1 In
those days the multitude being very great, and having nothing to eat, Jesus
called his disciples unto him, and saith unto them, 2 I
have compassion on the multitude, because they have now been with me three
days, and have nothing to eat: 3 And if I
send them away fasting to their own houses, they will faint by the way: for
divers of them came from far. 4 And his disciples answered him, From whence can a man
satisfy these men with bread here in the wilderness? 5 And he asked them, How many loaves have ye? And they said, Seven. 6 And he commanded the
people to sit down on the ground: and he took the seven loaves, and gave
thanks, and brake, and gave to his disciples to set before them; and they did
set them before the people. 7 And they had a few small fishes: and he blessed, and
commanded to set them also before them. 8 So they did eat, and were
filled: and they took up of the broken meat that was left seven baskets. 9 And they that had eaten
were about four thousand: and he sent them away. (Mark 8:1-9)
This miracle is recorded also in Matthew 15 and follows that of the feeding of
the 5,000. There is some very interesting background that needs illuminating
regarding this particular miracle. You may remember the casting out of
demons from the demoniac of the Gadarenes (Mark 5:1-20)? The demons went into
the swine of those gentiles of the land and they were destroyed. The healed
demoniac wanted to follow Christ: “And when he was come into the
ship, he that had been possessed with the devil prayed him that he might be
with him. Howbeit Jesus suffered him not, but saith unto him, Go home to thy friends, and tell them how great things
the Lord hath done for thee, and hath had compassion on thee.” (Mark 5:18-19) Those gentiles of that land (Decapolis)
begged Christ to leave their coast for fear of losing more swine perhaps – and
He departed. Now, He has returned to Decapolis and was received by this great
multitude. Does it not seem likely that these multitudes had heard the
testimony of the healed demoniac (as Christ had instructed him) and now
welcomed Christ to Gadara?
The text today has greater reach than a cursory reading will
admit. It is about the graces and benefits that accrue to the believer from the
One who is the Maker and Benefactor of all things to His Creation. Christ had
no beginnings for He was with the Father from Eternity Past before the
Foundations of the World were laid. Though He benefits His people with Bread
and Manna, that Bread which we eat is not that Bread that comes down from
Heaven, for He is that Bread of Heaven;
Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Moses gave you not that
bread from heaven; but my Father giveth you the true bread from heaven. 33 For the
bread of God is he which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the
world.
34 Then said they unto him, Lord, evermore give us this
bread. 35 And Jesus said unto them, I
am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that
believeth on me shall never thirst. (John
6:32-35)
He is both the Water of Life and the Bread of Life. He satisfies both our
Hunger AND our Thirst. Just as the Samaritan Woman at the noonday hour came for
the perishable water beneath the streets of Sheckham, who received the heavenly
water from Christ, so may we.
5 I speak as to
wise men; judge ye what I say. 16 The cup of blessing which we bless, is
it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it
not the communion of the body of Christ? 17 For we being many are one
bread, and one body: for we are all partakers of that one bread. (1
Cor 10:15-17)
When we partake of the Bread of Communion, Abp Cranmer reminds us that the
bread is composed of many, even thousands, of crushed grains of wheat. All of
these grains added together comprise the one loaf, or Body of Christ. We die
daily by being crushed and maligned for Christ and His people, yet it was
Christ who was first bruised for us. He is the TRUE BREAD.
Look at today’s text and read with understanding – a deeper understanding:
1 In those days the
multitude being very great, and having nothing to eat, Jesus called his
disciples unto him, and saith unto them, 2 I have compassion on the multitude, because they have now been with me
three days, and have nothing to eat: 3 And if I
send them away fasting to their own houses, they will faint by the way: for
divers of them came from far.
Christ has always had compassion for the multitude, but what is Compassion?
Com = together, or jointly; and, passion = strong feelings of sympathy.
Compassion: such depth of sympathy that moves one to act (as the Good
Samaritan).
These multitudes had followed Christ for three days. They
probably brought rations for one day believing that would be their time with
Him. But they hungered more for His Word than for food. This was the True Bread
from Heaven. The last days, they fasted from earthly bread.
These unlearned disciples still lack the fullness of understanding of their
Lord.
“And his disciples answered
him, From whence can a man satisfy these men with bread here in the
wilderness?”
They had with them the Maker and Creator of the worlds, but
where could they get bread in the wilderness? “And he asked them, How many loaves have ye?”
God will not satisfy our needs unless we bring our all to the table. If
we have nothing, that is enough; but if we have seven loaves, that too is
enough.
“And they
said, Seven.”
“And he
commanded the people to sit down on the ground: and he took the seven loaves,
and gave thanks, and brake, and gave to his disciples to set before them;
and they did set them before the people.”
He commanded that the people be seated to receive the bread.
When we come before God, we do not stand on our own feet and feed ourselves.
Our works cannot suffice. We must be fed by Him and His ordained disciples.
Our Cup runneth over……..plenty for all!
“And they had a few small fishes: and he blessed, and commanded to
set them also before them.” We must ask the
blessings of God and return thanks for the morsels that we eat.
Christ fed 5,000 at the beginning of His ministry, and now the 4,000 at the
ending of it. He feeds with both bread and meat (fish).
“So they did eat, and were filled: and they took up of
the broken meat that was left seven baskets.”
Just as twelve baskets were left over in the first case, we now have seven left
over in this case - the remains of such a small beginning with God. There is
always more left over with God than we first possessed without Him.
But Christ will have no waste. Take up what is left and feed
others who are hungry in the way. “And they that had eaten were about
four thousand: and he sent them away.”
We cannot always remain in such close presence of the
blessings of Christ. The time will come when He must send us away – not from
Himself, but out in the world to act as witnesses for him. If we begin at
the feet of Jesus as did Mary of Bethany, the time must come for us to arise
and enter the kitchen as did Martha. We cannot simply exhaust ALL of our time
in learning. There needs to be a balance between learning and service. This is
why Christ will send us out after teaching great promises.
The mother eagle, the Bible tells us, stirs up her nest so
that the young eagles will feel uncomfortable and will venture forth to learn
how to be an eagle. So the Lord does with His people. Are you still a
baby eagle cowering in your nest, or do you soar to the heights of heaven in
search of provender?
Today’s miracle presents us with yet another glimpse of the
mystery of the Lord’s Supper. In both miracles of the feeding of the
multitudes, Jesus gave the people Bread. That bread represents the multitudes
who will receive the fellowship of Christ across all ages. That which was
missing was the Cup, but the Blood of Christ was yet to be shed at the time of
this miracle. It shall come very soon after at a mount called Calvary.
The Body of Christ needs BREAD to sustain it and to give it
nourishment. There can be no living Body without a Living Head – and that Head
is Christ upon which the Body feeds. He is that bread which came down from
Heaven – our Manna.
As we consider the compassion of Christ in feeding the multitudes, we observe
that compassion means
1.
“Seeing the needs” of those around us.
2.
Using the resources available to
satisfy the need.
3.
Good order in rendering service.
4.
Giving all, taking all, and using all
that one has.
5.
Being thankful for every morsel of
Bread that comes from the Hand of God.
6.
Being good stewards in saving, and not
wasting, the gifts of God.
As
we approach this Season of Lent, should we not be keenly aware of the need for
Bread, and that we receive
it only from the abundance of God’s provision in Christ?
Once
fed, Jesus will send us on our way to share that Hidden Manna with others.
