Welcome to a year in the Bible with daily grace. My name is Kristen and my name is Katie and we want to spend a few minutes a day with you walking through the New Testament one chapter at a time.

This year we will fix our gaze upon Christ so that we may know

him, not only with our minds but with our hearts. Together we will learn that

who Jesus is changes everything.

Hello friends and welcome back to a year in the Bible with daily grace.

My name is Katie and it is my privilege to walk with you through the Gospel of Mark. Today we are diving in to Mark 8.

This chapter opens up with another miraculous feeding of a huge crowd. In Mark 6 we saw Jesus feeding 5,000 people with just 5

loaves of bread and 2 fish. Here he feeds 4,000 with 7 loaves. But there's

something noteworthy about the differences between these two

events. In this scene, the crowd has been with him for much longer, three days rather than a few hours.

And there is no mention here of nearby villages

where the people could disperse to go eat.

So it's much more urgent of a situation.

Another big difference is the crowd itself.

Jesus was still in the DiCapliss, a largely

Gentile region.

And while he was primarily feeding Jews in Mark 6, here he is feeding a crowd that is predominantly

Gentile. There were likely some Jews present, but they're probably in their minority.

It's interesting to consider this scene

in light of Jesus' encounter

with the woman yesterday who begged him to heal her daughter.

This woman, a Gentile, said that even dogs share in the children's bread as it falls to the ground.

...