Have Nothing to Eat (4/25-27)

25-27 April 2015 - Have Nothing to Eat – Manna by Dorothy Callies

Mark 8:1 KJV, Jesus said, “I have compassion on the multitude, because they have now been with me three days, and have nothing to eat: And if I send them away fasting to their own houses, they will faint by the way: for divers of them came from far.”

Four books of the Gospel wrote about the crowd that fed with fishes and loaves of bread to 4,000 men plus women and children might be about 10,000 or more.  Where did all the people come from? Jesus did some miracles of healing and the word spread around very fast. The crowd kept getting bigger each day for three days since they brought many sick people to Jesus and He healed them all.

The sick people were desperate to be healed. They had forgotten about the food since they were hungry to hear Jesus’ Word of teachings. So disciples were getting edgy and told Jesus that they have nothing to feed them. Send them home.

What impressed me? Jesus said, “I have compassion … they have nothing to eat.” What kind of a man was Jesus? Jesus was touched with compassion for the needs and suffering of the people. They were hungry. He did not want to send them away starved and they might faint if they tried to go home. Many people were healed and they were happy. So now, their human bodies got hungry.

So what did Jesus do? Feed them. What? Disciples were bewildered … where can we get so much bread in the wilderness and how can we satisfy these people? Strange to say … the disciples had seen this miracle the first time when Jesus fed the five thousand from reading Mark 6:30-44. Now, this was the second time the disciples had faced in Mark 8:1-9. They may have “throw up the towel” and say, “Now what?” They forgot the miracles Jesus had done in the first place and they had seen many people being healed. 

Yet Jesus asked disciples to go and find out about the food. The disciples discovered there were five loaves of bread and two fishes. Jesus had people to sit down in groups. He blessed the food and broke the loaves of bread and passed on to the people as well as fishes. Every one ate and had their filled. That was a real miracle that 4,000 men plus women and children up to 10,000 were fed from just fives loaves and two fishes.

I want you to notice something. The first crowd from Mark 6:30-44 was mostly the Jews from the southern area close by. Before that, Jesus had heard of John the Baptist’ death. So Jesus and disciples went to find a quiet place to rest. But so many people came to see Jesus and He was moved with compassion and taught them many things. They were mostly people who were Jews.

The second crowd from Mark 8:1-10 was mostly the non-Jews, Greeks, Gentiles and Romans from the northern area close by. Before that, Jesus went to Tyre and Sidon to hide Himself so He could get some rest, but a Greek woman found Him and He ministered to her. He left Tyre and Sidon and traveled to Decapolis area. Someone recognized Jesus and brought him a deaf man who couldn’t speak. He was healed and the words spread around very fast and that was how Jesus got the multitudes.

When they had nothing to eat, Jesus fed them. This show me how much He care enough to meet their needs. We prayed, “Give us this day, our daily bread.” Let us thank our Heavenly Father when we have nothing to eat, He will send us “Manna.”