Richard Dawkins, the famous Oxford zoologist said, “Faith is the great copout, the great excuse to evade the need to think and evaluate evidence. Faith is belief in spite of, even perhaps because of, a lack of evidence.”
Does Jesus prove Richard Dawkins right in our passage today? Jesus is asked for a sign to show that He is the real thing and He refuses to give a sign and walks away. Is this Jesus way of showing us that faith is taking action to believe, in spite of the lack of evidence?
Turn with me to Chapter 8 of the Gospel of Mark, and let’s see if we can find out. If you are marking verses this morning, the key verses for us this morning are: verses 7, 12, 15.
Isn’t this human nature – people want proof before they commit? When we go to buy a new car, we take it for a test drive. When we buy clothes, we try them on first. Ladies, when you shop for lipstick, you try it on first, right? Men…well, I’ve never seen men trying on lipstick at the department store. But, men, if you were thinking of buying a large flat screen TV, wouldn’t you go and compare the picture quality side by side? How many here snack on all those samples they give out at Costco when you go shopping? We like to try before we buy, there is no doubt about it.
Here in our passage this morning we have Jesus give us a sample, so to speak, of who He is by feeding the four thousand. This of course is not an isolated example of what Jesus can do. So far in the book of Mark we have seen him drive our demons, heal numerous people – including Peter’s mother in law and a man with leprosy. He has calmed a great storm in an instant, walked on water and even has raised a little girl from the dead; Yet, yet, no one seems to really get it, they have no idea who He really is. Where is their faith? Where is their understanding?
Looking at the beginning of this passage we see a familiar predicament. A large crowd had gathered to hear Jesus teach. Jesus has taught them for an extended length of time, and the people quite simply need to eat. Now remember, this same thing happened back in Chapter 6. Let me be clear, this is not the same event as the feeding of the five thousand; We see at the end of our passage in verses 18-20 that clearly Jesus and the disciples discuss, not two versions of the same event, but two different and distinct events.
So we see in verses 1-3 Jesus having compassion on the people, even fearing that they will collapse if He sends them away, but His disciples respond, “But where in this remote place can anyone get enough bread to feed them?” Well, you know guys, remember, a short time ago? Same situation, different place. What did Jesus do then? How in the world do these guys not remember? After all the things they have seen, up close and personal – it is if Jesus had never done anything miraculous before!
We are exactly the same.
A young man of age 22 was diagnosed with testicular cancer. It was serious. Jack was given a very low chance of making it. But a year later he was healthy and cancer free. A few weeks later it was discovered that Jack had a tumor the size of a football in his belly. It was intertwined around various organs. They had to operate immediately. Jack was given a 10% chance of survival, 10%. The surgery was to last 28 hours and three teams were lined up to do tag team surgery. The entire team were devote Christians. Four hours later the tumor was out, it was the most perfect, by the book surgery they had ever experienced. THEN, about four months later Jack was driving his silver Ford Bronco and Jack was very drunk. He had an accident killing and 18 year old boy and Jack barely survived the accident.
He was not allowed visitors in the hospital as he was a prisoner of the state. A few months later Jack was released on bail with an ankle bracelet to monitor him. We spent some time together in his parents living room talking about the events of the last few months, and at one point Jack said to me – “Maybe God is trying to get my attention?” Ya Think!
We may not be as dense as Jack, but I tell you, here in this congregation I have seen a number of people who have had God intervene miraculously in their life and when the next difficult issue arises, the past mighty acts of God in their life are completely forgotten: Faith amnesia.
That is what the disciples have, faith amnesia. Our current situation is so overwhelming, we forget about how God has come through in the past.
So just like the last time Jesus asks them what they have, 5 “How many loaves do you have?” Jesus asked. “Seven,” they replied. Notice that again, like the last time at the feeding of the five thousand, the disciples resources are inadequate. We also see in verse 7 that there were a few small fish, this would mean, you know, hooligan size. (In Alaska a hooligan is a small tasty fish that swarms in the spring) Jesus asks them this to point out the obvious – there is no possible way that you can make this happen. So watch me…one…more…time. See the question with the loaves implies – You all may not know what to do, but I know what I will do.
Jesus breaks the bread and gives thanks. It is important to see that in verse 8, they were satisfied. This indicates there was plenty of food. Do the disciples get it? Of course not. They, like us, are living in the moment. At the next sign of trouble, this too will be forgotten.
Right here we have Jesus making a very powerful point for our lives. Some of you here have heard some bad news about your health. Some of you are seeing relationships dissolve right before your eyes. Some of you are holding off on a decision that you have to make and still others fear that habit you have given up, will come back to haunt you, and when it does you aren’t sure that you will have the strength to resist. In all these things, we see that we are not adequate. In all these things we are troubled, for deep down we know we are powerless to stop what we see happening right before our eyes.
And Jesus breaks the bread and they were satisfied. Do you see what Jesus is trying to teach us?
The other day I had this guy call me up and tell me his difficulties at length. He was at the end of his rope and couldn’t solve the problem himself. When he finished I gave a few suggestions and asked, “How much have you prayed about this situation?” “Well…come to think of it, I haven’t prayed about it at all. I guess that might help.” Well, no kidding. There it is again, that faith amnesia.
Now keep all this in mind, all this about the feeding of the four thousand, because we will revisit it in a little bit as it comes back at the end of our passage.
We see that Jesus gets in a boat and heads across the lake. The Pharisees come out to argue with him. In the NIV, what I read from this morning, the word used is test, the intention in the Greek is that they have not come out for a friendly chat or a theological discussion, but for a dispute. So they began to question him and they ask him for a sign from heaven. That seems rather innocuous. They aren’t asking Jesus for something he hasn’t already done. They are not asking Jesus for something that He cannot do. Why does Jesus refuse them?
Like the multiplying of the fishes and the loaves this whole encounter with the Pharisees is about faith and what faith really is. The Pharisees seek a sign, but hasn’t Jesus given them signs before? These men have been present at many of the healings and other miracles that Jesus had preformed. They have seen Jesus in action over and over. So why do they ask for another sign?
The request for a sign is not a request for a miracle, they have seen that before. They have seen the power of Jesus. If fact they don’t deny the power of Jesus, they just don’t believe it is from God they have claimed it is from Satan. This request has nothing to do with power and as a matter of fact we struggle with the same thing that the Pharisees here are struggling with: It is not the power of God that holds us back in faith, but trustworthiness. These men know that Jesus has the power, but they ask for something that will show them they can trust in him. See, their request is a demand that he demonstrate the legitimacy of his actions. They have seen His actions but that is not enough. They are using Deut 18:21-22 to test him, ”You may say to yourselves, ‘How can we know when a message has not been spoken by the LORD?’ If what a prophet proclaims in the name of the LORD does not take place or come true, that is a message the LORD has not spoken. That prophet has spoken presumptuously. Do not be afraid of him.”
Jesus knows what they are doing. They are telling Jesus that they believe He is a false prophet. But He can give them a sign to show that He is a true prophet. Jesus says in verse 12, “Why does this generation ask for a miraculous sign? I tell you the truth, no sign will be given to it.” And He turns and walks away.
Why didn’t Jesus take this chance to make them believe? By approaching Jesus in this way the Pharisees are in essence asking Jesus to take away all matter of faith. They are asking Him to take away the necessity of them taking the step of faith to believe. Jesus refuses to comply. They are asking Jesus to remove need for faith. Their question for a sign is not a question of faith, but a question of unbelief. They do not want to have to worry about thinking about faith, they want it dropped into their lap.
We believe in Jesus Christ because of who He is, we don’t believe in Jesus Christ for what He can do. Jesus doesn’t want us to believe in a sign, Jesus wants us to believe in Jesus. Asking God for a sign so you can believe is akin to making a deal with God – and God doesn’t make deals. God is God. He exists, He is all powerful, all knowing, all present, at every single point in your life. Jesus Christ works on his own terms, not your terms, not on my terms. I cannot create a paradigm for Jesus to fulfill and say, “Ok Jesus, if you fulfill these parameters that I have set out, I’ll believe in you” - If you heal my daughter, I’ll give my life over to you – If you step in and fix this relationship, I’ll know your for real – If you give me good results on this test from the doctor, I’ll open my heart to you” Jesus will tell us, “No sign will be given” God will not fit into your created reality. We mistakenly think that setting up parameters for God to fulfill is faith, when it is merely a fog for our unbelief.
The rejection of Jesus by the Pharisees was also a fog of unbelief. Can you imagine? How could the have missed it?
Back to the disciples. Jesus gets back in the boat and as they head out Jesus says, 15 “’Be careful,” Jesus warned them. “Watch out for the yeast of the Pharisees and that of Herod.’” The disciples think that Jesus is upset with them because they only brought one loaf of bread. How funny is that? Faith amnesia strikes again. You know, just a few minutes ago they were gathering baskets of leftover bread from feeding four thousand people with seven loaves, don’t you think Jesus could feed twelve disciples with one loaf of bread? I mean literally a few minutes before they had seen this miracle. We see that repeated exposure to Jesus did not bring a greater faith, but brought amnesia.
Jesus speaks of the yeast in the sense of corruption. The corruption in the lives of these Pharisees has worked though their whole person to the point where it has effected even their judgment in matters of faith. But the disciples don’t get it, they are blind to its meaning. Like the Pharisees, the disciples think of faith in terms of signs. So Jesus, probably exasperated at this point, says remember? Note here, Jesus is speaking to us as well. Remember what has happened in the past? Remember how I have taken care of you? Remember how you thought this was the end? Remember how you felt the presence of my Spirit? Remember? And He goes through the feeding of the five thousand and the parallel feeding of the four thousand with them.
Do you still not understand?
Notice the disciples get all the facts right, but they cannot interpret them.
See, faith is not about stuff. It is not about things happening or things not. It is not about things coming together. It is not about a happy feeling or a secure moment or even knowledge.
Faith is about trusting in a person. A person. Not things or emotions or events or stuff. You know, it is not coincidental that when we talk about a faithful husband or a faithful wife, that faithfulness is in the context of a relationship. If there is no relationship, there is no faith.
The Pharisees refused to have a relationship with Jesus, and so they had no faith. If you are struggling to believe this morning…perhaps the reason might be that you have no relationship with Jesus Christ. For what is faith without a relationship? A curiosity.
Remember I started with a quote from Richard Dawkins, the famous Oxford zoologist. Remember, he said, “Faith is the great copout, the great excuse to evade the need to think and evaluate evidence. Faith is belief in spite of, even perhaps because of, a lack of evidence.”
Richard Dawkins is not speaking of faith. He might be speaking of stubborn ignorance or he might be speaking of those who refuse to let go of their superstitions, but Richard Dawkins is not speaking of faith. For faith is about relationship and the Christian faith is all about relationship with our Lord Jesus Christ.
Though let me say that our Christian faith is built upon solid evidence and fact and not an illogical hope of a conglomeration of things that Dawkins alludes to. No, our evidence is very real.
Now Dawkins is free to create his own personal definition of faith, and them mock those who do not meet his imaginary paradigm. But the faith that Dawkins alludes to is not the faith that the bible teaches us that we have, no our faith is very different. Let me close with just two definitions of biblical faith, one from the NT and one from the OT.
Heb. 11:1 Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.
We are sure of what we hope for. We are sure that we will be with our Lord Jesus at the end of all things. We are certain of what we do not see. We are certain that the Spirit of the Lord is with us, even though we cannot see Him. We believe all of this based upon the full reliable information we receive in the revelation of God in His holy Word.
And here, as you know is my favorite definition, it is the definition of a living faith, from Dan. 3:16-18.
Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied to the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it, and he will rescue us from your hand, O king. But even if he does not, we want you to know, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.”
See, their faith was about trusting in a person. The Lord God. It was not about things or emotions or events or stuff. It is not about things happening or things not. It is not about things coming together. It is not about a happy feeling or a secure moment or even knowledge. It is simply, and purely about relationship.
Without a relationship, there is no faith.
