The following article is taken in part from an article posted in The Genesis Epic. CLICK HERE to read the full article.
Now back to (for they were not far from land, but as it were two hundred cubits). We are not far from land, the land of rest, How far are we (those of the UNSEEN church) from the land of the city of God? Two hundred cubits . . . what is the lesson and message in the number two hundred? Why was this number important to the Holy Spirit of God to relate the distance from the land? They were two hundred cubits from land . . . this was a point of measurement of distance from one point to another point; from the point of being on a changing sea to the point of arriving at a safe stable haven. Why this number . . . two hundred (200)? If you have been following this site then you are familiar with The Law of First Mention. How a word, phrase, number or thought is FIRST used by the Holy Spirit is a message in itself. The first time that this number appears in the New Testament is in Mark 6:37 He answered and said unto them, Give ye them to eat. And they say unto him, Shall we go and buy two hundred pennyworth of bread, and give them to eat? This was the feeding of five thousand men. The disciples knew that two hundred pennyworth of bread would NEVER feed five thousand men. Now let’s read about the same event in the gospel of John, Chapter 6, verse 7. Philip answered him, Two hundred pennyworth of bread is not sufficient for them, that every one of them may take a little. The number two hundred without any other number attached to it is mentioned four times (the number of the world) in the New Testament.
● He answered and said unto them, Give ye them to eat. And they say unto him, Shall we go and buy two hundred pennyworth of bread, and give them to eat? (Mark 6:37)
● Philip answered him, Two hundred pennyworth of bread is not sufficient for them, that every one of them may take a little. (John 6:7)
● And the other disciples came in a little ship; (for they were not far from land, but as it were two hundred cubits,) dragging the net with fishes. (John 21:8)
● And he called unto [him] two centurions, saying, Make ready two hundred soldiers to go to Caesarea, and horsemen threescore and ten, and spearmen two hundred, at the third hour of the night; (Acts 23:23)
Without venturing into the Old Testament, the first mention of the phrase two hundred in the New Testament sets the meaning and message of the number two hundred speak of man’s SUFFICIENCY. The two hundred pennyworth of bread to feed five thousand was NOT SUFFICIENT enough. Man’s ability to get to the safe haven of land was NOT SUFFICIENT enough. (John 21:8) Two hundred soldiers and two hundred spearman were NOT SUFFICIENT to guard Paul in Acts 23:23 EXCEPT it was ALL provided by GOD’s WILL and by HIS POWER.
Through the number two hundred alone without other numbers attached, the Old Testament also provides examples of man’s sufficiency: for example, Achan’s greed in attempting to hide two hundred shekels of silver was NOT SUFFICIENT enough for his greed nor was it sufficient enough to stop God’s judgment. (Joshua 7) Then you have Micah’s mother in Judges 17. Her use of two hundred shekels of silver in forging silver idols was NOT SUFFICIENT enough to gain her special religious privileges. Then in 2nd Samuel Chapter 14, the weight of Absalom’s hair at two hundred shekels also disclosed that his beauty was NOT SUFFICIENT enough to gain God’s approval. Do not forget that Solomon’s two hundred targets of gold in 1st Kings Chapter 10 were NOT SUFFICIENT enough to stop Egypt from taking those golden targets from king Rehoboam in 1st Kings Chapter 14. Whether man’s greed, man’s excessive false religious fervor, man’s pride in his beauty or even man’s military strength centered around golden targets (false righteousness) NOTHING of MAN is SUFFICIENT enough for God’s standard of approval and acceptance.
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Copyright 2025, Mary Haigh
Posted on November 9, 2025 @ 1:40 PM (EST)
This article may be used, but not for gain.
Freely ye have received, freely give. (Matthew 10:8e)
All Scripture references are from the King James Bible. (KJV)