Daily Lesson for November 11, 2021

 Today's Daily Lesson comes from Matthew chapter 15 verses 30 through 38:

30Great crowds came to him, bringing with them the lame, the maimed, the blind, the mute, and many others. They put them at his feet, and he cured them, 31so that the crowd was amazed when they saw the mute speaking, the maimed whole, the lame walking, and the blind seeing. And they praised the God of Israel.

32 Then Jesus called his disciples to him and said, ‘I have compassion for the crowd, because they have been with me now for three days and have nothing to eat; and I do not want to send them away hungry, for they might faint on the way.’ 33The disciples said to him, ‘Where are we to get enough bread in the desert to feed so great a crowd?’ 34Jesus asked them, ‘How many loaves have you?’ They said, ‘Seven, and a few small fish.’ 35Then ordering the crowd to sit down on the ground, 36he took the seven loaves and the fish; and after giving thanks he broke them and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds. 37And all of them ate and were filled; and they took up the broken pieces left over, seven baskets full. 38Those who had eaten were four thousand men, besides women and children.

The feeding of the 4,000 has been said to be just another version of the feeding of the 5,000; but that is not so and there is more to the story than simply a re-telling.

Jesus feeds the 5,000 on the Jewish side of the Sea of Galilee. 12 baskets of bread are left over -- 12 being the symbolic number of the tribes of Israel. The point being there is enough for all Israel.

But then after the 5,000 are fed Jesus has the encounter with the Syrophoenician woman whom I wrote about yesterday. She, a Gentile, is at first refused by Jesus. But she begs for her child to be healed, saying "Even the dogs get the scraps that come from the table."

It is after this then that many are brought to Jesus to be healed, and they praise the God of Israel -- implying they are Gentiles.

Then, immediately after that, the 4,000 are fed. This time there are 7 baskets left over -- 7 being the symbolic number of the nations which were run out of Israel when the 12 tribes came in.

I hope this excites you as much as it does me! The point is that there is enough, for all of Israel and for everyone else too, and that Jesus' healing, and feeding, and provision is for everyone. In his ministry there is salvation for all!

I tell you, sometimes a little Bible study can really pay off. And it can open our eyes to see everything and everyone in a whole new way.

"And they ate; and they were filled."

Ryon Price is Senior Pastor of Broadway Baptist Church in Fort Worth, Texas.