They ate and were satisfied

Mark 7:24-8:10 from the daily reading in the One Year Bible

Jesus got up and went away from there to the region of Tyre. And when He had entered a house, He wanted no one to know of it; yet He could not escape notice. ²⁵ But after hearing of Him, a woman whose little daughter had an unclean spirit immediately came and fell at His feet. ²⁶ Now the woman was a Gentile, of the Syrophoenician race. And she kept asking Him to cast the demon out of her daughter. ²⁷ And He was saying to her, “Let the children be satisfied first, for it is not good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.” ²⁸ But she answered and said to Him, “Yes, Lord, but even the dogs under the table feed on the children’s crumbs.” ²⁹ And He said to her, “Because of this answer go; the demon has gone out of your daughter.” ³⁰ And going back to her home, she found the child lying on the bed, the demon having left.

³¹ Again He went out from the region of Tyre, and came through Sidon to the Sea of Galilee, within the region of Decapolis. ³² They brought to Him one who was deaf and spoke with difficulty, and they implored Him to lay His hand on him. ³³ Jesus took him aside from the crowd, by himself, and put His fingers into his ears, and after spitting, He touched his tongue with the saliva; ³⁴ and looking up to heaven with a deep sigh, He said to him, “Ephphatha!” that is, “Be opened!” ³⁵ And his ears were opened, and the impediment of his tongue was removed, and he began speaking plainly. ³⁶ And He gave them orders not to tell anyone; but the more He ordered them, the more widely they continued to proclaim it. ³⁷ They were utterly astonished, saying, “He has done all things well; He makes even the deaf to hear and the mute to speak.”

8 In those days, when there was again a large crowd and they had nothing to eat, Jesus called His disciples and said to them, ² “I feel compassion for the people because they have remained with Me now three days and have nothing to eat. ³ If I send them away hungry to their homes, they will faint on the way; and some of them have come from a great distance.” ⁴ And His disciples answered Him, “Where will anyone be able to find enough bread here in this desolate place to satisfy these people?” ⁵ And He was asking them, “How many loaves do you have?” And they said, “Seven.” ⁶ And He directed the people to sit down on the ground; and taking the seven loaves, He gave thanks and broke them, and started giving them to His disciples to serve to them, and they served them to the people. ⁷ They also had a few small fish; and after He had blessed them, He ordered these to be served as well. ⁸ And they ate and were satisfied; and they picked up seven large baskets full of what was left over of the broken pieces. ⁹ About four thousand were there; and He sent them away. ¹⁰ And immediately He entered the boat with His disciples and came to the district of Dalmanutha.

Beyond the accounts of the miracles in today’s text, we see some very important underlying verses that help us to understand what Jesus purpose was and is. The text begins saying:  Jesus got up and went away from there to the region of Tyre. And when He had entered a house, He wanted no one to know of it; yet He could not escape notice.  Back in Mark 1:34-39, after performing many miracles, it says:  He healed many who were ill with various diseases, and cast out many demons; and He was not permitting the demons to speak, because they knew who He was.In the early morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house, and went away to a secluded place, and was praying there.Simon and his companions searched for Him; they found Him, and said to Him, “Everyone is looking for You.” He said to them, “Let us go somewhere else to the towns nearby, so that I may preach there also; for that is what I came for.” And He went into their synagogues throughout all Galilee, preaching and casting out the demons.   Jesus didn’t seek the crowds, the crowds sought Him. He didn’t perform miracles to draw attention to Himself. He performed miracles because wherever He went the kingdom of heaven was there with Him. In Matthew 4:17, at the beginning of His ministry it says:  Jesus began to preach and say, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”   To Jesus, the message was more important than the miracles. Jesus often instructed those who were the recipients of miracles not to share what He did. In Matthew 16:13-20, we see an account of the revelation of who Jesus is:  Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, He was asking His disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?”  And they said, “Some say John the Baptist; and others, Elijah; but still others, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets.”  He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” And Jesus said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Barjona, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but MyFather who is in heaven. I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven.” Then He warned the disciples that they should tell no one that He was the Christ.  So even here, Jesus warned them not to tell that He was the Christ. He said:  “Blessed are you, Simon Barjona, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.”   The revelation that Jesus is the Christ must come from the Father, through the Holy Spirit. If we only know Jesus by flesh and blood or by the miracles we see and hear about, then we tend to seek the miracles and not the Christ. Look again at the account of the woman and her daughter:  After hearing of Him, a woman whose little daughter had an unclean spirit immediately came and fell at His feet. Now the woman was a Gentile, of theSyrophoenician race. And she kept asking Him to cast the demon out of her daughter. And He was saying to her, “Let the children be satisfied first, for it is not good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.” But she answered and said to Him, “Yes, Lord, but even the dogs under the table feed on the children’s crumbs.” And He said to her, “Because of this answer go; the demon has gone out of your daughter.” And going back to her home, she found the child lying on the bed, the demon having left.   The woman did not believe because of the miracle she received. She received the miracle because she believed. She received the miracle because she had faith in Christ.

This account also tells us another important thing about Jesus. Jesus first response to the woman was: “Let the children be satisfied first, for it is not good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.”  In Matthew 15:24, in his version of the same account, Jesus says:  "I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel."   Jesus priority in coming and preaching and teaching was to call the Jewish people to repentance; to restore them to God the Father. This woman though received her miracle by faith, because she believed. The miracles of the kingdom of heaven and the redemption from sin are available to all who believe. In John 3:16, Jesus says: “God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.”   Look at the account at the end of today’s text. It says:  In those days, when there was again a large crowd and they had nothing to eat, Jesus called His disciples and said to them,  “I feel compassion for the people because they have remained with Me now three days and have nothing to eat. If I send them away hungry to their homes, they will faint on the way; and some of them have come from a great distance.”  And His disciples answered Him, “Where will anyone be able to find enough bread here in this desolate place to satisfy these people?”  And He was asking them, “How many loaves do you have?” And they said, “Seven.” And He directed the people to sit down on the ground; and taking the seven loaves, He gave thanks and broke them, and started giving them to His disciples to serve to them, and they served them to the people. They also had a few small fish; and after He had blessed them, He ordered these to be served as well. And they ate and were satisfied.    Surely there were some among the thousands who were not Jews. Yet they all ate were satisfied.

In Revelation 1:8, in a glimpse into a future that is yet to come, it says:  “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”  The Jesus we read about in today’s text is the same as the One who will come again. In Revelation 3:20 He says:  “Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with Me.”  It does not matter what nationality or ethnicity we are from. Jesus stands at the door and knocks. He has compassion and He opens to give eternal life to whoever believes. Just as the thousands in today’s text, all who believe will dine with the Lord and be satisfied.

Thank You Heavenly Father, Lord Jesus Christ and precious Holy Spirit; for Your love and compassion; for all the blessings that are ours in the kingdom of heaven through the revelation of and faith in Christ.  Amen.