Daily Devotions
Mark
2 Peter 1:17 "...when such a voice came to Him from the Excellent Glory: 'This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased."
Day 172 – Mark 8
“…when such a voice came to Him from the Excellent Glory: ‘This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased.'” 2 Peter 1:17
GETTING THE DISCIPLES TO HANDLE PROBLEMS
Jesus wanted to know how the disciples would deal with the following situation.
1. There was a very great multitude (Mark 8:1).
2. They had nothing to eat (Mark 8:1-2)
3. Jesus refused the idea of sending them away hungry (Mark 8:3).
4. He was concerned that they might faint if sent home hungry (Mark 8:3).
THE REPLY OF THE DISCIPLES
Their reply to Jesus was not totally unexpected. They said,
“How can one satisfy these people with bread
here in the wilderness.”
MARK 8:4
1. No solution offered
The disciples could not come up with a satisfactory solution. As a matter of fact, they replied most negatively. They suggested that it was impossible to satisfy the multitudes with bread in the wilderness.
2. Their faith did not come to their rescue
Did Jesus expect their faith to rise up to the occasion? If so, He would have been disappointed. The faith of the disciples seemed weak if not dormant. They did not think to ask Jesus to use His power to feed the multitude!
ANOTHER OCCASION, ANOTHER LESSON
There was hardly any point flogging a dead horse. The disciples were obviously not ready to deal with such a tough test.
“He asked them, ‘How many loaves do you have?’
And they said, ‘Seven.'”
MARK 8:5
Once again, the disciples would experience yet another powerful miracle.
“So He commanded the multitude to sit down on the ground.
And He took the seven loaves and gave thanks, broke them
and gave them to His disciples to set before them;
and they set them before the multitudes. They also had
a few small fish; and having blessed them, He said to set them
also before them.”
MARK 8:6
To the disciples, this was almost surreal! Had they not experienced this before?