This post is not a summary of these two events, it is about the fact that we learn the most when we are challenged the most.
Mark 6:30-44 contains the story of Jesus feeding 5,000 men who had come to hear Jesus' teaching, and the women and children who accompanied them.
Jesus' disciples came to him and said that the people needed to be sent away to get food. Always remember that the Bible was written nearly 2,000 years ago, there was no way that 5,000 + people could be fed rapidly. There was no fast food, no restaurants or any of the food supply mechanisms which are normal to our day.
Jesus completely dumbfounded the disciples by responding in Mark 6:37 "But he answered, 'You give them something to eat.' They said to him, 'That would take more than half a year’s wages ! Are we to go and spend that much on bread and give it to them to eat?'”
Jesus wanted the disciples to sense the largeness of the situation and the smallness of their ability to resolve it. We often learn the most when we are challenged the most.
Jesus fed the 5,000+ people with just five small loaves of bread and two fish.
Then in Mark 8:1-13 we find a second story of Jesus feeding thousands of people with not much food. This time his disciples did not say anything to him about the fact that the crowd needed food. They just waited for him to bring up the subject. Eventually Jesus said, "I have compassion for these people; they have already been with me three days and have nothing to eat" Mark 8:2. He fed that crowd of 4,000+ people with seven loaves of bread and a few fish.
Then later in Mark 8:14-21 Jesus and his disciples were traveling by boat across a lake. Everyone began to get hungry but the disciples only brought one small loaf of bread which was not enough for everyone. Jesus spoke up and said, "Be careful (...) watch out for the yeast of the Pharisees and the of Herod" Mark 8:15. The disciples somehow thought he was berating them for forgetting to bring enough food.
Jesus heard their conversation and said to them "Why are you still talking about having no bread? Do you still not see or understand? Are your heart hardened? Do you have eyes but fail to see, and ears but fail to hear?" Mark 8:17-18. Then he reminded them about the thousands of people he fed with almost no food and finally asked "Do you still not understand?" Mark 8:21.
Jesus was saying that they needed to watch out for becoming like the false and puffed up religious and political leaders. The disciples' could only comprehend their limited worldview - bread to eat. Jesus was challenging them on a whole different, spiritual level.
Notice that Jesus did not say anything further about the matter. He allowed the two feedings, and this interaction about yeast and bread, play in their minds. God teaches us the same way. We are presented with problems and possibilities from which we can learn. The lessons are probably not immediate, physical, obvious or easy. God's lessons are probably challenging, long-term, spiritual and earned.
We learn the most when we are challenged the most, but we usually do not learn at the time we are being challenged. The challenging situations swirl in our minds for days, months or years. We take steps forward and steps backward, then as we slowly turn the struggle over to God the light of revelation dawns for us. We gain a new, eternal perspective of what has happened. "Why are you talking about having no bread?"
Mark 6:30-44 contains the story of Jesus feeding 5,000 men who had come to hear Jesus' teaching, and the women and children who accompanied them.
Jesus' disciples came to him and said that the people needed to be sent away to get food. Always remember that the Bible was written nearly 2,000 years ago, there was no way that 5,000 + people could be fed rapidly. There was no fast food, no restaurants or any of the food supply mechanisms which are normal to our day.
Jesus completely dumbfounded the disciples by responding in Mark 6:37 "But he answered, 'You give them something to eat.' They said to him, 'That would take more than half a year’s wages ! Are we to go and spend that much on bread and give it to them to eat?'”
Jesus wanted the disciples to sense the largeness of the situation and the smallness of their ability to resolve it. We often learn the most when we are challenged the most.
Jesus fed the 5,000+ people with just five small loaves of bread and two fish.
Then in Mark 8:1-13 we find a second story of Jesus feeding thousands of people with not much food. This time his disciples did not say anything to him about the fact that the crowd needed food. They just waited for him to bring up the subject. Eventually Jesus said, "I have compassion for these people; they have already been with me three days and have nothing to eat" Mark 8:2. He fed that crowd of 4,000+ people with seven loaves of bread and a few fish.
Then later in Mark 8:14-21 Jesus and his disciples were traveling by boat across a lake. Everyone began to get hungry but the disciples only brought one small loaf of bread which was not enough for everyone. Jesus spoke up and said, "Be careful (...) watch out for the yeast of the Pharisees and the of Herod" Mark 8:15. The disciples somehow thought he was berating them for forgetting to bring enough food.
Jesus heard their conversation and said to them "Why are you still talking about having no bread? Do you still not see or understand? Are your heart hardened? Do you have eyes but fail to see, and ears but fail to hear?" Mark 8:17-18. Then he reminded them about the thousands of people he fed with almost no food and finally asked "Do you still not understand?" Mark 8:21.
Jesus was saying that they needed to watch out for becoming like the false and puffed up religious and political leaders. The disciples' could only comprehend their limited worldview - bread to eat. Jesus was challenging them on a whole different, spiritual level.
Notice that Jesus did not say anything further about the matter. He allowed the two feedings, and this interaction about yeast and bread, play in their minds. God teaches us the same way. We are presented with problems and possibilities from which we can learn. The lessons are probably not immediate, physical, obvious or easy. God's lessons are probably challenging, long-term, spiritual and earned.
We learn the most when we are challenged the most, but we usually do not learn at the time we are being challenged. The challenging situations swirl in our minds for days, months or years. We take steps forward and steps backward, then as we slowly turn the struggle over to God the light of revelation dawns for us. We gain a new, eternal perspective of what has happened. "Why are you talking about having no bread?"
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