They had not understood

Mark 6:52-56: “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 in 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.”

The disciples who lived with Jesus day after day and saw the miracles that He performed and the people who He touched, and they still could not understand the miracle of the loaves. Their hearts could not get around the fact the He was fully God. They just did not understand that He was well able to handle any situation that would arise.

After the disciples saw Jesus feed 5000 people, and walk on the sea, they crossed over to the other side of the shore. When people knew that Jesus and His disciples were on land they immediately came to be with Him. They came to see Jesus. They had needs and they knew that Jesus was the only one to heal them. The crowd knew the power of Jesus more then the disciples did. The fact is that sometimes those who spend the most time with Jesus are the same ones who fail when it comes to having faith. The outsiders just knew that Jesus was the one who can heal. They did not take the Lord for granted.

For the Christ-follower spending time with Jesus is essential. However, there is always a danger for us to take our relationship with Jesus for granted. Like any relationship it takes nurturing. We need to spend time in prayer and in bible reading. In addition, we also need to exercise our faith. A relationship is nurtured when trust is at the center. When we continually put our faith in Him and surrender our will to Him we will be forced to keep that relationship fresh and new. By surrendering our lives to Him daily we are essentially saying that we cannot handle this life without Him, and that is a good place to be.


Tomorrows Readings:
Old Testament: num 18-20 New Testament Mark 7:1-13