Jesus wants us to hear and really understand. He wants us to see and truly perceive. As a Teacher, Jesus expects a lot and challenges us when we think too \u2018small.\u2019 Here\u2019s an example:<\/p>\n
The disciples had forgotten to bring bread, except for one loaf they had with them in the boat. \u201cBe careful,\u201d Jesus warned them. \u201cWatch out for the yeast of the Pharisees and that of Herod.\u201d They discussed this with one another and said, \u201cIt is because we have no bread.\u201d Aware of their discussion, Jesus asked them, \u201cWhy are you talking about having no bread? Do you still not see or understand? Are your hearts hardened? Do you have eyes but fail to see, and ears but fail to hear? And don\u2019t you remember? When I broke the loaves for the five thousand, how many basketfuls of pieces did you pick up?\u201d \u201cTwelve,\u201d they replied. \u201cAnd when I broke the seven loaves for the four thousand, how many basketfuls of pieces did you pick up?\u201d They answered, \u201cSeven.\u201d He said to them, \u201cDo you still not understand?\u201d (Mark 8:14-21)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Jesus referred to two occasions when He fed great multitudes with just a little food. The first miracle took place near Bethsaida on the west side of the Sea of Galilee, and the crowd would have consisted mainly of Jews. The feeding of the four thousand, not counting women and children, took place a little later on the other side of the Sea of Galilee in the region of the Decapolis. This area was inhabited mostly by Greeks and other Gentiles. So what did the disciples not perceive about these miracles? And what did leftover baskets of food have to do with anything?<\/p>\n
I think this is what the disciples eventually concluded. The twelve baskets represented the twelve tribes of Israel, which included all Jews. The seven baskets stood for the seven Gentile nations that inhabited the Promised Land before it was given to Israel. (see Deut 7:1-2 and Acts 13:19) Jesus was saying: \u201cDo you really think I\u2019m worried about a loaf of bread in our boat? Come on\u2026 don\u2019t you see? I have come to feed and save the Jews who are such a big part of My Father\u2019s plan. AND I have come to save the Gentiles, who My Father loves more than you can imagine. But beware, there are Jews like the Pharisees and Gentiles like Herod who oppose Me and My Father. Don\u2019t let them influence you.\u201d<\/p>\n
Isn\u2019t it funny that despite our ignorance and ineptitude, God uses us to be a part of His wonderful work? Before the great \u2018feeding\u2019 miracles, Jesus sent the twelve apostles in pairs to the villages of Israel with instructions to drive out demons, heal the sick, and proclaim God\u2019s Kingdom. Surely many of the huge crowd of Jews that Jesus fed were those who witnessed amazing signs or heard about Jesus through the obedience of the apostles.<\/p>\n
In Mark 7, Jesus healed a deaf man in the area of Decapolis who could barely talk. After healing him, He told witnesses not to tell anyone. \u201cBut the more He did so, the more they kept talking about it.\u201d (Mark 7:36) In the same vicinity in Mark 5, Jesus cast out Legion from a tormented man and sent the demons into a herd of pigs. When this man wanted to follow Jesus, He was instructed: \u201cGo home to your own people and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how He has had mercy on you.\u201d (Mark 5:19) And that is what the man did. Perhaps many in the crowd of the four thousand were inhabitants of the Decapolis who heard about Jesus from the recipients of earlier miracles.<\/p>\n
Today, we are Christ\u2019s ambassadors in a desperate world. \u201cGod, give us the power to cast out evil, to heal the sick, and to proclaim the Good News of the Kingdom. And give us the remembrance and the passion to tell of all God has done for us and of the mercy we have received. May we invite the multitudes to meet Jesus and receive true life from Him. Help us not to think \u2018small,\u2019 but to really see what You are doing. Amen.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYour Kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in Heaven.\u201d Matthew 6:10<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Jesus wants us to hear and really understand. He wants us to see and truly perceive. As a Teacher, Jesus expects a lot and challenges us when we think too \u2018small.\u2019 Here\u2019s an example: The disciples had forgotten to bring bread, except for one loaf they had with them in the boat. \u201cBe careful,\u201d Jesus […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2805","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-jesus"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/airwoof.org\/journey\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2805","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/airwoof.org\/journey\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/airwoof.org\/journey\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/airwoof.org\/journey\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/airwoof.org\/journey\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2805"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/airwoof.org\/journey\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2805\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2807,"href":"https:\/\/airwoof.org\/journey\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2805\/revisions\/2807"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/airwoof.org\/journey\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2805"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/airwoof.org\/journey\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2805"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/airwoof.org\/journey\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2805"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}