You Give Them Something to Eat

Mark 6:30-44

Key Verse 6:37a

But he answered, “You give them something to eat.”

1.  V. 30 calls the disciples, ‘apostles’ and it indicates that their mission journeys were

quite successful. Who were the apostles? (Mark 3:16-19) What made them so successful?

What can we learn from Jesus who helped them to work so powerfully for his redemptive

purpose?

These apostles were successful because of their attitude toward Jesus.  They were very ordinary people.  Three basic points to consider in why they were successful in their mission journey are: They made a commitment to following Jesus, they learned to have faith in Jesus, and they followed Jesus instructions.(vs. 8-11)

Everyone has weakness, whether physical, social, spiritual etc.  It doesn’t matter if you are rich or poor.  In Jesus, we can be trained to feed the flock of God.  This applies to anyone who receives God’s calling.  Just think of Abraham in Gen. 12:2-4, or Apostle Peter, or Apostle Mark, or the Prophet Isaiah when he received God’s calling.  The list is limitless.  Yet, so many just stop because of their weakness.  They say they can’t do it, but this is not so.  

2. Consider what Jesus said to his disciples in v. 31. Why did he say that? What do

Jesus’ words in v. 31b tell us about: 1) Jesus; and 2) the way for a man to find real rest? (Matthew 11:28-29)

Vs. 31 says, “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."

The disciples were filled with adrenalin, their eyes were shining.  They had so many amazing tales to tell of preaching the word of God, healing the sick, driving out demons, and performing miracles.  Each one wanted to be first to tell Jesus of their experiences.  

Yet, when Jesus looked through their excitement and enthusiasm, he could see that they were hungry, and tired.  Although they did have a place to stay, and their host did feed them maybe as well as they liked, their accommodations may have not even measured up to that of a Motel 6. (Ignore last statement.)

a) What this tells us about Jesus is that he knows what we need better than we do.

b). The way to have true rest is in Jesus.  We need spiritual rest as well as physical rest.  In Jesus we can have both.  

Just think about our last Bible Conferences.  We could eat the word of God through Daily Bread, go to group Bible Studies, hear messages, testimonies, symposiums, dramas, etc. We could also take in the Conference Olympics, and at meal times seconds were always available.  

Complete spiritual and physical rest is what Jesus wanted to provide for his disciples.

In Jesus we can have this true rest.

As the disciples all got into the boat with Jesus, they must’ve relaxed a bit, and let out sighs of relief.  Maybe they thought, “Ah, now we can have some good fellowship with Jesus.”  

3.  Vs. 32-34 indicates that the way Jesus sees and helps men is quite different from the way we normally do. Had Jesus come today and seen the people of this nation, young ones in particular, how do you think Jesus would have diagnosed their problems? What would Jesus have done for them? What prayer topics or direction does this passage show us in serving the people of this generation?

When the boat got closer to the shore, the disciples started to get a bad feeling in their stomachs.  They had hoped maybe to see a quaint little beach front, maybe with some pieces of drift wood, maybe some trees where they could recline in the shade, while Jesus taught them about the kingdom of God.  Instead, the beach was filled with about 5,000 people.  

While the disciples wanted to tell the people to go away and leave them alone, Jesus didn’t do that.  In vs. 34 it says, “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”

Jesus didn’t see these people as burdensome.  Jesus saw these people as having needs.  Jesus saw these people as people who needed shepherds who would help them go to the kingdom of God.  Yet, none of the spiritual leaders would help them.  So as it says, Jesus began teaching them many things.

I didn’t get the exact time the disciples met with Jesus after their mission journey, though this information is surely there.  It could’ve been early in the morning; they took a boat ride, and then the rest of the morning possibly and afternoon Jesus taught the people the word of God.  The whole time, the disciples probably just watched, and listened, and pretended to be as patient as possible while Jesus compassionately taught the people the word of God.

4. Vs. 35-37a describes disparity between the disciples' approach and Jesus' approach.

The disciples' suggestion seems reasonable, whereas Jesus' demand unreasonable. Why

then do you think Jesus said to them, "You give them something to eat?" What

repentance topics can we find in Jesus' rebuke? 

Probably as the sun started to be eclipsed by distant trees or hills, the disciples realized that Jesus teaching has gone on too long.  So they went to Jesus with a reasonable suggestion.

The disciples’ suggestion looked reasonable. The people were hungry, but they were also hungry. They had endured enough of Jesus teaching and compassion. After all they were supposed to go with Jesus to a quiet place and get some rest. Yet, this wasn’t resting.

Yet, they didn’t want to tell Jesus this. Instead they came up with a suggestion that looked reasonable, and even showed some compassion toward the people that were all there. After all, they did need to eat and the disciples didn’t have enough to feed them. 

Yet, Jesus replied, “You give them something to eat”. When the disciples heard this they were shocked. How could they feed all these people? They didn’t even have any food for themselves.

Yet, Jesus words to them were very clear.  “You give them something to eat”

People are for the most part incapable of taking care of themselves, let alone taking care of others. Also to help this group of people, was also an opportunity to raise up spiritual leaders who have been trained to feed the needy. This was an excellent opportunity.

Also since God created us in God’s image, the only way for one to be totally beneficial to others, is through faith in God. 

Probably two of the most important aspects that Jesus was helping his disciples overcome, is their 

(1) self seeking attitude. For most people, whether trying to be a disciple of Jesus or not.

(2) We need to overcome our human limitations, and develop a sense or responsibility.

5.  Vs. 37b-38 show us another difference between the disciples' approach and Jesus' approach in meeting the challenge. How are they different? Why is Jesus' approach better? 

After Jesus suggestion, they calculated in vs. 37b. They said to him, “That would take eight months of a man’s wages. Are we to go and spend that much on bread and give it to them to eat?” 

When you look at other passage, you can see that it was Phillip that said this. He was a smart guy with a good mind for math. He could take a brief glance at the crowd of people, and he had a good idea of how much it would take to feed the people. They key point about calculating, is that it always yields a negative. You basically calculate to conclude that you can’t do it.

In vs. 38, I think it was Jesus who asked, “How many loaves do you have?” “Go and see” This direction helps us to at least look and see what you have, even if you are convinced you have nothing. When you do this by faith, you can find a solution. Again looking at another gospel you can see that it was Andrew, who had the faith to just go and see. When it looked like there was nothing, he at least just went looked. What did he find? He found a young boy who had a lunch consisting of five loaves and two fish. It was very little, but it was something. Then once he found something, the next thing he did, was he brought it to Jesus.

So in an impossible looking situation, by faith, go and see what you can find. Then when you find something, through prayer, take it to Jesus. Based on the passage, and the same incident in references passage, this seems to be what was done.

6.  What do the following expressions in vs. 39-40 teach us in meeting Jesus' challenge to feed a hungry crowd? 1) Have them sit down; and 2) in groups.

Jesus wanted to feed the people, and he was going to do it by a miracle. Yet, Jesus didn’t want his disciples just to watch, but he wanted them to learn the faith to feed the crowds

To have the crowd just sit down is one thing. But to have 5,000 people sit down in groups of 50 and 100 on the grass, requires a certain amount of order and organization. From cross reference passages, I think the groups were to be groups of fifties and hundreds. So this crowd of 5,000 was broken down into a range of approximately 50 to 75 groups of either 50 or a 100 people. This required the disciples to work together, and also receive cooperation from the people. Through having them do this, Jesus helped to plant faith in the heart of the disciples. 

7.  Consider the way Jesus came up with enough food for the crowd in vs. 41-44. What

do the following teach us about the way to feed the crowd of people? 

1)  "Taking the five loaves and the two fish"; 

We need to bring what we can find to Jesus, and God will use what we have.

2)  "looking up to heaven he gave thanks; 

This shows the importance of looking to God for help, but also with many thanks, believing and thanking God in advance for what we are asking for.

3)  "broke the loaves...and divided the two fish among them all"; 

The spirit of sharing is important to filling not just our needs, but the needs of others.  Also when people are able to share, no matter how small, real paradise comes out of this.  Hell arises when people just cling on to what they have.  

4)  "he gave them to his disciples to set before the people";

Jesus wanted to use his disciples as channels for God’s blessing to flow to the people.  This is a constant aspect of God’s plan which we see even beginning in the Garden of Eden before Adam and Eve sinned.  You can see how the four rivers separated and flowed from the Garden to the four corners of the earth spreading God’s blessing.  Of course we also can see this in Abraham, and how God called him to make him into a blessing for all peoples on earth, which happened through Jesus Christ.

5)  "they all ate and were satisfied"; and 

God wants us to be satisfied in what we need, but more importantly God wants his servants to be satisfied through our service to the Lord.

6)  "the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces of bread and fish." 

This shows that God is the God of abundance.  Also even the leftovers of God’s blessing are important, and should not be wasted.  Just think how many people can be fed by 12 basketfuls of broken pieces of bread and fish.