Jesus Feeds the Five Thousand - Mark 6:30-43
Jesus Feeds the Five Thousand
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.
Reflection: Today we get insight into how Jesus not only met spiritual, emotional and physical needs for healing, he was also aware and sensitive the everyday needs of people. In this case there were so many people following him, they didn't even have time to eat. This shows how desperate people were to be in Jesus' presence. He could have dismissed them either because of their sheer size, or because he had better and more important things to do. But instead he says to his disciples, "you give them something to eat!" To which they reply, "yeah right how are we going to do that?"
We see an important concept now, as Jesus says, "how much do you have currently on hand?" When they counted, they had a mere 5 loaves and 2 fish. But Jesus told them to organize them in groups of fifty and hundred. After all, if you are going to feed that many people, you might need a seating chart. Jesus gave thanks to God, and distributed to the disciples, who distributed to the people. And not only did they all eat, but they were all satisfied. I.e. There was plenty of food. And to further illustrate the abundance, there were even 12 basketfuls of broken pieces left. This could possibly be a reference to the 12 tribes of Israelites, and the symbolism of after Jesus fed the Gentiles there was still enough for God's chosen ones.
So what can this mean for us today? I know that so often I operate in a scarcity mode. My anxiety often stems from how am I going to satisfy the demands around me. And in doing so, I usually look to my own limited resources. I forget to rely on God and others to meet the needs around me. I don't start with what I have as meager as that is and thank God for it, and then allow God to use what I can offer to meet this need. Do you ever do this? I think the fact that Jesus fed 5,000 with a few fish and loaves is another illustration of how things operate in the kingdom of God. When we operate in the natural we are limited. But when we trust God he can do immeasurably more than we can ask or imagine. Rather than relying on just our own resources, why don't we in faith trust God to multiply what we have for his glory with others we are called to do ministry with. Amen.
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.
Reflection: Today we get insight into how Jesus not only met spiritual, emotional and physical needs for healing, he was also aware and sensitive the everyday needs of people. In this case there were so many people following him, they didn't even have time to eat. This shows how desperate people were to be in Jesus' presence. He could have dismissed them either because of their sheer size, or because he had better and more important things to do. But instead he says to his disciples, "you give them something to eat!" To which they reply, "yeah right how are we going to do that?"
We see an important concept now, as Jesus says, "how much do you have currently on hand?" When they counted, they had a mere 5 loaves and 2 fish. But Jesus told them to organize them in groups of fifty and hundred. After all, if you are going to feed that many people, you might need a seating chart. Jesus gave thanks to God, and distributed to the disciples, who distributed to the people. And not only did they all eat, but they were all satisfied. I.e. There was plenty of food. And to further illustrate the abundance, there were even 12 basketfuls of broken pieces left. This could possibly be a reference to the 12 tribes of Israelites, and the symbolism of after Jesus fed the Gentiles there was still enough for God's chosen ones.
So what can this mean for us today? I know that so often I operate in a scarcity mode. My anxiety often stems from how am I going to satisfy the demands around me. And in doing so, I usually look to my own limited resources. I forget to rely on God and others to meet the needs around me. I don't start with what I have as meager as that is and thank God for it, and then allow God to use what I can offer to meet this need. Do you ever do this? I think the fact that Jesus fed 5,000 with a few fish and loaves is another illustration of how things operate in the kingdom of God. When we operate in the natural we are limited. But when we trust God he can do immeasurably more than we can ask or imagine. Rather than relying on just our own resources, why don't we in faith trust God to multiply what we have for his glory with others we are called to do ministry with. Amen.
Comments
Post a Comment