Love and Faith Can Feed Many (Mark 8:1-10)

Jesus Feeds Four Thousand

In those days, when again a great crowd had gathered, and they had nothing to eat, he called his disciples to him and said to them, “I have compassion on the crowd, because they have been with me now three days and have nothing to eat. And if I send them away hungry to their homes, they will faint on the way. And some of them have come from far away.” (8:1-3)

As I was training my disciples, I wanted them to understand my motivation in all I did, so that they could learn to let the love of the Father flow through them with simplicity and with power. Miracles are not about impressing people, they are about loving people. I did not come to impress people with my aptitude to multiply bread, but simply to let the Father’s love run through my heart and touch many. I wanted my disciples to understand that we needed to ask the help of the Father, to turn our hearts to Him, in such a situation as the one we were in. 

And his disciples answered him, “How can one feed these people with bread here in this desolate place?” (8:4)

The answer of my disciples showed clearly that they were focusing on the possibilities of earth, and not on the possibilities of heaven. They did not yet realize the role of faith and love, and how the Father used our faith and love to let His love come down on earth as it is in heaven. That is what I wanted my disciples to understand through my teaching on prayer, the ‘Our Father’, in “your will be done on earth as it is in heaven”.

When you are in a time of need, don’t focus on what seems impossible with earth’s resources. Rather, focus on us, listen to us and let us guide you into our path of love. Sometimes, you will have to humbly recognize that you don’t have the resources to help, at other times we will let our love work miracles through your faith. 

And he asked them, “How many loaves do you have?" They said, “Seven.” 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. And they had a few small fish. And having blessed them, he said that these also should be set before them. (8:5-7)

The first thing, when there seems to be a problem to solve, is to look at what you have - instead of focusing on what you don’t have. Then, you let the love of the Father speak through what you have, and often you will see miracles of the Father’s love. Trust in us, speak with us in such moments, and let us lead you through your faith. As you believe in us and follow our directions, the love in your heart will bring our love to shine. 

You should not try to control, but rather to participate. In this case, I had my disciples participate even more than at the miracle with the five thousand. This time, I wanted to lead them to understand my compassion and to share it with them. They did not understand yet, but I was preparing their hearts, sowing seeds of compassion in them. 

This time, the crowd was in a place where there were not only Jews (as for the five thousand) but also Gentiles, because the Father wanted to bless not only Israel, but through Israel He wanted to bless the whole world. 

And they ate and were satisfied. And they took up the broken pieces left over, seven baskets full. And there were about four thousand people. And he sent them away. And immediately he got into the boat with his disciples and went to the district of Dalmanutha. (8:8-10)

Through love and faith, the miracle took place. The Father gave His directions on what to do, and He then participated in what we did, he contributed His resources to our meal, as he did so often for the people of Israel during their forty years in the desert. The Father loves to show that He is able to take care of practical needs, so that people learn to walk by faith, confident in His love. 

Yet, many don’t accept to take these steps of faith, or decide to judge the Father when things don’t turn out the way they wanted. Don’t forget that miracles are not about fulfilling your narrow idea of what God wants to do, or what you want to do. Miracles are about letting the love of the Father flow through your faith, in a way that you cannot control. As you learn to listen to my voice, I will guide you and show you how to let the love of the Father flow through you, as I did with the twelve. It implies that you have to renounce to be a master and become a servant. As you learn to listen to me and to follow our directions of love, you will see indeed resources multiply and people be blessed through your loving obedience.