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YOU GIVE THEM SOMETHING TO EAT

Mark 6:30-44

Key Verse 6:37a

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

Introduction

Through today’s passage, Jesus demonstrated his compassion. Jesus’ feeding five thousand with five loaves and 2 fish is recorded in all four gospels. We learn something about Jesus. To his disciples, he said, “You give them something to eat”. It meant, “You should be responsible.” May God bless us to experience the power of faith by giving what we have now to Jesus. May the Lord God give us compassionate hearts for many young people who are suffering under the power of sin and death. Amen!

1. Read verses 30-34. When the apostles reported to Jesus, what did he say to them? (30-31) How did Jesus respond when he met a desperate crowd? (32-34) What can we learn here about Jesus?

1-1, Read verses 30-34.

30 The apostles gathered around Jesus and reported to him all they had done and taught. 31 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.”

32 So they went away by themselves in a boat to a solitary place. 33 But many who saw them leaving recognized them and ran on foot from all the towns and got there ahead of them. 34 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.

1-2, When the apostles reported to Jesus, what did he say to them? (30-31)

In the previous passage, the disciples had been sent out two by two for evangelistic fieldwork training and had just come back.
When the disciples did exactly as they were taught, they were very successful. They could do a great work of God and experience the power of God.
They might have felt good about themselves since they had made the big decision of faith to follow Jesus. They raised their thumbs up high.
The disciples were promoted as apostles because they were sent out on this fieldwork training, even though it was short-term missionary training.
Jesus planned a small vacation with his disciples. Jesus recognized that his disciples needed rest because they were both body and spirit.
So Jesus gave his disciples a retreat to a quiet place. Now they got into a boat and went away by themselves to a solitary place.
They were happy that Jesus gave them a vacation. They must have been happy that they could have a quiet time with their master Jesus.

1-3, How did Jesus respond when he met a desperate crowd? (32-34)

1-4, What can we learn here about Jesus?

32 So they went away by themselves in a boat to a solitary place. 33 But many who saw them leaving recognized them and ran on foot from all the towns and got there ahead of them.

Many who watched their movement carefully saw them leaving and ran on foot from all the towns to get to the other side of the lake ahead of them.
The crowd got there first before Jesus' company, and they were waiting for them. They were shameless senseless demanding people.
They screwed up Jesus' retreat plan with his disciples. They came to Jesus for his help, as individuals, each with personal problems.
They came to Jesus without an appointment. Because of these crowd of the people, the retreat was automatically canceled.

34 When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd.

Instead of thinking that they were annoying people, Jesus had compassion on them because they were like sheep without a shepherd.

Humanly speaking, they were uninvited guests--not just two or three, but over five thousand. They were too demanding.
But Jesus did not turn them down. Jesus did not say, “Please come back later.” Jesus saw them as sheep without a shepherd.
Jesus saw their inner motives and did not judge them outwardly. It is easy to judge people before we know them personally.
Jesus as a good shepherd who knew the crowds one by one and had compassion on them. Jesus took the problems of the crowds as his own problem.
How can we have compassion for others when we have our own problems? It is possible only when we have God’s heart.
People are selfish naturally. They think of themselves only. But we must overcome our selfishness and have compassion for many students who are suffering under the power of the devil.
It is not easy to welcome someone who messed up our schedule. But Jesus welcomed the crowd. Jesus welcomes anybody, anytime. He is available 24x7.
Jesus saw them with God's eyes. To Jesus, they were all precious children of God who needed his help.
They had many problems. But to Jesus, they were pitiful because they were like sheep without a shepherd.
Sheep is “a timid defenseless creature,” for sheep is a near-sighted and dumbest animal in the world. Without a shepherd? They can go astray immediately.
They can be attacked by wild animals. They can lose direction. Sheep are sheep. Sheep have no sense of direction.
They needed shepherds who would guide them to the green pastures and still waters. They needed shepherds who would protect them from many wolves.
As long as sheep have their shepherds, they are blessed and happy. Having a shepherd or not having one makes a big difference in our life.
King Herod beheaded a righteous man John the Baptist to please a young girl and his dinner guests. He abused his leadership position as a king.
In such a way, people must have been harassed and distressed by false shepherds. So Jesus was eager to help them by any means.
His heart ran out for them. He was filled with compassion for them. He had compassion on them because they were like sheep without shepherds.
Jesus welcomed them as a Good Shepherd. Jesus came into this world to lay down his life for his sheep.

So he began teaching them many things.

How did Jesus help them? He did not solve their financial problem first. He did not solve their marriage problem first. He did not solve their school problem first.
Now Jesus helped the crowd to hear the word of life first. Jesus sowed the seed of life into their hearts so that they might have a living hope in God’s Kingdom.
Jesus taught them many things so that they could overcome their sins. Jesus was like a farmer who planted the seed of God into the heart soil of many people.
We must accept that teaching the word of God is the best way to help people because Jesus taught all kinds of people the word of God.

2. Read verses 35-40. What does the disciples’ suggestion reveal about them? (35-36) What surprising command did Jesus give them? (37a) How did they reply? (37b) How did Jesus help them to obey and participate in what He was doing? (38-40)

2-1, Read verses 35-40.

35 By this time it was late in the day, so his disciples came to him. “This is a remote place,” they said, “and it’s already very late. 36 Send the people away so that they can go to the surrounding countryside and villages and buy themselves something to eat.”

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

They said to him, “That would take more than half a year’s wages[e]! Are we to go and spend that much on bread and give it to them to eat?”

38 “How many loaves do you have?” he asked. “Go and see.”

When they found out, they said, “Five—and two fish.”

39 Then Jesus directed 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.

2-2, What does the disciples’ suggestion reveal about them? (35-36)

The disciples were waiting for Jesus to finish speaking to the crowd, but he would never stop teaching many things because of Jesus’ compassionate heart.
The Twelve came forward to Jesus and interrupted Jesus' teaching. "This is a remote place, and it's already very late. Send the people away so they can go to the surrounding countryside and villages and buy themselves something to eat."
They thought the best way to handle the situation was to dismiss the crowd so that everybody could solve his own food and lodging problems.
The situation was too big for them to handle. So to them, it was quite reasonable to say, "Send them away so that they can buy themselves something to eat."
"Send them away" is not the word of a potential leader but the word of a petty and self-centered man, or a businessman.
They were very reasonable. But they were irresponsible. They had no sense of responsibility. They did not have compassion of Jesus as spiritual leaders.

2-3, What surprising command did Jesus give them? (37a)

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

What a thunderous command! It m a big surprise to them. The disciples were men of many wows.

2-4, How did they reply? (37b)

They said to him, “That would take more than half a year’s wages[e]! Are we to go and spend that much on bread and give it to them to eat?”

So they said, "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?"
According to other synoptic gospel, it was Philip who calculated money to buy food for them to have a bite.
It was impossible for them to feed this large crowd with their empty pocket situation. Jesus knew their situation.
But in order to teach them faith that pleases God, Jesus used this opportunity to train them to have faith in God and become men of responsibility.
Through this command, Jesus teaches his disciples how to become leaders for God's flocks. We learn several things from this command.
A sense of responsibility comes when we love God. A sense of responsibility makes a man and a woman truly great.

2-5, How did Jesus help them to obey and participate in what He was doing? (38-40)

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

Through this passage, Jesus wanted his disciples to experience the power of faith. He helped them to make the most of the seemingly impossible situation.

They had basic faith. But they had never experienced the power of faith. Now was the high time for them to experience the power of faith by feeding the 5000.
Now long ago, Jesus, the Creator God, calmed the stormy sea and raised up Jairus daughter from the dead.
Everything is possible in Jesus. Their problem was that they did not look at Jesus as the mighty God. Rather, they looked at their situation and a large crowd only.
Then they gave up even before trying to do something. They did not look at Jesus' unlimited power but looked at what they did not have a year's wages.
When they were in an adverse situation they only looked at the situation, then they looked into themselves.
They did not know how to find resources in God. They said to themselves, "That's impossible." Jesus was eager to help them experience the power of faith.
To be a leader we should not limit God with our human thinking. Without experiencing the power of faith no one can be useful to God.

Instead of calculating their human situation and doing nothing, they had to move their feet and find something.
When they obeyed Jesus’ word(GO AND SEE) simply, they found five loaves and two fish which was a boy’s lunch.
When they brought, Jesus fed the five thousand. When we face impossible situations, we should not give up. We must go and see.
When we try hard, we can find many things--at least five loaves and two fish. If we humbly give what we have to God, he accepts it, whatever it is, and blesses us abundantly.

39 Then Jesus directed 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.

Then Jesus helped them to follow his instructions to organize the people to be fed soon. Jesus is the God of wisdom and the God of the organization.
Also, Jesus humbly asked them to participate in His work. It was not a one-man show. He wanted his disciples to participate in the glorious event of feeding the 5,000 people with 5 loaves and 2 fish.
Jesus did not want them to be spectators or fans. There are no spectators in God's work.
But they could at least participate in a small way by saying, "Please sit down 100 by 100 or 50 by 50." What a humble participation!

3. Read verse 41-44. How did Jesus feed the people? (41-42) What might Jesus’ disciples have learned from Jesus and His miracle? (43-44)

3-1, Read verse 41-44.

41 Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then he gave them to his disciples to distribute to the people. He also divided the two fish among them all. 42 They all ate and were satisfied, 43 and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces of bread and fish. 44 The number of the men who had eaten was five thousand.

3-2, How did Jesus feed the people? (41-42)

Jesus blessed the five loaves and two fish so abundantly that they all ate and were satisfied.
His disciples were obedient and participated in feeding the people. They were used to feed the people.

3-3, What might Jesus’ disciples have learned from Jesus and His miracle? (43-44)

43 and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces of bread and fish. 44 The number of the men who had eaten was five thousand.

There were still plenty of leftovers. God's blessing was overflowing. We must firmly believe that God blesses those who give what they have to God.
Nothing is also wasted. The disciples were asked to pick up 12 basketfuls of broken prices of bread and fish.
We must know that we can please God when we have faith in God. May the Lord increase our faith so that we may participate in His great work in our times!

Conclusion

In this passage, we learn that Jesus commands us, saying, "You give them something to eat." May the Lord God grant us a sense of responsibility for many wondering sheep on campus to feed them with God's words. Amen!

One Word: You give them something to eat!