About
this time another large crowd had gathered, and the people ran out of food
again. Jesus called his disciples and told them, "I feel sorry for these
people. They have been here with me for three days, and they have nothing left
to eat. If I send them home hungry, they will faint along the way. For some of
them have come a long distance." His disciples replied, "How are we
supposed to find enough food to feed them out here in the wilderness?"
Jesus asked, "How much bread do you have?" "Seven loaves,"
they replied. So Jesus told all the people to sit down on the ground. Then he
took the seven loaves, thanked God for them, and broke them into pieces. He
gave them to his disciples, who distributed the bread to the crowd. A few small
fish were found, too, so Jesus also blessed these and told the disciples to
distribute them. They ate as much as they wanted. Afterward, the disciples
picked up seven large baskets of leftover food. There were about 4,000 people
in the crowd that day, and Jesus sent them home after they had eaten. Mark 8:1-9
It takes a
lot of food to feed 4,000 people—and Jesus discovered that the people who came
to hear Him teach and to be healed were out of food. He was compassionate. He
didn’t want to send them away since many had come from a long distance. The
place where they were was in the region of Decapolis—obviously in a wilderness
area. The Decapolis region was a ten city area southwest of the Sea of Galilee—which
would now be in the country of Jordan. There weren’t any towns near the place
where Jesus was teaching in this Gentile region, but His disciples were able to
find seven loaves of bread…and a few small fish. Seven loaves of bread…and
seven baskets of leftovers. The number of perfection. Seven.
So how many
loaves of bread did Jesus create to feed all those men and their families? I
think their loaves of bread would be a different size and shape and definitely
smaller than the loaves we think of today. If one loaf would feed four people,
than that would be 1,000 loaves, just for the men. Consider the families…and
they probably needed 4,000 loaves. That is a lot of bread. Good thing there
were a few fish to give them some protein and fill them up a bit more. They ate as much as they wanted. Throw in
some olives, grapes or pomegranates and they’d have a complete meal by our
standards. The fish were probably a luxury for some people since they were not
near a body of water where they could easily catch some fish. Would the bread and the fish satisfy you? Would you trust Jesus to provide that food for you?
Prayer
~ Lord, Thank You for feeding those Gentiles... and for welcoming into Your family Gentiles and Jews alike. Please continue to bless and feed--physically and spiritually--those who seek You today.
Daily
Bible Reading: Psalms 26, 40, 58, 61-62, 64
Friday’s
Feast at the King’s Table
No bread or fish recipes today, but this was a Gentile area where Jesus was feeding the 4,000, so they could have eaten pork. Just
thinking about my favorite dish to order at any Mexican restaurant which is a
pork chili verde with green sauce. So I’ve combined several different recipes to create this one that tantalizes my taste buds—and can be
done in the Instant Pot.
Pork
Chili Verde
2 Tbsp olive oil
2 pounds boneless pork shoulder or loin,
cut into 2-inch chunks
3/4 pound tomatillos, quartered, husks
discarded
2 Anaheim peppers roughly chopped,
seeds and stems discarded
1 jalapeño chili pepper, roughly
chopped, seeds, membranes and stems discarded
2 cans mild green chilis, chopped
1 8 oz can or jar of nopalitos – cactus pieces
(do NOT add serrano chili if in the jar) – rinse well
1 medium white onion, roughly chopped
3 cloves garlic, peeled and grated
1 tsp cumin (or use 2 tsp cumin seed,
toasted and ground)
Kosher salt
1/2 cup loosely packed fresh cilantro
leaves, plus more for garnish
1 Tbsp Asian fish sauce
1 Tbsp cornstarch (optional, use to
thicken sauce if desired)
Fresh corn tortillas and lime wedges,
for serving
Sour
cream and cilantro for garnish
In a pressure cooker, lightly brown the pork in the oil on the sauté
setting. Combine pork with tomatillos, peppers, nopalitos and chilis, onion,
garlic, cumin, and a big pinch of salt. Heat over high heat until gently
sizzling, then seal pressure cooker, bring to high pressure, and cook for 30 minutes.
Release pressure, naturally for about 10 minutes.
Using tongs, transfer
pork pieces to a bowl and set aside. Add cilantro and fish sauce to remaining
contents of pressure cooker. Blend with an immersion blender or in a countertop
blender, then season to taste with salt. Thicken with cornstarch, if desired.
Return pork to sauce and stir gently to combine. Garnish with a dollop
of sour cream and fresh cilantro. Serve immediately with
tortillas and lime wedges.
Happy
Birthday Blessings on you—Sweet Rachel.
With
Love and Prayers
© 2018 Text and
photo by Mickey M. Hunacek. All rights reserved.
All
scripture quoted from the New Living Translation (NLT) unless otherwise noted.
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