“And they ate and were satisfied. And they took up the broken pieces left over, seven baskets full.” – Mark 8:8
Jesus repeated one of His most famous miracles, the feeding of thousands of people in the desert. Why would He do that? Simply because He could??? No. As usual, Jesus had a deeper plan and message. This feeding was for a crowd of Gentiles. Starting with just a small amount of food, Jesus created food enough for thousands upon thousands to eat and be satisfied. When they were full, there were seven big baskets of leftovers. What does this repeated miracle mean?
First and foremost, that all people are included in God’s plan of redemption! Jesus didn’t just come for a few people from a specific country. While His first feeding miracle was for a Jewish audience, this one was for a group Gentiles. Jesus came to bless and redeem people from all nations, tribes, and tongues. He came in love to establish a new family of God drawn from every ethnic group on earth. The message of this miracle is that the people of God will be defined by faith rather than birth.
The feeding of thousands was a re-enactment of a central event of the Exodus, when God provided manna in the desert. This was a bold statement that Jesus was God come it the flesh. It was also a statement that Jesus had come to lead people on a new Exodus out of slavery to sin and death and into holiness and eternal life. But He didn’t just come for the people of one nation. He came for people from every nation!
This truth is emphasized by the quantity of leftovers collected after the meal. Jesus came to bless in overflowing abundance. He didn’t come to provide a minimal or adequate amount of blessing. He didn’t come to bless a lucky few. Jesus came to bless so generously and abundantly that it exceeds anything anyone could desire or imagine. There’s significance to the number of baskets of leftovers. Seven didn’t just happen to be the number of baskets. In the Bible, the number seven represents completeness. The ministry of Jesus has come for ALL the nations. He’s come for the completeness of the world, not just a portion. He’s come for you. #FollowJesus