Page 24 - Back to Bethlehem 2-5-19

The second story describes how I know that I’m trusting God.
How do I know that I have faith?

The first story that describes what faith is and what it isn’t is the
story of the disciples on the stormy sea. That’s in Mark 6. In
the second story I’ll only be looking at one part of it; the woman
that touched the hem of the garment of our Lord Jesus.

Mark 6:45-52, “And immediately He made His disciples get
into the boat and go ahead of Him to the other side to Bethsaida,
while He Himself was sending the multitude away. And after
bidding them farewell, He departed to the mountain to pray.
And when it was evening, the boat was in the midst of the sea,
and He was alone on the land. And seeing them straining at the
oars, for the wind was against them, at about the fourth watch
of the night, He came to them, walking on the sea; and he
intended to pass by them. But when they saw Him walking on
the sea, they supposed that it was a ghost, and cried out: for they
all saw Him and were frightened. But immediately He spoke
with them and said to them, ‘Take courage; it is I, do not be
afraid.’ And He got into the boat with them, and the wind
stopped; and they were greatly astonished, for they had not
gained any insight from the incident of the loaves, but their
heart was hardened.”

They did not learn the lesson of the loaves. So, there is a
connection. The boat ride on the stormy sea was supposed to
remind them of the lessons of the loaves. I don’t want to spend
time on the feeding of the five thousand but I want to give you
the lesson. It’s described in Mark 6:37, “But He answered and
said to them, ‘You give them something to eat!’ And they said
to Him, ‘Shall we go and spend two hundred denari on bread
and give them something to eat?’” There were five thousand
people, plus more. “You give them something to eat.” That was
an impossible command. Nobody could do what Jesus told
them to do. They had five biscuits, two fish and maybe ten
thousand people because it was men plus women and children.
It was absolutely impossible to obey God.