Trinity 7
Mk
8:1-9
8/3/25
What will I eat? As I prepared to go to South Sudan this was
an obvious and pressing question. In
talking with several people who had taught there in the past, I learned that
they had not eaten the meat that was served there – usually chicken or
goat. Their doctors had strongly advised
them against doing so. Due to the
conditions in which the meat was procured and prepared, the concern was that it
would give us something that we were not used to – something that would make us
sick.
As I talked about this with Amy she
agreed it would be very unwise to eat the meat served there. After all, the last thing I needed was to
come down with some kind of stomach or intestinal issue while I was supposed to
be teaching. It just wasn’t worth the
risk.
But what then would I be eating? And
how would I feel? Fortunately, it turned out that I was never hungry. I had
scrambled eggs every morning with some kind of local spice that was very good.
There was freshly baked bread at every meal that I enjoyed. Frequently they served a delicious tomato
salad.
I ate a lot of rice, and some kind of cabbage like dish that was
quite good. I had fresh bananas at every meal. Sometimes there were sweet
potatoes that had been sliced and baked, and that was ok. The one thing that I
found I didn’t like and couldn’t eat was savo – a large root that was just not
good. I wasn’t hungry for two weeks, and lost ten pounds – the South Sudan
diet. And then my first meal at home was a steak dinner.
What will they eat? That is the question that is present in our
Gospel lesson this morning as Jesus shows concern for the crowd that has been
listening to him teach. His disciples
show a lack of understanding. In fact, this is something that continues to be
present later in the chapter as our Lord interacts with them. In our Gospel
lesson we learn that Christ is the One who brings God’s salvation. But we can
only receive him and his saving work by faith – by trust in Jesus.
Our Gospel lesson today begins with the words, “In those days, when
again a great crowd had gathered, and they had nothing to eat, he called his
disciples to him.” The word “again”
signals that this is not the first time this situation has occurred. The reader
of the Gospel knows that this scenario had played out in chapter six.
There our Lord said to the disciples, “Come away by yourselves to a
desolate place and rest a while.” Mark tells us that Jesus’ ministry had been
so busy that they had no leisure even to eat.
They went to a desolate place by themselves. However, people went there to meet Jesus.
When Christ saw the great crowd he had compassion on them, because they were
like sheep without a shepherd. And so he began to teach them many things.
When it grew late the disciples told Jesus to send the people away
to the surrounding villages to buy something to eat. But he replied, “You give them something to
eat.” They answered that the expense was too great. It would take two hundred
denarii worth of bread – two hundred days wages.
So Jesus asked them what they did have. They checked and reported
that there were five loaves of bread and two fish. Christ then worked as
miracle as he used this to feed five thousand people. The miracle produced such
an abundance that they were able to gather up twelve baskets full of leftovers.
Now we learn that again a great crowd had gathered and had nothing
to eat. Jesus summoned his disciples and said, “I have compassion on the crowd,
because they have been with me now three days and have nothing to eat. And if I
send them away hungry to their homes, they will faint on the way. And some of
them have come from far away.”
During his ministry, great crowds came to hear Jesus teach. He was
a masterful and captivating teacher – so much so that people had been there for
three days listening to him. But now he showed his concern that they needed
food.
In response the disciples answered, “How can one feed these people
with bread here in this desolate place?”
It was as if the prior feeding miracle had not occurred. This time they
focused on a different problem. The concern was not the expense. Instead, it
was the remoteness of the location. They saw the problem, instead of Jesus who
was present with them.
Jesus again asked how many loaves they had. He had the crowd sit
down on the ground. Then he took the seven loaves of bread, gave thanks, and
broke them. He also blessed some small fish that were on hand. Jesus gave them to the disciples, and they
set them before the crowd. The bread and
fish never ran out as four thousand people were fed. When they were done they
gathered up seven baskets full of leftovers.
Jesus had again worked the miracle of feeding a crowd. But like the
feeding of the five thousand, the miracle did not bring a true blessing if it
was not received with faith and trust in Christ. The disciples lacked this as they failed to
trust in the Lord’s ability to provide when they asked the question,: ““How can
one feed these people with bread here in this desolate place?”
Jesus’ miracles were meant to call forth faith in him. The
disciples had stumbled as the previous feeding miracle did not lead them to
trust in Christ in the face of a new challenge. Immediately after our text
Jesus encounters Pharisees who reject him altogether.
We learn that the Pharisees came and began to argue with
him, seeking from him a sign from heaven to test him. This was
not the question of whether Christ had worked miracles. Instead, they demanded some outward proof of
Jesus’ divine authority. Rather than
calling forth faith, the miracles were ignored. And so Jesus sighed
deeply in his spirit and said, “Why does this generation seek a sign?
Truly, I say to you, no sign will be given to this generation.”
As they returned across the Sea of Galilee we learn that the
disciples had forgotten to bring bread with them, and that they only had one
loaf in the boat. Jesus cautioned them,
saying, “Watch out; beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and
the leaven of Herod.” Our Lord was
warning them against the unbelief of the Pharisees using the metaphor of
leaven.
But the disciples were obtuse – they didn’t get what Jesus
meant. And instead they began discussing
with one another about the fact that they had no bread – as if a lack of bread
was a problem when they were with Jesus!
Our Lord knew this and said,
“Why
are you discussing the fact that you have no bread? Do you not yet
perceive or understand? Are your hearts hardened? Having eyes do you
not see, and having ears do you not hear? And do you not remember?”
Jesus used language from the Old
Testament prophets that described the unbelief of Israel. Then he called them
to remember what he had done. He asked, “When I broke the five loaves for
the five thousand, how many baskets full of broken pieces did you take up?” They
answered that there had been twelve. Then Christ asked, “And the seven for
the four thousand, how many baskets full of broken pieces did you take up?” They
replied that there had been seven. And so Christ asked, “Do you not yet
understand?”
The disciples had seen the miracle
as Jesus fed the five thousand. They had seen the miracle as the Lord fed the four
thousand in our text. They had seen the miracles, but they had not understood.
It had not called forth faith and trust in Jesus as they encountered new challenges.
Near the end of this chapter Jesus
predicts his passion for the first time.
Mark tells us, “And he began to teach them that the Son of Man
must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief
priests and the scribes and be killed, and after three days rise again.” Christ did die as he offered himself as the
ransom for all – as the price that won forgiveness for us. And then on Easter
the angel announced to the women, “Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of
Nazareth, who was crucified. He has risen; he is not here. See the place where
they laid him.”
This is the miracle that we have
seen in the preaching of the Gospel. There are times when we are like the
disciples. We have seen the miracle but it fails to call forth faith and trust
in Christ as we encounter challenges. We
know of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ and yet in spite of this
action by the Lord we allow health issues to cause us to doubt God. We know of
what happened on Good Friday and Easter, yet we fail to trust in the Lord when
our plans don’t turn out as we want.
Through his Word this morning Christ
calls us to see the miracle of his death and resurrection with faith and trust
in him. The miracles that Jesus
performed – such as the feeding in our text – demonstrated that in Christ the
reign of God was present to overcome Satan, sin, and death. The saving work of
God reached it culmination as Jesus died on the cross and rose from the dead. We know Jesus as the crucified and risen Lord
and so we have faith and trust in him no matter what happens.
To sustain us in this faith and trust, the risen Lord continues to
work a feeding miracle this morning. He
has compassion on us. He takes bread and
wine and speaks his powerful word over them. Through that word he causes bread
and wine to be his true body and blood, given and shed for us for the
forgiveness of sins. He, the risen Lord, gives us the very price that he paid
for our salvation. He gives his risen
body and blood into our bodies for he will raise them up on the Last Day. We look forward to the day when we will no
longer walk by faith and trust, but instead will dwell in God’s presence
forever.
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