Be the Sheep-Hungry
I'm not a fan of the title of the series but it makes a point. Follow.
This is the first Monday Morning With Jesus in two weeks because I haven't been in church in two weeks. I was sick and didn't want to share, so I stayed out. I also didn't have the energy or ability to pen anything else. I am much better now and my small group Sunday school class is awesome for reasons they know, and I am grateful to be among them.
Lent has also started. I'm not doing anything for Lent this year. I wasn't led to bring anything to the table, and it sort of snuck up on me. That thought leaves me with no remorse for missing the beginning, so I'll move on.
I am amazed this year how frequently scripture is interwoven from each Sunday school class to the next. This week was no exception. I am equally amazed at how the class material coincides, parallels, and melds with the sermons in the sanctuary. I have no exposure to any of the preparations at that end of the building, but the author of both pieces of work does. I suppose I shouldn't be amazed, but the created being is still in awe of how the Creator works. It's fun to watch.
If you read the lesson from week 7, Discernment for Life, which you can find HERE then you know the closing statement was composed with single verses of scripture. The fourth verse of that piece was referenced in the sermon on Sunday and followed the scripture used for the message. The quoted scripture is Mark 8:1-9, but I have quoted through 12 because Mark 8:12 appears in the lesson. Let's look at that now.
1In 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."
4And His disciples answered Him, "Where will anyone be able to find enough bread here in this desolate place to satisfy these people?"
5And He was asking them, "How many loaves do you have?" And they said, "Seven."
6And 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.
7They also had a few small fish; and after He had blessed them, He ordered these to be served as well.
8And they ate and were satisfied; and they picked up seven large baskets full of what was left over of the broken pieces.
9About four thousand were there; and He sent them away.
10And immediately He entered the boat with His disciples and came to the district of Dalmanutha.
11The Pharisees came out and began to argue with Him, seeking from Him a sign from heaven, to test Him.
12Sighing deeply in His spirit, He said, "Why does this generation seek for a sign? Truly I say to you, no sign will be given to this generation."
Mark 8:1–12 (NASB95)
This year, in the first quarter in class, I've repeatedly mentioned the separation of the flesh from the spirit and the joining. We are creatures of both body and mind. The world is about the body, but God is about the mind. Specifically, the world seeks the carnal, and God seeks the spiritual, though Jesus ties them both together, explaining that we cannot deal with one or the other. We must deal with both if we are to move people away from the World's sinful nature and closer to God's righteous nature. In verse 3 Jesus specifically tells his disciples He cannot send the people away hungry, fasting. He is aware they came a great distance, and to not give them physical sustenance, they will pass out or faint.
The disciples are confused. They are away from the city in what is called the wilderness. The Greek word calls it solitude, a desert as well. The point is that there is no food to gather or buy anywhere for so many people (four thousand.)
In this instance, the disciples have only the food for them which is seven loaves of bread and "a few small fishes." I looked that word for bread up and it has no amazing connotation other than bread, food. Jesus also asking how many loaves is only asking about physical food here too. The number is likewise just a number. Very mundane.
In Verse 6 it says Jesus took the bread/loaves and "gave thanks." This word is very interesting. It is Strongs 2168, eucharisteo. That word should sound familiar to us. When we have "communion" in church, the bread, wafer, or whatever grain product is used for the "Body of Christ" is called a Eucharist.
Eucharist
yoo-kuh-rist
noun
the Eucharist or the eucharist ,
The Christian sacrament or rite of communion, an act of devotion in which bread and wine are consecrated, offered to God with thanks, and received by partakers as spiritual nourishment; the sacrifice of the Mass; the Lord's Supper.
The consecrated elements of the rite of communion, especially the bread.
Eucharist, the giving of thanks; thanksgiving: The Chapel represents a eucharist in stone and marble, commemorating the slain who served in the two World Wars.
Christian Science. Spiritual communion with God.
The Greek word reads as follows:
Greek Strong's Number: 2168
Greek Word: εὐχαριστέω
Transliteration: eucharisteō
Phonetic Pronunciation: yoo-khar-is-teh’-o
Root: from <G2170>
Cross Reference: TDNT - 9:407,1298
Part of Speech: v
Vine's Words: Thank, Thanks, Thankful, Thankfulness, Thanksgiving, Thankworthy
Usage Notes:
English Words used in KJV:
give thanks 26
thank 12
be thankful 1
[Total Count: 39]
from <G2170> (eucharistos); to be grateful, i.e. (active) to express gratitude (towards); specially to say grace at a meal:- (give) thank (-ful, -s).
James Strong, "Εὐχαριστέω," Strong's Talking Greek and Hebrew Dictionary (WORDsearch, 2020).
It is interesting to me because here is the act of preparing to eat the bread rather than something tied to the Last Supper, and it is all about simply thanking God for something. The element representing Jesus' body when we take communion represents being thankful. At the same time, it represents the devastatingly broken body of Christ on the cross, broken for our sins. In verse six, Jesus gives thanks, breaks the bread, and gives it to everyone. People ate it and were filled, as it says in verse eight. That's not simply to have had a "satisfying" meal. The Greek word has the word "gorge" in it, as in to eat to the point of almost being sick.
Four thousand people could eat to the point of almost becoming physically ill from the small amount of seven loaves of bread and a few small fishes. Yes. That's a miracle. Oh, and the leftovers that would later be donated or taken by those traveling a long way were seven full baskets. That's a lot of food.
The part left out of the sermon that amazes me is that the Pharisees saw this and still came out to Jesus, "seeking of him a sign from heaven." Verse 12 shows Jesus' human exasperation with these men, "And he sighed deeply in his spirit." What more sign do these men want? They are given facts and refuse to accept the truth. It is another scripture from the closing statement in Week 7's lesson.
29 "But Abraham said, 'They have Moses and the Prophets; let them hear them.'
30 "But he said, 'No, father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent!'
31 "But he said to him, 'If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be persuaded even if someone rises from the dead.' "
Luke 16:29–31 (NASB95)
We, too, have "Moses and the Prophets," but many refuse to "be persuaded even if someone rises from the dead." Instead, they want only to hear about the good things, the love, and not the responsibilities of repentance.
1I solemnly charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by His appearing and His kingdom:
2preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction.
3For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires,
4and will turn away their ears from the truth and will turn aside to myths.
2 Timothy 4:1–4 (NASB95)
And thus, "no sign shall be given unto this generation." Where does that leave us? With our faith. That was part of my lesson but not Pastor Kristen Lee's message.
Before we get to Pastor Lee's message, I want to quote the entire passage that Pastor Palmer used before his prayer. It was from Isaiah. He centered his quote on verse 8, but I'm going to quote the entire chapter because I think it is relevant.
1 "Cry loudly, do not hold back; Raise your voice like a trumpet, And declare to My people their transgression And to the house of Jacob their sins.
2 "Yet they seek Me day by day and delight to know My ways, As a nation that has done righteousness And has not forsaken the ordinance of their God. They ask Me for just decisions, They delight in the nearness of God.
3'Why have we fasted and You do not see? Why have we humbled ourselves and You do not notice?' Behold, on the day of your fast you find your desire, And drive hard all your workers.
4 "Behold, you fast for contention and strife and to strike with a wicked fist. You do not fast like you do today to make your voice heard on high.
5 "Is it a fast like this which I choose, a day for a man to humble himself? Is it for bowing one's head like a reed And for spreading out sackcloth and ashes as a bed? Will you call this a fast, even an acceptable day to the Lord?
6 "Is this not the fast which I choose, To loosen the bonds of wickedness, To undo the bands of the yoke, And to let the oppressed go free And break every yoke?
7 "Is it not to divide your bread with the hungry And bring the homeless poor into the house; When you see the naked, to cover him; And not to hide yourself from your own flesh?
8 "Then your light will break out like the dawn, And your recovery will speedily spring forth; And your righteousness will go before you; The glory of the Lord will be your rear guard.
9 "Then you will call, and the Lord will answer; You will cry, and He will say, 'Here I am.' If you remove the yoke from your midst, The pointing of the finger and speaking wickedness,
10And if you give yourself to the hungry And satisfy the desire of the afflicted, Then your light will rise in darkness And your gloom will become like midday.
11 "And the Lord will continually guide you, And satisfy your desire in scorched places, And give strength to your bones; And you will be like a watered garden, And like a spring of water whose waters do not fail.
12 "Those from among you will rebuild the ancient ruins; You will raise up the age-old foundations; And you will be called the repairer of the breach, The restorer of the streets in which to dwell.
13 "If because of the sabbath, you turn your foot From doing your own pleasure on My holy day, And call the sabbath a delight, the holy day of the Lord honorable, And honor it, desisting from your own ways, From seeking your own pleasure And speaking your own word,
14Then you will take delight in the Lord, And I will make you ride on the heights of the earth; And I will feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father, For the mouth of the Lord has spoken."
Isaiah 58:1–14 (NASB95)
That chapter has deep meaning for me right now, and I may have to spend more time on it personally. For now, I will end this entry here. I have more notes on this and will post part II to cover Pastor Lee's sermon. For now I leave you with the Isaiah scripture. It impacts me because it is a road map, a How-To, if you will. Verses 13 and 14 give us the reward, but 1-12 give us the how. I'll have to spend time on that, I think.