By: Dale Weckbacher
Mark 8:6-8
And he directed the
crowd to sit down on the ground. And he took the seven loaves, and having
given thanks, he broke them and gave them to his disciples to set before the
people; and they set them before the crowd. 7 And
they had a few small fish. And having blessed them, he said that these
also should be set before them. 8 And they ate
and were satisfied. And they took up the broken pieces left over, seven
baskets full.
(ESV)
When we take time to reflect on what God did for us in
sending His Son to die for our sins, we realize that none of us has much to
offer to the Lord. Thankfully, God is a
gracious God and only asks people to believe in Jesus and enjoy eternal life (John
3:16). Since John
3:16 is a verse many can recite from memory, we typically recite it without
taking time to consider what the verse means.
Therefore, let us take a moment to look closely at the meaning of John
3:16.
God so loved the world, a world that would welcome His Son
as long as they received a miracle but that would turn on Him calling for His
crucifixion. John
6 begins with the feeding of the five thousand (John
6:1-15) but ends with many turning away due to the hard teaching of Jesus (John
6:60, 66). Yet, God still loves them
and sent His Son to die for them. That
He gave His only begotten Son, letting us know of the generosity of God, even
towards them that might reject Him when the going gets tough. That whosoever believes, the only requirement
is to believe, but those choosing not to believe are not saved but condemned. (John
3:18). Jesus death on the cross
means everyone has the opportunity for salvation and reconciliation to God but
to receive it, they must believe. Shall
not perish but have everlasting life.
This is the reward for those that believe with those choosing not to
believe incurring condemnation and judgment from God.
The text of Mark
8:1-10 records Jesus feeding of the four thousand. This account resembles Jesus’ feeding of the
five thousand recorded in Mark
6:30-44. While we do not know how
much time transpired between these two miracles, we do know they happened
during the three and one-half years of Jesus’ ministry and most likely occurred
closely together. Both miracles
illustrate Jesus’ compassion for those in need and demonstrate His ability to
take what little people have to offer and multiplying it to meet their needs (John
6:11-13; Mark 8:6-8). However, both
accounts also show doubt with the Disciples focus on the apparent impossibility
of feeding such a large crowd (John
6:4-9; Mark 8:4). Both accounts also
show obedience with the Disciples obediently doing what the Lord commands in
both accounts despite their doubts (John
6:10; Mark 8:6-7).
Honest reflection and assessment of our lives will reveal we
have little to offer to the Lord.
Thankfully, all God requires of us is to believe that He loves fallen
humanity so much that He did not hesitate to send His only Son, Jesus, to die
for their sins (John
3:16). There is also the ongoing
process after giving one’s life to God of obedience and transformation of our
thinking from secular conformity to the world to thinking according to what is
contained in the Word of God (Romans
12:1-2).
In both accounts of Jesus feeding a multitude, the Disciples
had doubts. However, despite these
doubts, the Disciples also demonstrate obedience and belief through their
obedience to what God told them to do.
Using the metaphor of one driving a car, living for Christ involves
getting out of the driver’s seat and sitting in the passenger seat allowing
Christ to drive the car of our lives. I
personally do not like being in the passenger seat of the car and feel more
comfortable when driving and in control.
When in the passenger seat I can get nervous about how the other person is
driving, but since I have never died or been injured in a traffic accident, these
other drivers were good drivers even though I was nervous about how they drove
the car. Letting Jesus drive the car of
our lives can be scary as we may not always like how he drives the car of our
lives but the destination is for our good (Jeremiah
29:11; Romans 8:28). However, rather
than taking control of the wheel ourselves, we must like the disciples, surrender
in obedience and go along for the ride for like the outcome in both Mark
8:1-10 and Mark
6:30-44, the destination was good.
However, the process of belief begins with one surrendering
their life to Jesus through belief in the finished work of salvation provided
by Jesus’ death on the cross. One can
look at this work as us giving Jesus control of the car of our lives and crashing
the car, with us not in it, to take the death penalty for sin and providing a
new car or life (Romans
6:23; 2 Corinthians 5:21; John 3:1-14).
The process begins with the initial surrender of one’s life to Christ
through a profession of faith in Jesus as savior (Romans
10:9-10). If you are reading this
and have never made this profession of faith, I encourage you to do so now by
praying with me,
Dear Lord Jesus, I know I have sinned (Romans
3:23) and know that the penalty for my sin is death (Romans
6:23). I ask you to forgive me of my
sin and cleanse me as you promise in your Word (1
John 1:9). I believe you died, was
buried, and resurrected from the dead and now declare you Lord of my life.
Congratulations, Jesus has destroyed the old wreck of your
sinful life on the Cross (2
Corinthians 5:21) and you now have a new life in Christ. You now have eternal life in Christ but to
enjoy the abundance of life in Christ (John
10:10), it is necessary to begin the process of transformation (Romans
12:1-2). This process is ongoing,
occurring through regular prayer and study of the Bible both individually and
as part of a church teaching the Bible or a bible study. The important thing to remember is to allow
Jesus to drive the car of our lives and even when it looks like He is an
incompetent driver, obediently let Him drive knowing the destination is where
he wants us to go.
Struggle and trials are a part of life and something Jesus
warned us would happen (John
16:33). Therefore, when we give
Jesus control of our lives, it does not mean our lives will be free of trouble,
just that the driver of our lives, Jesus, knows the best way to navigate
through these troubles. Just like what
the disciples did in Mark
6:30-44 and Mark
8:1-10, we must resist the temptation to allow doubt to take over in the
driver's seat and obediently believe Jesus knows the best path through the
troubles. May God bless everyone reading
this.
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