Again, departing from the region of Tyre and Sidon, He came through the midst of the region of Decapolis to the Sea of Galilee [and went up on the mountain and sat down there*]. (Mark 7:31; Matthew 15:29*) Then great multitudes came to Him, having with them the lame, blind, mute, maimed, and many others; and they laid them down at Jesus’ feet, and He healed them. So the multitude marveled when they saw the mute speaking, the maimed made whole, the lame walking, and the blind seeing; and they glorified the God of Israel. (Matthew 15:30-31)
No matter where Jesus goes, word travels and the people come, bringing any and everyone they can to Him for whatever they need. Then they brought to Him one who was deaf and had an impediment in his speech, and they begged Him to put His hand on him. And He took him aside from the multitude, and put His fingers in his ears, and He spat and touched his tongue. Then, looking up to heaven, He sighed, and said to him, “Ephphatha,” that is, “Be opened.” Immediately his ears were opened, and the impediment of his tongue was loosed, and he spoke plainly. Then He commanded them that they should tell no one; but the more He commanded them, the more widely they proclaimed it. And they were astonished beyond measure, saying, “He has done all things well. He makes both the deaf to hear and the mute to speak.” (Mark 7:31-37)
Why does Jesus keep telling people not to tell anyone what He's done for them, knowing that they were going to tell, because it's impossible to keep such blessings a secret? Jesus was in the second year of His ministry, and the Pharisees and Jews were plotting any way they could find fault with Him to be able to have Him put to death. Therefore the Jews sought all the more to kill Him, because He not only broke the Sabbath, but also said that God was His Father, making Himself equal with God. (John 5:18) But Jesus also knew ...they sought to take Him; but no one laid a hand on Him, because His hour had not yet come. (John 7:3) Nothing was going to happen to Him until “The hour has come that the Son of Man should be glorified." (John 12:23) He was just trying to slow down the speed at which the crowds would grow, causing the Pharisees to not take drastic action before His hour had come.
But as we can imagine, based on past studies, the crowds continued to grow, until there was a multitude of people following Him. In those days, the multitude being very great and having nothing to eat, Jesus called His disciples to Him and said to them, “I have compassion on the multitude, because they have now continued with Me three days and have nothing to eat. And if I send them away hungry to their own houses, they will faint on the way; for some of them have come from afar.” (Mark 8:1-3; Matthew 15:32) Can we even imagine being so consumed with the bread of life, that we would follow Him for days, without even thinking about eating? It's hard to imagine, since so much of our time is scheduled around food. But Jesus said, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst." (John 6:35)
Notice, as long as the people were with Jesus, He wasn't concerned about their physical needs being satisfied, but now that He's about to send them away, He's concerned that they will faint on the way. As long as we are "in His presence", [The Lord] You open Your hand And satisfy the desire of every living thing. (Psalm 145:16) But once we decide to go our own way, we have to be sure that we have partaken of the most sacred and holy meal, "He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him." (John 6:56; see THE GOSPEL: Flesh and Blood! Really?) Just like the multitude couldn't always be in His presence, we may not always feel that we're in His presence, but if we are Christians, we are filled with His Holy Spirit, and He "abides" in us.
Then His disciples answered Him, “How can one satisfy these people with bread here in the wilderness?” He asked them, “How many loaves do you have?” And they said, “Seven.” So He commanded the multitude to sit down on the ground. And He took the seven loaves and gave thanks, broke them and gave them to His disciples to set before them; and they set them before the multitude. They also had a few small fish; and having blessed them, He said to set them also before them. So they ate and were filled, and they took up seven large baskets of leftover fragments. (Mark 8:4-8; Matthew 15:33-37) Now those who ate were four thousand men, besides women and children. And He sent away the multitude, got into the boat, and came to the region of Magdala. (Matthew 15:38-39; Mark 8:9) He did it before, and He did it again! Before, He fed over 5,000 Jews; now He's feeding over 4,000 Gentiles. (see THE GOSPEL: Two Fish, Five Loaves, 5,000 People) And after each feeding, there was enough left over to fill several baskets. ‘Ah, Lord God! Behold, You have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and outstretched arm. There is nothing too hard for You!' (Jeremiah 32:17) AMEN
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