6He told the crowd to sit down on the ground. When he had taken th
e seven loaves and given thanks, he broke them and gave them to his disciples to set before the people, and they did so. 7They had a few small fish as well; he gave thanks for them also and told the disciples to distribute them. 8The people ate and were satisfied. Afterward the disciples picked up seven basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over. Mark 8:6-8
14The disciples had forgotten to bring bread, except for one loaf they had with them in the boat. 15"Be careful," Jesus warned them. "Watch out for the yeast of the Pharisees and that of Herod." 16They discussed this with one another and said, "It is because we have no bread." 17Aware of their discussion, Jesus asked them: "Why are you talking about having no bread? Do you still not see or understand? Are your hearts hardened? 18Do you have eyes but fail to see and ears but fail to hear? And don't you remember? 19When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many basketfuls of pieces did you pick up?" "Twelve," they replied. 20"And when I broke the seven loaves for the four thousand, how many basketfuls of pieces did you pick up?" They answered, "Seven."
21He said to them, "Do you still not understand?" Mark 8:14-21
e seven loaves and given thanks, he broke them and gave them to his disciples to set before the people, and they did so. 7They had a few small fish as well; he gave thanks for them also and told the disciples to distribute them. 8The people ate and were satisfied. Afterward the disciples picked up seven basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over. Mark 8:6-814The disciples had forgotten to bring bread, except for one loaf they had with them in the boat. 15"Be careful," Jesus warned them. "Watch out for the yeast of the Pharisees and that of Herod." 16They discussed this with one another and said, "It is because we have no bread." 17Aware of their discussion, Jesus asked them: "Why are you talking about having no bread? Do you still not see or understand? Are your hearts hardened? 18Do you have eyes but fail to see and ears but fail to hear? And don't you remember? 19When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many basketfuls of pieces did you pick up?" "Twelve," they replied. 20"And when I broke the seven loaves for the four thousand, how many basketfuls of pieces did you pick up?" They answered, "Seven."
21He said to them, "Do you still not understand?" Mark 8:14-21
Imagine the surge of faith that must have come from watching 5,000 hungry souls be feed with 7 loaves of bread in the middle of nowhere! What a moment! What a powerful display of the unlimited resources of God... And what was the response from these men of faith at such a sight? “Oh no, we are out of bread, now what are we going to do for food!” As much as I wish I could stand and throw stones at the disciples for their blindness to the wonder of God, I must confess my close kinship to their pattern of thinking!
Jesus responded to his followers doubt with these soul piercing questions, “Do you have eyes, but still fail to see? Do you have ears, yet fail to hear? Do you still not understand?” As I read these words I hear my heart resound with a deafening YES! No matter how good God showed himself to me yesterday, I still doubt today! I long to stand boldly in unwavering knowledge of God like Jesus! I ache to respond when I stand in need as he did and confidently say “thank you Dad for these 7 loaves which are obviously not enough to feed this crowd, yet I know you! I know you can not only feed them with these small loaves, but I know you are so good, so extravagant , that there will probably be an abundance left over!”
I don’t know why my eyes fail or my ears go deaf when I am faced with what seems to be not enough. Yet, He remains faithful whether I believe it or not. So, all I can do is reach for Him in the darkness of my failing eyes and admit my blindness. I stand afraid crying out to the one who opens the eyes of the blind… Have mercy on me, I want to see!
