October 11 - Mark 7:24-30 | Matthew 15:21-28 | Mark 7:31-37 | Matthew 15:29-31 | Mark 8:1-10 | Matthew 15:32-16:4 | Mark 8:11-21 | Matthew 16:5-12

Good morning everyone,

Today our story picks up with Jesus, while in a house in the vicinity of Tyre, being approached by a Greek woman who desperately wants Jesus to heal her daughter. Up until now, it had bee the Jews Jesus was ministering to, “the children.” Now we see, because of her grew faith, He will minister to a gentile, “a dog.”

We also read today of Jesus feeding the four-thousand. This is a completely different event from what we read about two days ago and the five-thousand. With this feeding Jesus is in the region of the Decapolis which was a group of ten cities on the eastern frontier of the Roman Empire in Jordan, Israel and Syria. These folks had traveled a great distance to be see and hear Jesus. They’d been there for three days and now He was going which meant they would be heading home too, however, they were hungry and had no food. Jesus knew this though, we’re told He had compassion for them, and saw to it their needs were met.

That is so crazy beautiful! Too often we feel that God is so busy and important that He couldn’t possibly be aware of or have the time to take care of our needs or concerns, but it just isn’t so. In the book of Matthew we’re told, “Your heavenly Father already knows all your needs.” Nothing is too large for God to handle or too small to escape His notice. Right on?

After this feeding there is a switch in Jesus’ agenda, He goes from teaching and healing the multitude of Jews to the task of grooming his disciples to go into the world. Jesus knows his time on earth is short and when He leaves it will be the disciples mission to go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. So, in Mark 8:14 we read, while sitting in the boat, Jesus is trying to instruct them to guard against the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees. These twelve guys though, and you have just go to love them, are fiddling in the back seat, talking amongst themselves about forgetting bread. I love it! Jesus totally aware of what they are doing says, “Why are you talking about having no bread? Do you still not see or understand? Are your hearts hardened? Do you have eyes but fail to see, and ears but fail to hear? And don’t you remember?” We’re told, though, that then they did get it. Who hasn’t had an, “ahhh, duhh!!” moment she Jesus is trying to teach them something?

What we can learn from this is that our hearts too will become hard when we forget to eat of the bread that Jesus provides for us through himself. We will be starving and not realize what for, but in John 6:35 says, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.” Jesus satisfies our hunger and thirst for righteousness. He is our Bread of Life. Amen?

Have a great day and to God be the glory.

God bless you all …..