Following Jesus in the Gospel of MarkSample

JESUS IS ENOUGH

Look Closely: Once again, the crowd is hungry, but this time, they’ve been without food while listening to Jesus for three days, and there are no villages nearby where they could even buy food. This time, Jesus voices the need to feed the crowd to the disciples, but they respond that there is no way to feed the people. How do they fail to see Jesus as the Son of God and the Son of Man? Jesus wanted to feed the people because He had compassion on them, but, as in the account of the feeding of 5,000 in Mark 6, He used the disciples to do this because their participation not only met a need but changed their hearts too. Remember, Jesus is interested in meeting not only the physical needs of people but also their spiritual needs. How does this physical feeding of a crowd that includes many Gentiles point to the meeting of their spiritual needs also?

N.T. Wright explains, “The closer we are to Jesus, the more likely it is that he will call us to share in His work of compassion, healing, and feeding, bringing His kingdom-work to an ever wider circle.”

Pause to Pray: Lord Jesus, where are You inviting me into Kingdom work and service? Open my eyes to see opportunities and give me the courage to take the next small step of obedience today… Amen

Challenge: What is God saying to you? What are you going to do about it?