Thank you once again for reading the message for the week. I hope you have all had a good week of serving the Lord and enjoying the good things in this life.
If you have been with the blog for a little while, you know that we are currently in a series of messages on the Gospel of Mark. We are right now in chapter 6.
Today, our focus is going to be on an event that is recorded in all four of the Gospels which is the feeding of the five thousand. It has a lot to teach us on a multitude of different levels.
Our text for the day tells us that Jesus was preaching to a great crowd of people. They had been listening to Him all day. They needed to get something to eat, and the disciples wanted them to disperse and get some food. However, Jesus told them to give the people something to eat. Of course, they didn't have enough, but Jesus performed a miracle whereby even a small amount of food was enough to feed 5,000 people. It was a truly profound miracle.
The first thing I want to point out about this parable is why it is included in all of the Gospels. It is the only miracle in all four. Why is it so important to warrant this? It is because what it is demonstrating about the person and work of Jesus.
In His Sermon on the Mount when Jesus reinterprets the law, He is showing that He is greater than Moses the lawgiver. In this miracle, He is doing that again but in a different way. While Moses was leading the people in the wilderness, manna came from Heaven and fed the people. But Moses is not the one who gave the bread to the people.
In this miracle, by His power as God come in the flesh, Jesus is the one who gives the people bread in the desert. He is greater than Moses, as He is the source of sustenance.
There is also something very spiritual going on with this miracle. It shows that Jesus is the Bread of Life and the one that can provide what is necessary to sustain a person's soul. He Himself is the Bread that has come down from Heaven. He is the one who gives His life, His love and His forgiveness as true spiritual food. He truly is the Way, the Truth and Life. Only Jesus can provide what is necessary for abundant life now and in the world to come.
Now, there are a couple of other things I would like to point out in regard to this passage. Jesus tells the disciples that they are to give people something to eat. This works on both the physical and the spiritual level.
As followers of Jesus, we have the obligation to help to meet the physical needs of the poor and the hurting who are in this world. We have to feed the hungry and clothe the naked. We have to help people to have what they need to have the kind of life Jesus would want all people everywhere to have. That is one of our primary duties and one of the primary duties of the church working in this world.
We as Jesus' followers also have the duty to share His message and tell others that Jesus is the Bread of Life. He is the one who can forgive them and save them from their sins. He is the one who is able to deliver us from death, hell and the grave. We are to go into all the world and preach the Gospel and teach people about who Jesus is and what He has done.
Let each of us receive the blessings of the Lord. Let us share with others the goodness of the Lord. Amen.
Prayer Requests
Please keep praying that all will go well with the house sale and with me finding a new place. Thank you for your prayers.
Keep praying for peace. Ukraine, the Middle East, Sudan, Myanmar and Sudan all need our prayers.
Pray for those suffering as a result of natural disasters. Pray that they will receive the aid and help they need. People in Venezuela, Japan, Spain, Canada and France all need our prayers.
Remember to pray for an end to the Ebola outbreak and the Cyclospora outbreak in US.
For our prayer focus countries this week, let us pray for those in the nations of Chad and Malaysia. Pray that many will come to know Jesus.
Next week, we will continue in Mark. I will post the verses on Tuesday. May God bless you all.
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