April 21, 2025; Mark 8:1-21

Daily Dose of Hope

April 21, 2025

Day 1 of Week 4

 

Scripture - Mark 8:1-21

 

Prayer:  Almighty God and Risen Lord, King of Kings and Lord of Lords, We come before you today with praise and a sense of awe.  Even after we have just experienced the glory of the resurrection, we still struggle to keep focus on you.  Help us gather our scattered and distracted thoughts.  Help us take a moment of silence and remember who you are...Holy Spirit, speak to us today.  We want to hear your voice.  In Your Name, Amen.

 

Welcome back to the Daily Dose of Hope, a Deep Dive into the Gospels and Acts. My prayer is that all of you had a wonderful Easter Sunday yesterday.  Today, we begin Mark 8 and learn about the yeast of the Pharisees and Herod.  Let’s get started!

 

Mark 8 begins with another abundance miracle.  There were a group of people who had been following Jesus and the disciples for several days.  Jesus is worried about them because he suspects they don’t have food.  If he sent them away, Jesus says, they might collapse on their way home.  

 

The disciples are a bit indignant.  They don’t have enough food to feed all the people.  I find this so strange.  It wasn’t long ago that Jesus fed the 5,000.  Why do they not just look at Jesus and say, “Can you do that thing again?”  But it’s as if they have totally forgotten.  How quickly life can get back to normal and doubt or cynicism can kick in.  I feel like I see this sometimes with someone who was terminally sick and receives a healing.  They are elated and grateful.  Some people keep that gratefulness, but others gradually forget.  They become disengaged once again, almost like it never happened. 

 

But Jesus does do his thing.  He takes seven loaves of bread and a few small fish and he feeds the entire crowd of thousands until they are full.  This time, there were seven basketfuls left over. 

 

From this place, Jesus and his disciples head to another town on the Sea of Galilee.  The Pharisees are there and ask Jesus for a sign from heaven.  Jesus won’t give them a sign, or the one they want.  The whole thing is ironic.  Jesus has been giving all kinds of signs!  He just fed thousands of people with seven loaves of bread.  He has healed all kinds of people very publicly..css-j9qmi7{display:-webkit-box;display:-webkit-flex;display:-ms-flexbox;display:flex;-webkit-flex-direction:row;-ms-flex-direction:row;flex-direction:row;font-weight:700;margin-bottom:1rem;margin-top:2.8rem;width:100%;-webkit-box-pack:start;-ms-flex-pack:start;-webkit-justify-content:start;justify-content:start;padding-left:5rem;}@media only screen and (max-width: 599px){.css-j9qmi7{padding-left:0;-webkit-box-pack:center;-ms-flex-pack:center;-webkit-justify-content:center;justify-content:center;}}.css-j9qmi7 svg{fill:#27292D;}.css-j9qmi7 .eagfbvw0{-webkit-align-items:center;-webkit-box-align:center;-ms-flex-align:center;align-items:center;color:#27292D;}