Discerning What's Rising

Listening carefully to the influences all around.

Remember: Jesus had just fed another crowd. Thousands again, with leftovers again. But the disciples don’t seem to remember — or if they remember, they don’t understand. They’re worried about bread. Scarcity. Provisions. Maybe they think they’ve used up their miracle quota for the week.

Patient but direct, Jesus warns them: Watch out for the yeast of the Pharisees and of Herod.

They assume he's talking about forgotten bread. But he’s not. Jesus is talking about a mindset or an influence. We might think of it as a way of seeing the world that slowly takes over — like yeast spreading through dough.

The Pharisees demand signs. We’ve already noted how Herod is enthralled with power and spectacle. Both are consumed by control, performance, and protecting their own position. And that kind of yeast is contagious.

Even the disciples — who have seen miracles and held their resulting abundance in their hands — can’t see clearly. Jesus says: Do you still not understand?

It’s possible to witness grace and remain blind to it, to be fed and still worry about food. (Remember how the miraculous manna in the wilderness was soon seen as tiresome.) It’s possible to hear truth and not let it undo our assumptions. That’s how yeast works — subtly, quietly, invisibly changing everything unless it’s checked.

So Jesus invites his disciples (and us) to pay attention: What’s shaping our thinking? What voices are we absorbing without realizing it? What kind of bread are we really eating?

Mark 8:1-21

In those days there was another large crowd with nothing to eat. Jesus called his disciples and told them, “I feel sorry for the crowd because they have been with me for three days and have nothing to eat. If I send them away hungry to their homes, they won’t have enough strength to travel, for some have come a long distance.”

His disciples responded, “How can anyone get enough food in this wilderness to satisfy these people?”

Jesus asked, “How much bread do you have?”

They said, “Seven loaves.”

He told the crowd to sit on the ground. He took the seven loaves, gave thanks, broke them apart, and gave them to his disciples to distribute; and they gave the bread to the crowd. They also had a few fish. He said a blessing over them, then gave them to the disciples to hand out also. They ate until they were full. They collected seven baskets full of leftovers. This was a crowd of about four thousand people! Jesus sent them away, then got into a boat with his disciples and went over to the region of Dalmanutha.

The Pharisees showed up and began to argue with Jesus. To test him, they asked for a sign from heaven. With an impatient sigh, Jesus said, “Why does this generation look for a sign? I assure you that no sign will be given to it.” Leaving them, he got back in the boat and crossed to the other side of the lake.

Jesus’ disciples had forgotten to bring any bread, so they had only one loaf with them in the boat. He gave them strict orders: “Watch out and be on your guard for the yeast of the Pharisees as well as the yeast of Herod.”

The disciples discussed this among themselves, “He said this because we have no bread.”

Jesus knew what they were discussing and said, “Why are you talking about the fact that you don’t have any bread? Don’t you grasp what has happened? Don’t you understand? Are your hearts so resistant to what God is doing? Don’t you have eyes? Why can’t you see? Don’t you have ears? Why can’t you hear? Don’t you remember? When I broke five loaves of bread for those five thousand people, how many baskets full of leftovers did you gather?”

They answered, “Twelve.”

“And when I broke seven loaves of bread for those four thousand people, how many baskets full of leftovers did you gather?”

They answered, “Seven.”

Jesus said to them, “And you still don’t understand?”

Psalm 78:17-20

But they continued to sin against God, rebelling against the Most High in the desert.
They tested God in their hearts, demanded food for their stomachs. They spoke against God! “Can God set a dinner table in the wilderness?” they asked.
“True, God struck the rock and water gushed and streams flowed, but can he give bread too? Can he provide meat for his people?”

Prayer

God,

As a new week begins, help me pay attention to what’s shaping me. There are voices and influences I absorb without thinking — fear, pride, cynicism, the hunger for control.

But I know you’re faithful. You’ve shown it before. But still I worry there won’t be enough. (I’ve got a few kids, donchyaknow.) And so I forget what I’ve already seen you do.

So as I step into this week, clear my mind and soften my heart. Give me discernment to reject what distorts, and faith to remember what is true. Help me trust in your provision and live in the clarity of your grace.

By your Spirit & in Christ,
Amen.