Evangelical Lutheran Diocese of North America

Wednesday after Septuagesima Sunday

Posted on February 12, 2020 by Pastor Dulas under Devotions
Leave a comment
Scripture: St. Mark 6:30-56 (NKJV)
 
6:30 Then the apostles gathered to Jesus and told Him all things, both what they had done and what they had taught. 31 And He said to them, “Come aside by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while.” For there were many coming and going, and they did not even have time to eat.
 
32 So they departed to a deserted place in the boat by themselves.
 
33 But the multitudes saw them departing, and many knew Him and ran there on foot from all the cities. They arrived before them and came together to Him. 34 And Jesus, when He came out, saw a great multitude and was moved with compassion for them, because they were like sheep not having a shepherd. So He began to teach them many things. 35 When the day was now far spent, His disciples came to Him and said, “This is a deserted place, and already the hour is late. 36 Send them away, that they may go into the surrounding country and villages and buy themselves bread; for they have nothing to eat.”
 
37 But He answered and said to them, “You give them something to eat.”
 
And they said to Him, “Shall we go and buy two hundred denarii worth of bread and give them something to eat?”
 
38 But He said to them, “How many loaves do you have? Go and see.”
 
And when they found out they said, “Five, and two fish.”
 
39 Then He commanded them to make them all sit down in groups on the green grass. 40 So they sat down in ranks, in hundreds and in fifties. 41 And when He had taken the five loaves and the two fish, He looked up to heaven, blessed and broke the loaves, and gave them to His disciples to set before them; and the two fish He divided among them all. 42 So they all ate and were filled. 43 And they took up twelve baskets full of fragments and of the fish. 44 Now those who had eaten the loaves were about five thousand men.
 
45 Immediately He made His disciples get into the boat and go before Him to the other side, to Bethsaida, while He sent the multitude away. 46 And when He had sent them away, He departed to the mountain to pray. 47 Now when evening came, the boat was in the middle of the sea; and He was alone on the land. 48 Then He saw them straining at rowing, for the wind was against them. Now about the fourth watch of the night He came to them, walking on the sea, and would have passed them by. 49 And when they saw Him walking on the sea, they supposed it was a ghost, and cried out; 50 for they all saw Him and were troubled. But immediately He talked with them and said to them, “Be of good cheer! It is I; do not be afraid.” 51 Then He went up into the boat to them, and the wind ceased. And they were greatly amazed in themselves beyond measure, and marveled. 52 For they had not understood about the loaves, because their heart was hardened.
 
53 When they had crossed over, they came to the land of Gennesaret and anchored there. 54 And when they came out of the boat, immediately the people recognized Him, 55 ran through that whole surrounding region, and began to carry about on beds those who were sick to wherever they heard He was. 56 Wherever He entered, into villages, cities, or the country, they laid the sick in the marketplaces, and begged Him that they might just touch the hem of His garment. And as many as touched Him were made well.
 
Devotion
 
“For they had not understood about the loaves, because their heart was hardened.”
 
Jesus has just fed the 5,000. He sends the disciples off so that He can have some solitary time to pray (a topic worthy of devotional reflection all by itself!). Jesus sees His disciples having a hard time rowing on the sea, so He walks out to them—on the water! He gets in the boat, the winds die down, and then we read “they were greatly amazed in themselves beyond measure, and marveled.” And that, because they had not understood about the loaves.
 
What is there to understand? Plain and simple, it is the fact that Jesus is true God. God alone can make a little bread and fish into enough to feed thousands. And God alone rules wind and wave. They didn’t understand the one, so they were amazed beyond measure about the other as well. What they did not yet understand, they eventually would; and we must. The divine nature in Christ is necessary for our salvation. For Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross to have unlimited capacity to take away the sin of the world, it had to be the sacrifice of an infinite, unlimited man—the God-man. God grant us faith to see this, and so to know the true Jesus, our Savior.
 
We pray: O Lord, we beseech Thee favorably to hear the prayers of Thy people that we, who are justly punished for our offenses, may be mercifully delivered by Thy goodness, for the glory of Thy name; through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.
 
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Leave a Comment