<p>15:32&nbsp;<em>Then Jesus called his disciples to him, and said</em>- We often meet this note in the Gospels. The implication is surely that if discipleship involves being with and following Jesus, then the disciples are therefore recording their own weakness in noting that they were often&nbsp;<em>not</em>&nbsp;with Jesus and had to be called unto Him. And it is observable that in many of the cases of being called to Him, they were somehow astray in action or attitude- separated from Him not just physically. The Greek specifically means &lsquo;to call towards&rsquo;, and so the pattern is established of the Lord&rsquo;s basic call being repeated throughout the course of our discipleship.</p>
<p><em>I have compassion on the crowd</em>- Reflect how the Lord called His men unto Him, and informed them that He had compassion on the hungry multitude. He said no more than that. But the disciples immediately started bleating on about how there was no way they had the money nor ability to arrange so much bread in a deserted place (Mk. 8:2). They understood that their Lord had transferred His compassion onto them; all that was true of Him became true for them.&nbsp;<em>He</em>&nbsp;wanted to feed the multitude;&nbsp;<em>He</em>&nbsp;was feeling compassionate to the crowd; so, axiomatically, so must they. And so must we today, as we face the crowds too. Whatever are the feelings, the mind, of Jesus towards this world; so must our mind be. And He came, without controversy, above all to give His all, to die, for this world&rsquo;s redemption.&nbsp;</p>
<p><em>Because they have been with me now- </em>AV &quot;Continue with Me&quot;. The same word is used about believers &lsquo;cleaving unto&rsquo; Jesus (Acts 11:23). The Lord uses the same word about His wish for the disciples to continue with Him in the heat of temptation in Gethsemane (Mt. 26:38), and it is the same word used so often in John for &lsquo;abiding&rsquo; with Christ. The Lord was more sceptical about the (Jewish) crowd in the earlier feeding miracle (of the 5000), later commenting that their interest was largely in the food. This more Gentile crowd (see on :31) He felt were abiding with Him in a more spiritual sense.&nbsp;</p>
<p><em>Three days</em>- The provision of manna, the bread of salvation, after three days&hellip; this is surely prophetic of the resurrection. The Lord could have fed them at the end of the first day- three days is a long time not to eat, and they were at the point of losing consciousness due to lack of food (&ldquo;they will faint in the way&rdquo;). The Lord surely didn&rsquo;t provide food earlier in order to prove the level of interest. Surely many did walk away in search of food. But 4000 (at least) remained. It certainly was a great expression of sincere interest in the Lord&rsquo;s message, and compares favourably to that of the crowd of 5000, who were fed after only a few hours. The disciples&rsquo; desire to dismiss this extraordinary group therefore appears even worse.&nbsp;</p>
<p><em>And have nothing to eat</em>- The same Greek phrase is on the Lord&rsquo;s lips in Mt. 25:32, where He says that condemnation awaits the man who gives &lsquo;nothing to eat&rsquo; to those who are hungry. The disciples like many of us assume automatically that it can&rsquo;t be their problem to provide others&rsquo; needs if they don&rsquo;t have what is required materially. But the connection between this verse and Mt. 25:32 puts that assumption under a spotlight. Even if we do not have what is needed, our confrontation with that need requires to exercise faith that that need will be resolved. And the resolution of it may well depend upon our&nbsp;<em>faith</em>. This doesn&rsquo;t mean that we ask that material resources are dropped from Heaven into&nbsp;<em>our</em>&nbsp;hands, but rather than they will be provided in order to meet the need.</p>
<p><em>I am unwilling to send them away hungry, lest they faint on the way</em>- Mark adds &ldquo;Because some of them had come from afar&rdquo; (Mk. 8:3). This again is a hint at Gentile presence in the crowd- see on :31.&nbsp;</p>