Hunger

The disciples were discussing among themselves that they did not have any bread. Aware of this, (Jesus) said to them, “Why are you discussing the fact you have no bread? Don’t you understand or comprehend? Do you have hardened hearts?”

Mark 8:16-17

For what are we hungry?

The Pharisees were hungry for power and used religious devotion to control people and influence culture. Herod was hungry for power and used political maneuvering to control people and influence culture. Both understood that Jesus was claiming to have the power to reorient their entire culture towards Him. In the midst of this struggle with powerful people hungry for more, Jesus turns to his disciples and finds that they are hungry…for bread!

The disciples utterly missed the point of what Jesus had been doing. It wasn’t just that they failed to trust that he could provide miraculously. The miracles were never the point in themselves. The miracles were to signal the true identity of Jesus, the Messiah/King. All the earth would have to be reordered in light of His coming. The followers of the Messiah would be thrust into an epic conflict with the powers of culture and the power-hungry people in the world around them, and his disciples were worried about who was going to be hungry that evening!

For what are we hungry?

Sometimes, the hunger for entertainment or security is so great that we have no appetite left for holiness, mercy, or the glory of Jesus. Other times, the hunger for influence or control is so great that we have no appetite for anything else at all. Get hungry for the glory of Jesus, and all the other hungers will line up rightly.