Herod, Pharisees and Jesus - Part 1 Guide 2

Key Concept (Leader Read): If the core of faith in Jesus is allegiance, it makes sense that tension of that faith is the revelation of false allegiances. Part of the reason that secularism has impacted us so deeply is because it has formed hidden allegiances without our awareness. If we are going to flourish in our faith, we must discover the false allegiances that have found their way within us.

Scripture Reading; Mark 8:11-21

Summary Reflection: (Leader Read)

“Jesus begins by asking rhetorical questions to expose what we can’t discern. Concerned with the natural, we minimize the spiritual. Unaware of the unnamed story, our hearts become hardened, and we focus on the wrong details. In our self-righteousness, we decide that we have already heard all that matters and we cannot discern our deafness. We are just like the disciples in the boat with Jesus. In the disciples’ inability to truly understand, Jesus uses the events of his miraculous feedings to reveal the reality of the life around them. As he asks his disciples how many baskets were left over when he fed the crowd of 5,000 and 4,000, two numbers emerge: twelve and seven. In the biblical narrative, numbers hold symbolic meaning. It’s not saying that every number has a hidden secret knowledge, but at times specific numbers were used by authors to explain the larger stories of life. Twelve and seven are two of those numbers. Twelve is the number of the people of God. It’s the symbol behind the twelve tribes of Israel and the twelve disciples, alongside many other examples. Seven is the number of God’s presence, holiness, and rule. Some simplify it to the number of God himself, telling the true story of God’s nature and involvement in the world. We see seven days of creation and the seven churches of the book of Revelation, with many sevens in between” (31-32). Jesus was using sevens and twelves to help his disciples understand something important. He was not concerned about the lack of bread on the boat but the lack of understanding of the world they thought they knew. If we simplified Jesus into our own language he was saying, “You have to understand there are two great powers in the world around you: the power of Herod and the power of the Pharisee. But the only power that can rightly lead the people of God is me.” 


DISCUSSION (10-15 minutes: Allow each group member to choose one of the these questions to respond to)

  1. Do you resonate with the disciple’s reaction to assume Jesus was talking about natural things rather than spiritual things? Have you ever found yourself minimizing the spiritual realities of life?

  2.  What do you hear Jesus saying in the symbols of sevens and twelves? What does it make you think about? ● Do you see this challenge in your own life?

  3.  Where have you found it difficult to build your life solely on the foundation of Jesus? 


ENCOUNTER TIME - Set the atmosphere to respond to God.  Choose one of the response questions that feels right for your group.  

  1. Ask Holy Spirit where you have lost hope? Ask Holy Spirit what He says to this situation. 

  2. Pray hope for one another in the tender areas we have lost hope.