How amazing is it that Jesus had compassion on us!? I mean, the God of the universe genuinely cares about our individual needs! Here in Mark, Jesus had been teaching and pouring into an enormous crowd of people. When He was finished, he didn’t just send them on to fend for themselves, He met a physical need. Jesus cared enough to invest in their physical needs, not just spiritual needs. I hope that I can be like Jesus in this way, that I will carry the gospel to others, as well as be willing to meet whatever a need may be. My prayer is that we never get caught up in being so consumed with “churchy” things that we lose sight of what Jesus was also about: Meeting people where they are and meeting a need so that their ears and hearts may be opened to the truth.
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.”
Mark 8:1-3