NO. 65 THE REMNANT OF THE BREAD

TEXT: MARK 8: 14- 21 14 Now the disciples had forgotten to take bread, neither had they in the ship with them more than one loaf.

15 And he charged them, saying, Take heed, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, and of the leaven of Herod.

16 And they reasoned among themselves, saying, It is because we have no bread.

17 And when Jesus knew it, he said unto them, Why reason ye, because ye have no bread? perceive ye not yet, neither understand? have ye your heart yet hardened?

18 Having eyes, seeing ye not? and having ears, hear ye not? and do ye not remember?

19 When I brake the five loaves among five thousand, how many baskets full of fragments took ye up? They say unto him, Twelve.

20 And when the seven among four thousand, how many baskets full of fragments took ye up? And they said, Seven.

21 And he said unto them, How is it that ye do not understand? (KJV)

Today I am going to give a message entitled “THE REMNANT OF THE BREAD.”

We see the passages of feeding to five thousand and four thousand people.

What does the Lord like to tell us through these? We would like to know it. Though the Lord takes care of and feed bread to many people, that is not only the main teaching here. For it is written as below.

“Why reason ye, because ye have no bread? perceive ye not yet, neither understand? have ye your heart yet hardened?”

The Lord says it is not the things of bread. And the Lord also asks us to understand, saying repeatedly, “Perceive ye not yet, neither understand? have ye your heart yet hardened?” So it is very important to understand and perceive rightly what the Lord says.

And the Lord also says, “Having eyes, see ye not? and having ears, hear ye not?”

We see the same expression in chapter 4 of Mark, too.

MARK 4: 11- 13 11 And he said unto them, Unto you it is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God: but unto them that are without, all these things are done in parables:

12 That seeing they may see, and not perceive; and hearing they may hear, and not understand; lest at any time they should be converted, and be their sins should be forgiven them.

13 And he said unto them, Know ye not this parable? and how then will ye know all parables? (KJV)

The same words such as “see, hear, perceive and understand” are used also in this parable as the text. So it is implied that the parable is applied in the story of the feeding. So we cannot read it properly unless we take it as the parable.

We are going to understand the verses of the text as the parable.

“And he charged them, saying, Take heed, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, and of the leaven of Herod.”

The Lord gives some hints as to understanding of the parable. The reason for that is because He wants us to understand properly. So this parable is so important that we should understand it.

The hints are two as below.

1. This parable is not about the bread.

Jesus says, “Why reason ye, because ye have no bread?” He says it is not the parable about the food.

2. This parable is not about the leaven but the teaching of the Pharisees and their people.

LUKE 12: 1 Beware ye of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.” (KJV)

MATTHEW 16: 12 Then understood they how that he bade them not beware of the leaven of bread, but of the doctrine of the Pharisees and the Sadducees. (KJV)

The Bible verses tell that what the Lord likes to tell concerning the feedings to five and four thousands is actually that they should beware of the leaven, the teaching, of the Pharisees, Sadducees and Herod. So if we do not know that, we may not be able to understand this parable.

Then, we have one thing to see. That is, it is written that the Lord gives thanks and breaks. It is very similar to the passage of the Holy Communion as below.

1 CORINTHIANS 11: 23, 24 23 For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, That the Lord Jesus the same night in which he was betrayed took bread:

24 And when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me. (KJV)

Therefore this parable of feeding tells that the Gospel of the Lord is provided through His disciples and many people are blessed, saved, baptized and invited to the Holy Communion. The people of five and four thousands who are blessed and given the broken bread liken many Christians who are given the Lord’s salvation and Communion.

There is some thing remarkable in this parable. That is, they collect the remnant of the bread. Many passages say about having meals and eating bread, but it is not easy to find them of collecting the remnant of bread. So we should notice that it is the special thing. And the Lord Himself tells that the hint is in the baskets of the remnant of bread.

We must see the description carefully. After He tells them to understand the Lord asks about the baskets of the remnant, “Perceive ye not yet, neither understand? have ye your heart yet hardened?”

“When I brake the five loaves among five thousand, how many baskets full of fragments took ye up? They say unto him, Twelve.

And when the seven among four thousand, how many baskets full of fragments took ye up? And they said, Seven.

And he said unto them, How is it that ye do not understand?”

The Lord at last says to His disciples who are given hints but yet do not understand, “How is it that ye do not understand?”

So do learn that His disciples have not eventually understood. For the last words of Jesus end with saying, “How is it that ye do not understand?” That is their condition.

They understand that the parable is not about the bread, the food, but about the leaven, the teaching of the Pharisees. But Jesus says, “How is it that ye do not understand?” So there is still something that they do not understand. This passage has not yet been interpreted until now. If we are in the same level of understanding as they are, the Lord may also ask us, “How is it that ye do not understand?”

What does this mean? It is the warning to us. Many among the disciples in the Church age may not understand this parable. This is the parable that they can understand only if they are given the wisdom of God.

Then we now know that the important point is the baskets of the remnant of bread. What does the Lord tell with the twelve or the seven baskets of the remnant of bread?

We should remind of the fact that this parable tells about the leaven of the Pharisees, Sadducees and Herod in order to understand this parable. The Lord warns, “Take heed, beware.” We have another Word of the leaven as below.

MATTHEW 13: 33 Another parable spake he unto them; The kingdom of heaven is like unto leaven, which a woman took, and hid in three measures of meals, till the whole was leavened.” (KJV)

What this verse says is not of good consequence. It points that the leaven is hid in the meals so that the whole is leavened, that is, the sins and the erred teaching spread into the whole of the Church though the Church is originally the meals of no leaven. So the consequence is bad.

Likewise the parable of the feeding says of the bad consequence. It mentions of the consequence after the leaven of the Pharisees, Sadducees and Herod spread.

The parable says that the numbers of the baskets of the remnant of bread are twelve out of five thousand people and seven out of four thousand. Are these numbers many or few? It says that only these are left regardless of how we take them. In short the parable means that the number of remnant is limited as the result of the leaven spreading into the whole Church.

Therefore the central theme of this parable is that though many are invited to Holy Communion, His salvation and fellowship the number of the remnants is finally few because of the spreading of the leaven into the Church.

This also implies the things of the end time in my opinion.

The expression of remnants is many times mentioned in the Bible. They are few.

We see the passages in Isaiah and Jeremiah.

ISAIAH 1: 9 Except the Lord of hosts had left unto us a very small remnant, we should have been as Sodom, and we should have been like unto Gomorrah. (KJV)

ISAIAH 10: 22 For though thy people Israel be a sand of the sea, yet a remnant of them shall return: the consumption decreed shall overflow with righteousness. (KJV)

ISAIAH 17: 3 The fortress also shall cease from Ephraim, and the kingdom from Damascus, and the remnant of Syria: they shall be as the glory of the children of Israel, saith the Lord of hosts. (KJV)

ISAIAH 28: 5 In that day shall the Lord of hosts be for a crown of glory, and for a diadem of beauty, unto the residue of his people. (KJV)

ISAIAH 37: 32 For out of Jerusalem shall go forth a remnant, and they that escape out of mount Zion: the zeal of the Lord of hosts shall do this. (KJV)

ISAIAH 46: 3 Hearken unto me, O house of Jacob, and all the remnant of the house of Israel, which are borne by me from the belly, which are carried from the womb. (KJV)

JEREMIAH 23: 3 I will gather the remnant of my flock out of all countries which I have driven them, and will bring them again to their folds; and they shall be fruitful and increase. (KJV)

Let’s do the will of the Lord in the end time.

End.