The Feeding of the Five Thousand
Text: Mark 6:30-44
Core Idea: Jesus Christ is our Good Shepherd and the Bread of life. In Him, we find rest. In Him, we are embraced. In Him, we lack nothing. And in Him, we receive life. Then let us confess our needs and embrace His grace as we run to this compassionate Savior.
INTRODUCTION
Good afternoon, Lighthouse. It’s always good to see you. I want to first welcome our children. It really is a blessing for us to worship with you today. It just feels like we’re complete as a community because we’re together. But I also want to welcome our Anchor friends (our youth). I should say this more often, but I want you to know how thankful I am that you are part of this service every week. I know it’s not easy, which is why I’m so grateful for each one of you. I’m praying for you – that God will open your hearts to really understand the gospel and that this community will be a place where you’ll find deep friendship and grow as a disciple of Jesus Christ.
Well, starting today, during our joint services (the first Sunday of every month), we decided to add two things to our service. First, one or two of our children will read the passage for us. And second, we’ll show a short video for our children so that they may have something to think about as well. I really pray that these small additions (and hopefully more in the future) will help all of us grow together as a community. Then with that in mind, let’s turn our Bibles to Mark 6:30-44. And I’m going to invite Grace and Chloe to the front – and they’ll read the passage for us.
30 The apostles gathered around Jesus and reported to Him all they had done and taught. 31 Then, because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat, He said to them, “Come with Me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.” 32 So they went away by themselves in a boat to a solitary place. 33 But many who saw them leaving recognized them and ran on foot from all the towns and got there ahead of them. 34 When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, He had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. So He began teaching them many things. 35 By this time it was late in the day, so His disciples came to Him. “This is a remote place,” they said, “and it’s already very late. 36 Send the people away so that they can go to the surrounding countryside and villages and buy themselves something to eat.” 37 But He answered, “You give them something to eat.” They said to Him, “That would take more than half a year’s wages! Are we to go and spend that much on bread and give it to them to eat?” 38 “How many loaves do you have?” He asked. “Go and see.” When they found out, they said, “Five – and two fish.” 39 Then Jesus directed them to have all the people sit down in groups on the green grass. 40 So they sat down in groups of hundreds and fifties. 41 Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, He gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then He gave them to His disciples to distribute to the people. He also divided the two fish among them all. 42 They all ate and were satisfied, 43 and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces of bread and fish. 44 The number of the men who had eaten was five thousand.
Thank you, girls, for reading the passage for us. And children, I hope you enjoyed the video. Just as a note, Mark doesn’t actually mention the boy in his account, but John does. So, think of it as getting a fuller picture of this amazing story. Well, let me start by reminding you what has happened so far. In Mark 6:7-13, we saw Jesus sending His disciples out on a mission trip – for them to preach and demonstrate the power of the gospel to the people in surrounding villages. Then in Mark 6:14-29, we saw the death of John the Baptist, which was a reminder that there’s a cost to following Jesus – that it’s not going to be all sunshine and rainbows but that there may be hardship and suffering as well. Our passage today begins with the disciples coming back and debriefing the trip with Jesus. They probably shared what they saw, what they heard, what they learned, and what they did – all the highs and lows of the trip. Now, as you can imagine, they must have been exhausted – completely spent from preaching and ministering to the people. Then what you would expect to see is for them to get a break and resume again in a few days. But that’s not what happened – their ministry continued because the people kept coming. In fact, Mark tells us that they were so busy that they couldn’t even eat. Can you imagine how frustrated, tired, and hungry the disciples must have been? Yet even in this moment, Jesus used this opportunity to teach His disciples something about ministry. Then I want to highlight three aspects of ministry that Jesus demonstrates in this passage:
REST
COMPASSION
PROVISION
1) REST
Rest is an indispensable part of ministry. What’s amazing is that when Jesus saw how busy His disciples were, this is what He said to them, verse 31, “Come with Me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.” In other words, Jesus was inviting them to retreat from the demands of ministry and rest. Jesus knew their limitations. Jesus knew that they were on the brink of being burnt out. They were giving yet they weren’t being filled. So, instead of pushing them to work harder, He invited them to rest. Now, it’s so important to see that the kind of rest He offered was this unhurried time with Him. He didn’t say, “Go home, get some sleep, and let’s meet back in a week” – though that kind of physical rest is needed at times. Instead, Jesus said, “Come with Me by yourselves” – He was inviting them to rest in Him, to be alone with Him because He knew that that’s what they needed the most. He wanted them to be filled by Him.
Now, what’s important to see is that there were still a lot of things to be done. People were demanding for more. Yet it’s precisely because they were busy that Jesus invited them to rest. He didn’t say, “Let’s rest when there’s no more work to be done.” No, it was “Let’s rest because we still have more work to be done. Rest in Me.” Brothers and sisters, I wonder if you’re like the disciples – you’ve been giving yet you haven’t been filling yourself with Christ. And knowing you, it’s not because you don’t think spending time with God is not important; then it must be because deep down in your heart, you think you can handle this on your own. You think you have enough strength and wisdom to carry yourselves. You think you can manage without God at least for now. But that’s where you’re wrong. This passage is reminding us that rest in the Lord is absolutely indispensable to ministry because this (alone time with Him) is what will give us power and motivation to live a life worthy of the gospel. Then let me ask you, “Do you feel like you can manage on your own at least for now?” I pray that the Holy Spirit will humble us to see how desperately we need Him in our lives and that He will convict us so that we may desperately run to Him today.
Now, some of you may be thinking, “I get it. But you just don’t know how busy I am right now. How do I spend time with Jesus if my days are just crazy busy? There’s this overwhelming pressure from work or school; there were unexpected things that happened that required my attention; and don’t get me started on the responsibilities at home. I just don’t have the capacity to do this.” If this is you, first of all, you’re not alone. I honestly feel the same way these days. But this should never rob us of our alone time with Jesus. Then how should we rest in Him in our busyness? In order to answer this question, I want to share something from a book called Habits of Grace by David Mathis. He offers a number of practical things we can do to commune with Christ on a crazy day – this helped me immensely and I hope that it helps you as well. Three things:
Develop a Routine That Is Adaptable
Mathis shares that instead of reading all the assigned passages in your Bible-reading plan, just take one short psalm or little Gospel account or small section of an epistle – and look for one truth that stands out to you which the Holy Spirit will convict you of. Then meditate on that truth by praying that truth throughout the day. Now, if time is really tight, just briefly pause to pray – asking that He would show Himself strong especially because you didn’t get to immerse yourself in the Word. In other words, discipline yourself to centre around Him – even if it’s very short.
Look for God’s Provision through Others
If time alone with Jesus isn’t just happening on this crazy day, be on a special lookout for others who love Jesus. Even a quick conversation that points each other to Christ can keep us in His presence, which is why texting or calling someone throughout the week to encourage and remind them of the truth can be more helpful than you think.
Consider the Path of Love
Mathis shares that sometimes the most loving thing we can do is to get away from people to feed our souls on God and come back re-energized to better serve others. But at the same time, the most loving thing we can do is to die to our desires for alone time with God in order to serve – to give attention to the toddler who is sick or to assist a spouse or friend who is having his/her own crazy morning. In other words, he’s giving us permission to take care of others even if we have to sacrifice our time with God. But we must discern each time with wisdom and love.
Now, a word of caution. This way of living shouldn’t be the norm in our walk with God. The norm should be for us to be in a consistent rhythm of spending time with Him – to reset our minds, refill our hearts, and recalibrate our perspectives with His truth. To put it differently, if our busyness is preventing us from having a healthy routine to our time with Him, it may be time for us to re-evaluate our lives and reorder our priorities. Brothers and sisters, the crazy days will come. But with a little intentionality, we can learn to navigate these days and be even more dependent on Him. Then let’s continue to grow in how well we can rest in the Lord – it’s an important aspect to the way we do ministry.
2) COMPASSION
Compassion should be what drives us in ministry. Let’s turn to verse 32. Here, Jesus and His disciples were withdrawing into a boat for some rest, yet this rest was cut short because the crowd found them again. Now, notice what Jesus didn’t do at this point: He didn’t order them to go home and come back the next day. Instead, Mark tells us that Jesus was moved with compassion because they were like sheep without a shepherd. This was a common expression used in the Bible to describe us. Then we should ask ourselves, “Why does God describe us as sheep? Why not a lion or an eagle? Why a sheep?” In order to answer this, let me share a little bit about sheep. I read an article written by Tim Challies that talked about three reasons why sheep are completely dependent on a shepherd. First, because they are dumb. This is a real story from a newspaper in Turkey: “Hundreds of sheep followed their leader off a cliff in eastern Turkey, plunging to their deaths this week while shepherds looked on in dismay. Four hundred sheep fell 15 metres to their deaths in a ravine in Van province near Iran but broke the fall of another 1,100 animals who survived. Shepherds from a nearby village neglected the flock while eating breakfast, leaving the sheep to roam free. The loss to local farmers was estimated at $74,000.” In other words, one sheep wandered off a cliff and 1,499 others just followed along – and 1,100 of them survived because 400 of them became like a big pillow for other sheep to land on. It’s just completely absurd – but it shows that they’re probably not one of the brightest animals in the world. A second reason is that they’re directionless. Sheep are prone to wander even if everything they need (green grass and water) is right before their eyes which means that without the care of a shepherd, they will get lost. Lastly, they’re defenseless. Left to themselves, sheep will not and cannot last very long. If a predator appears, they will gather with others in a pack and literally run in circles in a complete panic until they’re eaten one by one. Sheep are dumb, directionless, and defenseless – and God calls us sheep. Obviously, this isn’t a compliment but it’s just a very realistic assessment of who we are and what we need. We are sheep who are completely dependent upon a shepherd. Yet in our passage today, what Jesus saw in this crowd was that they were like sheep without a shepherd. In other words, they were lost, helpless, and lacking protection.
And seeing this, Mark tells us that Jesus had compassion on them. It’s important to note that this specific Greek word for “compassion” was only used to describe the heart of Jesus and no one else. The literal translation of this word refers to the yearning from one’s bowel – something that rises from one’s innermost core. Then when Mark shares that Jesus had compassion on them, he was saying that Jesus had this deep yearning for these people – He was moved in His heart with tenderness. Let’s think about this for a moment. Dane Ortlund wrote, “It is one thing to know the doctrines of the incarnation and the atonement and a hundred other vital doctrines. It is another, more searching matter to know His heart for you.” Not many of us take time to reflect on Jesus’ heart for us – you may know who He is and what He did, but do you know His heart for you right now? Does He seem disappointed, frustrated, and even angry because you feel like you’ve failed Him over and over again? Does He seem cynical or even apathetic? If this is what you imagine what His heart is like, then look at the passage again because Mark tells us that what Jesus ultimately feels in His heart toward us, what draws Him closer to us is compassion – this yearning for us. Isn’t that amazing? This is how He feels about us no matter where we are in life. This is what drives Him to minister to us.
Then what does this mean for us? First, I pray that you’ll experience His heart for you today. Only then will you joyfully come to Him. If you think that His heart for you is filled with anger or disappointment, you’ll never come. But when you know that His heart for you is gracious and kind no matter where you are in your life, you’ll be drawn to Him again. But second, it means that we too should see people around us as sheep without a shepherd and minister to them with the same compassion. Then think about the people in your life. Even before they are your family members, friends, co-workers, neighbors, strangers, and even enemies, we must realize that they are first sheep without a shepherd because of their sin. They’ve wandered off from the Shepherd. When you’re able to see them this way, your heart will be moved; your heart will be filled with compassion – the kind of compassion that will move you to help even if it disrupts your plan, even if it inconveniences you, even if you have to sacrifice a lot; it’s the kind of compassion that will propel you out to share this life-giving gospel truth because you know that the true rest for their soul is found in Christ alone. Brothers and sisters, are we driven by this kind of compassion? As recipients of this compassion, I pray that we would all be givers of this compassion.
3) PROVISION
Provision is what we do in ministry. Jesus must have taught them for a long time because verse 35 tells us that it was late in the day – it was dinnertime. And the disciples saw the problem right away. Verse 44 tells us that there were 5,000 men there, which meant that with women and children, there could’ve been around 15,000-20,000 people there. To make matters worse, they were in the middle of nowhere. So, they said, “Jesus, there’s obviously no place to eat around here. Let’s send them to the countryside and villages so that they can eat (and we can eat too). We can resume our session tomorrow.” But notice what Jesus says. Verse 37, “You give them something to eat.” I can imagine the disciples just looking at each other, saying, “Us? There are literally twelve of us and you’re asking us to feed almost 20,000 people? Do you realize that it’ll take half a year’s wages to feed them? You were the one who told us not to take anything on our journey – so, yeah, we have nothing. Jesus, we can’t do this. You’re asking us to do the impossible. There are too many of them and too little of us.”
The irony was that they forgot who was with them – as one pastor (David Platt) said, “It was like standing in front of Niagara Falls and still not being able to find anything to drink.” Think about that image. You see, their eyes were so fixated on the problem that they failed to see who was standing in front of them – only if they would just lift their eyes and see Jesus, and remember all the things that He did before their eyes (how He healed a leper, a paralyzed man, a bleeding woman; how He cast out a legion of demons, stilled a raging storm, and raised a little girl from the dead) – only if they would reflect on His power and compassion, they would know that they had nothing to worry about. They may not know how, but they would know that He will somehow make a way for them because that’s what He did over and over again in their lives. In fact, that was the whole point. This was the reason why Jesus told them to take nothing on their mission trip. He wanted them to see that they don’t have what it takes to do His Kingdom work; He wanted them to lean on Him, turn to Him, and ask for help. He was, in one sense, saying, “Until you see what I’m calling you to do is impossible on your own, you’re absolutely unqualified to do it.”
Brothers and sisters, are you burdened by something in your life? Do you feel like God has given you a responsibility that seems impossible for you to carry? Maybe that’s exactly where He wanted you to be because He wants to teach you to take your eyes off of your problem and place them on Jesus. We may not know how, but He’ll guide us and lead us through the storms and troubles of our lives. I pray that none of us would ever become sufficient to do things on our own. Instead, let us learn to be on our knees more and more in our lives because He will provide all that we need to remain faithful – He will meet our needs.
That’s exactly what Jesus shows us next. Verse 38, Jesus asked the disciples, “How many loaves do you have?” They were able to find five loaves and two fish (from a boy as we saw in the video). And Jesus told the disciples to seat people in groups. Verse 41, “Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, He gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then He gave them to His disciples to distribute to the people.” Verse 42, “They all ate and were satisfied.” Without a question, this miracle shows us that Jesus is sufficient to meet our deepest needs. Jesus turned this remote, desolate place into a banquet – a place of plenty. We don’t know how the food was multiplied, but one thing’s for sure: not one of them was left hungry. His provision is always more than enough; it always satisfies. Now, there’s a reason why Jesus provided them specifically bread. In our culture, what does bread represent? Carbs. But in ancient times, when there weren’t a lot of options in food and not a lot of food available, bread symbolized life. So, in giving bread, Jesus was showing that He gives life to them. But there was more.
In John’s account of this miracle, Jesus said to the people, “I am the Bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty” (Jn. 6:35). This is incredibly amazing because He was saying that He didn’t just come to give us bread, but rather to be our bread – to be the Satisfier of our souls. (I am the Bread of life.) Friends, He is your life. Everything you need is found in Him. Then how does He do this? There’s a hint in verse 41. Here, Mark uses two Greek words that will be used again at the Lord’s Supper in Mark 14: Gave thanks and broke. Why is this significant? Let’s think about this. If you have a loaf of bread and you’re hungry, the only way for you to alleviate that hunger is for the bread to be broken for you to eat. If the bread is broken, you receive life. But if the bread stays whole, you’ll starve and die. In other words, it’s either you in pieces or the bread. Then when Jesus said, “I am the Bread of life,” He was saying, “I will be torn to pieces so that you can be satisfied, so that you can remain whole.” And that’s exactly what happened on the cross where He died for you and me to pay the penalty for our sin. He who was sinless became sin; He received God’s wrath in our place so that we can be forgiven and receive life. Friends, nothing in this world will ever truly, completely satisfy the longings in your life. But the good news of the gospel is that God provided bread to satisfy that hunger – and that bread is Jesus Christ. Then I invite you to come to Him today. He alone can satisfy your hunger, quench that thirst, and give you life. He is our good Shepherd who will guide us, lead us, and protect us. He really is worth giving your life to.
Christians, we also need to daily, consistently come to Jesus – our souls need to be fed by Him. Living in this world, our souls will be distracted, tempted, and pulled in all different directions to find our satisfaction in something other than Jesus. Then we must rest in Christ to remain faithful to the Lord. But there’s one more application for us. Look at verse 41. It doesn’t say that He gave them food, no, it says, “Then He gave them to His disciples to distribute to the people.” Jesus blessed people through His disciples. This is so important to see because He is inviting us to be part of His work. Oftentimes, we tend to look at what we lack (which is why we’re hesitant to offer ourselves to Him) but Jesus looks at what we have. And regardless of how small we think that is, He wants to multiply it to bless others. In other words, He’s graciously inviting us to be an extension of His grace and power for others. Brothers and sisters, we are an extension of His grace. Are we living like this today? Don’t ever think that you don’t have enough. You have more than enough because you have Christ. He will use you. He wants to use you. You just need to submit yourselves to Him. And that’s not all. Verse 43. The disciples were hungry before – and now they were each left with a basket full of bread and fish (twelve baskets for twelve disciples). In other words, in ministry, as we live in obedience to Him, there’s a blessing for us as well. We don’t just give; we receive life as well. Brothers and sisters, I pray that you won’t miss out on this life but that you’ll experience it to the fullest.
CONCLUSION
Lighthouse family, Jesus Christ is our Good Shepherd and the Bread of life. In Him, we find rest. In Him, we are embraced. In Him, we lack nothing. And in Him, we receive life. Then let us confess our needs, embrace His grace as we run to this compassionate Savior. He will satisfy us and still leave us with twelve baskets full.
Discussion questions
Why do you think it was important for Jesus to take the disciples away to a quiet place to be with Him? How can we protect our time with Him, especially in our busyness?
What may have been going through the disciples’ minds as they saw the large crowd gathered on the shore? What was Jesus’ response to seeing the crowd? How can we minister to people around us with the same kind of compassion?
What’s the difference between serving out of our weakness rather than serving out of our strength? How can we continue to offer ourselves to serve others when we feel incredibly inadequate to do so?
What do we learn about Jesus in this passage? What do we learn about ourselves?