Deeper than the Ocean: Mark 8:5-10
God’s ways are always deeper than we can fathom. I have lost count of the times I think I’ve figured out God’s lesson only to be surprised. I’ve lost count of how often I read the Bible and see something I’ve never noticed before. God’s ways are deeper and more profound than I can imagine.
As with the prior feeding, Jesus gathers the disciples together. Jesus takes the food, sits everyone down, gives thanks, and sets the disciples free to distribute the food. When it is over, the disciples recover seven baskets full of leftovers.
A comparison between the feedings gives cool information. First, there were more Jews present at their feeding there are Gentiles here. The number may be representative of how salvation spread to the world. Jesus came to the Jews first and He interacted with far more Jews during His ministry than Gentiles. The Jews were the first and biggest population of interest when Jesus was present on the earth.
Next, the disciples had more bread and fish in this feeding. It is possible the disciples learned a lesson. Anytime Jesus heads off into a desolate place, bring more provisions than normal. Kudos to the disciples for trying to be a bit better prepared, especially since this is apparently after three days of Jesus’ teaching. They are learning and growing and at least trying to anticipate Jesus’ next move.
Finally, there are only seven baskets instead of twelve. This is easily the coolest of the comparisons. At first, it sounds like there were more leftovers with the five thousand, where there were twelve baskets. The word used there is κόφινος (kophinos), which are baskets the size of a medium handbag or small backpack. κόφινος are small baskets Jews use to keep ritually pure items from being defiled by coming into contact with the rest of the world. The seven baskets in this story are σπυρίς (spuris), which are far larger baskets you would see strapped onto the backs of donkeys or balanced on the heads of humans as they return from the market. The number may be smaller, but the volume of the leftovers here is significantly bigger. Its as if God tells us that while the Jewish population of followers of Jesus will initially be bigger, once we get past the fear of defilement the harvest among Gentiles will be significantly larger. This is the great capstone of the defilement debate begun in Mark 7. Combine this with the fact that seven is God’s number for completion and this passage becomes an analogy for the completeness of salvation once the Gentiles are brought into the fold.
I love how God works in layers. In one story, Jesus delivers the same message to the Gentiles He brought to the Jews, He retaught His disciples a lesson about the power of God’s provision, and He masterfully developed a huge analogy regarding the completeness of salvation. God’s ways are always deeper than we can fathom.
