Bread for the Gentiles
Mark 8:1-10
I heard a story of a first grade class, where a number of the students were recently-arrived refugees from other countries and the topic being taught in class was fractions.
The teacher defined what a half and what a quarter was, and after teaching on fractions, she asked the children to write down whether they would prefer a half or a quarter of a candy bar.
As she walked around the room; she noticed some of the new students wrote they would rather have a quarter of a candy bar.
The teacher thought she was going to have to re-teach the lesson, because the children didn’t appear to understand that a half was bigger than a quarter.
So she asked the students why they would rather have a quarter of the candy bar and one little girl replied, “If I only have a quarter, more people could have a piece of chocolate.”
Having compassion for others should come naturally to Spirit filled believers; because we are empowered to be like Jesus.
John 13:14 If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet.
John 13:15 For I have given you an example, that you should do as I have done to you. NKJV
Please open your Bibles to Mark 8 as we continue that study
Last week, Jesus went to a pre-judged area and He met a Gentile woman, whose daughter was severely demon possessed.
We learned this woman heard about Jesus and that Jesus will not hide from a person in need, who truly seeks Him.
This woman had great faith because she believed and trusted Jesus, even when everything was against her. Jesus then healed her daughter.
Immediately after that; Jesus traveled to the Decapolis and a great crowd followed Him.
Jesus healed many from the crowd, then He took one man aside, who was deaf and mute and healed him in an extraordinary way.
This healing was so remarkable that those pagan Gentile people began glorifying the God of Israel; the very thing the religious leaders of Israel refused to do on the other side of the Sea.
Today’s narrative picks back up at the Decapolis as Jesus shows a tremendous amount of compassion to some Gentiles.
I. Compassion for all people.
Read Mark 8:1-3
There are some who say this is the same as the feeding of the five thousand; but, it is not. The feeding of the 5,000 took place on the other side of the Sea; this took place at the Decapolis.
Also note worthy is the fact that at the feeding of 5,000, the people were exclusively Jews; but here, the crowd is predominantly Gentile, which we will discuss in a moment.
There are other differences as well and we will look at them as we go through the passage; but, the most important clue for us to know this is a different event is the fact that Jesus said it was.
Notice we are told, Jesus called His Disciples. The word called means He “summoned” them; demanding their participation.
Jesus has compassion for the crowd because notice, they had been with Jesus three days and have had nothing to eat.
At the feeding of the 5,000, the people had only been with Jesus one day. In both narratives Jesus had compassion on the people.
At the feeding of the 5,000, He had compassion because the people of Israel were like sheep without a shepherd.
After the feeding of the 5,000 in the Gospel of John, Jesus followed the feeding by teaching the Bread of Life discourse.
John 6:26, Jesus answered them and said, "Most assuredly, I say to you, you seek Me, not because you saw the signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled.
John 6:27 Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to everlasting life, which the Son of Man will give you, because God the Father has set His seal on Him." NKJV
Here, the Gentiles have been listening intently for three full days and Jesus has compassion on them because of their hunger.
The dictionary defines compassion as sympathetic pity and concern for the sufferings or misfortunes of others.
One OT word for compassion (racham) is defined as to love deeply, have mercy, be compassionate, and tender affection.
The NT word for compassion (splagchnizomai) means to be moved deep within the heart, liver, lungs, and intestines.
So compassion moves us to the very depths of our being.
2 Corinthians 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort,
2 Corinthians 1:4 who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.
Jesus is moved with compassion for people; so, He willingly left heaven’s throne room to come to the earth He created with one purpose in mind; to seek and save that which was lost.
Jesus said the first crowd was seeking food; this second crowd was also hungry; but, their hunger was for the Word of God.
Once someone has an authentic hunger for the Lord and His Word; that person will enter into authentic worship.
In Genesis 12, the Lord appeared to Abraham, so he built an altar to the Lord; to offer Him sacrifices and worship.
Worship is telling God what He is worth to us; and when we have an authentic hunger for Jesus in worship, the Lord gives us:
1. Clarity for His purpose in our lives.
Proverbs 3:5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding;
Proverbs 3:6 In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths. NKJV
2. Communion with Him as we receive forgiveness for sin and intimate fellowship with Him.
3. Satisfaction for the Hunger inside.
To the woman at the well in John 4:13 Jesus answered and said to her, "Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again,
John 4:14 but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life." NKJV
4. Peace, as our minds are fixed on Him.
Isaiah 26:3 You will keep him in perfect peace, Whose mind is stayed on You, Because he trusts in You…which leads to
5. Rest in Him.
Matthew 11:28 Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
Matthew 11:29 Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. NKJV
Matthew 11:30 For My yoke is easy and My burden is light."
Abraham came to know God through worship and when we have a true encounter with the Living God; it will cause us to learn from Him and worship Him like this as well.
In verse 3, Jesus is well aware of the danger of not meeting the crowd’s needs and says, “If I send them away hungry to their own houses, they will faint on the way”
Jesus refuses to send these people away hungry.
Jesus will never send someone away spiritually hungry if they will authentically seek and surrender to Him.
So Jesus instructs the Disciples and we see, as Yogi Berra said,
II. It’s like Déjà vu all over again.
Read Mark 8:4
How could these Disciples be so slow to learn? This is the same question they asked on the other side of the Sea of Galilee.
D. James Kennedy said, “Since their name in Greek means students, the Disciples spent time with Jesus learning from Him.
“They (the Disciples) had been enrolled in the school of Christ. But they were slow learners.” (Dr. D. James Kennedy)
How many of us have asked the question, “How many times do I have to relearn a lesson? I assumed that once I said, "Got it!" I could move on to something new in my life.”
Personally, it seems that the Lord has to continue to teach me the same lesson over and over again. Why?
God wants His children to be molded into the likeness of Jesus Christ. Jesus is so committed to complete our transformation He makes all things work together, to make it happen.
We know every lesson we receive from the Lord, is not only meant to build us up, or to train us into becoming a better person; but, the lessons are meant to make us more like Christ.
If we want to know God, His attributes, and who He really is; there's no better place to look, than His own Word.
The Lord teaches us lessons geared towards Christ-likeness through experiences He allows to happen within our lives.
The Lord God also teaches us lessons that are geared towards Christ-likeness through indirect lessons we see in other people’s lives.
By this time, these Disciples have been with Jesus for over two years and have witnessed miracle after miracle. It started with Jesus turning water into wine at the wedding in Cana of Galilee.
But by this time, the Disciples have seen thousands of people healed and demon possessed people liberated.
They even witnessed Jesus’ power to create when He took 5 barley crackers and two sardines and created enough food for the feeding of the 5,000 on the other side of the Sea of Galilee.
Here, the Disciples ask Jesus where they were going to have enough food, again. If I were Jesus I would have run out of patience for these followers.
Jesus is patient with His children and many times He is willing to teach us the same lesson over and over again.
Jesus taught His Disciples through a storm on the Sea of Galilee, twice.
Jesus fed the multitudes with very little provisions, twice.
Jesus has a purpose for everything He does; His actions are always deliberate.
With this feeding, one of the lessons for His Disciples was not only how they could have compassion; but, how they should show compassion to people who are different than they were.
In just one year from this date, Jesus will hang on a cross, rise from the dead and then ascend into heaven.
These men will then be Jesus’ representatives here on earth; so they must learn these lessons now.
These Disciples would have to become Jesus’ hands and feet in a very short time; so their master was willing to teach them some of the same lessons again and again.
III. The ultimate provision.
Read Mark 8:5-7
In the feeding of the 5,000, Jesus used five small barley loaves and two small fish. In this narrative, Jesus used seven loaves and a few small fish.
At the feeding of the 5,000, Jesus blessed the meal and they ate; here He prayed over the bread and blessed the fish separately.
Jesus asks, “How many loaves do you have?”
Jesus already knew the answer but He wanted to teach His Disciples from this experience; so He asks the question making sure all present understood whose power performed the miracle.
The Disciples only had enough food for themselves, so they ask, “Where are we going to get enough food to feed these people?”
Matthew Henry said, “What they had, they had for themselves, and it was little enough for their own family;
But Christ would have them bestow it all upon the multitude, and trust Providence for more.”
In Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus asked, “How many loaves do we have? Notice the lesson here; Jesus gave it to the Disciples and then the Disciples gave it to the people.
Jesus taught these Disciples over and over again: This is how real ministry works; we must first receive from the hand of Jesus and then give away what we have received.
True ministry is all about giving others, from what we have received from Jesus.
Real ministry should not come from any invention of man, or someone’s good idea; because if something is to have spiritual value, it must originate with Jesus.
We can never minister for the Lord, unless we have first received from Jesus Himself.
By Jesus first giving the food to the Disciples, they learned to be generous and hospitable, having learned and received it from their Master.
Jesus did what only He could do, creating food for the miracle; but, then He gave the Disciples a mission to do what they could do, by distributing the food. Ministry is a partnership with God.
This whole scenario was miracles performed for the Gentiles.
Matthew 15:24 But He answered and said, "I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel." NKJV
France said “Perhaps the disciples had not “expected Jesus to use his Messianic power, when the crowd was a Gentile one.”
I am not big into numerology; however, there is a pretty neat picture here with the loaves since Jesus is the Bread of Life.
When Jesus fed the 5,000, there were five loaves of bread which represents the Torah; the first five books of the Old Testament.
When Jesus fed the 4,000 Gentiles, there were 7 loaves of bread.
Seven is the number of completion.
When Jesus provided bread here for the Gentiles, it shows His work of redemption for the whole world was complete. Seven also represents creation where God created all of humanity.
IV. Jesus is more than enough.
Read Mark 8:8-10
David Guzik said, “At the end of the meal, they gathered more bread than they had to begin with.
“This was miraculous provision. The seven large baskets showed that God provided out of His abundance” (Guzik)
In the feeding of the 5,000, Jesus told them to them to sit down in groups on green grass; here, there is no green grass; because this is a different location and time than the feeding of the 5,000.
John Walvoord, “Here they sat on the ground, for the summer sun had burned up all the grass; before, they were on the grass as it was early Spring.”
But notice, they all ate and were filled. Whatever your greatest need is today, Jesus is more than enough to meet your need!
He is not only more than enough; but, there is plenty of Jesus for you, with more than enough left over for others!
Once the meal is over, there were 7 baskets of left-over’s for this Gentile feeding; but, there were 12 baskets of left-over’s after the feeding of the 5,000 Jewish men.
With the Jewish feeding of the 5,000, the baskets were lunch box sized; but with the Gentile feeding, the baskets were huge.
These baskets were huge and the number 7 pictures the completion of redemption with the New Testament Church.
The leftovers were enough to provide even for the next day.
These baskets were similar to the one used for the Apostle Paul, while he was in Damascus and they sought to arrest him…
2 Corinthians 11:32 desiring to arrest me; 33 but I was let down in a basket through a window in the wall, and escaped from his hands. NKJV
Again Jesus is the bread of Life, John 6:35 And Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst. NKJV
biblestudyverse.com says, “The seven gentile nations God told Moses He would cast out of the promised land in Deuteronomy 7:1, were the people in this narrative the region of “Decapolis”.
The “bread of life”, Jesus, the living “Word of God”, satisfies the hearers and is offered to all nations; both Jews and Gentiles.
For us to properly serve and worship the Lord, we must hand over everything; our time, body, skills, etc., to the Lord’s work.
The NIV of Romans 12:1, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God-this is your spiritual act of worship. NIV
We are to offer ourselves and ask Him to do with us as He pleases; and then watch Him do things beyond our imagination.
Could Jesus have fed the crowd if the Disciples were not willing to join Him feeding this crowd? Of course.
Jesus created the universe with just His words; He doesn't need anyone to help; but, we are blessed to be partners in His work.
These baskets are pictures of Jesus being the Bread of Life to the Jews and the Bread of Life to the non-Jewish world, as well.
The Disciples received lessons on the stormy sea. The Disciples received lessons on the compassion and power of Jesus.
Jesus, the Servant King, was moved by His relentless compassion. Now today, Jesus first gives to us abundantly and then, we should in turn give it to others as well.
He never withholds blessings from us. He never denies the humble hungry believer.
He’s so gracious to repeat His lessons in all of our lives.
V. Practical Application.
Remember the story I began with about a first grade class, where a number of the students were recently-arrived refugees from other countries and the topic in class was fractions.
The teacher defined what a half and a quarter were, and then asked the children to write down whether they would prefer a half or a quarter of a candy bar.
One student said she only wanted a quarter of the candy bar, “So that more people could have a piece of chocolate.”
The Lord’s compassion is displayed through miracles done on the Eastern side of the Sea; He welcomed all different people.
The poor as well as the rich are welcome to Christ, and just like the large basket used to collect the leftovers; with Him there is room enough for all who would come.
Jesus desires all men to come to repentance and receive Eternal Life; so, Jesus taught His followers that we should demonstrate love and compassion to all people and have hospitality.
Romans 12:10 Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honor giving preference to one another;
Romans 12:11 not lagging in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord;
Romans 12:12 rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing steadfastly in prayer;
Romans 12:13 distributing to the needs of the saints, given to hospitality. NKJV
Jesus never complained about crowds of seekers, or looked with contempt upon for the needy souls; because they are as precious with Him as the souls of princes.
The Lord will supply what is needed as we follow His directives as He continues to teach us the same lesson over and over again
Every lesson we receive from the Lord is not only meant to build us up or train us into becoming a better person; but, they are meant to make us Christ-like.
Jesus asked the Disciples, “What do we have?” knowing full well He would provide all that was needed. Jesus is motivated by compassion and He wants us to be more like Him.
Jesus’ compassion is why He willingly left heaven’s throne. The Bread of life gave His body so we could have eternal life.
And the Lord is willing to teach His followers lessons several times over, because He is patient with us. We need to learn to be His hands and feet to a lost and hurting world.
Having compassion for others should come naturally to spirit filled believers, because we are empowered to be like Jesus.
John 13:14 If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet.
John 13:15 For I have given you an example, that you should do as I have done to you. NKJV
Our time on this planet is short and we need to show this world there is a better way, as we are examples of Christ-likeness.
Part of Christians being examples is demonstrated when we are moved with compassion for people; while empowered by the Holy Spirit.
Live Jesus loud, as His witnesses of grace and compassion!
