Daily Devotional For Friday, July 5, 2024

Well, the weekend has finally arrived. It's a fabulous Friday. Today we are in Mark 8, where Jesus is full of questions directed to His disciples. Sometimes we ask questions out of confusion so that we can be given more clarification. Sometimes, we ask questions out of anger and frustration. This seems to be Jesus’ attitude and reaction here with these questions. Over the next few days we are going to look at these in their context. So, in Mark 8, let’s start with the first question asked by Jesus in this chapter. 

Jesus has been teaching a long time. A large crowd has gathered and has followed Him for 3 days without eating. In that culture, fasting was common, but 3 days? I get “hangry” (i.e., this is the combination of anger and hungry) in hours if I do not eat. Maybe that was what  the disciples were also — hangry. Mark estimates the men alone to be around 4,000 men, not counting women and children. The disciples want Jesus to send the people home, but He refuses because so many of them are hungry and weak and would faint from their weakness. 

The disciples are obviously at a loss as to what to do, so they opt for the most simple thing — Jesus needs to quit teaching and send the people away. But many times the most simple answer or the most logical answer is not the right answer. There was a lesson Jesus wanted to teach His disciples and it is the lesson He wants to teach us also.

The disciples get Jesus to ask His question by asking a question to Jesus in Mark 8:4, “How can one feed these people with bread here in this desolate place?” (ESV). The disciples do not want to end a good thing, but they have no idea what to do next. Then Jesus responded with His question in Mark 8:5, “How many loaves do you have?” They said, “Seven” (ESV). Seven? — the perfect number. 

Probably the reason Jesus is so frustrated with His 12 disciples is because they are having the same reaction during the feeding of the 5,000 near Bethsaida. Look at Mark 6:35-37 below:

“And when it grew late, His disciples came to Him and said, `This is a desolate place, and the hour is now late. (36) Send them away to go into the surrounding countryside and villages and buy themselves something to eat.’ (37) But He answered them, “`You give them something to eat.’ And they said to Him, `Shall we go and buy two hundred denarii worth of bread and give it to them to eat?’” (ESV).

Within a few months their memories were gone. So, we marvel that they ask the same question again knowing what Jesus had done a few months earlier. I would like to propose an alternative here. Maybe they did remember and their question was posed to Jesus to see if He would repeat what He had done months earlier. So, while admitting their own inadequacy to deal with the hunger of these 4,000 plus people, they turned to Jesus and asked Him to do something about it. 

Now I love giving people the benefit of the doubt even when I know differently. Jesus said this in Luke 12:48b, “When someone has been given much, much will be required in return; and when someone has been entrusted with much, even more will be required” (NLT). I have been and continue to be given grace by Jesus Christ.​​ That astounds me and in turn, I love giving that same grace to others. In Mark 8:4, we read this: “And His disciples answered Him, `Where will anyone be able to find enough bread here in this desolate place to satisfy these people?’” (NASB). Did the pronoun “anyone” used by them include Jesus? 

I think it was not so much as doubt on their part, but the recognition that in such a remote area and a crowd this size, if these people were going to be fed, only Jesus could do that. Mark may be also drawing a comparison here between the hunger in everyone’s body and the compassion in His own body. The Greek New Testament word translated as “compassion” in Mark 8:3 is [σπλαγχνίζομαι, splangchnizomai]. It refers to a strong and deep feeling in one’s bowels that moves one to do something for someone in need. 

Note — Mark does not say Jesus’ disciples had this feeling — only Jesus did. In Jesus’ day the people believed the bowels were where emotions were contained. We say something similar today with the expression such as “gut-wrenching” emotion or it’s in the “pit in my stomach.” 

In the Old Testament, God is consistently referred to as being compassionate or having compassion. Compassion marked Jesus’ life. Having seen Jesus do so many miracles, the people, though overwhelmed by hunger, put that aside in hopes Jesus would do more miracles on either people they loved or themselves. Jesus refused to send the people away knowing they would faint from their weakness. 

The Greek New Testament word translated as “faint” is [ἐκλύω, ekluo]. It means “to weaken, to collapse” like a bowstring that goes limp when unstrung. I kind of imagine them remembering how Jesus handled another similar situation, and were asking almost in a silly way, “Well, Jesus, we don't know what to do. Can you repeat history here?” 

Jesus took the seven loaves and a couple fish that were discovered, blessed them and then distributed the bread and fish until everyone was “satisfied.” The Greek New Testament word translated as “satisfied” is [χορτάζω, chortazo]. This word comes from animal husbandry where it described livestock eating until they were completely full. It is the same word used to describe the satisfied multitude. Meaning they ate until they were stuffed as we fill after a Thanksgiving dinner. We would say, “I gorged. Time for a nap.”

It is not that the disciples doubted Jesus’ power here. What they doubted was HIs purpose? Why? When Jesus fed the 5,000, they were in the Decapolis — refers to 10 Jewish cities. Now they were deep into Gentile territory, whom they considered unclean. In their morning prayers, Jews would pray, “Thank You God I am not like some Gentile dog.” 

Why was Jesus doing a miracle for people outside the Abrahamic covenant? It was one thing for Jesus to heal them, but a total other thing to feed them. Jews considered having meals with people something that was reserved for family and your closest Jewish friends. It was something intimate and personal. The disciples are thinking, “Jesus, what’s up Your sleeve here?” This had to throw them for a loop. In fact, it was against Jewish law for Jews to eat with Gentiles. See below:

• Acts 10:28, “And he (Peter) said to them (a Gentile named Corneilus and his family), “You yourselves know how unlawful it is for a Jew to associate with or to visit anyone of another nation, but God has shown me that I should not call any person common or unclean” (ESV).
• Acts 11:3, “You (Peter) went to uncircumcised men and ate with them” (ESV). This was said to Peter by Jewish Christians when he arrived back in Jerusalem.

Jesus’ disciples would have known this and it had to cause tension, anger and frustration among Jesus’ disciples with each other and with Jesus. Bread and fish comprised the typical meal for those who lived around the lake. Obviously, such meager supplies were useless in feeding such a massive crowd. The apostles knew that, but they also knew the power of their Creator Lord. As with the feeding of the 5,000 men not counting women and children, no explanation is given how Jesus performed this miracle. This reminds me of these Scriptures:

• John 1:3, “All things were made through Him, and without Him was not anything made that was made” (ESV).
• Colossians 1:16, “For by Him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through Him and for Him” (ESV).
• Hebrews 1:3, “He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of His nature, and He upholds the universe by the word of His power. After making purification for sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high” (ESV).

Just as Jesus created this entire universe out of nothing, He took seven loaves a few fish and fed over 4,000 men, not counting the women and children. Jesus kept creating meals supernaturally and miraculously to feed everyone. The Lord involved His disciples so it would appear they had compassion as well on these Gentiles people. It was to teach them that He, the Bread of Life, had come to seek and to save the lost, and that included all lost — both Jewish and Gentile. A lesson they would still have to learn later. Only Jesus can satisfy our spiritual hunger. 

Later it says the disciples picked up seven large baskets full of what was left over. Just so you get the picture here, “baskets” do not refer to the size of our modern day bread baskets. In Jesus’ day, the typical bread basket was called a [κοφίοσ, kophinos]. The Greek New Testament word is [σπυρίς, spuris] and it refers to the same sized basket the Apostle Paul was lowered in, over the side of a Damascus wall. See Acts 9:25, “So during the night, some of the other believers lowered him (Paul) in a large basket [σπυρίς, spuris]  through an opening in the city wall” (NLT).

Later in this chapter even Jesus reminded His disciples of the difference between the baskets here and the baskets they used to collect the leftovers in the feeding of the 5,000 men, not counting the women and children. Look at Mark 8:18-20:

“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 [κοφίοσ,, kophinos] full of broken pieces did you take up?” They said to Him, “Twelve.” (20) “And the seven for the four thousand, how many baskets [σπυρίς, spuris] full of broken pieces did you take up?” And they said to him, “Seven” (ESV).

Questions To Consider

1. Do you have a bias or prejudice against anyone because of their ethnicity, color, economic standing, educational level, their career and etc.? If so, why and what do you think if you were with Jesus, He would have you do about it?
2. Ministry is tiring and demanding. Do you ever feel like quitting or telling people, “Just go away and come back on a rainy day?” Why or why not?
3. This miracle reminds us that Jesus is very much aware of our physical needs and He has the means and the desire and the power to meet them. Has there ever been a time in your life you doubted Jesus is this? Why?
4. When was a time you had a “gut-wrenching” experience (where compassion welled up in you) to do something to help someone you did not even know? What did you do and why?
5. What lesson do you think Jesus is trying to teach you through this devotional and why?

Scripture To Meditate On: Philippians 4:19, “And my God will supply every need of yours according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus” (ESV).

Prayer To Pray: “Dear Jesus, please forgive me when I judge someone based on their appearance, or color, or ethnicity or something else. As Your child, I am to look at people as You do — with compassion and do what I can to meet their needs just as You did. Please forgive me when I doubt You will meet my needs. I do not want to be like the disciples in Mark 8:52 with such a hardened heart I miss Your purpose for my life. Thank You Jesus and I love You. In Jesus’ name, Amen!”

I love you Southside!—Pastor Kelly