Physical Needs All Around Us...

If you have your Bibles this morning, please take them and turn to Mark 8:1.  I want to share a message with you this morning entitled, “Physical Needs All Around Us…” 

 

This morning, we are going to see Jesus again miraculously feed a large mass of people.  Some of you will ask, “Didn’t we see that a couple of weeks ago?”  Yes, Jesus did feed 5,000 plus men and women and boys and girls back in Mark 6:33-44. 

 

Some would even suggest that these two are actually the same story but for a different group of listeners.  I would disagree.

 

In Mark 6, Jesus used 5 loaves of bread, and in Mark 8, He used 7.  In Mark 6, Jesus used 2 fish, and in Mark 8, He used a “few” small fish.  In Mark 6, 12 baskets were left over, and in Mark 8, 7 baskets were left over.  In Mark 6, He fed 5,000 men, and in Mark 8, He fed 4,000 men.  Finally, Jesus Himself differentiates the two events in Mark 8:19-20.

 

Mark 8:19-21, 19 When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many baskets full of fragments did you take up?”  They said to Him, “Twelve.”  20 “Also, when I broke the seven for the four thousand, how many large baskets full of fragments did you take up?”  And they said, “Seven.”  21 So He said to them, “How is it you do not understand?”

 

As we look at this miracle today, I want you to notice three groups or three characters and their role as we look at “Physical Needs All Round Us.” 

 

 

1. The Distraught Needed, 8:1-3.

1 In those days, the multitude being very great and having nothing to eat, Jesus called His disciples to Him and said to them, 2 “I have compassion on the multitude, because they have now continued with Me three days and have nothing to eat. 3 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.” 

 

After Jesus healed a woman’s daughter of demon possession in 7:24-30 and the deaf/mute man in 7:31-37, many were following Jesus to see what He would do next.  Verse calls them “the multitude.”

 

In verse 1, we also see why they were distraught.  They had nothing to eat.  We see that phrase again at the end of verse 2.  In verse 3, Jesus described them as hungry, and if this physical need went unmet, He feared they might faint on their long trip home.

 

 

2. The Doubters Wondered, 8:4.

4 Then His disciples answered Him, “How can one satisfy these people with bread here in the wilderness?”

 

When it comes to meeting the physical needs of those in need, there will always be doubters.  The wondered how in the world they could help the multitude considering where they were, “here in the wilderness.” 

 

By the way, we are often so prone to forget the good and focus on the bad.  Had they forgotten what Jesus did through them in Mark 6?  Didn’t they pass out the bread and the fish?  They did, but they and we have short memories when it comes to remembering the good.

 

Today, we say, “Is that our job” or “Is that ministry safe” or “Do we have the money to do that” or “They won’t appreciate it.”  In this story, the multitude had been with Jesus for three days already feeding on the bread of life.  Now they needed bread in their stomachs.

 

Finally, brothers and sisters, always remember that we are saved to serve.  I was reminded of that this week in my own time with the Lord in Mark 1:30-31.

 

Mark 1:30-31, 30 But Simon’s wife’s mother lay sick with a fever, and they told Him about her at once. 31 So He came and took her by the hand and lifted her up, and immediately the fever left her. And she served them.

 

 

3. The Divine Intervened, Mark 8:5-10.

5 He asked them, “How many loaves do you have?”  And they said, “Seven.”  6 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. 7 They also had a few small fish; and having blessed them, He said to set them also before them. 8 So they ate and were filled, and they took up seven large baskets of leftover fragments. 9 Now those who had eaten were about four thousand. And He sent them away, 10 immediately got into the boat with His disciples, and came to the region of Dalmanutha.

 

Now we turn our attention to Jesus, the Divine, and see that He intervened.  Notice first, that He recognized a need.  The multitude had nothing to eat.  They were hungry and had a long trip home.

 

Second, when He saw that need, how did He respond?  Did He turn a deaf ear or a blind eye?  Did He say, “Well you should have thought about that?”  Did He say, “That’s not my job?”  Did He say, “We can’t feed all so we can’t feed any?”

 

No, in verse 2, He said, “I have compassion on them.”  Again, they weren’t freeloaders looking for a handout.  They weren’t trying to scam the system.  The multitude had been with Him for three days, and Jesus knew that there need was real and genuine.

 

Third, He involved others.  He asked His disciples how much food they had.  He then used them to distribute that food.

 

Fourth, He gave thanks.  I believe He thank God for the food and the opportunity to meet the need.  Ministry is a privilege not a burden, and as we saw earlier, we are saved to serve.

 

Fifth, when the multitude ate, verse 8 says they were filled.  Jesus, the Divine, intervened and met their real, physical need of those in need.

 

 

Conclusion

As I wrap up this morning, I want to highlight three physical needs ministries that EBC offers and can always need more of your help.

 

First, on the first Monday of each month, from 1-4 PM, EBC volunteers at Good Samaritans.  Sharon Massingill is our volunteer coordinator there.  Good Samaritans meets physical needs of food and clothing for those who have physical needs in and around Rains County, and Sharon is always looking for more volunteers for this ministry.

 

Second, every Tuesday night from 6-8 PM in our Fellowship Hall, Dempsey Bullock and others host our Recovery Ministry for those with hurts, habits, and hang-ups.  Those that attend have real physical needs, and we could always use more folks simply to love and support those that attend.

 

Third, every other Wednesday from 1-2 or 3 PM in our Fellowship Hall, Bobby and Dena Westmoreland organize our Back Pack Buddies Ministry which provides food for RISD students who might go hungry over the weekend.  Again, we are trying to meet physical needs of those in need.

 

Finally, after we meet someone’s practical needs, it is imperative that we give that person an invitation to call on the name of Jesus to save him or her.

 

What I want you to see from this text is that includes folks like us and those that aren’t like us.  I believe the very reason for Mark included this story along with the other story of the feeding the 5,000 is to show that Jesus came to minister and save the entire world, not just the nation of Israel.

 

The location of this miracle was in a place primarily occupied by Gentiles.  He had just healed a Gentile daughter of demon possession, and if you believe that numbers have significance, consider the numbers in this story.

 

Some believe that 4,000 is symbolic of the “four corners” of the world, and Jesus came to minister the gospel and for us to take the good news to the “four corners” of the earth. 

 

Also, the number 7 is seen as the perfect number and the complete number.  Notice how many times the number 7 is mentioned in this story…3 or in the other words…777 to show us that Jesus’ perfect and complete plan is to empower His people to take the gospel to those who have spiritual needs after we meet their physical needs.