Experience the Gospel of MarkSample

Motions over Motive

Pharisees were religious leaders during the time of Jesus who, in general, were more concerned with rules and regulations than a genuine relationship with God. In Mark 8:15, Jesus calls the Pharisees and their teachings “yeast”—a powerful ingredient found in bread that makes it rise when baked. Just a small amount of yeast can completely change the makings of the bread. (As a side note, Jesus uses this image immediately after His miracle involving thousands of loaves of bread to help disciples understand His warning.) The teaching of the Pharisees is like yeast in bread; their thinking completely (and wrongly) changes how people interact with God.

The warning remains relevant for us today. Although the actual Pharisees no longer exist, there are certainly people in our lives who think like the Pharisees. These negative influences can be rather deceiving. At first glance, Pharisee-minded people seem very connected to God and His teachings. However, their commitment to religion only affects their actions and does not challenge their hearts. Pharisee-minded people can distract us from the heart of Jesus’ teaching by tempting us to focus solely on the rules and traditions of religion. Pharisee-minded people miss the very point of the Gospel.

Bottom Line: Our relationship with God can become distorted when we prioritize the motions over the motive.

Experience-

In Mark 8:22, Jesus meets a blind man from Bethsaida. This town is known for being a cruel and unwelcoming community. Like the Pharisees, they lack faith and doubt Jesus’ power. Because of their thoughts toward Jesus, He chooses to heal the blind man outside of Bethsaida (Mark 8:23) and tells the man not to return to the village after Jesus heals him (Mark 8:26). Although this command from Jesus seems harsh, it illustrates how negative of an influence Pharisee-minded people can have on believers.

What or who in your life do you need to separate from to strengthen your relationship with God? This object, activity, or person may not be entirely bad, but its influence could be negatively impacting your life.

Pray to God and ask for clarity and strength as you consider separating yourself from this influence.