Late in the afternoon his disciples came to him and said, “This is a remote place, and it’s already getting late. Send the crowds away so they can go to the nearby farms and villages and buy something to eat.”
But Jesus said, “You feed them.”
“With what?” they asked. “We’d have to work for months to earn enough money to buy food for all these people!”
“How much bread do you have?” he asked. “Go and find out.”
They came back and reported, “We have five loaves of bread and two fish.” Then Jesus told the disciples to have the people sit down in groups on the green grass. So they sat down in groups of fifty or a hundred. Jesus took the five loaves and two fish, looked up toward heaven, and blessed them.
Then, breaking the loaves into pieces, he kept giving the bread to the disciples so they could distribute it to the people. He also divided the fish for everyone to share. They all ate as much as they wanted, and afterward, the disciples picked up twelve baskets of leftover bread and fish. A total of 5,000 men and their families were fed from those loaves!
Mark 6:35-41 NLT
Has God ever done the impossible in your life? Has He done the proverbial Made a Way Where There was No Way? Has He ever used you to do or say something that you know - beyond the shadow of a doubt - that it was all God because it was beyond your ability or even your comprehension? It defies all logic. Well, He's not done yet.
Mark 6 is an amazing chapter. At the beginning of it, Jesus heads to His hometown, begins teaching in the synagogue in such a way that the people exclaim, Where did he get all this wisdom and the power to perform such miracles? And only moments later, they reject Him because they can't see or believe through eyes of faith... but He wasn't done. He took it to village after village, teaching, healing.
He launched His disciples, sending them out on purpose without provision, and yet their needs were met and they accomplished what He sent them to do. When they returned, they were stoked! But He wasn't done.
Also in this chapter, we learn of John the Baptist's beheading - a tragic, horrible murder. It had already happened; Jesus knew about it, but it didn't stop Him because He wasn't done. Jesus wanted to take the boys and get away for a little while, but the crowds wouldn't stop, and because He had/has such great compassion, He stopped for them.
Then we come to our Promise text for today. The disciples - those He hand-picked - presume to tell Christ how to best care for the people. They present their most logical, well thought-out plan, but obviously, Jesus wasn't done yet.
You feed them, but the best they could come up with was logic.
We’d have to work for months to earn enough money to buy food for all these people!
Jesus doesn't fly by the seat of His pants. He doesn't get by by the skin of His teeth. He's not a fly-by-night operation. When will we realize that God has the plan? He's had it from the beginning. Even when there doesn't seem to be any way at all - the odds are too much against us. We can't feed them! What do you think the disciples were thinking? "There's over 5,000 men here, plus their families..." "Sure, I'll see if anyone brought anything..." "Here, 5 loaves and a couple of fish. What are You gonna do with that?" "There's no way to feed all these people - that's not enough for just us, let alone all of them." "I don't know what You're thinking..."
“With what?” they asked. “We’d have to work for months to earn enough money to buy food for all these people!”
“How much bread do you have?” he asked. “Go and find out.”
They came back and reported, “We have five loaves of bread and two fish.” Then Jesus told the disciples to have the people sit down in groups on the green grass. So they sat down in groups of fifty or a hundred. Jesus took the five loaves and two fish, looked up toward heaven, and blessed them.
Then, breaking the loaves into pieces, he kept giving the bread to the disciples so they could distribute it to the people. He also divided the fish for everyone to share. They all ate as much as they wanted, and afterward, the disciples picked up twelve baskets of leftover bread and fish. A total of 5,000 men and their families were fed from those loaves!
Mark 6:35-41 NLT
Has God ever done the impossible in your life? Has He done the proverbial Made a Way Where There was No Way? Has He ever used you to do or say something that you know - beyond the shadow of a doubt - that it was all God because it was beyond your ability or even your comprehension? It defies all logic. Well, He's not done yet.
Mark 6 is an amazing chapter. At the beginning of it, Jesus heads to His hometown, begins teaching in the synagogue in such a way that the people exclaim, Where did he get all this wisdom and the power to perform such miracles? And only moments later, they reject Him because they can't see or believe through eyes of faith... but He wasn't done. He took it to village after village, teaching, healing.
He launched His disciples, sending them out on purpose without provision, and yet their needs were met and they accomplished what He sent them to do. When they returned, they were stoked! But He wasn't done.
Also in this chapter, we learn of John the Baptist's beheading - a tragic, horrible murder. It had already happened; Jesus knew about it, but it didn't stop Him because He wasn't done. Jesus wanted to take the boys and get away for a little while, but the crowds wouldn't stop, and because He had/has such great compassion, He stopped for them.
Then we come to our Promise text for today. The disciples - those He hand-picked - presume to tell Christ how to best care for the people. They present their most logical, well thought-out plan, but obviously, Jesus wasn't done yet.
You feed them, but the best they could come up with was logic.
We’d have to work for months to earn enough money to buy food for all these people!
Jesus doesn't fly by the seat of His pants. He doesn't get by by the skin of His teeth. He's not a fly-by-night operation. When will we realize that God has the plan? He's had it from the beginning. Even when there doesn't seem to be any way at all - the odds are too much against us. We can't feed them! What do you think the disciples were thinking? "There's over 5,000 men here, plus their families..." "Sure, I'll see if anyone brought anything..." "Here, 5 loaves and a couple of fish. What are You gonna do with that?" "There's no way to feed all these people - that's not enough for just us, let alone all of them." "I don't know what You're thinking..."
He took it, blessed it and broke it. And with those little bits of broken pieces, He fed the multitudes until everyone had as much as they wanted. It was the first All-You-Can-Eat buffet... But He wasn't done. Scripture tells us, and afterward, the disciples picked up twelve baskets of leftover bread and fish.
Recap: He told them to feed the people. They replied logically, 'We can't'. He showed them how it's done. And when He was done, they picked up 12 baskets of leftover bread and fish.
Recap: He told them to feed the people. They replied logically, 'We can't'. He showed them how it's done. And when He was done, they picked up 12 baskets of leftover bread and fish.
Hmmm... how many disciples were there?
You get the picture...
I was gonna end there, but I hear the ones making the statement about Judas Iscariot... He didn't hang around too much longer after this, so, I guess that leaves one basket. Any takers? We're not done...
Prayer:
Father,
You get the picture...
I was gonna end there, but I hear the ones making the statement about Judas Iscariot... He didn't hang around too much longer after this, so, I guess that leaves one basket. Any takers? We're not done...
Prayer:
Father,
Thank You for the ability to think and reason. Forgive us when we use it to try to explain away Your sovereignty and majesty. Help us to realize and KNOW that whatever You've called us to do, wherever You've called us to be, You've made the provision. Let the measure of faith You have given us always override what we can see so that we can DO what You've told us to do. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen
