Faith Amnesia
by Pastor Kevin Sadler
“Now the disciples had forgotten to take
bread…And when Jesus knew it, He saith unto them, Why reason ye, because ye
have no bread?…When I brake the five loaves among five thousand, how many baskets
full of fragments took ye up? They say unto Him, Twelve. And when the seven
among four thousand, how many baskets full of fragments took ye up? And they
said, Seven. And He said unto them, How is it that ye do not understand?” (Mark
8:14a,17a,19-21).
John W. Moore is credited with saying, “Age
hasn’t affected my memory a bit. In fact, I can’t even remember the last time I
forgot something.” 1 When reading
the four Gospels, sometimes one has to wonder if the disciples suffered from
memory loss. They definitely experienced faith amnesia.
Mark 6:31-44 is the account of the Lord feeding
the five thousand by multiplying five loaves and two fishes. In Mark 8:1-9,
they were again in the wilderness with a great multitude of four thousand men
present. In Mark 8:2, the Lord said, “I have compassion on the multitude,
because they have now been with Me three days, and have nothing to eat.” In
response to this, you’d think the disciples would’ve said, “Lord, simple, just
do that miracle again and multiply and create some loaves and fishes like You
did the last time!”
Instead they say, “From whence can a man satisfy
these men with bread here in the wilderness?” (Mark 8:4). In other words,
“Where could anyone find enough bread in this wilderness? Where could we
possibly go in this desolate place to find food to satisfy all these people?”
They’re immediately frustrated and dismayed at the impossible task of feeding
such a crowd. They’re telling the Lord what He knew, that this was a barren
area. Cities were far away. There weren’t even villages nearby. Finding food
for this many people just wasn’t feasible nor realistic.
The disciples had already seen Christ feed an
even greater crowd, but they were still at a loss when a similar problem arose.
We can’t be too hard on them though, because we do the exact same thing. We
forget what the Lord has done for us in the past, and we doubt, and our faith
gives way when difficult circumstances come into our lives. 14 Berean
Searchlight The disciples had to be taught and learn the same lesson again,
that of recognizing their own insufficiency in an impossible situation, and
their need to depend on the Lord. We often get faith amnesia and are
thick-skulled like this. We too have to learn the same lesson over and over
again before it gets through to us in our Christian lives.
After the Lord multiplied the loaves and fishes
and fed the four thousand, it gets even more amazing and somewhat humorous as
you read on in Mark 8. While leaving to cross the Sea of Galilee again, the Lord
began telling them to beware of the leaven (or corrupting doctrine) of the
Pharisees and of Herod, causing the disciples to be reminded that they had
forgotten to bring bread except for the one loaf they had with them. These same
disciples, who had barely gotten done handing out the multiplied bread to the
four thousand, started worrying and whispering among themselves, saying that
the Lord spoke of leaven because they hadn’t brought enough bread (Mark
8:13-16). Perceiving their discussion and thoughts, in Matthew’s account, the
Lord incredulously asks, “O ye of little faith, why reason ye among yourselves,
because ye have brought no bread?” (16:8).
He then asked them, “Don’t you remember? When I
broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many baskets full of pieces
did you pick up?” They sheepishly replied, “Twelve.” “And when I broke the
seven loaves for the four thousand, how many baskets full of leftovers did you
pick up?” They awkwardly admitted, “Seven.” So He said to them, “How is it that
ye do not understand?” (Mark 8:21). Or, “How is it that you don’t get it yet? You
don’t have to worry about bread. Just trust Me.”
God had intervened miraculously and worked in
their lives, but when the next difficult issue arose, their current situation
and problem overwhelmed them, and the past goodness and working of God in their
lives were then forgotten. They struggled with the idea that Christ could
supply their needs and provide for them. They struggled with remembering what
God had done for them in the past and that He is willing and able. They simply
struggled with just trusting Him. And truthfully, we too all struggle with
these things at one time or another in our Christian lives. Admitting that our
faith always has room for growth is important for God, by His Word and the
circumstances of our lives, to “perfect that which is lacking in your faith” (1
Thes. 3:10). May we have the same honesty of the man who pleaded for the
deliverance of his demon-possessed son: “Lord, I believe; help Thou mine unbelief”
(Mark 9:24).
Transformed By Grace -
Transformed By Grace -
Kevin Sadler
Transformed By Grace
#1 - Unity in Christ
Transformed By Grace #2 - One Body in Christ
Transformed By Grace #3 - The Apostle of
Grace
Transformed By Grace #4 - The Gifts of
Christ
Posted By Cecil and
Connie Spivey
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