118: Eyes That Cannot See

BEMA Episode Link: 118: Eyes That Cannot See
Episode Length: 28:51
Published Date: Thu, 23 May 2019 01:00:00 -0700
Session 3
About this episode:

Marty Solomon and Brent Billings look at the story of the feeding of the four thousand and watch the disciples struggle to apply its meaning.

Discussion Video for BEMA 118

Map of Tyre and Sidon in relation to the Galilee

Transcript for BEMA 118

Notes

*Note: The following notes are handwritten by me, Adam, and I reserve the right to be wrong.

BEMA Episode 118: Eyes That Cannot See - Study Notes

Title & Source Summary

Episode: 118 - Eyes That Cannot See
Hosts: Marty Solomon and Brent Billings Focus: Matthew 15:29-39, Matthew 16:1-12, Mark 8:14-26 (Feeding of the 4,000, Sign of Jonah, Healing of the Blind Man at Bethsaida)

This episode examines the feeding of the 4,000 in the Decapolis region and explores how Jesus uses biblical numerology to teach his disciples about the universal scope of his mission. Following Jesus’s encounter with the Syrophoenician woman, he deliberately returns to Gentile territory to demonstrate that his Kingdom message extends beyond the Jewish people to all nations. The episode culminates with Jesus confronting his disciples’ spiritual blindness through a powerful object lesson involving a partially healed blind man.

Key Takeaways

The feeding of the 4,000 parallels the feeding of the 5,000 but with intentionally different numbers that signify a Gentile audience rather than a Jewish one.
Jesus uses biblical numerology as a teaching tool - the number 4 represents the Gentiles (four corners of the earth), while 5 represents the Books of Moses and Jewish identity.
In the Decapolis feeding, there are 7 loaves (representing both completion and the 7 pagan nations) but an unspecified number of fish, because Gentiles don’t have the tablets of Moses.
Jesus confronts the disciples for missing the point of both feeding miracles, asking “Do you have eyes but fail to see, and ears but fail to hear?”
The healing of the blind man at Bethsaida serves as a teaching prop - Jesus intentionally half-heals him to illustrate the disciples’ own spiritual blindness.
The “yeast of the Pharisees” refers to their sinful teaching that excludes outsiders and contradicts Jesus’s mission to include the mumzers (outcasts).
Jesus’s mission is expanding from “the lost sheep of Israel” to encompass all people, including those considered unclean and outside the boundaries.

Main Concepts & Theories

Biblical Numerology System

The episode reinforces the symbolic number system that Jesus and first-century Jewish audiences would have understood:

1 - God
2 - The two tablets of Moses (the Law)
3 - Community
4 - Gentiles/the four corners of the earth
5 - The five Books of Moses (Torah)
6 - Sinful man
7 - Completion (also the 7 pagan nations from Joshua 3:10)
8 - New creation
10 - Complete community (3+7)
12 - Tribes of Israel (all of God’s chosen people)
40 - Testing/trial
50 - Organizational groups (from Moses at Sinai in Exodus 18-19)

Feeding of the 5,000 vs. Feeding of the 4,000

Feeding of the 5,000 (Jewish context):

5 loaves (Books of Moses) + 2 fish (tablets of Moses) = 7 (complete law)
5,000 people (complete community of the Books of Moses people - Jews)
12 baskets leftover (all the tribes of Israel - more than enough for God’s people)
Location: Triangle region (Jewish territory)
Message: Jesus is the second Moses giving the law to his disciples, who distribute it to the people

Feeding of the 4,000 (Gentile context):

4,000 people (Gentile number - four corners of the earth)
7 loaves (completion and the 7 pagan nations)
Unspecified number of fish (Gentiles don’t have the tablets of Moses)
7 baskets leftover (complete provision for the nations)
Location: Decapolis (Gentile territory)
Message: Jesus is enough not just for Jews but for Gentile nations

The Yeast of the Pharisees

Yeast symbolizes sin throughout Scripture. The “yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees” specifically refers to their sinful teaching that excludes outsiders and mumzers (outcasts). This teaching contradicts Jesus’s expanding mission to include Gentiles and those outside the traditional boundaries of God’s people. Matthew’s agenda throughout his Gospel is to highlight Jesus’s inclusion of the outsider.

The Narrative Progression

The episode traces a deliberate progression in Matthew’s Gospel:

Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7) - Jesus teaches Kingdom principles
Encounters with outsiders - Roman Centurion’s faith amazes Jesus
First Decapolis visit - Healing the demoniac (most unclean of the unclean)
Return to teach the people - Pronouncing the mumzer agenda
Feeding of the 5,000 - Jesus teaches disciples about his mission to Israel
Peter walks on water - Affirmation that disciples can participate in bringing Kingdom
Syrophoenician woman - Jesus learns his mission extends beyond Israel
Second Decapolis visit - Feeding of the 4,000 to teach disciples about Gentile inclusion
Warning about the yeast - Beware of teaching that contradicts this inclusive mission
Healing the blind man - Object lesson about spiritual blindness

Miracles as Teaching Tools

The healing of the blind man at Bethsaida demonstrates how Jesus uses miracles as teaching props rather than simply as displays of power. Jesus:

Takes the man outside the village (this is a private lesson for disciples)
Heals him partially so “he has eyes but cannot see” (echoing what he just said to disciples)
Makes his point about their spiritual blindness
Completes the healing and sends the man away

This shows that the content of the miracle isn’t always the point - often it’s the lesson being illustrated.

Examples & Applications

Geographic Movement as Teaching Method

Jesus’s physical journeys mirror his theological points. After learning from the Syrophoenician woman that his mission extends to Gentiles, he immediately travels to the Decapolis (Gentile territory) to put this lesson into practice and teach his disciples. The geographic movement from Jewish territory to Gentile territory and back reinforces the boundary-crossing nature of his mission.

The Disciples’ Food Anxiety

The disciples’ concern about bread in both feeding stories reveals their spiritual blindness. They’re worried about physical sustenance when Jesus is teaching them about spiritual provision. In the Decapolis, their concern is even more acute because they can’t buy food from pagan cities (unclean), yet they still fail to understand that Jesus provides abundantly regardless of the circumstances or the people group.

Modern Application of the Mumzer Agenda

Just as the Pharisees taught exclusion of outsiders, modern religious communities can fall into similar patterns of excluding those deemed unworthy, unclean, or outside the boundaries. Jesus’s teaching challenges believers to examine who they consider “in” and “out” and to recognize that God’s Kingdom extends to all people, especially those considered outcasts by religious establishments.

Potential Areas for Further Exploration

Deeper study of Joshua 3:10 - Examine the list of the seven pagan nations and their significance in Jewish thought and how this connects to the number seven in Jesus’s teaching.
The Sign of Jonah - Explore the full meaning of this sign beyond resurrection imagery, particularly as it relates to Gentile inclusion (Jonah’s mission to Nineveh).
Bethsaida’s significance - Research why Jesus chose this specific location for the healing of the blind man and what it might have meant to the disciples.
The Decapolis cities - Study the ten cities of the Decapolis, their pagan culture, and why Jesus chose to minister there specifically.
Mark’s chronological arrangement - Compare Matthew’s and Mark’s ordering of these events and explore why Matthew might have arranged them differently for theological purposes.
Moses at Sinai (Exodus 18-19) - Examine the organizational structure Moses created with groups of 50s and 100s and how Jesus deliberately echoes this in the feeding of the 5,000.
Matthew’s mumzer agenda - Trace this theme throughout Matthew’s entire Gospel to see how consistently he emphasizes Jesus’s inclusion of outsiders.
First-century Jewish numerology - Investigate other examples of number symbolism in rabbinic literature and Second Temple Judaism to better understand how Jesus’s audience would have perceived these numerical patterns.

Comprehension Questions

What are the key numerical differences between the feeding of the 5,000 and the feeding of the 4,000, and what does each number symbolize in terms of the audience Jesus is addressing?
Why does the text specify the number of loaves and fish in the feeding of the 5,000 but only mention “some fish” in the feeding of the 4,000? What theological point is being made?
What does Jesus mean by “the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees,” and how does this connect to Matthew’s larger theme of the mumzer throughout his Gospel?
Explain how the healing of the blind man at Bethsaida functions as a teaching tool rather than simply a miracle of compassion. What specific lesson is Jesus illustrating?
How does the feeding of the 4,000 fit into the larger narrative progression from the Sermon on the Mount through Jesus’s encounter with the Syrophoenician woman? What is Jesus trying to teach his disciples about his mission?

Summary

In this episode, Marty and Brent demonstrate how Jesus intentionally uses biblical numerology to teach his disciples that his Kingdom mission extends beyond the Jewish people to include all nations. The feeding of the 4,000 in Gentile territory deliberately mirrors the feeding of the 5,000 in Jewish territory, but with numbers that signal a Gentile audience: 4,000 people (four corners of the earth), 7 loaves (the pagan nations), and 7 baskets remaining.

Jesus’s frustration with his disciples reaches a climax when they miss the point of both miracles and worry about literal bread. In response, he warns them against “the yeast of the Pharisees” - the sinful teaching that excludes outsiders - and then drives the point home through a dramatic object lesson. He partially heals a blind man, creating a person who “has eyes but cannot see,” which mirrors exactly what he just accused his disciples of being. This forces them to recognize their own spiritual blindness regarding the inclusive scope of his mission.

The episode positions these events as a turning point in Jesus’s ministry, where he moves from primarily focusing on “the lost sheep of Israel” to actively including Gentiles and outsiders in his Kingdom work. This progression aligns perfectly with Matthew’s overarching agenda of presenting Jesus as the one who brings the outcasts and mumzers into the family of God, challenging the exclusive religious establishment of his day and calling his followers to do the same.

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S3 118: Eyes That Cannot See

Feeding the 4000 [28:51]