Read Mark 8 here: https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Mark+8&version=NIV
Jesus feeds another group not quite as big this time- 4000 and it seems like a very similar story to what happened with the feeding of the 5000. It seems like a copy and paste error. But the fact that it’s recorded twice may imply it happened even more than that- and it points out just how clueless the disciples are. They still don’t have faith that God will get them through.
How often is that true for us as well? How often has God gotten us through tough jams? Helped us find our lost car keys? And yet we’re like well maybe God won’t help this time? It’s reassuring that Jesus keeps coming.
I’m also told the story happens twice because this time it’s with Gentiles. Mark seems to focus a lot on Jesus helping the Jewish insiders and their complaints, helping the gentile outsiders and their praise, add to that the disciples confusion and doubt and you have some of the major themes of the book!
Then the story continues as the disciples are confused by Jesus analogies- which is certainly reassuring. I have given out what I believe are some pretty good analogies and people end up being very confused as well. And there are some parables of Jesus that I certainly still don’t get.
Then we have Peter giving the amazing declaration that Jesus is the Christ- the anointed one. The one who had come to redeem Israel. So Jesus rewards him by telling his full plan of death and resurrection and Peter rebukes him. Again the theme of clueless disciple keeps coming up! Jesus even calls him Satan.
And then Jesus says to lose your life to save it. In a sense- isn’t that what we’re doing now? I often think of having a life as being outside the home and outside work. Currently that’s all I’ve got. Yet world wide we’re doing this for the greater good! We live our lives apart now so that our loved ones don’t die alone later. World economies are being toppled- today we learn of hero Captain Crozier who went against protocol to help his men and lost his job. What a hero! I’ve never sacrificed much in my life and I’m realizing more and more that maybe I should. The world is on a fast from going out. I worry about what we might lose in the process- a dependence on technology and screen time-an increase in anxiety and depression- but I’m more interested in what we might gain. Greater family bonds? Life skills and independence? Will we all be better cooks? A desire to help the greater good? Better hand washing abilities? More folks living in the country?
We’ve sacrificed a lot in the last month. But it’s nothing compared to the sacrifice Jesus made on the cross and continues to make for us- his confused doubting bumbling disciples who forget his love and even go against him most of the time. May His sacrifice shine through us.
Marking It Up 