Mark 6:1 In those days, the multitude being very great and having nothing to eat, Jesus called His disciples to Him and said to them, 2 "I have compassion on the multitude, because they have now continued with Me three days and have nothing to eat. 3 And if I send them away hungry to their own houses, they will faint on the way; for some of them have come from afar." 4 Then His disciples answered Him, "How can one satisfy these people with bread here in the wilderness?" 5 He asked them, "How many loaves do you have?" And they said, "Seven." 6 So He commanded the multitude to sit down on the ground. And He took the seven loaves and gave thanks, broke them and gave them to His disciples to set before them; and they set them before the multitude. 7 They also had a few small fish; and having blessed them, He said to set them also before them. 8 So they ate and were filled, and they took up seven large baskets of leftover fragments. 9 Now those who had eaten were about four thousand.
It is wonderful to imagine being a part of the crowd following Jesus as He walked the earth. We can readily think of all the advantages of being able to witness God in the flesh, and to hear directly from Him in an audible voice. It is incredible to imagine what that must have been like.
But Jesus said, to another assembly of His disciples at a later date: John 16:7 Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you.
So we see it is we that have the advantage over those who were with Christ. The proof? Jesus said so.
If we are in an advantageous position – what does that look like in our lives? Can we measure our advantage by the behavior evidenced by the crowd pressing in to follow Jesus during His days on earth? What can we learn?
In the crowd presently following Jesus, (as described in Mark 8:1-9,) we see an insatiable hunger, indicated by the fact the crowd has had nothing to eat for three whole days. I don’t know about you, but the thought of not eating anything for three entire days makes me feel famished without even going through the experience. Just hearing of it is enough to make me marvel that an entire crowd of thousands would go through that experience together – all without complaint, all without seeking sympathy.
What are they hungry for? Something! Anything! But it might surprise us to note their hunger is best expressed toward the provider of the food that has been sustaining them three days and will sustain them forevermore. That food? It is plain to see this crowd has been pressing in to hear the Word of God. The very words of God. They have forgotten all about their physical needs while in the physical presence of God. Jesus will also meet their physical hunger, but the lesson is also how He has fed their spiritual hunger – for three long days – with nothing but the bread of forgiveness and the water of the Word. Will we likewise forget all about our Spiritual needs while in the Spiritual presence of God, knowing that He will likewise also meet all our physical needs?
- Pastor Bill
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