GREAT THINGS ENTERPRISE
CLAUDE BLACK
Mark 8:9
The Next Step
During my undergraduate program at Southern Illinois University, I had a classmate who had 230 quarter hours, way beyond the 180 hours required for graduation. This student was an employee of the university and could take classes tuition-free. He occupied his free time by taking classes that interested him. He was one of the people who is often described as professional students.
As Jesus and his disciples returned south from Tyre and Sidon, they traveled through the region of the Decapolis—an area that had a large Greek and Latin population. As he got farther south, a large crowd began to follow him. He prayed for and healed a man who was deaf and mute. News of his presence spread. None of the writers recorded Jesus’ lessons during this time, but the crowd increased daily. After three days, the people exhausted their food supply, and Jesus called on his disciples to help him feed the crowd with seven loaves and a few small fish—a miracle these people would surely remember. “Now there were about four thousand men. And he sent them away.” (Mark 8:9) Matthew said this four thousand didn’t include women and children, so the number was much greater (Matt. 15:38).
Immediately after the crowd ate, were satisfied, and the remnants of the meal were collected, Jesus sent the crowd away. Undoubtedly, many people would have continued to cling to Jesus—there was wonderful teaching, miraculous healing, and abundant food, but he sent the people away. It was time for them to take the next step and put their teaching into practice.
After I completed the 180 hours at SIU, the university provided a commencement ceremony. The word “commencement” means a beginning or a start. It was time for students to take the next step, but not my student companion. He enrolled in a class the next quarter and continued as a student. (Well, so did I, in a graduate program.)
Taking the next step is not always easy, but he often calls on his followers to take the next step.
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