Mark 8: 1-10 New Living Translation 8 About this time another large crowd had gathered, and the people ran out of food again. Jesus called his disciples and told them, 2 “I feel sorry for these people. They have been here with me for three days, and they have nothing left to eat. 3 If I send them home hungry, they will faint along the way. For some of them have come a long distance.” 4 His disciples replied, “How are we supposed to find enough food to feed them out here in the wilderness?” 5 Jesus asked, “How much bread do you have?” “Seven loaves,” they replied. 6 So Jesus told all the people to sit down on the ground. Then he took the seven loaves, thanked God for them, and broke them into pieces. He gave them to his disciples, who distributed the bread to the crowd. 7 A few small fish were found, too, so Jesus also blessed these and told the disciples to distribute them. 8 They ate as much as they wanted. Afterward, the disciples picked up seven large baskets of leftover food. 9 There were about 4,000 men in the crowd that day, and Jesus sent them home after they had eaten.10 Immediately after this, he got into a boat with his disciples and crossed over to the region of Dalmanutha. Some people carry certain numbers close to their hearts. They do this for for different reasons, it may be the date of their birthday, anniversary or even a number they feel has brought them luck throughout their life. My go-to number since I became a believer is 3 because God will forever exist as one God in 3 persons.
There are numbers that seem important in the Bible and carry with them great meaning. The number 7 is one of these numbers. From the beginning to the end of the Bible 7 has appeared and reappeared for different reasons but always pointing to something being whole, complete or perfect. God created all things then rested on the 7th day indicating that it was whole, complete and perfect. More than 50 times in the book of Revelation the number 7 appears in everything from candlesticks to bowls of judgement. God has always had a plan to bring people into his family from every tongue, tribe and nation. Although Israel is called the people of God, Jesus said, "I have other sheep, too, that are not in this sheepfold. I must bring them also. They will listen to my voice, and there will be one flock with one shepherd." John 10:16 Jesus was talking about bring the Gentiles [Non-Jews/All other nations] in to flock. We see this truth and this number shown to us in today's Bible reading. While the feed of the 5,000 gave the disciples 12 baskets of leftovers [12 symbolizing Israel] the feeding of the 4,000 and the 7 leftover baskets is reminding us that their will be a whole, complete and perfect number of people Gentiles that will be called the people of God as well. The cool thing is that as special as the number 7 is so is the bread because the bread is a symbol of God being with His people. Jesus is God and given to us for eternal life. It's truths like these that are so complex and at the same time so simple that blow me away. Jesus is the Bread of Life who will bring people from every tongue, tribe and nation to Himself and give them eternal life that He would be our Shepherd and we His Sheep forever!
1 Comment
Alan
11/7/2016 10:18:45 pm
Praise God! How amazing is our God?!?
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