Daily Scripture
Note to readers: During Lent Resurrection joins 300 or more other congregations in Kansas City and others in Hong Kong and Ghana in reading the entire gospel of Mark. To support that goal, some daily GPS readings are longer than usual. Have an extra cup of coffee, or maybe use your lunch break—take the time to read the whole gospel with us.
To watch a video that covers Mark 8:1-21, click here.
Mark 8:1-21
1 In those days there was another large crowd with nothing to eat. Jesus called his disciples and told them, 2 “I feel sorry for the crowd because they have been with me for three days and have nothing to eat. 3 If I send them away hungry to their homes, they won’t have enough strength to travel, for some have come a long distance.”
4 His disciples responded, “How can anyone get enough food in this wilderness to satisfy these people?”
5 Jesus asked, “How much bread do you have?”
They said, “Seven loaves.”
6 He told the crowd to sit on the ground. He took the seven loaves, gave thanks, broke them apart, and gave them to his disciples to distribute; and they gave the bread to the crowd. 7 They also had a few fish. He said a blessing over them, then gave them to the disciples to hand out also. 8 They ate until they were full. They collected seven baskets full of leftovers. 9 This was a crowd of about four thousand people! Jesus sent them away, 10 then got into a boat with his disciples and went over to the region of Dalmanutha.
11 The Pharisees showed up and began to argue with Jesus. To test him, they asked for a sign from heaven. 12 With an impatient sigh, Jesus said, “Why does this generation look for a sign? I assure you that no sign will be given to it.” 13 Leaving them, he got back in the boat and crossed to the other side of the lake.
14 Jesus’ disciples had forgotten to bring any bread, so they had only one loaf with them in the boat. 15 He gave them strict orders: “Watch out and be on your guard for the yeast of the Pharisees as well as the yeast of Herod.”
16 The disciples discussed this among themselves, “He said this because we have no bread.”
17 Jesus knew what they were discussing and said, “Why are you talking about the fact that you don’t have any bread? Don’t you grasp what has happened? Don’t you understand? Are your hearts so resistant to what God is doing? 18 Don’t you have eyes? Why can’t you see? Don’t you have ears? Why can’t you hear? Don’t you remember? 19 When I broke five loaves of bread for those five thousand people, how many baskets full of leftovers did you gather?”
They answered, “Twelve.”
20 “And when I broke seven loaves of bread for those four thousand people, how many baskets full of leftovers did you gather?”
They answered, “Seven.”
21 Jesus said to them, “And you still don’t understand?”
Reflection Questions
Mark’s purpose in telling this story (not long after Mark 6:30-44) was not merely to say, “Jesus did it again!” This event likely took place in the region of the Ten Cities, the Decapolis (cf. Mark 7:31). If so, most of the 4,000 would have been Gentiles. Jesus fed them as bountifully and caringly as he did the Jewish crowd in chapter 6. Yet when he tried to use the image of yeast to warn his disciples against teachings different from his, they took him with an almost silly literalism.
- Acts 11:1-3 and 15:1-6 show that some early Christians with Jewish backgrounds found it hard to accept Gentiles as full citizens in God’s Kingdom. How would Mark’s stories of Jesus miraculously feeding two crowds, one Jewish and one Gentile, point toward God’s view of that issue? Are there any people who, for whatever reasons, you aren’t sure “fit” in God’s family today?
- What was “the yeast of the Pharisees” and “the yeast of Herod”? The Pharisees wanted the Messiah’s kingdom to be just for law-keeping Jews; Herod and allies wanted a political kingdom that made them “legitimate” kings. Jesus' vision was different from both, higher and more far reaching, and he wanted his disciples to “get it.” How do you see Jesus' kingdom (for which we pray each week in worship)? Have there been times when Jesus' actions and teachings expanded your sense of the kingdom’s reach and impact?
Prayer
Lord Jesus, at first all your disciples could see as you fed large crowds was fish and bread. Help me focus my attention on your life-changing power and compassion, on your kingdom that is higher and greater than anything I could imagine. Amen.
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March 18, 2021 at 09:14PM
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“Another large crowd”—Gentiles this time - Leawood - Church of the Resurrection
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