Repeating Lessons

This is the message given in the Sunday night service in the Gettysburg United Methodist church on Sunday, September 19, 2021.  The Bible verses used are Mark 8:1-10/

            This is not the story we usually think of when we think of Jesus feeding people.  The one we usually think of is the story of Jesus feeding five thousand people.  We’re familiar with that story--the disciples go through the crowd, looking for food, and all they can find is one boy with five small loaves of bread and two fish.  Jesus blesses the food, tells the disciples to feed the people with it, they do, and there are twelve baskets full of leftovers.

            But that’s not the story we read tonight.  The gospel of Mark has that story--it’s in Mark Chapter Six.  But this is not that story.  This is the story of Jesus feeding four thousand people.

            So, what’s the difference?  Well, one thousand people, obviously.  But what else?  And the real question is, why does Mark include both stories?

            It’s an interesting thing to think about.  The gospel of Mark is the shortest of the gospels.  We usually think it’s the shortest because Mark really gets down to the basics.  Mark does not even include the birth story of Jesus.  Mark starts with a few perfunctory verses about John the Baptist, and the next thing you know Jesus gets baptized and starts gathering disciples.  Mark does not include anything that is not essential to the message of Jesus as the Savior.  

And yet, Mark includes these two stories that are almost identical.  There has to be a reason.  After all, we’re told that all scripture is useful to us.  In fact, we’re told that all scripture comes from God--is “God breathed”.  There is something we’re supposed to learn from this.  What is it?

            After all, it’s not enough to just say, well, Mark included two stories because Jesus fed people twice.  I mean, I don’t doubt that Jesus did feed people twice.  He may have fed people more times than that--for all we know, there may have been similar instances of Jesus feeding people that were not included in the gospels.  But that’s the point.  The gospels themselves tell us that Jesus did many things that are not included in them.  So again, why did Mark include these two nearly identical stories?  What are we supposed to learn from them?  And specifically, what are we supposed to learn from the second story that we could not learn from the first?

            Well, let’s look at them.  Both involve large crowds of people.  In both cases, we’re told that the people did not have anything to eat.  In both cases, we’re told that Jesus had compassion for the people.  In both cases, we’re told that they were in a remote place, so that it would not be easy to go and get food.  In both cases, they had just a few loaves of bread and a few fish.  In both cases, Jesus tells the people to sit down.  In both cases, Jesus gives thanks and tells the disciples to start distributing the food.  In both cases, everyone got enough to eat--we’re told that “they ate and were satisfied”.  In both cases, there was lots of food left over.  There’s a slight difference in how much--in Mark Six it’s twelve basketfuls of food, in Mark Eight it’s seven basketfuls.  Maybe they had different size baskets, I don’t know.  But that, and the number of people fed, are about the only differences we can see.

            It seems like our examination of these two stories does not get us any closer to understanding why these two stories are both in the gospel of Mark.  There seem to be almost no differences, and the differences there are don’t seem to be particularly important.

            So, could the reason these two stories are both in the gospel of Mark is not because they’re different, but because they are the same?  Is there something we can learn from the fact that Mark included two nearly identical stories.

            Well, let’s think about it.  One thing it shows is the desire people had to hear Jesus, to learn from Jesus, to receive healing from Jesus, and to just be near Jesus.  It’s not a desire that was limited to one group of people in one specific place.  It was a desire that many groups of people in many places had.  And it was a desire that was so strong that people would just take off, leave, drop what they were doing, on the spur of the moment, to go and be with Jesus.  They would do this with no preparations and no provisions.  They did not bring food--they probably did not bring a change of clothes or money or anything else, either.  And they followed him a long way--again, we’re told that they went to “a remote place”.  And when they started to get hungry, when it started to get dark, they did not think, hey, you know, maybe we’d better get home and get something to eat.  They stayed.  They stayed with Jesus.  That’s how strong their desire to be with Jesus was.

            How strong is our desire to be with Jesus?  Obviously, we have some, because we’re here.  Or, we’re watching the livestream.  That’s a good sign.  Not that going to church is the ultimate measure of our desire to be with Jesus, but it is one measure.  How we pray and how often we pray is another measure.  How often we think about the Lord as we go through our day is another measure.  How much our lives show our Christian faith is another measure.  And there are others, too--I don’t pretend this is a complete list.  But think about it.  How strong is you desire to be with Jesus?  And how strong is my desire to be with Jesus?

            Another thing it shows is how much Jesus loves us.  In both of these stories, we’re told that Jesus “had compassion” for the people.  And that’s important, too.  Jesus’ love for us is not something that he feels once in a while.  It’s not a sometimes thing.  Jesus’ love for us is constant.  It’s twenty-four/seven.  It’s every hour, every minute, of every day.  No matter where we are.  No matter what we do.  Jesus will always be there for us.  No matter how many times we need him.  There will never be a time when Jesus says “I’m tired of having to do things for these people all the time.  I’ve had enough.  They should take care of themselves and leave me alone.”  Jesus will never say that.  Jesus will never say anything like that.  Jesus will always be there for us, and Jesus will always love us.  Always.  No matter what.

            Another thing it shows is how the people trusted Jesus completely.  When they got hungry, when it got dark, they did not leave.  They trusted that Jesus would take care of them.  Remember, the verses we read tonight said that the people had been with Jesus for three days.  We assume that’s three days with nothing to eat.  You know, Jesus called himself the bread of life, and said that whoever came to him would never be hungry.  That’s John Six, Verse Thirty-five.  

We usually assume that was a metaphor, that Jesus did not mean it literally, but maybe there’s a sense in which it was true.  Have you ever gotten so wrapped up in something, have you ever gotten so involved in something, that mealtime came and went and you did not even notice?  Take that feeling, multiply it several times, and that’s what the people felt when they were with Jesus.  They were so intent on listening to what he said, so eager to be with him, that they did not even notice that they were hungry.  But eventually, of course, the need for food makes itself known to us, no matter what.  But again, they did not leave.  The people trusted that Jesus, this man who was the bread of life, would somehow be able to feed them.  And, of course, he did.

There’s at least one more reason Mark might have included both of these stories, as similar as they are.  I’ve heard people try to explain away Jesus’ feeding of the five thousand, as if it was not really a miracle.  They say, well, you know, there probably were lots of people there who had some food.  They just were hiding it.  And then, when they saw that one kid come forward and offer what he had, they were ashamed, and so they brought out their food.  

That’s not an explanation that’s ever made much sense to me, but a person can always find a way to explain away Jesus’ miracles if that’s their goal.  But by including both stories, Mark is saying, in effect, look, this happened more than once.  Are you trying to tell me people were hiding food both times?  How does that make any sense?

This story--both these stories--has lessons for us.  We need to have a desire for Jesus.  We need to have a desire to be close to Jesus.  We need a desire to be with Jesus, and to have Jesus with us.  We need to be so intent on following Jesus, so focused on Jesus, that all the petty little things in life, the things in life that we think of as being oh, so important, go away.  We don’t even notice them.  All we notice is Jesus and following him.

And when those things do force themselves on our attention, trust Jesus to take care of them, and take care of us.  Because he will.  Jesus cares about us.  Jesus has compassion on us.  Jesus loves us.  Always.  And forever.

It’s not an accident that Mark included both of these stories.  It’s not an accident that God inspired Mark to include both of those stories.  They are there to help us.  They are there to guide us.  They are there to teach us.  May we learn their lessons, and have a complete and total desire for Jesus.