In our study of Mark we are in Mark 6:52; where the disciples are described as having hardened hearts resulting in their failure to understand about the loaves. This is because they were unable to properly process the spiritual information that was being presented to them.
Because of this we took up a discussion of the doctrine of hardness of heart and when we left off we saw that the Pharaoh of the Exodus generation was the poster child for hardness of heart.
The destruction the Egypt incurred as a result of his hardness of heart resulted on the evangelization of entire civilized world of his day. Rom 9:16-17; The principle is that we can do nothing against the truth but only for the truth. 2Cor 13:8;
Maybe this is the destiny that the citizens of the USA will choose as well. Maybe the whole world will be evangelized by the magnitude of the fall of our nation that is the result of our chronic negative volition and hardness of heart. Only God knows.
One of the more famous converts from the hardness of Pharaoh's heart is Rahab the prostitute who ended up in the genetic line of the Messiah Matt 1:5a; She was saved through hearing the story of the hardness of Pharaoh's heart Joshua 2:8-11;
Every time Pharaoh expressed hardness of the heart, more of God's power was revealed and demonstrated impressing others when they heard of it.
This brings The Latin phrase "Vincit (win' ket) Omnia Veritas" Truth conquers all to mind.
Negative volition toward God's word results in the creation of a vacuum that sucks in false doctrine, the demon doctrines described in 1Tim 4:1; were sucked into the heart or left lobe of Pharaoh's soul.
This propaganda caused hardness of heart and blackout of the soul. The scar tissue formed in the right lobe of the soul caused the valves in his soul to seize and in his arrogance he could not think properly. This pattern is found in 2Cor 4:3,4.
Rom 2:5; is therefore a perfect description of the Pharaoh of Egypt and our nation today.
The hardness of heart that the Jews exhibited during the dispensation of the unglorified humanity of Christ is found in John 12:40; This is another perfect illustration of the subject. The principle is also stated in Mark 3:5; and our passage in Mark 6:52;
This verse is a quotation from Isaiah 6:9,10. That is a reference to hardening of the heart stated by our Lord as an expression of the rejection of Him that would occur during His first advent.
John 12:40; "He has blinded" the perfect active indicative of the Greek word "typhloo" that describes the blackout of the soul or the attack upon the heart or the left lobe of the soul. In this case the perfect tense refers to a process rather than the completion of the process.
It emphasizes the process of becoming blind that comes from negative volition that if it becomes chronic results in the blackout of the soul and the creation of the "mataiotes" or the vacuum in the soul.
The active voice indicates that the people with negative volition during our Lord's stay on the earth in unglorified humanity are the producers of the action of the verb. The indicative mood declares the fact of the blackout of their soul while our Lord Jesus Christ was on the earth.
"their eyes" refers to the" eyes of the soul" or spiritual perception. This is blackout of the soul; "and hardened their heart" the aorist active indicative of the Greek word "poroo" refers to the scar tissue or calluses that were created in the soul.
The culminative aorist tense, views scar tissue or hardening of the heart in its entirety but it emphasizes the existing result.
There are three results in this verse: "that they should not see" The aorist active subjunctive of the Greek word "eidon" that means to see. Blackout of the soul follows negative volition, and these people were negative.
They could not see is because of their own negative volition. It is a constantive aorist that indicates that they never did see, they just got worse and worse; the active voice says they produced the action of the verb
"nor understand" aorist active subjunctive of the Greek word "noeo"; "that means to think or understand" and the aorist passive subjunctive of the Greek word "strepho" that means to turn or change.
The aorist tense is a culminative aorist. The passive voice: they could not be changed because of the blackout of the soul and the hardness of their heart that came from their own negative volition.
Literally, this verse says: "He has blinded their eyes, he has hardened their hearts; so they will not see with their eyes, and perceive by means of the heart, so they may be turned, so I can restore them."
In this case the word translated "heal" is more accurately translated " restore," the future active indicative of the Greek word "iaomai" that does mean to heal but it also means to restore nations from destruction from fourth generation curse that if not reversed by a change of thinking results in the 5th cycle of discipline.
Israel wasn't restored at the first advent because in their negative volition and rejection of the gospel they did not understand so they also rejected the Messiah.
By rejecting the gospel and the Messiah they went into hardness of heart and the blackout of the soul with the result that the vacuum created in their soul caused them suck in and believe the lie (demon propaganda).
In spite of the overwhelming evidence that was revealed by the miracles and dynamic messages from our Lord, they kept saying "no" and as a result they remained in unbelief that ultimately became locked in so nothing could change their minds.
No generation of Israel ever said no to more overwhelming evidence, and there is nothing comparable except to go all of the way back to the Pharaoh of the Exodus.
The demon propaganda that chose to believe caused them to accept their own evil tyrannical religious leaders instead of Jesus Christ as their Messiah and the slavery and tyranny of Rome rather than the freedom of Lord's kingdom.
This is a perfect example of the low information voters we have in our country today. It is exactly what happening in our country today with the result that as a nation we are embracing tyranny and rejecting freedom and the people do not recognize it because their hardness of heart causes them to be deceived.
Mark 6:52; The disciples suffered from this same problem but in their case except for Judas Iscariot whose heart went in to full blackout it was temporary.
Mark 6:53; Gennesaret was located in a fertile two mile wide four mile long plain south of Capernaum along the northwestern shore of the lake. Net note 70 In the area where there were several mineral springs so it became a resort for people with various chronic illnesses.
Mark 6:54-56; Instead of just coming and saying, Heal me, they said let us touch your coat. Had they just said, Heal me, He would have healed them all.
But when you tell the Lord how you want something done some people get left out, and in this case only those who touched the hem of His coat were healed.
Instead of simply asking for the Lord to heal them because they believed in his true identity as Messiah they thought of healing in terms of the ritual of having to touch something.
Jesus honored this expression of faith and it resulted in healing for those who could get to him and touch his garment but the ritual actually limited the number people who were healed because those who could not touch Him were not healed.
This same kind of limitation on God's power exists today because of ritual in churches. This is because believers fail to recognize that the power of God is in the Word not in any ritual.
Four problems hinder growth and spiritual change under the ministry of God the Holy Spirit.
Ignorance of God's Word. Rom. 6:1f;
Bias from: preconceived ideas from one's background that blocks out the truth of Scripture Mark 7:6-13;
Unbelief or a spirit of self-trust Jer 17:5; Gal. 3:3, 5; Gal 5:1-5;
And dishonesty with ourselves, a tendency to rationalize sin rather than simply confess our sins in according to God's Word Psa. 32:3-5; Psa 51:6, 10,16);
1John 1:9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
1Cor 11:28-32; But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup.
29 For he who eats and drinks, eats and drinks judgment to himself, if he does not judge the body rightly.
30 For this reason many among you are weak and sick, and a number sleep. 31 But if we judged ourselves rightly, we should not be judged.
32 But when we are judged, we are disciplined by the Lord in order that we may not be condemned along with the world.
Mark 7:1; A religious delegation comes to see Jesus Christ from Jerusalem. This is a continuation of the conflict between Jesus and the religious leaders of Israel that started in Capernaum.
The scribes and the Pharisees are often mentioned together because the Pharisees were the religious political party in the Sanhedrin and the scribes were the teachers of the Law who often were also part of the political system.
Their view was the religion should to rule the state, so they favored the union of religion and state and, of course, they were all very religious people. They were the recognized experts of the Mosaic Law and the traditions and regulations of the elders.