FOCUS Day Twenty | MARK 6:30-44
DAY TWENTY | MARK 6:30-44
Then the apostles gathered to Jesus and told Him all things, both what they had done and what they had taught. And He said to them, “Come aside by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while.” For there were many coming and going, and they did not even have time to eat. So they departed to a deserted place in the boat by themselves.
But the multitudes saw them departing, and many knew Him and ran there on foot from all the cities. They arrived before them and came together to Him. And Jesus, when He came out, saw a great multitude and was moved with compassion for them, because they were like sheep not having a shepherd. So He began to teach them many things. When the day was now far spent, His disciples came to Him and said, “This is a deserted place, and already the hour is late. Send them away, that they may go into the surrounding country and villages and buy themselves bread; for they have nothing to eat.”
But He answered and said to them, “You give them something to eat.”
And they said to Him, “Shall we go and buy two hundred denarii worth of bread and give them something to eat?”
But He said to them, “How many loaves do you have? Go and see.”
And when they found out they said, “Five, and two fish.”
Then He commanded them to make them all sit down in groups on the green grass. So they sat down in ranks, in hundreds and in fifties. And when He had taken the five loaves and the two fish, He looked up to heaven, blessed and broke the loaves, and gave them to His disciples to set before them; and the two fish He divided among them all. So they all ate and were filled. And they took up twelve baskets full of fragments and of the fish. Now those who had eaten the loaves were about five thousand men.
Invitation to the Impossible
Have you ever had a time when you felt intimidated by what you believed that Jesus was asking you to do? This is a big part of the story of the feeding of the 5,000. In the only one of Jesus’s miracles to be recorded in all four Gospels, He gives an instruction to his disciples to do the impossible.
To make sure that we understand the significance of what happened that day, it is important to realize the context of the story. Immediately preceding the story of this miraculous feeding, we find the account of the death of John the Baptist. Remember how important John the Baptist was to Jesus.
First of all, this was His cousin. John had leapt in the womb when Mary came to visit his mother while she was pregnant with Jesus. John also played a historic, prophetically significant role in preparing the way for the ministry of Jesus. Not only did he baptize Jesus, but the next day he pointed his disciples to Him. We know that one of those disciples was Andrew, who became one of the twelve.
We also know that at the beginning of the story, the disciples were giving Jesus an update about what they had done, and what they had been teaching. Jesus responds by inviting them to Come aside and rest for a while. In the midst of the crowds that were gathering around Him, Jesus was making space for His friends to get away to a quiet place to recharge.
That must’ve been an incredible moment. They had heard Jesus call for those who are weary and worn out to come and find rest in Him, but this was something a bit more tangible. This was Jesus, in the middle of ministry, calling those who He loved to come get away and just be with Him.
But sometimes plans change. Mark tells us that the multitudes saw them leaving and began to run to the place that they were going. In fact, we even see that they out ran the boat and were there waiting on the other side when Jesus and the disciples arrived.
When Jesus got out of the boat, He saw the crowds, and the Bible tells us that seeing them moved His heart of compassion. And so He began to minister to them, teaching them many things. I wonder what the disciples felt like, when the retreat got canceled in order for Jesus to do what he saw his father doing, and minister to the multitudes.
We don’t know exactly what they thought, or know they felt, but we do know that at some point in time they came to Jesus and said, we’re in the middle of nowhere and it’s late. Send the crowds away so they can go find something to eat.
Maybe they were moved with compassion for the people, and they were just trying to make sure that the crowds didn’t faint from hunger. Maybe they were tired and hungry and just wanted to be left alone. Whatever their motivation, Jesus took this moment as an opportunity to release another invitation to them. But He answered and said to them, “You give them something to eat.”
I can just see the disciples, looking at each other, and then at the crowd, and then back to Jesus. What was He thinking? Didn’t He see the 5000 men and all of their families that needed to be fed?
The disciples knew that there was absolutely nothing that they could do to take care of the needs of all these people, in this deserted place. Why would Jesus ask them to feed all of these people? I truly believe that Jesus was maximizing the moment when they realized their limitations, to put on display the miraculous power of His kingdom. In the middle of what must have been overwhelming for His friends, He invited them to become a participant in the impossible.
Back to my original question, has Jesus ever invited you into a situation that felt impossible? I’m sure that He probably has, because that’s His nature. He’s looking for moments where we understand our own limitations, to show us that He has none. He even says that His strength is perfected in our weakness, if we have the courage to humble ourselves and welcome His grace.
What do you do in the midst of those moments? I know for me, far too often I find myself following the pattern of the disciples. I try to find some earthly way for me to accomplish what I already know that I can’t do. It’s not that I haven’t seen God do the impossible before, it just always makes me uncomfortable to be in a place where I am dependent on what I cannot control.
But God is relentless in His mercy. Just because I stumble in trying to live a life full of faith, doesn’t mean that He gives up on me, or moves away from me. No, He continues to engage my heart and invite me to be a participant in His divine nature. We shouldn’t be surprised when this happens to us, because that’s exactly what He did with His disciples that day on the crowded shores.
And they said to Him, “Shall we go and buy 200 denarii worth of bread and give them something to eat?”
But He said to them, “How many loaves do you have? Go and see.”
And when they found out they said, “Five, and two fish.”
I love the way that Jesus responds to the disciples here. When their best idea was to find a bakery in the middle of a deserted place, and spend a fortune on bread, Jesus invites them back to the impossible. He asks them to find out what food was already there. Go and see.
Then, when the disciples came back with the answer, He made them a part of the miracle. Yes, He blessed the loaves and broke them, but notice what He did next. He gave them to His disciples, and they fed the people. I think this is a beautiful reflection of the heart of Jesus to equip, empower and involve those who He was waking with.
Yesterday, today, and forever – Jesus remains the same. He is still in the business of inviting us live an impossible lifestyle. And He still pursues us, even when we fumble and stumble in our faith, desiring to co-labor with us to see the good news of His kingdom spread on the earth today.
I pray that the next time that you are faced with the impossible, you would remember the kindness of Jesus to make us a part of what He is doing. I pray that your heart would be filled with courage to give Him what you have in the moments were what you have is not enough. He is really good at multiplying and going above and beyond what we can do. And finally, I pray but you would always have hope in the moments where you feel like there’s not enough, He is able to do exceedingly and abundantly beyond what you can ask or think. Blessings!
