesus warns his disciples and he's 00:18:38.480 --> 00:18:42.740 warning us. about this kind of leaven that makes 00:18:42.740 --> 00:18:52.880 us forget who he really is. I know because many 00:18:52.880 --> 00:18:58.039 of you have restored our sourdough starter that 00:18:58.039 --> 00:19:00.259 quite a few of you have gotten into sourdough 00:19:00.259 --> 00:19:03.839 making. And you know that this little leaven 00:19:03.839 --> 00:19:07.099 can affect the whole loaf just a little bit. 00:19:07.660 --> 00:19:11.160 In fact, Probably what you have heard as I have 00:19:11.160 --> 00:19:13.140 is that one of the wonders of sourdough is that 00:19:13.140 --> 00:19:15.279 it tastes different where you are because it's 00:19:15.279 --> 00:19:18.880 largely the wild yeast that affect it. So it 00:19:18.880 --> 00:19:22.299 has to do with where it's growing and what sort 00:19:22.299 --> 00:19:29.180 of air it's breathing, right? You likely know 00:19:29.180 --> 00:19:31.819 that it doesn't take a lot of leaven to affect 00:19:31.819 --> 00:19:35.930 the whole loaf and to give it flavor. And so 00:19:35.930 --> 00:19:39.069 the warning in some ways is obvious, you know, 00:19:39.970 --> 00:19:43.930 the warning is to be aware, be aware of the air 00:19:43.930 --> 00:19:47.630 you are breathing. Like, I mean, they're not 00:19:47.630 --> 00:19:49.970 hanging out with Herod, but they are sort of 00:19:49.970 --> 00:19:54.289 breathing the same air, being taken over in the 00:19:54.289 --> 00:19:59.269 same kind of way. Be aware of what you are listening 00:19:59.269 --> 00:20:05.349 to. The political and religious air you breathe, 00:20:05.509 --> 00:20:09.210 the podcasts we listen to, the news accounts 00:20:09.210 --> 00:20:13.009 we scroll. Be attentive because what he's saying 00:20:13.009 --> 00:20:16.569 is just a little bit and get in and throw the 00:20:16.569 --> 00:20:24.930 whole thing off. Jesus says remember. Remember 00:20:24.930 --> 00:20:27.730 and be careful of the ways that you're inclined 00:20:27.730 --> 00:20:32.960 to forget. So Jesus calls us to remember. He's 00:20:32.960 --> 00:20:34.859 told us some of the reasons why we don't, because 00:20:34.859 --> 00:20:38.700 we are breathing in all this other air. But he 00:20:38.700 --> 00:20:41.900 also tells us what to remember, and I really 00:20:41.900 --> 00:20:45.140 want you to see that first paragraph of our text, 00:20:45.839 --> 00:20:51.039 okay? So the one that starts in verse one. If 00:20:51.039 --> 00:20:54.779 I read that through, or maybe as you heard Gordon 00:20:54.779 --> 00:20:58.720 read it, walking down our aisle, how many of 00:20:58.720 --> 00:21:03.509 you thought deja vu? Anybody thinking deja vu? 00:21:04.250 --> 00:21:08.849 A few of you, right? You're like, we just heard 00:21:08.849 --> 00:21:12.170 this story, except that one of the stories maybe 00:21:12.170 --> 00:21:15.970 got the wrong number or something. There's 4 00:21:15.970 --> 00:21:19.289 ,000 in one, 5 ,000 others, 12 baskets in one, 00:21:19.390 --> 00:21:24.109 there's seven in another. And again, brothers 00:21:24.109 --> 00:21:28.230 and sisters, if you just turned your page, the 00:21:28.230 --> 00:21:32.859 left page just over, it's right here again. It's 00:21:32.859 --> 00:21:35.660 right after the story of John the Baptist. It's 00:21:35.660 --> 00:21:42.539 right there. So close. It's a deja vu. We didn't 00:21:42.539 --> 00:21:44.440 read it too long ago. We didn't consider it too 00:21:44.440 --> 00:21:50.559 long ago. If you were attentive, you notice some 00:21:50.559 --> 00:21:53.740 of the ways that John seems to actually be telling 00:21:53.740 --> 00:22:00.400 you, you've heard this before. Just in chapter 00:22:00.400 --> 00:22:04.049 six, We heard that a great crowd went to Him. 00:22:04.210 --> 00:22:06.250 That's what we heard there in chapter eight, 00:22:06.269 --> 00:22:08.990 the beginning of chapter eight. One of the things 00:22:08.990 --> 00:22:11.089 that we heard in chapter six was that He had 00:22:11.089 --> 00:22:12.710 compassion on them. That's one of the things 00:22:12.710 --> 00:22:16.549 that we hear again in chapter eight. One of the 00:22:16.549 --> 00:22:18.809 things that we hear in chapter six is that it 00:22:18.809 --> 00:22:22.549 was a desolate place. That again is repeated 00:22:22.549 --> 00:22:26.529 again. This is another desolate place. There 00:22:26.529 --> 00:22:29.069 we hear the disciples wondering, how in the world 00:22:29.069 --> 00:22:31.559 are all these people going to be fed? Hear we 00:22:31.559 --> 00:22:35.980 hear that? And Jesus asks them the exact same 00:22:35.980 --> 00:22:38.660 question in chapter six as he asks in chapter 00:22:38.660 --> 00:22:41.539 eight, which is, how many loves do you have? 00:22:43.599 --> 00:22:47.220 But Jesus and Mark is trying to jolt their memories, 00:22:47.440 --> 00:22:50.579 right? I mean, it is intentionally almost the 00:22:50.579 --> 00:22:57.460 same text, almost the same story. So what are 00:22:57.460 --> 00:23:00.400 we to remember? What is Mark doing? Why is he 00:23:00.400 --> 00:23:03.579 telling the same thing again? Right? Repetition 00:23:03.579 --> 00:23:09.720 is the key of learning. Y 'all know that? Stay 00:23:09.720 --> 00:23:13.640 with me. Repetition is the key of learning. Repetition 00:23:13.640 --> 00:23:16.119 is the key of learning. And Mark is doing this 00:23:16.119 --> 00:23:19.319 for us. He's saying, this is what you need to 00:23:19.319 --> 00:23:24.099 remember. And what is he saying? What is he showing 00:23:24.099 --> 00:23:31.700 us? Jesus is compassionate. compassionate. The 00:23:31.700 --> 00:23:34.259 first in chapter six, it says, He looks out among 00:23:34.259 --> 00:23:36.359 the crowd as though they are sheep without a 00:23:36.359 --> 00:23:41.359 shepherd. Here he is, he's compassionate. And 00:23:41.359 --> 00:23:43.279 he has spiritual compassion. Think about this, 00:23:43.420 --> 00:23:46.200 okay? Jesus has been healing, He's been traveling 00:23:46.200 --> 00:23:48.339 around, He goes up to Tyre and Sidon, maybe to 00:23:48.339 --> 00:23:49.960 get a little break, and He's got this lady that 00:23:49.960 --> 00:23:52.619 comes to Him while He's eating, and then He travels 00:23:52.619 --> 00:23:55.559 down right to the Decapolis where this... story 00:23:55.559 --> 00:23:58.180 happens. And there we know that people were bringing 00:23:58.180 --> 00:24:01.519 to him the sick and he's healing them and he's 00:24:01.519 --> 00:24:07.240 busy. And now he's teaching for three days. You 00:24:07.240 --> 00:24:10.420 know, it's Coachella and he's the main act. He's 00:24:10.420 --> 00:24:16.460 the only act in busying himself. And there he 00:24:16.460 --> 00:24:19.420 desires to teach because he has spiritual compassion 00:24:19.420 --> 00:24:25.299 on this crowd. Desires them to know him. He also 00:24:25.299 --> 00:24:28.079 has not just spiritual compassion, but physical 00:24:28.079 --> 00:24:30.660 compassion. Did you notice this? He doesn't want 00:24:30.660 --> 00:24:34.440 to send them away because they might faint. Just 00:24:34.440 --> 00:24:37.220 this little detail. But it's as though God is 00:24:37.220 --> 00:24:43.039 not so distant that He does not see the physical 00:24:43.039 --> 00:24:46.319 pain that you experience. And He has compassion 00:24:46.319 --> 00:24:50.019 towards it. I also want to suggest to you that 00:24:50.019 --> 00:24:54.259 He has compassion on them because He knows actually, 00:24:54.279 --> 00:24:56.720 just like us, that they are prone to forget. 00:24:58.400 --> 00:25:03.180 And they are prone to want signs. I mean, when 00:25:03.180 --> 00:25:06.160 do we want signs from God? Oftentimes we want 00:25:06.160 --> 00:25:09.599 signs from God when we are tired, when we don't 00:25:09.599 --> 00:25:12.119 know where we're going to get our next meal, 00:25:12.140 --> 00:25:13.599 when we don't know what's going to happen in 00:25:13.599 --> 00:25:17.099 the future. Maybe when we are caring for aging 00:25:17.099 --> 00:25:19.859 parents and they have dementia and we say, God, 00:25:19.920 --> 00:25:23.889 are you good? Are you going to care for us? And 00:25:23.889 --> 00:25:26.890 Jesus does care for them actually with a sign. 00:25:27.490 --> 00:25:29.910 He does care for them in their sort of weary 00:25:29.910 --> 00:25:33.150 state by caring for them and loving them, which 00:25:33.150 --> 00:25:35.069 is also to show that he doesn't do this for the 00:25:35.069 --> 00:25:36.150 scribes and the Pharisees because they don't 00:25:36.150 --> 00:25:38.029 come with a heart that is open to what he might 00:25:38.029 --> 00:25:44.369 do. I also want to suggest to you that Mark is 00:25:44.369 --> 00:25:50.410 showing us the compassion of Jesus that unlike 00:25:50.410 --> 00:25:55.380 the Pharisees and Herod, His compassionate heart 00:25:55.380 --> 00:26:03.619 has no bounds. It's wide first. God's grace is 00:26:03.619 --> 00:26:07.740 really wide. They're in the Decapolis, which 00:26:07.740 --> 00:26:11.980 again, y 'all remember, remember the map that 00:26:11.980 --> 00:26:14.500 we looked at last week, right? Here's like the 00:26:14.500 --> 00:26:16.640 Mediterranean, here's Israel. Decapolis is on 00:26:16.640 --> 00:26:19.839 the other side of the Sea of Galilee, which is 00:26:19.839 --> 00:26:23.869 outside of... the holy land there, right? They're 00:26:23.869 --> 00:26:26.210 in the Decapolis. The feeding of the 5 ,000 happened 00:26:26.210 --> 00:26:30.430 within Israel. This happens outside of the land 00:26:30.430 --> 00:26:33.809 of Israel. It happens to the Gentiles. Interestingly, 00:26:34.029 --> 00:26:37.829 the word for basket in chapter six was a common 00:26:37.829 --> 00:26:40.130 Jewish word for basket that you'd carry stuff 00:26:40.130 --> 00:26:43.089 around. The word for basket here in chapter eight 00:26:43.089 --> 00:26:46.150 is actually a common Gentile way of talking about 00:26:46.150 --> 00:26:48.410 the basket that you'd carry stuff around with. 00:26:48.960 --> 00:26:51.079 And Jesus says specifically these people came 00:26:51.079 --> 00:26:53.539 from far away, which in the Bible is another 00:26:53.539 --> 00:26:57.480 way of talking about those who are outside. Which 00:26:57.480 --> 00:26:59.299 is to say that one of the things that Mark wants 00:26:59.299 --> 00:27:03.079 you to see is that God's gracious, compassionate 00:27:03.079 --> 00:27:09.240 heart is wide, way wider than anyone at his time 00:27:09.240 --> 00:27:12.339 would expect, way wider than you would expect. 00:27:12.400 --> 00:27:14.970 The other thing God's grace isn't just wide, 00:27:15.190 --> 00:27:16.450 but one of the things that we see actually as 00:27:16.450 --> 00:27:18.269 we look at this passage is that one of the things 00:27:18.269 --> 00:27:21.210 Mark wants to see is that God's grace is perfect 00:27:21.210 --> 00:27:27.150 too. It's totally perfect. I think that one of 00:27:27.150 --> 00:27:31.410 the reasons why Jesus gave his disciples 12 baskets 00:27:31.410 --> 00:27:35.609 full at the end was maybe because each basket 00:27:35.609 --> 00:27:38.990 was for one of them, right? They didn't have 00:27:38.990 --> 00:27:42.099 anything. They came to Jesus empty -handed, right? 00:27:42.099 --> 00:27:45.859 He says, hey, go get him some food. And they're 00:27:45.859 --> 00:27:47.480 like, we can't do this. We don't have anything. 00:27:47.500 --> 00:27:49.420 And they find the boy. Remember, this is from 00:27:49.420 --> 00:27:51.079 the Gospel of John. John tells us there was a 00:27:51.079 --> 00:27:54.180 boy with the loaves and the fish. And so he brings 00:27:54.180 --> 00:27:56.660 them. The disciples don't come with anything. 00:27:57.059 --> 00:28:00.099 And yet God gives them more than what they need. 00:28:00.819 --> 00:28:06.240 But here, it's not 12, is it? It's seven. Seven 00:28:06.240 --> 00:28:11.640 in the Bible is this number of perfection. completeness, 00:28:12.480 --> 00:28:18.140 fullness, perfection. God's grace is not just 00:28:18.140 --> 00:28:25.000 wide, but it's perfect, abundant, kind, he's 00:28:25.000 --> 00:28:26.900 compassionate, he's spiritually compassionate 00:28:26.900 --> 00:28:29.599 and physically compassionate. He is full of grace 00:28:29.599 --> 00:28:34.819 and his grace is wide and is perfect. That is 00:28:34.819 --> 00:28:38.119 what we are to remember. the compassion of Jesus, 00:28:38.240 --> 00:28:41.640 the care of Jesus, the kindness of Jesus, the 00:28:41.640 --> 00:28:45.420 grace of Jesus, grace of Jesus that is wide and 00:28:45.420 --> 00:28:52.079 perfect. So back to where maybe we began in the 00:28:52.079 --> 00:28:57.799 boat with the disciples. Did you notice the weird 00:28:57.799 --> 00:28:59.420 detail in that story? I mean, there's all the 00:28:59.420 --> 00:29:01.119 questions which are supposed to get your attention 00:29:01.119 --> 00:29:03.559 to and say, why is Jesus doing this? But there's 00:29:03.559 --> 00:29:05.940 a really strange detail in this that kind of 00:29:05.940 --> 00:29:09.579 commentators get hung up on, and I think understandably 00:29:09.579 --> 00:29:13.359 get hung up on. Because listen, now they'd forgotten 00:29:13.359 --> 00:29:18.259 to bring bread, and they only had one loaf with 00:29:18.259 --> 00:29:21.819 them in the boat. And then verse 16, and they 00:29:21.819 --> 00:29:23.680 began discussing with one another the fact that 00:29:23.680 --> 00:29:30.660 they had no bread. It's not that Mark says that 00:29:30.660 --> 00:29:33.170 they began discussing with... with one another, 00:29:33.210 --> 00:29:35.130 how they're going to eat with just one loaf and 00:29:35.130 --> 00:29:40.990 there's like 13 of them. It says they have no 00:29:40.990 --> 00:29:47.049 bread and there's one loaf there. Ancient Christians 00:29:47.049 --> 00:29:55.089 took this as a reference to Jesus. Jesus as the 00:29:55.089 --> 00:29:57.410 true loaf, the bread that comes down from heaven 00:29:57.410 --> 00:30:04.319 to care for the people of God. that if you have 00:30:04.319 --> 00:30:08.440 Jesus, you have enough. If you just have the 00:30:08.440 --> 00:30:12.559 one loaf that is Christ and to feed on Him will 00:30:12.559 --> 00:30:17.380 be sufficient. It'll be perfect. It'll be plenty. 00:30:18.079 --> 00:30:22.200 It'll be wide. It's kindness will be for you. 00:30:22.519 --> 00:30:26.599 If you just have that one loaf, then you will 00:30:26.599 --> 00:30:30.910 be cared for. What we've seen, of course, in 00:30:30.910 --> 00:30:36.630 these feeding stories is that the amount doesn't 00:30:36.630 --> 00:30:39.829 really matter, does it? One story, you've got 00:30:39.829 --> 00:30:43.490 the two fish and the five loaves. Another story, 00:30:43.490 --> 00:30:46.269 you've got seven loaves. One story, you've got 00:30:46.269 --> 00:30:48.829 12 baskets left over. One story, you've got seven 00:30:48.829 --> 00:30:53.450 baskets left over. Part of the point is the number 00:30:53.450 --> 00:30:58.750 doesn't matter one bit. If you've got Jesus, 00:31:00.940 --> 00:31:07.380 Have enough If Jesus you have enough You enter 00:31:07.380 --> 00:31:10.680 the boat and you forget the bread and you just 00:31:10.680 --> 00:31:16.759 want to go off on each other Jesus responds by 00:31:16.759 --> 00:31:21.259 saying do you understand? You remember what I 00:31:21.259 --> 00:31:24.740 did with the 5 ,000 remember what we did with 00:31:24.740 --> 00:31:29.190 the 4 ,000 folk remember how much you Gathered 00:31:29.190 --> 00:31:34.230 up at the end. Of course, what does Jesus do 00:31:34.230 --> 00:31:37.730 when he has these seven loaves? Once again, what 00:31:37.730 --> 00:31:40.369 does he do? Same thing he did in chapter six. 00:31:40.869 --> 00:31:44.450 He takes them, he blesses them, blesses the father 00:31:44.450 --> 00:31:49.430 for them, breaks it, and he gives it. What is 00:31:49.430 --> 00:31:51.990 that doing again for us? It is calling us to 00:31:51.990 --> 00:32:00.250 remember. Remember. the wide, kind, compassionate 00:32:00.250 --> 00:32:02.769 grace of God and the perfect grace of God. So 00:32:02.769 --> 00:32:05.410 let me leave you with the question that this 00:32:05.410 --> 00:32:11.289 text leaves us with. Do you not yet understand? 00:32:18.029 --> 00:32:26.490 Do you not yet understand Jesus for you? Pray 00:32:26.490 --> 00:32:34.329 for us, Lord. How forgetful we are. How much 00:32:34.329 --> 00:32:41.970 we argue with one another, worry. How much we 00:32:41.970 --> 00:32:49.109 live out of scarcity, hoarding, demanding other 00:32:49.109 --> 00:32:54.170 people do what we want them to do. How often 00:32:54.170 --> 00:33:01.880 we think of power our need to grab it like the 00:33:01.880 --> 00:33:07.579 Pharisees and Herod. How often we are double 00:33:07.579 --> 00:33:12.059 -minded people, spiritually speaking, coming 00:33:12.059 --> 00:33:16.940 to you while it is expedient. How often we are 00:33:16.940 --> 00:33:24.859 double -minded like Herod. Yeah, Lord, call us 00:33:24.859 --> 00:33:28.380 back to remember who you are, who you are for 00:33:28.380 --> 00:33:38.940 us. Your abundant, lavish grace for us that is 00:33:38.940 --> 00:33:45.180 wide, that is perfect, that your love for us 00:33:45.180 --> 00:33:51.039 has no bounds. We get in the boat of life, which 00:33:51.039 --> 00:33:56.680 we do often, and we don't see what we think we 00:33:56.680 --> 00:34:00.349 need. And we start throwing punches and words, 00:34:02.210 --> 00:34:07.009 lots of worry. God, would you call us back to 00:34:07.009 --> 00:34:13.949 remembrance? You help us understand, Lord, that 00:34:13.949 --> 00:34:20.269 with you, it's enough. Hear this prayer, we offer 00:34:20.269 --> 00:34:25.159 it in your name. Thank you for listening to Second 00:34:25.159 --> 00:34:27.940 City Sermons podcast. We hope this sermon has 00:34:27.940 --> 00:34:29.960 encouraged you to worship God and to celebrate 00:34:29.960 --> 00:34:32.820 the gospel of Jesus. Please consider subscribing 00:34:32.820 --> 00:34:35.679 to this podcast and joining us in person each 00:34:35.679 --> 00:34:38.559 Sunday at 10 a .m. You can find us online at 00:34:38.559 --> 00:34:41.719 secondcitychurch .org and on Instagram, Facebook, 00:34:41.960 --> 00:34:44.460 and YouTube. Thanks again for listening. God 00:34:44.460 --> 00:34:44.820 bless.