May 19, 2016
BRING SEAFOOD AND YOU WILL SEE FOOD
Mark 6:30–44
Lyn Hardage
Central Truth
The disciples were just being compassionate and sensible. These people need to eat! Jesus could have sent them away to eat; He could have taken away their hunger; He could have miraculously had a basket of food appear in front of each person. Why didn't He choose one of these?
Key Verse | Mark 6:36–37
"Send them away to go into the surrounding countryside and villages and buy themselves something to eat." But he answered them, "You give them something to eat." (Mark 6:36-37)
Mark 6:30–44
Jesus Feeds the Five Thousand
30 The apostles returned to Jesus and told him all that they had done and taught. 31 And he said to them, “Come away by yourselves to a desolate place and rest a while.” For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat. 32 And they went away in the boat to a desolate place by themselves. 33 Now many saw them going and recognized them, and they ran there on foot from all the towns and got there ahead of them. 34 When he went ashore he saw a great crowd, and he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. And he began to teach them many things. 35 And when it grew late, his disciples came to him and said, “This is a desolate place, and the hour is now late. 36 Send them away to go into the surrounding countryside and villages and buy themselves something to eat.” 37 But he answered them, “You give them something to eat.” And they said to him, “Shall we go and buy two hundred denarii 1 6:37 A denarius was a day's wage for a laborer worth of bread and give it to them to eat?” 38 And he said to them, “How many loaves do you have? Go and see.” And when they had found out, they said, “Five, and two fish.” 39 Then he commanded them all to sit down in groups on the green grass. 40 So they sat down in groups, by hundreds and by fifties. 41 And taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven and said a blessing and broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples to set before the people. And he divided the two fish among them all. 42 And they all ate and were satisfied. 43 And they took up twelve baskets full of broken pieces and of the fish. 44 And those who ate the loaves were five thousand men.
Dive Deeper | Mark 6:30–44
Have you ever been talking with a group and said, "Someone needs to do something about that!" Fill in the blank. It could be teenage pregnancy, homelessness, violence in schools, abortion, hunger . . . . Quite often, the next response is, "Why don't YOU do something!" Yikes! That's not what I meant. Or sometimes I pray, "Lord, please help these people that are on the street. Make them feel loved. Help them know they mean something to You."
This is similar to the scene we just read about. Yes, Jesus COULD have instantly fed 15,000 people. He COULD have made them no longer hungry. But he CHOSE to use the disciples to be the hands and feet that actually delivered the food.
First, they had to admit that, on their own, they could never do it. It would be much more than they could afford. Next, a boy had to give Jesus what he did have to be used to serve others. Then, the disciples had to obey and actually trust Jesus to use them. They took what they had and gave it to Jesus, He thanked God for this provision, and they came to Jesus to get what they needed to serve others. Also, they had to actually GO to these people to serve them. They had to interact with them. I like to imagine them saying, "This is from Jesus. He gave it to me to share with you."
We have the same opportunity today. We can come to Jesus with the need, use what we have (or the resources of another like the little boy), thank God for it, have Him direct what we should do with it, and serve others.
But sometimes we're fearful and worry about our needs in the end. What about my own kid's education? What about the chores I need to do around my own house? What about my retirement? Notice that the disciples had more than enough for their meals in the end. In fact, they picked up "twelve baskets full of broken pieces and of the fish" (Mark 6:43). Man, that's cool.
So why does He use us? I don't know. He just does. He is glorified, and we are blessed.
Discussion Questions
1. What is it you want changed or want to exclaim, "Someone needs to do something about this!"? Identifying the need is the first step.
2. What do you have that you could give to Jesus to be used to serve others? This is the time, talent, treasure principle.
3. Do you bring your time, talents, and treasures to Jesus first, or do you go it on your own? Notice the disciples came to Jesus first.
4. Who can you lock arms with to go and be among God's people and serve them? Someone may actually be waiting to be included to serve God's people.