Bring Jesus What You Have (Mark 6:30–44)

CPT: Jesus invited the disciples to participate in his ministry and provided all that they needed.

Purpose: To encourage the church to have faith in the sufficiency of Christ to do the work of ministry.

CPS: Bring Jesus what you have because he is all that you need.

Introduction

Attention

These last few weeks have been some of the toughest weeks in my time so far as a pastor. Over the past year, we’ve been through a lot together. We’ve been through a time of transition. We’ve seen some faces we love go, and we’ve seen some new faces we love join.

But these last few weeks, they’ve been tough. As I’ve been working to get things in line, its been emotional.

But you know what’s really struck me? I planned out the Gospel of Mark at the beginning of the year. Started mapping out the verses. I’ve just been preaching whatever is next in the book. But these last few weeks, its like the Lord planned these out. Everything has been spot on!

It’s not like I’m going through the Bible and trying to find things to say. The Lord is preaching through his word. God’s word is a light to our path. And today, the Lord says, “Bring me what you have, because I am all that you need.”

As I was preparing this message, I remember an incident that happened in 2011 as my wife and I were moving from New York to San Diego. We were driving across the country, and I don’t remember where we were, but we were in the South somewhere.

We pulled up to the gas station, got some gas. I went inside the store, went to the restroom, then got out of the store and back in the car. As I was driving out of the gas station, I decided to stop off at a nearby drive thru. Wasn’t a ton hungry, but wanted something.

So I pulled up to the drive thru, order what I wanted over the speaker, and then pulled up to the window. She tells me how much it is, and I go to look for my wallet. Where’s my wallet? My wallet was missing. I apologized and left.

All of a sudden, panic. I’m out here in the middle of nowhere, and everything we had to get us across the country was in that wallet. I had decided to carry cash, and in my wallet was all the cash we had.

So I head back to the gas station, kind of worried. I went up to the gas station attendant and asked, “Did anyone turn in a wallet?” The attendant sort of shrugged and said, “No.” But right behind me on line, a guy tapped me on the shoulder. “Can you describe the wallet?” I start to describe the wallet, and out of his pocket he pulls out my wallet with all of our cash inside. I thanked him, and he didn’t want any reward. Got back in the car, and left.

Now, I’m not a mathematician. But what were the probabilities? What was the likelihood that I would get out of the gas station, and then not drive for miles, because I had been traveling for miles every day. But I would decide to go to a nearby drive thru, even though I wasn’t that hungry. Then I would find out that I didn’t have my wallet on time, then go back to the gas station. Then, I would walk into the store, and instead of wandering around the store, maybe go back in the restroom, trying to find my wallet, I would go right up to the counter where the guy who found the wallet would be right behind me?

In that moment, it was sort of a reminder from God that said, “Why are you afraid? Why are you worried? I am on the journey with you. I am calling you out here, and I will not leave you. My provision is always on time. I am all that you need.”

We will be in the Gospel of Mark today chapter 6, starting in verse 30. It’s a story that you may be familiar with, but for us today in the Word of God, it is right on time. Mark 6:30-44.

Scripture Reading

Mark 6:30–44 CSB

30 The apostles gathered around Jesus and reported to him all that they had done and taught. 31 He said to them, “Come away by yourselves to a remote place and rest for a while.” For many people were coming and going, and they did not even have time to eat. 32 So they went away in the boat by themselves to a remote place, 33 but many saw them leaving and recognized them, and they ran on foot from all the towns and arrived ahead of them. 34 When he went ashore, he saw a large crowd and had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. Then he began to teach them many things. 35 When it grew late, his disciples approached him and said, “This place is deserted, and it is already late. 36 Send them away so that they can go into the surrounding countryside and villages to buy themselves something to eat.” 37 “You give them something to eat,” he responded. They said to him, “Should we go and buy two hundred denarii worth of bread and give them something to eat?” 38 He asked them, “How many loaves do you have? Go and see.” When they found out they said, “Five, and two fish.” 39 Then he instructed 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 He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, he blessed and broke the loaves. He kept giving them to his disciples to set before the people. He also divided the two fish among them all. 42 Everyone ate and was satisfied. 43 They picked up twelve baskets full of pieces of bread and fish. 44 Now those who had eaten the loaves were five thousand men.

Pray

We are in the text of the feeding of the five thousand. This is a famous text, one of the few miracles that are repeated in all four Gospels. It was obviously a miracle that stood out to each Gospel writer.

It’s like each Gospel writer, as they were thinking about the ministry of Jesus, each one said, “Definitely need to include that. Remember that time when Jesus fed the five thousand?” You could picture them as they reminisce.

I picture the disciples sitting together somewhere in Jerusalem, after Jesus had resurrected and ascended into heaven. They would have conversations together. You could picture them saying to each other, “Do you remember when Jesus fed thousands of people?” It was thousands. The five thousand were just the men, and that’s not including the woman and children.

There was a sea of humanity. “And what did we tell the Lord? Lord, send them away. We don’t have the supplies for this. We don’t have the provision. We’re tired. Lord, we have a list of all the reasons why this won’t work, why this can’t go on.” And the Lord turns to them and says, “Don’t tell me what you don’t have. Tell me what you do have. Give me what you have, and watch me work.”

These verses in Mark 6:37-38:

Mark 6:37–38 CSB

37 “You give them something to eat,” he responded. They said to him, “Should we go and buy two hundred denarii worth of bread and give them something to eat?” 38 He asked them, “How many loaves do you have? Go and see.” When they found out they said, “Five, and two fish.”

The Lord says, “You give them something to eat.” And in verse 38, “How much do you have? How many loaves do you have? Go and see.”

There are three things that we can learn from these Scriptures that teaches us to bring Jesus what we have.

First,

Bring Jesus what you have because he is faithful to lead his people.

It starts off in Mark 6:30

Mark 6:30 CSB

30 The apostles gathered around Jesus and reported to him all that they had done and taught.

The disciples are just coming back from being sent out. They’re explaining everything that happened. This is a continuation from the beginning of the chapter in Mark 6, where Jesus sends out the twelve and gives them instructions. It says in Mark 6:7-9:

Mark 6:7–9 CSB

7 He summoned the Twelve and began to send them out in pairs and gave them authority over unclean spirits. 8 He instructed them to take nothing for the road except a staff—no bread, no traveling bag, no money in their belts, 9 but to wear sandals and not put on an extra shirt.

Jesus sends them out and says, “Don’t bring too much with you. Don’t go down to the Jerusalem Walmart. Leave Walmart alone. Leave Target alone. You’ve got enough. We’re going to be minimalists.”

“Don’t bring extra things with you. Leave the traveling bag. Leave the shoes. Leave the extra shirt. In fact, all these plans and all of these provisions, when it works out, you might think it was because of you’re careful planning. You might want to take the glory for yourself. I’m going to teach you that I have the power to be with you. I have the power to provide. Take what you have and watch me work. I am enough.”

So the disciples are now coming back to Jesus. They’ve just seen his incredible provision. They’ve seen how he’s led them. They’ve cast out demons in his name. They’ve seen miracles happen. There is power in Jesus. He’s provided everything that they needed as they went out to do the ministry work.

It’s interesting how the Lord invites us into his work. We think we have to have all of these things lined up, but the Lord takes us where we are, and shows us that he is enough.

They come back now in verses 30-31, and they’re tired. They were doing the ministry work, and they were excited seeing the power of God at work in their lives. But, do you know after you’ve had all this energy, and then you’re body sort of catches up to you and says, “We’re tired now.” They’re exhausted, and a bit hungry. So they go off to find a remote place to rest.

They head off on this boat and go up along the sea.

But the people find out that Jesus is here. They see him, and they start running along the shore. They start heading up in the same direction, and the crowds are getting bigger. It’s like they’re saying to each other, “Jesus is over there. He’s in the boat. You know, the rabbi? You need to see him too. You need to get healed, right? You need to be delivered, right? You’ve got to come see the rabbi. You’ve got to see Jesus. Come with us, too.”

Jesus looks up at the shore, and he sees a sea of humanity, a sea of people right in front of him. All kinds of different people, thousands upon thousand of people on the shore.

What does the Lord do? It says in Mark 6:34:

Mark 6:34 CSB

34 When he went ashore, he saw a large crowd and had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. Then he began to teach them many things.

Jesus had “compassion” on them. This verb “compassion” has to do with a deep feeling in your gut. It refers to coming from your inward parts or bowels. There is a strong emotional gut response, as if Jesus felt their suffering. He felt their need, and knew they needed guidance and care.

There is a desperation in the people. They’re hungry for spiritual food, and they need care. He says “they were like sheep without a shepherd.”

I don’t know if you’ve ever seen sheep. I’m not someone who knows a lot about sheep. I’m from the city, so I have to go find videos of sheep on YouTube. But sheep need guidance. They need to be led to pasture. They are looking everywhere for something to eat, and without guidance, they kind of go to any and every thing. They wander around and bump into each other looking for food, for sustenance. They need a shepherd to lead them to green pasture.

It reminds me of Twitter. I probably spend too much time on my phone, I don’t know if you can relate. But if you don’t know what Twitter is, I don’t recommend it. It’s like being in a huge party where everyone is yelling at each other. Sometimes, as I scroll through Twitter, you see some people yelling over here at something, someone else over here on this side upset about some other thing. Meanwhile, someone else is discussing something over here, while some other people are wandering about over here talking on some other thing. It’s a big mess.

They’re like sheep without a shepherd. And I see all those people, and honestly, compassion is not something I feel. I want to turn them off. But Jesus, he sees people, he sees them where they are, and he has compassion on them. He sees people hungry for something real, something genuine, a work of God. He sees people who need the guidance and nourishment of God in their life.

Now what does Jesus do? We said, Bring Jesus what you have, because he leads his people. Well, how does he do that? What’s interesting is that Jesus invites us into the ministry journey with him. He doesn’t need to, but he chooses to. He wants to use you.

God doesn’t need to use people. He can make food appear in an instant. In fact, if you were a good Jew in the first century, and you knew your Hebrew Scriptures, this miracle would immediately remind you of the miracle of manna. In Exodus 16, the Israelites under Moses were wandering around the desert, in a remote place, and they were hungry. They start complaining to Moses, and the Lord provides food from heaven, something they described as manna, because they didn’t know what it was. It was a bread that God gave them to eat. He also gave them meat, bringing quail for them to eat.

If you are really good, you might also remember a miracle from Elisha in 2 Kings 4:42-44:

2 Kings 4:42–44 CSB

42 A man from Baal-shalishah came to the man of God with his sack full of twenty loaves of barley bread from the first bread of the harvest. Elisha said, “Give it to the people to eat.” 43 But Elisha’s attendant asked, “What? Am I to set this before a hundred men?” “Give it to the people to eat,” Elisha said, “for this is what the Lord says: ‘They will eat, and they will have some left over.’ ” 44 So he set it before them, and as the Lord had promised, they ate and had some left over.

So, you look at the feeding of the five thousand, and you can’t help but remember times in the Old Testament how God provided, and how he is providing again. God uses people, as he used Moses and Elisha. God says, “I am going to provide for my people, and I will do it through people. I provided through Elisha.”

Here in the feeding of the five thousand, Jesus, God in the flesh, provides for his people through the disciples.

Now, the disciples. They’re overwhelmed. They’re tired. They’ve been on this journey, and they themselves have been able to eat, as it says in verse 31. Now there are thousands of people in front of them, and the Lord wants them to feed them?

Jesus told them in Mark 6:37:

Mark 6:37 CSB

37 “You give them something to eat,” he responded. They said to him, “Should we go and buy two hundred denarii worth of bread and give them something to eat?”

“You give them something to eat.” How in the world are we going to feed all of these people? There are thousands of people here. Send them home. Send them away so they can go buy something in the surrounding villages where they can get some food. We can’t feed all of these people. That would cost two hundred denarii!

You know how much a denarii is? That’s about a day’s wages. The disciples are saying that it would take eight months of paychecks to feed all of these people. We can’t do it. It’s impossible.

But Jesus replied to them and said, “What do you have?”

I'm going to share something a little personal. I’ve been the Lead Pastor here for a little over a year. I love it, but the process hasn’t been easy. Do you know how hard it is to follow up someone who was your mentor, someone you looked up to? You can’t help but compare yourself.

I went to the Lord like, “Really? Lord, here’s my list of reasons why I can’t do this. Lord, I’m too introverted. You know me, I’ll be perfectly happy just in my house playing on the computer, or reading something. I’m not good at building relationships. I would have to be good at that. Lord, I’ve never been a Lead Pastor before, how do I even do this?”

But it was like the Lord said, “Don’t tell me why you can’t do it. Tell me what you have. You give them something to eat. What do you have?”

“Well, I like to preach.” The Lord says, “Good. Bring me what you have, and watch me work.”

We do this all the time. You have your children there and you say, “Lord, how do I even do this? My father wasn’t good, I didn’t learn from him. My mother wasn’t good, I didn’t learn from her. How do I even do this?” God says, “Bring me what you have, and watch me work. I am all that you need.”

Bring Jesus what you have, because he is faithful to lead his people.

Second,

Bring Jesus what you have because he gives beyond what we can imagine.

In Mark 6:38,

Mark 6:38 CSB

38 He asked them, “How many loaves do you have? Go and see.” When they found out they said, “Five, and two fish.”

Jesus asks them, “How many loves do you have? Go and see.” So the disciples, go and come back to him, and what did they find out? They say, “We’ve got five loaves, and two fish. That’s it. One, two.”

Picture this. I’m from New York, and in my mind I think of Times Square. If you stand in the middle of Times Square, you are just in the middle of this mass of people. There are thousands of people everywhere.

If you’ve ever been in a mass of people, you realize quickly how small and insignificant you feel in this mass of people. Here in San Diego, maybe its being at a baseball game in Petco Park, where you hope they’re rooting for the Padres.

But in the middle of thousands of people, you realize quickly, no matter how much pride you have about yourself, how much you’ve built yourself up, you’re in the middle of thousands of people and you realize, I’m just one of so many. Small.

So how are they going to feed so many people? It would take eight months of wages to feed all of these people, and you are telling us to feed them?

Look at how the Lord does this. He instructs them. Got it. Five loaves and two fish. Got it. Perfect. We have just enough. Now you’re going to watch me work. Here are the instructions: Go and tell them to sit in groups of hundreds and fifties.

It’s probably around springtime, as the grass is out. The disciples go out into the crowd, and I don’t know how long this took. But they start setting up the crowd to sit down in hundreds and fifties. “You 100 hundred guys, you sit over there. You fifty, you sit over there.” Maybe they were asking why they were sitting. “Listen, I don’t know how this is going to work out. All we gave him was five loaves and two fish. But, we’re just being obedient. There’s something special about him. I can’t comprehend how this is going to work out. I’m just doing what he told me to do.”

It says in Mark 6:41:

Mark 6:41 CSB

41 He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, he blessed and broke the loaves. He kept giving them to his disciples to set before the people. He also divided the two fish among them all.

He looks up to heaven, and blesses the provision. Then look at how this works. “He kept giving them.” He kept giving. He kept going. He didn’t stop. He didn’t get tired. He didn’t grow weary because of his compassion for the people he says, “I’m going to care for my people. He kept giving them.

The disciples have these baskets, and the bread keeps coming. There is 100 more over here, there are 50 more over here, and the bread keeps coming. It’s beyond anything the disciples could have imagined. They had reasoned that this doesn’t make sense, but the Lord kept giving.

You know, sometimes you’re driving your car, and there is this light that comes on the dashboard. It’s a yellow light with a picture of a gas tank on it. It’s not a good light. You think your car is going to die right there.

One time, I was up north of here, and my gas light went on. For some reason I think, “You know what? I don’t want to go to a gas station here. I want to go to Costco, in Chula Vista. I wonder if my car would make it? I’m going to try it.

And I’m driving, and driving for miles, staring at the light on my dashboard and the gas needle. I get closer, and hit traffic, but some part of me wants to keep going. Somehow, I made it, just in time. My car kept going and made it to Costco.

But a gas tank doesn’t compare to Jesus. There is a supply that will end in the gas tank. Things will run out around you. But Jesus has an endless supply. He keeps giving and giving and giving. God gives beyond what you can imagine.

Bring Jesus what you have, because he is faithful to lead his people.

Bring Jesus what you have, because he gives beyond what we can imagine.

Last,

Bring Jesus what you have because he takes our poverty and uses it to his glory.

Look at these last verses for today in Mark 6:43-44:

Mark 6:43–44 CSB

43 They picked up twelve baskets full of pieces of bread and fish. 44 Now those who had eaten the loaves were five thousand men.

Twelve baskets full. Jesus sends his disciples out into the crowd. There are at least twelve disciples. Each disciple can now look down in their basket and see, there was more than enough.

Jesus brings them on this journey, uses them to do the work of ministry, uses them to do a ministry that seemed impossible, and when they look down in their basket, there was more than enough. They would say, “I doubted the Lord. I doubted this would work. I doubted that he had the power to do this. I was kind of telling him what to do. But look at this basket! Wasn’t there only five loaves and two fish? But Jesus took the little that I had, that we had, and there was more than enough.”

So often we set up barriers, reasons why something won’t work. But at the end, when we look at our basket, we see that the little we had was all that we needed because Jesus is more than enough. He is all we need.

The world will always tell you that you need more. The world will tell you that you don’t have enough.

You can’t get the job because you don’t have the right degree. You get the degree, and you don’t have the experience. You get the experience, and you don’t have the right skills. The world is constantly telling you to get more qualifications.

If you look at a job description today, its crazy. You need 15 degrees and 50 years of experience, and maybe you can get an entry level job. The world says you need more degrees, more money, more experience, you need more.

We do this with Christianity. I’m not ready to serve in this area because I don’t have enough skills. I don’t have enough to give. I’m not good enough. I can’t share my faith because I don’t know enough. What if they ask me a question?

But Jesus? Jesus says, “Don’t tell me what you don’t have. Tell me what you do have.” We look at ourselves, and say, “Well, Lord, not much. I’ve got twenty dollars and some change.” The Lord says, perfect. Are you willing to follow me? Because I am all that you need.

Bring Jesus what you have, because he is all that you need.

Conclusion

Bring Jesus what you have, because he is faithful to lead his people.

Bring Jesus what you have, because he gives beyond what we can imagine.

Bring Jesus what you have, because he takes our poverty and uses it to his glory.

Conclude

Prayer

Last Song

Doxology

Numbers 6:24–26 CSB

24 “May the Lord bless you and protect you; 25 may the Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you; 26 may the Lord look with favor on you and give you peace.” ’

Jude 24–25 CSB

24 Now to him who is able to protect you from stumbling and to make you stand in the presence of his glory, without blemish and with great joy, 25 to the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, power, and authority before all time, now and forever. Amen.

You are dismissed. Have a great week in the Lord!