Jesus Feeds the 5,000 Mark 6:30-44

As we get started this morning, go ahead and turn in your copies of God’s Word, to the Gospel According to Mark 6:30-44. We will read these verses a little later.

Chapter 6 of Mark has been kind of a whirlwind. It began with Jesus and His disciples heading to Jesus hometown of Nazareth. As had always been Jesus custom, on the sabbath they all headed to the synagogue. It had probably been close to 2 years since Jesus was last there, and that time ended with the people leading Jesus out to a cliff on the outskirts of town, wanting to throw Him off to His death. Miraculously, He was able to pass right through the crowd to His safety. On this occasion, like the last occasion, His message was not received well, they just couldn’t get past that He had the same education as they did, was raised in a less than stellar home, had a humble profession and upbringing, in their eye, He was no different than they were. Somehow, they ignored the clear truth that He was from God. His unparalleled wisdom and ability to teach from the Holy Scriptures like no one they had ever heard before, and the stories that had been told of the miracles He had performed in other parts of Galilee, could have only have happened by One Who had the very Hand of God on His life. They ignored those truths and, as a result, He left there, never to return again.

After this, He changed His whole mode of doing ministry, when He sent out the 12, giving them the ability to do the miraculous, including the raising of the dead, and sent them to teach the Holy Scriptures with authority. They moved from a watch and learn mentality, to a Go and Do mentality. His ministry was now being multiplied.

Sandwiched in the middle of their missionary journey, we witnessed, through the pages of Scripture, the beheading of John the Baptist. Then, upon their return, they hopped into a boat for a time to rest and share with Jesus all they had done and taught.

This morning, we move to the climatic capstone of Jesus time of ministry in the Galilean Region, a miracle only topped by the resurrection. In fact, outside of the resurrection, this is the only miracle that is mentioned in all 4 Gospel accounts!

With this as an introduction, let’s read from Mark 6:30-44: Next Slide

Mark 6:30–44 ESV

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 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.

To begin with, in this morning’s passage we see: Next Slide

The Miraculous Always Begins With the Impossible.

There are several indicators in this passage that the disciples were being faced with an impossible situation. Next Slide

They were in a desolate place. Vs. 31.

In looking at verse 31 we see they were in a desolate place, the closest small town was Bethsaida, which was a tiny little village. This was where Peter, Andrew, Nathanael and Philip were raised as children. It was a small enough village that as Peter and Andrew aged, they moved their families and fishing business to Capernaum, because even in Biblical times, it was all about Location, Location, Location. We do not know the exactly where Bethsaida is, but most believe this was the location:

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Area Map

We see in verse 30 that upon the disciples return from their short term mission trip, after giving Jesus a report of all God had done through them as well as all of what they taught, Jesus encouraged them all to go away, to a place far from the crowds, for a time of rest. Together they climbed aboard a boat and began to row not far from the shoreline of the Sea of Galilee. It was close enough that we find out in verse 33 that the crowd could see them the whole time.

That brings us to the next indicator that this was an impossible situation:

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b. The growing multitude. Vs. 44; Mt. 14:21; Luke 9:14; John 6:10

Not only could they see them, they also began to follow them along the shoreline, and as they followed them through the countryside, as well as through other towns and villages, the crowd size began to grow. When a crowd of this size literally runs on the edge of the shore, it’s hard to miss. Most likely as they ran, people asked where they were going, and when they heard that they were chasing down Jesus, well needless to say, more and more people joined in the chase. Finally, Jesus and the disciples rowed the 4 miles across that part of the Sea, while the people ran the 8 miles. When Jesus and the disciples rowed into the shore, a huge crowd met them. By the way, I mentioned a moment ago that the crowd was following Jesus, truthfully, by now, it wasn’t just Jesus that they were following, it was also the 12. As a result of the way God moved and worked through them while they were away on their mission trip, their fame had also spread. Between Jesus and His disciples, this was the peek of His earthly ministry.

In Matthew’s account of this event, he is more specific as to the size of the crowd. While the other three Gospels only mention the number of men present, Matthew, you know-the former tax collector, adds that there was also women and children. This puts the likely number of the crowd somewhere between 15-25,000.

This brings us to the next indicator of the impossibility of this situation:

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c. The lack of funds. Vs. 37; John 6:7

Based on what we read in verse 37, it appears the disciples had about 8 months wages for one man on hand. That amount wouldn’t even scratch the surface of what would be needed to satisfy the appetites of 15-25,000 people. On top of that, there really wasn’t any place around where they could purchase enough food even if they had the required funds.

Jesus next question was, “Well then how much food do you have?”

Which brings us to the next indicator of the impossibility of this situation:

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d. The available food. Vs. 38; Mt. 14:17; Lk. 9:13; Jn. 6:9

Andrew, you remember Andrew don’t you? Andrew was Peter’s brother, and it seems like Andrew was constantly bringing people to Jesus. At any rate, Andrew brought a boy to Jesus, who had a sack lunch on hand. In that sack lunch there was 5 small barley loaves and 2 fish. There are a few things we need to know about this lunch. 1st, the fact that Scripture specifies these were barley loaves leads us to believe this boy came from a poor family. Barley was an inferior grain, used most frequently by poor families. 2nd, we picture in our mind this boy had a full size loaf of bread. Like what we might pick up at the store. These loaves were actually about the size of an English Muffin. 3rd, the fish were likely about the size of a sardine. This was truly a boys lunch.

That was it! This was all the food that was available to them!

Truly, this was an impossible situation, and impossible situations are perfect opportunities for God to do the miraculous! Which, as we read earlier this morning, is exactly what took place.

This brings us to this morning’s action points. This is where the rubber hits the road for us, the place where we look to apply the passage to our lives today. Next Slide

Action Points:

Start where you are. Vs. 34-35; Mt. 14:14-15; Lk. 9:12

So, where did the disciples find themselves? They found themselves on the edge of the lake with a huge crowd of people, who were like sheep without a shepherd, and they were standing there with Jesus Christ right beside them. They were faced with a tremendous opportunity. I love the characteristic we see in Jesus here. We read in verse 34 that “He had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd.” In looking at the disciples at this point, we don’t get the impression that they were moved with compassion, or if they were, it was limited compassion, because they wanted to send the crowd away. However, they must have noticed compassion on the face of Jesus, because 2 of the 4 Gospel accounts mention His compassion. By the way, in reading through these accounts, His compassion had nothing to do with their physical hunger and everything to do with their spiritual needs. He met their physical needs knowing that some may be moved to look to Him to meet their spiritual hunger.

The good news for us is, we don’t have to go to the shores of the Sea of Galilee to be used of God. Like the disciples that day, we just need to “Start where we are.” For you, this may be the production line at the factory. It may be in the break room at your office, or the halls of your school. It may take place as you are sitting in the stands watching your child or grandchild playing sports. Or in the auditorium at a play or concert. It may take place in the parking lot at the store, or over the fence while talking to your neighbor. The point is, start right where the Lord has placed you, and it could be that the catalyst that opens the door to sharing good news with them is meeting a physical need. Do so with a glad and joyful heart.

Action point #2: Next Slide

b. Use what you have. Vs. 38 & 41; Mt. 14:17 & 19, Lk. 9:13 & 16; Jn. 6:9 & 11

As we think through this, let’s not forget what was going on with the disciples here. They had just returned from an exhausting missions trip. Upon returning they found out about the death of John the Baptist, and by the way, don’t forget that many of Jesus disciples followed John before they began to follow Jesus. So, here they are, tired, heartbroken, we find out in verse 30 that they hadn’t even taken the time to eat themselves, and Jesus says to them, “You give them something to eat.” So, why am I pointing this out this morning? Because on top of having next to nothing in the way of food, they also had next to nothing as far as a physical reserve. Yet here they are, being called on by Jesus to meet the needs of the people.

Can I be honest with you for a moment? Pam and I have been in circumstances like this on many occasions. Tired, worn out, at the end of our rope physically and spiritually, yet we get the sense that Jesus is saying to us, “You give them something to eat.” In our minds we’ve wanted to shout “No”! No, Jesus.....I have nothing left to give!” But on those occasions where we have answered His call anyways, we have experienced His Spirit move in and infuse us with power we didn’t even know we had. And then watched as he has taken what we have, our measly loves and fish, and accomplished a mighty work, a work we would have never witnessed had said no.

As I look out over this congregation this morning, I see a whole lot of people who, by to the worlds standards, have almost nothing to give. Yet, I believe, God is speaking to everyone present this morning, speaking with a heart of compassion, because He knows that many He has placed before you, are like sheep without a shepherd. And He is speaking to your heart at this very moment saying; “You give them something to eat.” The challenge for you today is to reach inside that torn lunch sack you have and take out your loaves and fish and turn them over to Jesus.

And that brings us to the next action point this morning: Next Slide

c. Do what you can. Vs. 41-42; Mt. 14:18-20; Lk. 9:14-16; Jn. 6:10-13

For the disciples there that evening, they couldn’t do a whole lot. But they sat the people down, broke them into groups of 50 and 100. They couldn’t do a lot, but they took the abilities God had given them and began to do the work God had called them to do. Maybe you’re here this morning thinking; “Pastor Jim, I can’t do much…I don’t have a lot of abilities, I can’t do what you do.” Can I challenge you, look over this morning passage....what exactly did the disciples do? Really, they did very little. They split the crowd into groups and then distributed the food. That was it, but that was enough. So, they Started where they were, Used what they had, and Did what they could. But I got to be honest with you, it wasn’t enough....it wasn’t enough....until they placed it into the Hands of Jesus. Which brings us to the last action point this morning; Next Slide

d. Jesus is the Multiplier. Vs. 41-43; Mt. 14:18-21; Lk. 9:16-17; Jn. 6:11-13

You know, you and I, we are like the disciples that were there that day. If we try to do this on our own, we will fail miserably. There is no way we can succeed. What God has called each one of us to do for Him, and please don’t miss this, if you have come to the point where you have placed your faith and trust in Him, He has called you to serve Him beyond your ability. Let me say this again, He has called you to serve beyond your ability. But just like the disciples there that day, He is right there beside you, reaching towards you with compassionate Hands, waiting for you to take your time, treasure and abilities, and place them into His Hands. That He might multiply them and accomplish the miraculous. And yes, He still accomplishes the miraculous! But the reason why the vast majority of those that call themselves followers of Jesus, have never witnessed the miraculous, is they haven’t taken their time, treasure, and abilities and placed them into the Hands of the Multiplier.

I want to close out this morning with a video. So many believers today, look at an account like the one we studied this morning and think, Pastor Jim, that was then. Things like this don’t happen anymore. The video we are going to watch is from a good friend of Pam and me. Her name is Stacey McCully. Stacey and her husband Rob followed the lead of the disciples and saw Jesus move in as the multiplier.

Show video.

Can I make a promise to you this morning? God wants to do the miraculous through you. The only thing that is stopping this from happening is, you have yet to Start where you are, Use what you have, and Do what you can, so that He can take those things and multiply them in ways you never dreamed were possible. I challenge you to surrender completely to Jesus, that you might witness what the disciples did that day, God accomplishing the miraculous through your surrendered life, the loaves and fish you place into His Hands.

Let’s pray.