Begin with two minutes of silence and stillness before God.
Mark 8 focuses on the well-known miracle of feeding the four thousand.
And no, I didn’t make a typo. While math isn’t my strongest subject, I do know the difference between four thousand and five thousand.
Growing up, most of us learned about the feeding of the five thousand. You know the story: the young boy, the five loaves, the two fish, and Jesus performing an incredible miracle. And it is astounding. But how often does the feeding of the four thousand get skipped over?
Yes, they are two separate miracles. And no, this one is no less miraculous than the first. In fact, there is something incredibly important for us to notice here.
As I was reading, the first thing that stood out to me was Jesus’ words in verse 3: “I have compassion on the crowd, because they have already been with me three days and have nothing to eat.”
Jesus had compassion. His heart cared for the people. He cared that they were hungry. He cared about their physical needs. And the same Christ who made sure His people were fed then is the same Christ we worship today. The compassion that brought Him to earth, compassion that fed the crowds, compassion that led Him to the cross, compassion that made a way for us to spend eternity with Him. Simply put: Jesus is compassion.
The other thing that really stood out to me was this thought: “Man… maybe I’m more like the disciples than I realize.”
Jesus tells the disciples to find food for the crowd, and their response is: “Where can anyone get enough bread here in this desolate place?”
And I can’t help but think, “Guys… you’ve seen this movie before.”
Jesus had already taken five loaves and two fish, multiplied them, and fed thousands. He had already provided abundantly. But now, faced with a new problem, the disciples throw their hands up again: “Woe is us. How will we ever get through this?”
They weren’t doubting Jesus’ power, but they were forgetting His faithfulness. And if we’re honest, we do the same thing.
How many times has Christ:
- answered a prayer?
- done something only He could do?
- provided exactly what we needed?
We’re grateful in the moment, but over time, we forget. We focus on the here and now. We let the current struggle blind us to past provision. But Christ is faithful. He was faithful then while breaking bread, and He is faithful now as He walks with us. His faithfulness isn’t temporary. It’s permanent.
Jesus addresses this directly in verse 18: “Do you have eyes but fail to see, and ears but fail to hear? And don’t you remember?”
I love how matter-of-fact Jesus is here. And sometimes I imagine Him asking us the same thing:
“Hey… I was there then. I’m here now. Why are you doubting Me again?”
He is faithful.
He is just.
And He is here for you, just as He always has been.
Take two minutes to reflect in silence.