February 23: Trusting His Provision.
HIS SATISFYING.
And they ate and were satisfied; and they picked up seven large baskets full of what was left over of the broken pieces.--Mark 8:8
As humans, we seem to be prone to exclusivity, whether on the basis of color, gender, race, religion, or any number of other categories. I have recently learned about the life of the extraordinary mathematician Ramanujan. He went through hard times, due to his race, until he was recognized for his educational endeavors in England. In 1918, he became the first person from India to be elected as Fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge. He died at the age of thirty-two.
It is hard to be accepted into a group when you are considered an outsider. The disciples had difficulty understanding that Gentiles were invited to God's kingdom. After the feeding of the five thousand, where the insiders were fed bread and were satisfied (Mark 6:34-44), and after the breakthrough riddle with the Syrophoenician woman, where Jesus talked about being satisfied with bread (Mark 7:24-30), Jesus feeds the four thousand. This is the feeding of the others (Mark 8:1-10); the numbers and the word used for "basket" have changed. This time Jesus starts with seven loaves (verse 5). Once again, we encounter four verbs: Jesus takes the bread, gives thanks, breaks the loaves, and gives them to the disciples to give to the people (verse 6). "And they ate and were satisfied; and they picked up seven large baskets full of what was left over of the broken pieces. About four thousand were there" (verse 8, 9). The numbers have changed from five and twelve in the feeding of the Jews, to seven and four, for the outsiders. The number four is used for the whole earth (four corners); and in the non-Jewish/Gentile geographical setting, seven symbolizes the seven pagan nations displaced by the Israelites in the land of Canaan (see Acts 13:19; Deuteronomy 7:1). The word for baskets is different (spuris), befitting of a Gentile audience. They were also satisfied and there were seven baskets left. If you have felt the pain of being labeled as an outsider, may you know that Jesus wants you to be fed and be satisfied as well. Tomorrow we will discover what the bread was pointing to! *
My Response:-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
* See tomorrow's devotional for the conclusion of the bread plot in Mark.
HIS SATISFYING.
And they ate and were satisfied; and they picked up seven large baskets full of what was left over of the broken pieces.--Mark 8:8
As humans, we seem to be prone to exclusivity, whether on the basis of color, gender, race, religion, or any number of other categories. I have recently learned about the life of the extraordinary mathematician Ramanujan. He went through hard times, due to his race, until he was recognized for his educational endeavors in England. In 1918, he became the first person from India to be elected as Fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge. He died at the age of thirty-two.
It is hard to be accepted into a group when you are considered an outsider. The disciples had difficulty understanding that Gentiles were invited to God's kingdom. After the feeding of the five thousand, where the insiders were fed bread and were satisfied (Mark 6:34-44), and after the breakthrough riddle with the Syrophoenician woman, where Jesus talked about being satisfied with bread (Mark 7:24-30), Jesus feeds the four thousand. This is the feeding of the others (Mark 8:1-10); the numbers and the word used for "basket" have changed. This time Jesus starts with seven loaves (verse 5). Once again, we encounter four verbs: Jesus takes the bread, gives thanks, breaks the loaves, and gives them to the disciples to give to the people (verse 6). "And they ate and were satisfied; and they picked up seven large baskets full of what was left over of the broken pieces. About four thousand were there" (verse 8, 9). The numbers have changed from five and twelve in the feeding of the Jews, to seven and four, for the outsiders. The number four is used for the whole earth (four corners); and in the non-Jewish/Gentile geographical setting, seven symbolizes the seven pagan nations displaced by the Israelites in the land of Canaan (see Acts 13:19; Deuteronomy 7:1). The word for baskets is different (spuris), befitting of a Gentile audience. They were also satisfied and there were seven baskets left. If you have felt the pain of being labeled as an outsider, may you know that Jesus wants you to be fed and be satisfied as well. Tomorrow we will discover what the bread was pointing to! *
My Response:-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
* See tomorrow's devotional for the conclusion of the bread plot in Mark.
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