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. And when it grew late, his disciples came to him and said, “This is a desolate place, and the hour is now late. Send them away to go into the surrounding countryside and villages and buy themselves something to eat.” Mark 6:34-36 (ESV)
Have you ever gotten really interested in something or extremely busy and forgot to eat? Suddenly, it is really late and dinner is not on the table. This just happened at our house this week. I got home later than expected from running errands. Mike had to work late. I knew I needed to put groceries away, start a load of laundry,sweep the hall, etc. Before I knew it, it was 6:30 and I couldn’t believe the kids weren’t screaming for food.
Here Jesus is. He stops on the shore to teach them. He perceives that the people need leadership. They need a shepherd.
The disciples attempt to be the voice of reason. They remind him that it is getting late and the people will have to leave so they can go get food.
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?” Mark 6:37 (ESV)
I imagine the disciples when Jesus told them to feed the people. They had to be thinking, “Are you kidding me? We don’t have that kind of money!” Typical top leader – spouting off saying we’ll just do this or that and the rest of the staff/volunteers are left to figure out how in the world to make it happen. You can almost hear the sarcasm in their voices when they ask about the 200 denarii that the bread would cost.
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.” Then he commanded them all to sit down in groups on the green grass. Mark 6:38-39 (ESV)
I can picture Jesus sighing and shaking his head. He asks the disciples to assess the situation. How much food do we have here? Only 5 loaves and 2 fish. Definitely not enough to feed a large crowd. The disciples are thinking that Jesus has come to his senses and will send the people away now.
Ummm, no.
Instead Jesus starts organizing the crowd into groups and has them settle in.
So they sat down in groups, by hundreds and by fifties. 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. And they all ate and were satisfied. Mark 6:40-42 (ESV)
Jesus takes the tiny amount of food and turns His face toward heaven. He thanks God and blesses the food.
I wonder if at this point the disciples are starting to realize that something amazing and unusual is happening here. I wonder if maybe at the prayer of Jesus, the chills started to run down their spines.
Whether they did or not, instead of arguing further, those followers are now obedient and begin to pass out the food.
The little that would not have fully satisfied the disciples alone now satisfies an entire multitude.
And they took up twelve baskets full of broken pieces and of the fish. And those who ate the loaves were five thousand men. Mark 6:43-44 (ESV)
Not just satisfies but provides an abundance. There are twelve baskets of food left over. And it wasn’t your average crowd on Sunday morning – there were five thousand men! Most scholars say this is just males and there were many women and children eating too. That is a lot of mouths to feed! And there were leftovers?!?
This is the Jesus we serve. We all have times of need in our lives. In the midst of physical or financial need, it is easy to forget this Jesus. The One who provides exceedingly, abundantly above all that we could ask or think.
We start thinking like the disciples, “How does He expect us to solve this problem?”
A sarcastic despair creeps in and rolls over us.
Jesus sighs and shakes His head. How do we not know that He is able to take what little we have and transform it into more than enough? He even gets us organized and ready to receive all He has for us. He goes above and beyond our needs so we can be a blessing to others.
What if we offered to Jesus all that we have? Imagine what He could do with it.
Even what we imagine, He has in mind so much more.
So, dream big. Even when your need is big. Jesus is so much bigger.
Action Step: Take a moment and think of an area where you have a need and give it to Jesus. Thank Him for the solution to your problem and ask God to bless you with the answers He has in mind rather than the paltry one you imagine. Then, dream a little bigger. I know I am going to do just that.
God, thank you that you have a hope and a future for us that is so much larger than all that we imagine. Help us to see that You are our Source and capable of providing even more than we need. You are incredible! In Jesus’ name, amen.