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Day 171

2 Peter 1:17 "For He received from God the Father honour and glory..."

Day 171 – Mark 8

“For He received from God the Father honour and glory…” 2 Peter 1:17

THE GROWING MULTITUDE

With each passing day, the multitude grew! With each person sharing his personal testimony of how he was healed, the multitude grew further.

“In those days, the multitude being very great
and having nothing to eat, Jesus called His disciples to Him
and said to them, ‘I have compassion on the multitude,
because they have now continued with Me three days
and have nothing to eat. And if I send them away hungry
to their houses, they will faint along the way; for some
of them have come from afar.”
MARK 8:1-3

ACCOMPANYING PROBLEMS

There were obvious accompanying problems. Let us highlight just two:-

1. There were spiritual/religious challenges

a) There were many wrong ideas/doctrines that needed to be addressed and corrected.
b) There were sometimes public clashes with the scribes and Pharisees.
c) There was a general lack of knowledge of God.
d) The disciples were not quite ready to serve the multitudes at this point of time.
e) Jesus would have to shoulder the bulk of the ministry challenges.

2. There was the physical challenge of providing for food for the hungry masses

a) Limited transportation facilities
Those who were better off may have donkeys or horses to ride on. The majority of the people would have to travel on foot.
b) Long distances traveled
Some would have had to travel a long way. No distance would be deemed too far by those whose needs were desperate.
c) Limited food supplies
There were no restaurants or fast-food centers in those days. People generally carried a small supply of food with them (snacks) if they were to leave home for a while. But nobody would have a supply of food that would last three days.

What would the disciples do if they were ask to resolve these challenges?