~Mark 8.1-10 During those days another large crowd gathered. Since they had nothing to eat, Jesus called his disciples to him and said, “I have compassion for these people; they have already been with me three days and have nothing to eat. If I send them home hungry, they will collapse on the way, because some of them have come a long distance.”
His disciples answered, “But where in this remote place can anyone get enough bread to feed them?”
“How many loaves do you have?” Jesus asked.
“Seven,” they replied.
He told the crowd to sit down on the ground. When he had taken the seven loaves and given thanks, he broke them and gave them to his disciples to distribute to the people, and they did so. They had a few small fish as well; he gave thanks for them also and told the disciples to distribute them. The people ate and were satisfied. Afterward the disciples picked up seven basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over. About four thousand were present.
Jesus is concerned that people get enough to eat--not a big problem in our community today, although it is in some parts of the world--and he is willing and able to make ample provision for that. Again the staples are bread and fish.
About the baskets leftover
1) My first thought was, "ah, he's getting more accurate!"
2) One commentary says that of course he made exactly the right amount, but some chose not to eat, so there were leftovers.
3) Other commentaries say the 12 and 7 baskets point to God's abundant provision for both the Jews (12 tribes, etc.) and the gentiles (70 nations listed in Genesis 10).
No comments:
Post a Comment