Mark 6:30-44 "The Lesson of the Loaves and Fish"

Good Morning Calvary Chapel Lake City!

Please keep praying for the Lord’s willing regarding our offer on the church. We should know by mid-Oct… may His will be done.

Exciting times to see what He wants to do!

Please open your Bible to Mark 6. Mark 6:30-44 today.

We left off where…

Jesus had sent his Twelve disciples out on a Short-Term missions trip to preach repentance, cast out demons, and heal the sick.

And, then, our gospel writer, Mark, broke from his typical non-detailed, quick-paced… action shot style of writing… and recorded the most detailed Gospel account of the Beheading of John the Baptist.

Which I found to be a very somber message being that the end of the greatest of the OT prophets was met in tragedy.

John did the right thing to call out the illegal union of Herod and Herodias… he called sin sin… and he paid the ultimate price for it.

One lesson from last week is to remember the boldness of John, sometimes when you call out someone who is in the wrong, they become bitter and seek revenge. Even if you are right and they are wrong. Pride is at the center of many sins. But, that didn’t stop John, and we can all learn a lesson about boldness from John.

A second lesson is to do the right thing early. If Herod would have not imprisoned John, or set him free… he would never have been backed into a corner when pressured in front of his peers to give John’s head to Salome for Herodias…

And, he still could have done the right thing and said, “NO” to Salome… but he did not… and he would be exceedingly sorry… and a guilty conscience seems to plague Herod… because God gave us all a conscience… and an ability to know right from wrong.

Today, we exit this parenthetical on John… and pick up where the disciples return from their short-term mission trip.

And, then we come to the famous “Feeding of the 5,000”… which is in all Four Gospels, so evidently it’s a very important lesson for us from God.

There are only 2 miracles recorded in ALL Four Gospels… this miracle today… and the Resurrection.

It amazes me how… as we teach through the Bible chapter-by-chapter and verse-by-verse that there are moments in our church life that so perfectly line up with the lessons and accounts we see in scripture.

It’s no accident that God has for us this lesson today, as we look at stepping out in faith as a church body to put an offer on a church… as we put our loaves and fish… the limited resources we have into the hands of Jesus… the only one who can work the miracle of multiplication.

Our sermon title today is “The Lesson of the Loaves and Fish. ”

Let’s Pray!

Mark 6:30–31 “Then the apostles gathered to Jesus and told Him all things, both what they had done and what they had taught. 31 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.”

V30 marks a transition in Jesus’ ministry that is easy to miss…

V30 mark the beginning of Jesus Third and Final Year of Ministry.

Jesus’ First Year / Year and a Half of Ministry has been called, “The Year of Preparation”

To which Mark dedicates 2 chapters… Chapters 1 & 2…

His Second Year of Ministry, “The Year of Popularity” is where Jesus’ fame boomed.

To which Mark dedicates just under 4 chapters…

Jesus’ Third, and final, Year of Ministry, “The Year of Opposition” is where tensions mount.

The Gospel of Mark has 16 chapters… and most of the final 10 chapters are dedicated to Jesus’ final year… and especially His final week of ministry.

This final stretch of Jesus’ ministry was obviously important to the Holy Spirit to impress upon Mark for his audience in Rome of the importance of faithfulness to mission despite opposition.

When the Twelve Apostles… the Twelve “Sent Ones” return from the Short-Term mission trip… here in V30…

Naturally they return back to the One who sent them and give a report.

A report of “what they had done”… the miracles… where they stayed… who they discipled and encouraged… and probably their methodology as well.

And, they reported “what they had taught...”

James 3:1 warns “My brethren, let not many of you become teachers, knowing that we shall receive a stricter judgment.”

If Jesus sensed error in what they did or what they taught… by them reporting back to Him… he now had an opportunity to correct the error… and encourage that which they did well.

And, these disciples were good students. Because they were open to receive from Jesus.

Even when Jesus had to rebuke them… and not always gently…

Peter was out of line and Jesus rebuked him saying, “Get behind Me, Satan! For you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men.” (Mk 8:33)

I remember sitting with a group of guys with our Filipino Pastor oversight… Pastor Jo… and one time he started our accountability and discipleship meeting talking about how Americans are often arrogant.

And, I thought, “Well this is going to be a fun meeting.” But, he was right.

So often American missionaries come with their better ways and their better ideas… and look down upon…

Humility was one of the lessons God was teaching me in the Philippines… and I didn’t always do it right.

If you want to be a good student, you will need a lesson in humility.

The disciples received Jesus’ lessons… and did not walk away in pride.

Paul was another one who modeled well for us reporting back to church about ministry work…

When Paul completed his first missions trip, we read in Acts 14:27 “Now when they [Paul and Barnabas] had come and gathered the church together [at Antioch], they reported all that God had done with them, and that He had opened the door of faith to the Gentiles.”

The word “report” in that verse means “to bring back word.”

Upon completion of his 2nd missions trip… Paul again went back to Antioch (his launch point… his sending church if you will).

This was a common practice… and still is today. It’s so important to report… to bring back word of the good work that God is doing.

In one sense, this is because a good report encourages other believers…

This is one of the reasons we assemble with other believers… to exhort one another as Heb 3:13 and 10:25 instructs.

Reporting about what is happening with life and ministry also keeps us accountable…

The disciples were accountable to Jesus… Paul was accountable to the church in Antioch… there’s oversight.

It’s important that we are accountable one believer to another… just like how Jesus sent these disciples out “Two-by-Two”… accountable on the horizontal plane is important and healthy.

But, Jesus and Paul also demonstrate accountability on the vertical…

The Twelve reporting back directly to Jesus… and Paul reporting back to the Church in Antioch… AND to the Jerusalem council for that matter.

It was NEVER just the Twelve being bros to one another… doing their own thing… forgetting the establishment…

That’s called rebellion.

Here at Calvary Chapel we have a structure of both horizontal and vertical accountability.

Here within our church body, I stay transparent with our body… and I report to our Elders about the work God is doing… how He is leading…

And, I talk with our State Pastor (Dave Kosobuski) and Regional Pastor (Roger Ullman). I even talk to the Illinois State Pastor (Phil Ballmaier). I also talk with MY Pastor- Dan Sexton… and non-Calvary Chapel Pastors.

Pro 11:14 “Where there is no counsel, the people fall; But in the multitude of counselors there is safety.”

Pro 15:22 “Without counsel, plans go awry, But in the multitude of counselors they are established.”

The Biblical Model is that we are NOT to go it alone.

There should be some sort of “Two-by-Two” … possibly a small group… and a larger assembly of the church the ĕkklēsia- the church congregation or assembly.

If you are struggling in this area where you do not have wise counsel… someone whom you can be real with…

I would like to start meeting in a group with those of you who want to be accountable and seek wisdom from a multitude of counselors.

More to come on that, but let me know if you are feeling led in that area.

In V31… Jesus also lays down another spiritual principal… Rest.

In Mark we read how there were so many people coming and going that they didn’t even have time to eat… that’s busy.

No time to grab some bagels and lox… or some Gefilte fish.

As soon as someones needs were met and they left… another person arrived…

And, they were just giving and giving and giving…

Amy Carmichael, who was a Christian Missionary to India said, “I would rather burn out than rust out.”

And, while I’m inclined to agree… Jesus shows us a better way…

We don’t have to live in the extremes of burning out OR rusting out… there’s somewhere in between… and I think Jesus puts this on display here as He instruct the disciples to remove themselves from the masses…

… to go to a deserted or secluded place… and rest a while…

Jesus wanted His guys to get refreshed… to take an intermission from labor.

And, so He takes them aside to a solitary place… Luke tells us… ‘near the city of Bethsaida’ on the North Shore of the Sea of Galilee… East of Capernaum…

And, there are times… when a day to rest is healthy.

I’m not sure, but I wonder had Jesus not instructed rest… would the disciples have taken this time?

Some people are not very good at rest… some people are a little too good at rest… but, for these disciples, I get the sense they were hard workers, and I’m not sure they had an “off” button.

If this is you… note the disciples had someone in their life… namely Jesus… who had a pulse on their lives and encouraged them to ‘hit the pause button.’

And, while Mark highlights the multitudes and tremendous busyness as being the catalyst for the disciples needing rest…

Matthew tells us even prior to this, Jesus got alone by Himself. But, it wasn’t because of the multitudes.

Jesus sought a time of solitude when He heard the news of the death of John the Baptist. His cousin… His forerunner.

There are many reasons why rest is permitted… and knowing your thresholds… your hot buttons… the things that drain you… it’s important to be self aware… what burns you out may just be unique to you.

For Jesus… the news of John’s death… this was a time for Him to pause, to grieve, and to get re-centered.

I don’t imagine Jesus took a month off… I think He just needed a day.

And, I don’t imagine Jesus went down to the beach and laid on a blanket to soak in the rays…

Not that there is anything wrong with vacation, but what is being modeled here is ‘biblical rest.’

Vacations are great… I love vacations, but sometimes you need a vacation from the vacation.

They’re so packed with fun… they’re exhausting.

What Jesus models is biblical rest… getting recharged as a Spiritual Discipline…

We see several examples of Jesus doing this in scripture… and notice the constant besides solitude…

In Matt 14:23 Jesus “… sent the multitudes away… [and] went up on the mountain by Himself to pray.”

In Luke 9:18 Jesus was “…alone praying...”

In Jn 6:15… right after the feeding of the 5,000, Jesus perceived the multitude were about to come and take Him by force to make Him king… so “He departed again to the mountain by Himself alone.” Mark tells us “to pray.”

Jesus modeled getting alone with God and he coupled it with prayer.

There is value in fellowship with other Christians… and there is value in time to fellowship with God alone.

A time to be with Him… without distraction… praying to Him… waiting for Him to respond in His still small voice…

In Matt 6:6 Jesus taught, “But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.”

And, I don’t know about you, but I find the same to be true in relation to getting alone with God to read His word… I love those moments when words jump off the page and minister to my soul… when words I’ve read a hundred times appear new… when I find those nuggets I overlooked.

A.W. Tozer… in reflecting on the idea of “Getting Alone With God” wrote “There are certain things that you and I will never learn when others are present.”

If you’re not already in practice of the spiritual discipline of solitude with God… try it out this week… and every week for the rest of your life.

There’s no good excuse to overlook this discipline.

Well… VSS 30 & 31… quite a few lessons for us there. At this pace… we dismiss just in time for dinner…

Continuing on… the disciples intend to obey Jesus and find solitude…

But the plan’s NOT going to work out… let’s see why…

Mark 6:32-34 “So they departed to a deserted place in the boat by themselves. [Do we need a boat for ministry? Jesus had a boat… seems biblical] 33 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. 34 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.”

Can you imagine this scene? This disciples had just returned from their mission trip… they debriefed with Jesus… no doubt they hear the news of John the Baptist’s death… and so many people are coming and going that they don’t even have time to eat.

The words of Jesus “Come aside by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while.”… must have been like water to their weary souls…

And, so they get into the boat… they are by themselves… sailing to an isolated place… just them and Jesus… following Him in obedience…

But since the Sea of Galilee is not that big… the multitudes saw them depart and could watch their every move… and they follow them…

And, this was no small crowd… V44 states “there were about five thousand men.”

Plus wives… plus children… what was the grand total? 10,000 easily, but this could have been 15-20k people.

To their chagrin… their place of solitude… their deserted place becomes just the opposite.

The people had no respect for boundaries…

And, the disciples who labored… who were heavy laden… they would not enjoy their rest.

Let’s observe the disciples response to having their plans disrupted…

How would you respond in this situation? Would you be a little cranky? A bit irritated? Would you cry from exhaustion and the disappointment of your rest being robbed from you?

Would you be able to serve with joy? Some of us might put on our game face… force a smile and serve anyhow… but we would be boiling inside.

NOT JESUS THOUGH… V34 says, when Jesus went ashore and saw this great multitude… hundreds… maybe over a thousand people… He “… was moved with compassion for them, because they were like sheep not having a shepherd.”

He was deeply moved emotionally for them… He had pity on them…

Compassion means “to be moved in the inward parts. -or- to have the bowels yearn.”

The Gk root word relates to the spleen… or other inward parts…

The intestines… in the OT… were thought of as the seat of emotion.

Today, we think of the heart as the seat of emotion…

Here’s a good example… Song of Solomon 5:4 in the NKJV reads “My beloved put his hand By the latch of the door, And my heart yearned for him.”

Same verse… but, in King James… “My beloved put in his hand by the hole of the door, And my bowels were moved for him.”

Same idea… and… yet not…

That seemed like a pretty romantic scene until her bowels moved.

And, that’s why we have a New King James…

So, Jesus saw this great multitude… and He was greatly moved… He felt great compassion for them…

Why? Because they were like sheep not having a shepherd…

Sheep without a shepherd would be lost out in the wilderness… away from safety…

Subject to attack from grievous wolves.

Potentially malnourished… with no shepherd to guide them to pasture.

This area… near Bethsaida was a highly Jewish area… they were in Israel… and the Shepherds were supposed to be the priests… the Levites… the Pharisees… and the scribes.

But Jesus looked out and he saw that all these people… they were not being Shepherded.

They had the same OT we have… and yet… they were sheep without shepherds.

What happened is they lost the intent of the Scripture… as they added layers of traditions and rules… and dead rituals… and now the people only had religion, but their hearts were far from God.

In Matthew 23, Jesus laid down probably the thickest condemnation against the scribes and Pharisees…

Beginning with Matt 23:13 “But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you shut up the kingdom of heaven against men; for you neither go in yourselves, nor do you allow those who are entering to go in.”

They shut the door of the Kingdom of Heaven in people’s faces… they themselves wouldn’t enter… nor would they allow others to go in.

7x Jesus would proclaim “Woe to you”… 7x… this was a complete rebuke.

He called them “blind guides, fools, and hypocrites.”

They had the Temple… they had synagogues… they had the Law and the Prophets… but they built so many rules and regulations… and layer that kept the people from coming to God…

That when Jesus finally came… the religious leaders did not receive Him…

And, the people had not been led well.

You can live in a town with a thousand churches… you can adhere to all the religious rites and rote prayers and church attendance…

But what is this without a relationship with the true and living God?

Jesus looked out at the people and He saw they were starving spiritually… they had religious men in robes, but no true shepherds…

And, so what does He do? The end of V34 says, “So He began to teach them many things.”

First order of business… Jesus is going to feed them spiritually through the teaching of the word.

There’s a lot of areas where our church can grow… and it will, but let it never be said that we lost sight of this one thing…

“teaching many things.” Teaching the Scriptures… and why?

Because Jesus said, John 5:39 “You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me.”

We don’t search the scriptures to gain eternal life.

We search the Scriptures… because they testify of Jesus, and in Him we have eternal life.

And, so we “teach many things”…

Verse-by-verse from Genesis to Revelation…

Paul declared Acts 20:27 “For I have not shunned to declare to you the whole counsel of God.”

When we finish the Gospel of Mark, next we will teach through Romans… and we’re NOT going to start in Romans 2 just because Romans 1 so clearly lays out that homosexuality is sin.

Which… I’m not sure if you know, BUT that’s not a real popular message today.

But, we’re going to “teach you many things”… true things… things of God… no matter the climate of the world.

Because there’s only one true north. Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” (Jn 14:6)

One truth… the truth… we teach many things about Him.

A very appropriate Psalm in relation to these shepherd-less people… whom Jesus seats in the green grass in V39… whom He feeds…

Is Ps 23… let me read just VSS 1-3… “The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. 2 He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters. 3 He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness For His name’s sake.”

That’s what Jesus is going to do for these people on whom He had compassion…

And, if you need Him to do that for you as well… He will… just cry out to Him.

He desires to lead you to still waters… to restore your soul… to make you righteous before God.

And, that was His heart of compassion for this great multitude of people…

And, at the same time… Jesus is teaching His disciples a lesson…

A lesson about heart attitudes, because I’m sure theirs was not a heart of compassion…

A lesson about the nature of God, because love was not what they were feeling at the moment…

And, another lesson in dealing with interruptions. Remember how Jairus’ faith was strengthened because Jesus permitted the woman who bled 12 years to be healed?

Jesus is going to teach His disciples that being frustrated at an interruption… when the interruption is people… is not acceptable…

Jesus doesn’t see people as an inconvenience, but the disciples do in this moment…

They came for rest… and were greeted with another crowd… so many needy people… and they just want them gone…

Mark 6:35-37 “When the day was now far spent, [Jesus taught them late into the night… what a great model] His disciples came to Him and said, “This is a deserted place, and already the hour is late. 36 Send them away, that they may go into the surrounding country and villages and buy themselves bread; for they have nothing to eat.” 37 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?”

The day was far spent… it was late… and the disciples recognize they were in a deserted place… a secluded place… the place where they were supposed to rest…

So they plead to Jesus, “make them go away…”

Besides, the people were out of food… and it was late… so logic would dictate that Jesus should stop teaching… stop nourishing them spiritually, so they can fill their bellies and catch some shut eye…

The disciples must have determined Jesus was too spiritually minded that He was no earthly good…

He’s lost touch with the physical needs of the masses…

So, the disciples get a little bold here, but not in a good way.

The words “Send them away...” are an imperative… a command…

Have you ever commanded God? Is that how it works?

Do you know what it’s called if you do?

It’s called a “Lordship issue.”

He’s the Master and we’re the servants, and servants don’t command the Master… they submit to His will… at least they are supposed to… and when they don’t it’s called “rebellion.”

And, that doesn’t work out too well. Just ask Jonah.

I’d be careful trying to go your own way without God… it leads to dry seasons… striving in the flesh… and some tough lessons.

There were a couple years of my life that I learned these lessons back in 2008-2010.

I came out of that season learning to wait on the Lord, and to let Him lead my life.

Even if the disciples were just suggesting to send the multitude away to buy food… does the God of the Universe really need our suggestions or our council?

I fully DO NOT expect to enter heaven and be greeted with the words, “Transparenti… it’s a good thing you’re here… we’re in such a pickle and really need your big brain and advice.”

That’s not gonna happen. God’s got it.

And, we see this play out with the multitude… the disciples and Jesus see the same exact problem… the people have nothing to eat…

But their solutions are just the opposite…

The Disciples command Jesus “Send them away...”

And Jesus commands back, “You give them something to eat.” Matthew adds Jesus also said, “They do not need to go away."

Two very different perceptions and solutions to the same situation…

And, so often God is going to lead us to see things the way He sees them. And, He’s going to test the disciples in this.

That’s evident when you read John 6:5-6 “He said to Philip, “Where shall we buy bread, that these may eat?” 6 But this He said to test him, for He Himself knew what He would do.”

And, He does this so we look to Him.

Because so often when a mountain of a problem… an impossible situation pops up in our life… we try to tackle the problem with our limited intelligence… and limited strategies… and limited strategies.

Instead of looking to… and crying out to the One who owns the cattle on a thousand hills… who’s arm is NOT too short.

And, when we rely on our own resources… instead of Him… we lose our peace… we get overwhelmed… we come up short…

Just like when the disciples were in the storm a few days earlier… they rowed their hearts out, but didn’t look to the Guy in the back of the boat sleeping.

And all this is about to unfold in the lives of the disciples… look at their immediate response to Jesus’ impossible command, “You give them something to eat” in V37…

Phillip counts their money… they have 200 denarii… 200 days wages for a laborer.

According to ZipRecruiter, the average hourly wage is $18.58 in Indiana.

Which is just under $30,000 dollars for 200 days worth of wages.

So, Phillip breaks out the calculator… his Abacus… and does the math… he makes a spreadsheet… and John 6:7 records, “Philip answered Him, “Two hundred denarii worth of bread is not sufficient for them, that every one of them may have a little.”

The disciples look at their own resources and realize they are lacking.

“Our solution won’t work… why even try?”

“This feels too big God… the numbers don’t add up!”

I can’t think of anything in our church life RIGHT NOW that’s relevant to this lesson today.

If you think of something… you let me know.

I’m so proud of our Elders and Linda… that while they did their due diligence to be wise stewards… they didn’t forget the God factor.

But, the disciples did… And, Jesus is about to teach them the lesson of the loaves and fish…

To NOT focus on what you don’t have, but to focus on what little you do have and to put what little you can offer into the hands of the One who can multiply.

Jesus is going to demonstrate the miracle of divine multiplication.

It’s the lesson that breaks our calculators… that defies our spreadsheets… it’s the God factor…

Mark 6:38-44 “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.” 39 Then He commanded them to make them all sit down in groups on the green grass. [John records “there was much grass in the place” and John also tells us “Passover… was near”… which is in our April… so this was Springtime… ] 40 So they sat down in ranks, in hundreds and in fifties. 41 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. 42 So they all ate and were filled. 43 And they took up twelve baskets full of fragments and of the fish. 44 Now those who had eaten the loaves were about five thousand men.”

By their own resources… the disciples knew feeding the great multitude of people was an impossible situation.

And, their heart attitudes are to send them away.

The disciples hearts were hardened. They are willing to obey, but their hearts are by def. “petrified or calloused.”

Mark 6:52 confirms this “For they had not understood about the loaves, because their heart was hardened.”

The disciples are in a place of coming to understanding… but in the moment, they are struggling… and they are a bit spiritually dull…

They will continue to struggle… next week… when we observe Jesus walking on water before them… they don’t recognize Him on the water…

And, marvelous is the love and patience of God… in how in both of these accounts that despite their lack of faith and lack of spiritual perception, Jesus still leads them to a deeper place of understanding who He is.

The Good Shepherd… leading them to still waters and green pasture.

And, He is still doing the same with His disciples today. You and I… revealing more and more of Himself… and He will continue that work for ages to come. It will be glorious.

The disciples don’t understand what Jesus is doing… they don’t see a solution to feeding so many…

But, Jesus presses in… What do you have? What can you give? Jesus says, “Go and see.”

And, praise God… even though they did not understand what he would do… even though their hearts were hard… they still obeyed.

Faith and obedience calls us to follow even when we can’t figure out how God will move.

So, they obeyed… and went to see what little they could offer…

We read in John 6:8-9 “One of His disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said to Him, 9 “There is a lad here who has five barley loaves and two small fish, but what are they among so many?”

Andrew’s questioning here seems reasonable. What is five loaves and two fish for 15,000 some people?

This is a laughable solution. But, God doesn’t call us to logic… He calls us to faith.

To trust in HIm… IN HIM… NOT IN OUR LOAVES AND FISH.

What is the object of our faith? Our riches? Or the true and living God?

Pro 11:28 reads, “He who trusts in his riches will fall, But the righteous will flourish like foliage.”

Andrew is not seen doing many things in scripture, but he did this well… He brought people to Jesus…

He brought Peter to Jesus… this boy to Jesus… He brought certain Greeks to Jesus…

Bringing people to Jesus… there’s no better ministry.

The boy doesn’t 5 of those 6-foot long sub loafs of bread, but 5 barley loaves… kind of like a small round loaf of artisan bread… and two small fish- presumably salted and dried by def.

Hey… and thank God for Mom’s… little did she know when she faithfully packed her son’s lunch that morning… that it would be used in the hands of the living God to feed so many.

Mom’s and Dad’s… God uses your routine faithfulness… even the things that seem small and mundane… he can use that… be encouraged in this season of raising kids!

Jesus takes the five loaves and two fish and in V39 He commands order… for them to sit down in orderly groups.

Jesus would not have this become a mob scene like when the food truck pulls up to a refugee camp…

In the context of practicing spiritual gifts, Paul also instructs doing so orderly… “For God is not the author of confusion but of peace” (1 Cor 14:33)…

Paul also said, “Let all things be done decently and in order” (1 Cor 14:40)…

So, certainly that applies to our practice of spiritual gifts, but I believe there is a greater application as well… seen by how Jesus handles this multitude…

He has them sit down in groups of 50 and groups of 100.

And, I selfishly praise God that He is a God of order… because I really struggle with chaos… it overwhelms me… my brain freezes… chaos is a bit paralyzing to me…

So, I really appreciate this scene…

And then, Jesus took the loaves and fish… V41 “looked up to heaven, blessed and broke the loaves”…

I imagine this as one of those moments where time stands still.

Jesus lifts His eyes to heaven… the incarnate Son in communion with the Father in heaven…

John tells us “…when He had given thanks He distributed them to the disciples...”

Jesus doesn’t panic… or focus on the impossible mountain of people… or focus on His limited resources…

He gives thanks for the little they have… He looks to heaven… He blesses what they do have… and divides it to distribute it freely… open-handed with so little… He doesn’t hoard it…

And, with this faith… He moves the mountain…

And, then in V41, He includes the Disciples in His work. He “… blessed and broke the loaves, and gave them to His disciples to set before them...”

John says, “He distributed them to the disciples, and the disciples to those sitting down...”

So often God will do only that which He can do… the miracle.

But, He calls and includes us to do our part… to serve… to be a part of the work He is doing.

And, what a scene… the disciples have twelve baskets of bread and fish that are bottomless… they begin distributing the food to thousands of people…

They are beyond exhausted… they came to rest… they don’t fully comprehend… their hearts are hardened…

Yet they serve. I can’t imagine there wasn’t a bit of joy and amazement… obviously this was of the most significant and impactful of miracles to the Disciples… for all four Gospel writers to include it.

And, the people eat… V42… “until they were filled.”

“Filled” by def. means “to gorge, to satisfy.”

This had to be the best barley loaves and fish they ever tasted.

So fresh that they keep coming back for more. The Bread of Life… multiplying the loaves and fish.

He fed them spiritually on the word of God… and now He cares for their physical needs. He cares for both, and He is still faithful today.

And, He did not forget about His own. In V43, the disciples gather the fragments… the broken pieces… twelve baskets remained for Twelve disciples.

Nothing was wasted… and exactly the right amount was provided.

No one left that day hungry.

Some 15,000 people ate on this day! And, this would impact the disciples, and the people who who partook.

John 6:14 ends this account with, “Then those men, when they had seen the sign that Jesus did, said, “This is truly the Prophet who is to come into the world.”

He was leading them all to a deeper place of understanding who He was.

And, the lesson of the loaves and fish is this…

When difficult… even impossible situations arise… look to the One who makes the impossible possible.

Jesus… the One who can take what little we have, bless it… and multiply it.

Let me close with this… Pro 3:5-6 reads “Trust in the LORD with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; 6 In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths.”

Let’s pray and take communion remembering our Lord and Redeemer.

1 Cor 11:23-29 “...the Lord Jesus on the same night in which He was betrayed took bread; 24 and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, “Take, eat; this is My body which is broken for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” 25 In the same manner He also took the cup after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.” 26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death till He comes. 27 Therefore whoever eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. 28 But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup. 29 For he who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body.”

Please distribute the elements...

Communion is a time for us to look three directions…

We look back remembering Jesus’ sacrifice… His broken body and shed blood for the remission of our sins.

His new covenant. Salvation by faith and in grace.

Look forward in hope of His imminent return… we proclaim the Lord’s death till He comes. He is coming.

And, looking inward to examine yourself…and take communion in a worthy manner.

Time to do business with God.

Once you have prayed… take the communion elements individually.

Our worship team will play one worship song, and then close us in prayer.

----------------------------------------------

If you have never accepted Jesus as Lord...

...either let the cup pass and do not partake in communion -or- the better option...

...accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior today.

Pray to God and tell Him you believe in Jesus and accept Him as your Lord and Savior, and ask for forgiveness.

...then take communion. And, be sure to let us know. Salvation is something to celebrate!

------------------------------------------------