Do you not yet understand?

What is it the disciples do not understand? Is it that Jesus can take care of them all the time, not just in special occasions?

Motyer calls it "spiritual blindness". That is a good expression. It is good to look at ourselves to see how we fit on this issue? Again this "not understanding" is linked to "hardness of heart" by Jesus.

Hardness of heart to me means selfishness. It means not being concerned about others, only concerned about my own issues, not seeing beyond the length of my nose.

I think all of us struggle with this. The opposite of this is considering God's ways, not our ways. The disciples here saw God's miraculous provision only a short time past but immediately forgot about it. After seeing how God multiplied bread they now go back to worrying about what they will eat.

The disciples have gone back to "normalcy". The are practical atheists once again. They do not consider God when they decide a plan of action or think about their situation. Jesus wants them to change their behavior. He calls it hardness of heart.

I think I do sometimes consider God when I reflect on a situation or a plan of action. That is what God wants. He wants us to know God is eager to be always involved in our lives. But we often unconsciously have areas of our lives where we leave God out. In could be in our jobs, in our romantic life, in our health, in our recreation. God does not want us to leave him out. He wants us to act righteously in all those situations.

Jesus is training his disciples. He wants them to be wholly converted. He wants their hearts to change along with their behavior. It's an act of God but we are involved.

MARK 8:14-21 [14]And they had forgotten to take bread, and did not have more than one loaf in the boat with them. [15]And He was giving orders to them, saying, "Watch out! Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod." [16]They began to discuss with one another the fact that they had no bread. [17]And Jesus, aware of this, said to them, "Why do you discuss the fact that you have no bread? Do you not yet see or understand? Do you have a hardened heart? [18]"HAVING EYES, DO YOU NOT SEE? AND HAVING EARS, DO YOU NOT HEAR? And do you not remember, [19]when I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many baskets full of broken pieces you picked up?" They said to Him, "Twelve." [20]"When I broke the seven for the four thousand, how many large baskets full of broken pieces did you pick up?" And they said to Him, "Seven." [21]And He was saying to them, "Do you not yet understand?" (NASB)