Read the Word:
Mark 8:1-10
Meditate on the Word:
Coming two chapters after Mark’s account of the feeding of the five thousand, this passage can seem a bit repetitive to some. We’ve seen this before. And in the previous feeding, there were more people and fewer loaves of bread. And this time there appear to be fewer leftovers. And yet, inspired by God, Mark includes this account as well. Does it seem like a lesser miracle, compared to the first feeding? I think that we can err in comparing the magnitude of the miracles. These four thousand were a different group of people hungry at a different time and received the food they needed. This miracle was not less impressive or less impactful to them. It was them receiving exactly what our Lord wanted them to have.
This feeding was also a good reminder to Jesus’ disciples that He is capable. Their question, “Where can anyone get enough bread in this desolate place to feed these people?” seems silly. They had witnessed Jesus do this before. When Jesus expressed his desire to feed the crowd, their question shouldn’t have been, “how can anyone do this?”, but “how do you want us to help?” It is silly to think that Jesus would mention feeding the crowd and not do it, especially when He had done it before.
As the disciples needed a reminder, so often we need reminders of our Lord’s power. We need reminders that our God still heals. That He still delivers us from sin. That He still reigns. Let us not be so quick to forget who our Lord is and that no miracle is too big or too small for Him.
Pray the Word:
Confess a time where you have demonstrated a lack of trust in our Lord’s ability.
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