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Mark 8:1-21
Discovering Jesus Himself

We are often so occupied by things, particularly things we want or think we need in this life. It's even true in our relationship to our Lord.  We very often want a Savior Who conforms what He does for us to to our own desires so that He will do the things we want Him to do.

But the burning question, a question whose answer actually reveals our eternal destiny is this: do we want the Lord Jesus Christ HIMSELF? That's the question that should just jump out of the page at us as we read this part of Mark's gospel. Try and see why as you read Mark 8:1-21.

This is the second time Jesus has miraculously fed a multitude. And, just as with the first occasion, we can learn from it a great deal about our Lord Himself.

One of the most important things to remember as we're reading this is that He hasn't changed in the centuries since He performed this miracle, that He's still the same Jesus today as He was then. And one more thing - though He is Messiah, God the Son, Creator of heaven and earth, yet He is also just as we see Him here - a Savior Who is far more sensitive to our daily needs than even we are. If we aren't impressed by anything else in this incident, we can at least see that He cares about us more than we care about ourselves!


Let's begin by focussing for a moment on the people who formed the great gathering in this incident. Referring to them, our Lord said, ". . . it's been three days they've been with Me, and they have nothing to eat . . ." When these people first arrived at the place where Jesus was, they probably had some provisions with them, because people in those days just didn't travel much without taking along at least a few necessities. There were no shopping malls or MacDonald's close at hand! But, as Jesus points out, they've been with Him for three days now, and they've run out of provisions! Nothing left in their backpacks!

To be sure, there was a little lake not too far away, and some enterprising souls had gotten up very early and had caught a few fish. But obviously, with such a multitude of people, there wouldn't even be enough crumbs from those few little fish to give one to each person in the front row of people!

Now we might ask ourselves, what were all these people doing so long out here in the desert? Didn't they have sense enough to leave and go home before they ran out of food?

To see why they were there, and especially why they were there so long, we need to think about what Jesus Himself was doing out there.

In the gospel of Luke, He's quoted as saying, "I must preach the kingdom of God to the other cities also, for I was sent for this purpose." (Lk. 4:43) Jesus came into this world to preach and teach about the kingdom of God, to reacquaint people with the God from whom they were estranged. So we have to conclude that this multitude was listening to a lot of teaching about the kingdom of God, and we also have to conclude that they weren't bored!

How could any teaching be so exciting that it kept people from concern for their daily necessities for three days? To understand that amazing situation, we need to think about what Jesus' message about the "kingdom of God" was all about. Some of us have the idea that the kingdom is merely a sort of fraternity, and that once people are in it they have a free pass to heaven, and, even on earth, all their problems will be solved. The only thing they have to do from then on is to get other people to come in too, so that they too will experience the abundant life and the great forever.

But how accurate is that picture of the Kingdom of God? I'm sorry to have to report that It's not accurate at all. Let's begin by looking for just a moment at the English word "kingdom." It's a compound of the two words, "king" and "dominion." With that in mind, then, if you come into the Kingdom of God, you are coming into His kingly realm. You'll be under the rule of the Creator-God, the Owner and Ruler of the entire universe! So it just means that by coming into His realm you're submitting to Him as King - that you're surrendering to His rule of your life. It means that you'll do what He wants, even when it isn't something you like very well. It means you want Him to be your Boss 24-7!

So the great crowd that was listening to Jesus was hearing about that kind of kingdom and about what it would be like. Jesus was filling in the specifics about God's rule in lives, and He was making it absolutely exciting, even without any entertainment or stories!

The New Testament contains many, many examples of His teaching about kingdom living in the four gospels. For instance, there's the "Sermon on the Mount." In it are many details about the kind of life you should expect to live under God's rule. He said, "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God," and that just means that within God's kindom, those who reconcile people, those who help patch up differences, will unmistakably be seen as God's blessed children, because peacemaking is one of the features of His kingdom.

In another part of that sermon, Jesus said, "You have heard that it was said, You shall love your neighbor, and hate your enemy, but I say to you, love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you in order that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven, for He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous." That's just the way it is in God's kingdom. Where He rules, people don't hold grudges. Under His rule, prayer for the persecutor is the response to persecution.

So what can we say about this crowd of people?  We can assuredly say that they remained three days with Him because they'd never in their lives heard anything like what He was saying! It was life changing. And in their hearts they knew it was totally right. They knew they needed this teaching and this Teacher! He was giving them the keys to real life, to real fulfillment, to the deepest meaning of life in this world. They simply couldn't leave such teaching!

But Jesus thinks of everything! Even though they forgot their daily food, Jesus didn't forget. It should remind us of what He said in the "Sermon on the Mount" He said, "But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness; and all these things (daily necessities) shall be added to you."

It just means that when our desire to learn from Him leads us to sit at His feet, even though we may be unmindful of our daily needs, yet He knows those needs, and He cares even when we don't. Oh how we need this lesson in our hearts as we race madly through our daily lives in this world! Jesus hasn't changed. Stop and listen to Him. You can't be the loser.

That's our greatest daily need. We need to make some special time for Him every day. We need to know that our lives won't fall apart if we spend a few minutes in His Word each day, but that He'll be even more concerned about our human needs than we are. The time we lose praying won't ruin us! Seeking Him never brings loss, but only gain. He Himself will see to that.

That doesn't mean that we should be "so heavenly minded that we're no earthly good!" We don't have to be presumptuous. The Apostle Paul instructed the Thessalonians that, ". . . if anyone will not work, neither let him eat." We're to be diligent in our business, whether out in the world or at home. But neither should we ignore the One Who walks with us all day long. Everything we do in this world can and should be done in relationship to Him. We need to become more and more acquainted with Him above all. "But seek ye FIRST the Kingdom of God . . ." It's a matter of priorities.

Moms with little children - you are undoubtedly the busiest people in the world! But while you are cleaning them up or cleaning up after them, don't forget to spend time with your Lord. Your tasks won't do themselves, but your Lord is even more concerned about getting them done than you are! While you seek your Lord for at least a little time each day, He will be there, and He will enable you to care for your household and your children in the same way He was concerned for these hungry people in the passage before us who spent time with Him. Somehow you'll find that there's more time than you thought. (of course He may expect you to sacrifice a little time you were going to spend with something else – something less important)

And you men who have daily jobs that seem to be a never-ending emergency - do you spend at least a few minutes with your Lord each day, a few minutes in His Word and in conversation with Him? He knows your emergencies better than you do. He'll enable. He'll provide.

We don't have a Lord Who doesn't know, Who doesn't care. Even in the times when you aren't even thinking about your daily needs, He hasn't forgotten them, and He is providing for them. Remember the prayer He taught us: ". . . Give us this day our daily bread . . . " Don't try to answer that prayer yourself - let Him answer it. Don't get so busy that you're too busy for Him. He's always caring for you.

Wonderful!
Start your day the Jesus way.....

Thank you dear Bro & Sis - I certainly appreciate greatly the encouragement.