The Gospel of Mark Part 30
The Gospel of Mark • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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What does it mean to have a hard heart?
How does one’s heart become hard?
What are the results of a hard heart?
Today, we are going to continue our slight detour from our verse by verse study of Mark’s gospel to take a closer look at what the Bible constantly refers to as our “heart”.
52 For they had not understood about the loaves, because their heart was hardened.
Notice that the CAUSE of the hard heart is not actually given here, only the RESULTS of a hard heart.
The disciples’ failure to understand the miracle of the loaves was the RESULT of them already having a HARD HEART.
So today, we are going to take some time to explore the biblical doctrine of hard heartedness and some examples of it from the Scriptures, how it happens, and how to prevent it.
Here is the correct wording according to the verse:
Hardness of heart leads to a failure to understand God.
Hardness of heart leads to a failure to understand God.
Introduction: What is the heart?
Introduction: What is the heart?
In the Bible, the “heart” is like the hub of our decision-making process.
The heart might be better understood in our modern day language as “the mind”.
The heart is the seat of our inner thoughts, motivations, emotions, and ultimately, our actions
Everything we do is rooted in and stems from the heart.
When we see the repeating patterns of our life choices, we are seeing a reflection of our heart.
Here is what Jesus said about the heart:
21 For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, 22 thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lewdness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness. 23 All these evil things come from within and defile a man.”
Jesus’ half-brother, James, echoed this teaching in his epistle:
1 Where do wars and fights come from among you? Do they not come from your desires for pleasure that war in your members?
Why are some people prone to violence or lust or theft?…It’s because that is what is in their hearts!
It is in the heart that we decide our values and our priorities:
34 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
The heart must be guarded and guided if we are to succeed in keeping it from becoming hardened:
23 Keep your heart with all diligence, For out of it spring the issues of life.
The word “keep” here means to protect or to guard; to carefully watch over.
We are called to live holy lives, and if we are to experience any level of success at holy living, we must take careful inventory of our hearts and apply proper biblical truth to our hearts to ensure that the things that proceed out of them are holy.
I. The Hard Hearts of the Pharisees
I. The Hard Hearts of the Pharisees
I. The Hard Hearts of the Pharisees
A. In the Synagogue
Mark 3:5 (NKJV)
5 And when He had looked around at them with anger, being grieved by the hardness of their hearts, He said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” And he stretched it out, and his hand was restored as whole as the other.
Legalism Leads to Hard Hearts
Legalism Leads to Hard Hearts
Saving life or killing life didn’t matter to them - they were so calloused that they had become fixated on one issue and one issue only - their own strict interpretation of the laws regarding the Sabbath Day.
I. The Hard Hearts of the Pharisees
A. In the Synagogue
B. With the Multitudes
When asked by the Pharisees about His view on divorce, which was really an entrapment question, Jesus asks them about the Law, and they point to the exception made by Moses.
5 And Jesus answered and said to them, “Because of the hardness of your heart he wrote you this precept.
Jesus is bringing this to light to expose the hearts of these Pharisees - notice that He says “because of the hardness of YOUR hearts”, but these men were not present at the time of the giving of this law of Moses!
Unbiblical Views of Relationships Lead to Hard Hearts
Unbiblical Views of Relationships Lead to Hard Hearts
II. The Hard Hearts of the Disciples
II. The Hard Hearts of the Disciples
II. The Hard Hearts of the Disciples
A. On the Sea
52 For they had not understood about the loaves, because their heart was hardened.
So here, in Mark 6, we see that hardness of heart is not limited to the unbelievers and the skeptics…even those close to Jesus in proximity can harden their hearts.
At some point along the way, the disciples’ hearts had become hardened.
They should have seen this man walking on the sea and known who it was!
The problem that the disciples had was that they misunderstood the miracle of the loaves.
They failed to see the lesson in the loaves, which was God revealing Himself in the Person of Jesus Christ.
Hard hearts lead to failure to understand God
Hard hearts lead to failure to understand God
Had they had soft, teachable hearts, they would have understood that this Man, Jesus of Nazareth, was indeed the Yahweh of their Scriptures and celebrated His passing by them as a glorious sight…but instead they only assumed it was a spirit.
They should not have cried out in fear, but in PRAISE and WORSHIP!
So, we have here a RESULT of a hard heart, but what was the CAUSE of the disciple’s hard hearts?
That is answered in the next section:
II. The Hard Hearts of the Disciples
A. On the Sea
B. In the Boat
14 Now the disciples had forgotten to take bread, and they did not have more than one loaf with them in the boat. 15 Then He charged them, saying, “Take heed, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod.” 16 And they reasoned among themselves, saying, “It is because we have no bread.”
Once again, Jesus is teaching them something SPIRITUAL, but they mistake it for something PHYSICAL.
Leaven almost always represents sin in the Bible, and Jesus is teaching them that even though these men have political and cultural authority, they do not have spiritual authority - they are to beware of these men.
Before, creating new food to feed the 5,000 and Jesus showing them His glory when “He would have passed them by”…Now He is teaching them something critical about the spiritual and political leaders of Israel - men that they had grown up with great respect for and even in fear of…and Jesus is breaking that cultural boundary…but once again, the disciples didn’t understand because their hearts were STILL hardened!
Mark 8:17–18 (NKJV)
17 But Jesus, being aware of it, said to them, “Why do you reason because you have no bread? Do you not yet perceive nor understand? Is your heart still hardened? 18 Having eyes, do you not see? And having ears, do you not hear? And do you not remember?
Jesus’ rebuke here is even stronger than last time.
He is repeating the often used language for Israel in the OT.
Hard hearts are often illustrated by BLIND EYES and DEAF EARS.
A hard-hearted person does not see what God is showing him and doesn’t listen to what God is saying to him.
A hard-hearted person is focused on the physical world instead of the spiritual reality right in front of him.
The disciples had ignored the spiritual truth that Jesus was, in fact, God. They saw Him as Messiah, but with a limited view - they didn’t see Him as God in the flesh, even after experiencing the miracles of the loaves.
The cause of their hard hearts was that they were focused on the PHYSICAL, not the SPIRITUAL…and the result of their hard hearts was that they missed what God was doing.
Ignoring Spiritual Truth Leads to Hard Hearts
Ignoring Spiritual Truth Leads to Hard Hearts
II. The Hard Hearts of the Disciples
A. On the Sea
B. In the Boat
C. At the Table
14 Later He appeared to the eleven as they sat at the table; and He rebuked their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they did not believe those who had seen Him after He had risen.
This takes place post-resurrection - Jesus has died, was buried, and has risen again, and has been eye-witnessed by several individuals:
<READ Mark 16:9-13>
Both Mary the Magdalene and the two disciples on the road to Emmaus had seen Him alive and had reported it to the eleven, but their hearts were STILL hardened and because of that, they did not believe them!
So Jesus had sent multiple eye-witnesses to proclaim His resurrection to the disciples, but they were hard-hearted and therefore lacked faith!
A Lack of Faith Leads to Hard Hearts
A Lack of Faith Leads to Hard Hearts
We have looked at some causes of hardened hearts, now let’s see some of the effects:
III. The Results of a Hardened Heart
III. The Results of a Hardened Heart
III. The Results of a Hardened Heart
A. Rejection of Scripture
4 And it happened, as he sowed, that some seed fell by the wayside; and the birds of the air came and devoured it.
15 And these are the ones by the wayside where the word is sown. When they hear, Satan comes immediately and takes away the word that was sown in their hearts.
When the hardened heart hears the Word of God, it deflects it...the word of God cannot penetrate it
When a hard heart reads Scripture or hears it read or taught, the heart rejects what it hears, and Satan swoops in and snatches it away before it has time to make its way below the surface.
Physically, we hear with our ears, but spiritually we hear with our hearts. And when the heart becomes hard, it rejects the word of God.
III. The Results of a Hardened Heart
A. Rejection of Scripture
B. Ruining Other’s Lives
25 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you cleanse the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of extortion and self-indulgence. 26 Blind Pharisee, first cleanse the inside of the cup and dish, that the outside of them may be clean also.
Blindness is often connected to and a synonym of hard hearts.
Notice that the hardened, blinded state of their hearts led them to extort (plunder) other people and live completely selfish lives.
We have already seen some causes of the hard hearts of the Pharisees, here we see some results.
B. Ruining Other’s Lives
Extortion
This word literally means to plunder.
The cup and the dish (for drink and food) were supposed to be filled with good things for others, but with the Pharisees, their hearts were full of bad things for others that ruined others’ lives.
Their vessel was contaminated by sinful acts towards others, in this case extortion.
One example of this is the way that they would use their position to take advantage of the most vulnerable in society: the elderly and widows:
10 For Moses said, ‘Honor your father and your mother’; and, ‘He who curses father or mother, let him be put to death.’ 11 But you say, ‘If a man says to his father or mother, “Whatever profit you might have received from me is Corban”—’ (that is, a gift to God), 12 then you no longer let him do anything for his father or his mother,
They made the gifts to the temple treasury more attractive and perhaps even more holy than taking care of aging parents.
40 who devour widows’ houses, and for a pretense make long prayers. These will receive greater condemnation.”
This may have been done by pressuring these women to will them their houses or to charge them for praying for them. (notice the reference to prayer right after the statement about the widow’s houses).
B. Ruining Other’s Lives
Extortion
Self-Indulgence
Matthew 23:25 (NKJV)
25 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you cleanse the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of extortion and self-indulgence.
A hard heart refuses to see the needs of others.
Self-indulgence is a total lack of self-control; it is an unruly appetite and a lustfulness of heart.
So, as a result, the hurting people around the hard-hearted person are ignored and uncared for.
Jesus’ command here in v. 26 is clear: Take care of the inside (the heart) first, and then the outside will be clean.
26 Blind Pharisee, first cleanse the inside of the cup and dish, that the outside of them may be clean also.
III. The Results of a Hardened Heart
A. Rejection of Scripture
B. Ruining Other’s Lives
C. Revelation of God’s Judgement
<READ Romans 2:1-4>
5 But in accordance with your hardness and your impenitent heart you are treasuring up for yourself wrath in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God,
Notice that the hardness of the heart brings about God’s wrath and judgement.
Many times we think of the wrath of God as Him actively pouring out His fury and punishment for our sin, but Paul in Romans sees it as a more passive action:
Romans 1:18 (NKJV)
18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness,
And God’s wrath comes in three phases:
Phase One:
Romans 1:24 (NKJV)
24 Therefore God also gave them up to uncleanness, in the lusts of their hearts, to dishonor their bodies among themselves,
Phase Two:
Romans 1:26 (NKJV)
26 For this reason God gave them up to vile passions. For even their women exchanged the natural use for what is against nature.
Phase Three:
Romans 1:28 (NKJV)
28 And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind, to do those things which are not fitting;
Notice that at each level, God is simply taking His hands a little bit farther away, allowing more and more of the consequences of sin to take control, until they have reached the basement of depravity.
Conclusion:
How is your heart doing today?
Has your heart been struggling with any of these issues:
Legalism?
Unbiblical views of relationships?
Failure to understand God?
Ignoring spiritual truth?
Lack of Faith?
Have you noticed any of these results of a hard heart:
Rejection of Scripture?
Ruining lives?
Revealing God’s wrath?
We must strive to obey the Bible’s clear teaching on this subject of our hearts:
23 Keep your heart with all diligence, For out of it spring the issues of life.