Repetition That Means Something

ALL – Psalm 41:1-13
ALL – Proverbs 10:15-16
OT – Leviticus 16:29-18:30
NT – Mark 7:24-8:10

Repetition can be dull. Boring. Tedious.

But sometimes we need our teachers to repeat the truth. We’re so prone to forget life’s most important lessons.

See if this scene sounds familiar:

“Are we supposed to find food for them here in the desert?” his disciples scoffed.

“How many loaves of bread do you have?” he asked.

“Seven,” they replied. – Mark 8:4-5, The Living Bible

The last time we read something like this, a crowd of 5000 men was listening to Jesus’ teaching. Jesus told His disciples to feed them, and the disciples were overwhelmed. So Jesus asked the disciples to bring him what food they could find. It turned out to be five small loaves of bread and two fish. Jesus took them, gave thanks to the Father, and fed the whole crowd with them.

This time there’s a crowd of 4000. Jesus tells His disciples that He doesn’t want to send the crowd away hungry because they’re too far out in the wilderness, and some of the people might have difficulty making it to the nearest town walking on an empty stomach. Again, the disciples protest, Jesus asks the disciples what they have, they give Him what they have (this time seven loaves and a few small fish), and He thanks the Father while providing food for the whole crowd. Seven large basketfuls of food were left over!

Why the repetition? Why did the disciples need it? It’s easy to mock them. After all, they saw the first miracle; you would think they could trust Jesus for a second.

But why do the gospels record both miracles for us? Why do we need the repetition?

I think there’s something fundamental we’re meant to believe—but don’t.

We’re so concerned with meeting our own needs. We’re so afraid that we don’t have food to spare. We don’t trust God to meet our own family’s needs, so we hoard what He’s provided, not sharing with others when they’re in need.

God is the Provider. He will meet your needs. And both of these miracles demonstrate not only that He’s willing, but that He’s able to meet not only our needs. In fact, with the little that we have, God is able and willing to meet many more needs than we trust Him to meet—not just ours and our family’s, but the needs of those all the people we encounter. He invites us—Jesus urges us—to stop clinging so tightly to our “little,” to give it to Him, and to watch Him provide for many more people than we thought He could.

What is overwhelming to us is easy for God. What are you withholding from others because of your fear that God won’t meet your needs?

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