Context No. 2754 of 4322 · Mark

Mark 8:1-5: in context

1In those days, when there was a very great multitude, and they had nothing to eat, Jesus called his disciples to himself and said to them, 2“I have compassion on the multitude, because they have stayed with me now three days and have nothing to eat. 3If I send them away fasting to their home, they will faint on the way, for some of them have come a long way.” 4His disciples answered him, “From where could one satisfy these people with bread here in a deserted place?” 5He asked them, “How many loaves do you have?” They said, “Seven.”

A large crowd has stayed with Jesus three days in a remote place, and their food has run out. Jesus turns to his disciples: I have compassion on them, because if I send them home hungry they will faint on the way, and some of them have come a long distance. His concern is entirely practical, the empty stomachs, the long walk, the risk of collapse.

The disciples answer with a question that gives them away: where could anyone get enough bread to feed these people out here in the wilderness? They have watched Jesus feed thousands before, and here they stand facing a new hunger as if the first time never happened. Their forgetfulness is ours. Jesus does not scold them; he simply asks, how many loaves do you have, and starts again from the little that is actually in their hands, seven loaves.

When a new need looms, do I forget how God has provided before, or bring him the little I actually have?

Sources

Mark 8:2: "I have compassion on the multitude, because they have stayed with me now three days and have nothing to eat."
Philippians 4:19: "My God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus."
Psalm 145:15: "The eyes of all wait for you. You give them their food in due season."