Teachable Moments

Mark 8 Today we face crowds but in a smaller situation than what faced Jesus this day. The gospel writer Mark simply says there was another (emphasis added!)  large crowd with nothing to eat and to make matters more pressing, and again, as before, it has been three days. God uses repetition to teach a lesson to the disciples and us!

 The people are hungry but they don’t want to leave. Into this scene, we see the heart of Jesus filled with compassion. Although Jesus saw and recognized hunger in the crowd, it seems that the disciples hunger overshadowed their memories of a similar situation not too long ago. Impatiently, they answer Jesus, where can we get enough food to feed this army? But, Jesus will use this situation as a teachable moment. He  knows something they do not; just as before, He can multiply the little to make a lot.

How often do we just look and react at a situation the way the disciples did? Instead of asking Jesus to help them, they only saw the problem, but not the solution. How like us! Perhaps it had been quite some time since Jesus had fed the 5000. Circumstances and timing has changed but the Master Provider has not, yet the disciples were in forget mode. How like us! We see God at work but when a similar problem surfaces some time later we forget what God has done in the past.

Jesus as the Master Teacher is saying; how foolish you are to forget what I have done for you in the past!