Hungry, Unbelieving, or Dull? - Mark 8:1-21

Scripture

• Mark 8:1–21

About this sermon

One of the things that we want to pay attention to as we study a book like the gospel of Mark, is not only what he records, but how he presents the material to us. Mark is not just telling us what happened, he is organizing it in the way that he does for a reason. We’ve already mentioned his use of a sandwiching technique. He begins with something, and ends with something, and sandwiches another something in between. Well, when I look at verses 1-21 I can’t help but notice the focus on bread (or we could say food, or we could say feeding) in verses 1-10, and verses 14-21, and then sandwiched in between is an encounter with the Pharisees. But what is interesting is that when you get beyond the encounter the Pharisees, Jesus makes a comment about the Pharisees that actually kicks off His disciples thinking about bread — Jesus mentions leaven. So that Mark presents a series of events in verses 1-21 that tie together. I believe that he has presented these events to us in a way that invites us to recognize how they are connected.