Mark 6:30-44
The last several weeks had been very busy for Jesus and His disciples. Jesus had come to His hometown of Nazareth to preach, only to be rejected by those He grew up with. His disciples had gone out for several weeks on a preaching mission around Galilee. Then they all had to deal with the emotional blow from hearing of the arrest and execution of John the Baptist.
Running at full speed with no break is physically and emotionally exhausting. Jesus knew that they all needed a break, and He instructed the group to get away from the crowds (vs 30-32). The crowds kept following them, though, and their break quickly ended. When people come to us with needs, how do we react? At first we are probably happy to help. However if it goes on, we may get irritated, and wish they’d go away. When Jesus looked out at the people what did He see? He saw people who were like sheep without a shepherd, and He had compassion on them (vs 34).
Compassion is having sympathetic pity and concern for the sufferings and misfortunes of others. Sheep are easily scattered. Without a shepherd they are in grave danger. These people who were coming to Jesus then, as well as people today, were spiritually helpless and starving. Without Jesus Christ in one’s life, people are lacking any spiritual guidance and protection that only He can give. Without the Good Shepherd people, like sheep, wander thru life aimlessly. Without the guidance of the Holy Spirit they are exposed to the perils of sin and spiritual destruction. Jesus is the One to teach mankind what we need to know, and to keep us from straying from God.
After spending a full day teaching the crowds, and meeting their spiritual needs, the Lord sought to meet their physical needs as well. The crowd had gone all day with nothing to eat, and now it was late in the afternoon. The disciples idea was for them to all head home, and they could get food on the way (vs 35-36). Jesus had other plans. “You feed them.”, He told them. What?! There were at least 5,000 men there, and that wasn’t including any women or children! To provide enough food for a crowd that size the disciples reasoned it would take 200 denarii to provide just a small amount of food for everyone (vs 37). A denarius was a day’s wage for a laborer. 200 denarii would be about 8 months of salary. As they wondered aloud, how were they going to provide that amount of food?
Jesus then speaks another puzzling word to the Twelve. He asks them how much food they have with them. They must have wondered to themselves what good that would do. Food for twelve or thirteen when they needed to feed multiple thousands. They didn’t even have enough food for themselves, as they only had five small loaves and two fish (vs 38). The disciples still did not realize that Jesus could provide for them. They were so concerned with the immensity of the task, they did not see what was possible with God. They obeyed the Lord, and He performed one of the most well-known miracles of the Gospels (vs 39-44).
What is our response when we, as believers, are given an impossible task? It seemed impossible with human eyes, but all things are possible with God. The disciples did what they could, which was to gather together the available food, and then organize the people into groups. Prayer was then made by the Lord Jesus to the Father, and He answered by multiplying the loaves and fishes to feed the multitude. An impossible problem was answered by God performing an impossible miracle when they looked to Him for help and an answer.
That is all Jesus asks. Look to Him for help. We do what we are capable of doing, then go to Him in prayer, and He will do the rest, even if it is providing an impossible miracle.
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