are your hearts hardened?

After having witnessed Jesus' miraculous provision of bread, not once, but twice, His disciples were muttering about having no bread.  Reminding them of both miracles, Jesus warned them about the "yeast" of the Pharisees and that of Herod (Mark 8:15).

The religious leaders of their day, the Pharisees, were the "spiritualists" of Jewish culture, denying corporeal human needs in favor of religious practice, as in opposing Jesus' healing on the Sabbath.  Jesus noted that they tithed things like spices, but neglected the more important matters of the law that addressed the human predicament, things like justice, mercy, and faithfulness (Matthew 23:23).

On the other hand, the political leaders, the Herodians, were the "materialists" of their day, denying the power of God and opting instead for spiritual compromises in order to obtain material gain in the Roman culture. Jesus called them hypocrites or false actors.

These groups were united in their frontal opposition to Jesus, attempting to trap Him on numerous occasions, and ultimately conspiring in their getting Him crucified.  But Jesus particularly warned His disciples about their insidious influence as if it were a foul yeast which would slowly rise to spoil lives of believers who would proclaim and proffer the Bread of Life.  As His People were directly attacked and subtly influenced by both groups, there was a danger that their hearts would be hardened, as evidenced in their arguing about bread. And so Jesus asked them directly: “are your hearts hardened?” (Mark 8:17).

No doubt He is asking us the same question in our day. The People of God are always opposed and polluted by those same materialist and spiritualist spirits, not only from outside, but particularly from inside.  Believers' hearts have been hardened, the Body has been poisoned, and the Bread of Life has been kept on a religious shelf, rather than being distributed to a hungry world that God so loves.

The still-Incarnate Christ is both material and spiritual, and in Him hearts are softened and souls and bodies are fed.  Let's return to Him for real Food, both for ourselves, and for offering to others.