THE BIBLE MEETS LIFE
Operation Christmas Child® is an event in which individuals pack shoe boxes with toys and gifts for children. In 2016, more than eleven million boxes went to kids all over the world.1
I have a friend who delivers these boxes to children. On one occasion, he was delivering to a crowd of children in Bosnia. The children had no way of knowing what was inside their boxes, opening them with joy to find coloring books, yo-yos, dolls, and more.
My friend noticed a young boy off in a corner, and asked one of the other workers about him. “He’s blind,” the worker replied. My friend was apprehensive as he approached the boy with a box, because he didn’t want this blind child to receive a coloring book and crayons!
When the boy opened his box and felt the contents inside, my friend was stunned into silence. The boy pulled out a portable CD player— the perfect gift for a child who can’t see!
Throughout His life and ministry, Jesus shows us that God knows exactly what we need—and that He provides.
WHAT DOES THE BIBLE SAY?
Mark 6:34-37
34 When he went ashore, he saw a large crowd and had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. Then he began to teach them many things.35 When it grew late, his disciples approached him and said, “This place is deserted, and it is already late. 36 Send them away so that they can go into the surrounding countryside and villages to buy themselves something to eat.” 37 “You give them something to eat,” he responded. They said to him, “Should we go and buy two hundred denarii worth of bread and give them something to eat? ”
Working in ministry can be unbelievably exhausting. R. Kent Hughes highlighted the demanding life of ministry with a poem: “Mary had a little lamb, ‘twas given her to keep. But then it joined the local church, and died for lack of sleep!”2
The disciples surely were feeling like that lamb at this point in the Gospel of Mark. Why?
- They’d been out among the people where “they drove out many demons, anointed many sick people with oil and healed them” (Mark 6:13).
- They were mourning the death of their friend and forerunner to the Messiah, John the Baptist. (See vv. 17-29.)
- Jesus’ popularity was at an all-time high, which meant the encroaching crowds were constantly swarming—constantly pressing in with more and more needs.
Where do you see evidence of
God’s compassion in the world today?
The goal was to cross the lake and rest. This was just a few miles by water, but much further by land—yet the people ran that distance and were there to meet Jesus when He landed!
Have you ever had days like that? It’s been a long day (or week!) and all you want to do is come home so you can rest and relax. Instead, you’re greeted with a mountain of problems and obstacles to overcome as soon as you pull into the driveway. So it was with the disciples: they needed rest and refreshment—a need Jesus acknowledged—but even more people with more needs were waiting for them when they got to where they were going.
Here’s a truth: Jesus is in the business of helping desperate people. He knows what our souls need. He understands how to give us the replenishment that will truly satisfy us. He was about to prove this to both the hungry crowd and the stunned disciples.
Rather than being frustrated because He and the apostles weren’t greeted with solitude, Jesus “saw a large crowd and had compassion on them.” This was a common theme with Jesus. The Gospel of Matthew records a similar moment: “When he saw the crowds, he felt compassion for them, because they were distressed and dejected, like sheep without a shepherd” (Matt. 9:36).
When Jesus looked out on those crowds, He saw more than their need for physical food; He saw their inward spiritual condition. They were following Jesus around because they wanted something He had, even if they couldn’t explain what that something was. These people were even willing to run all the way around a lake to follow Him and hear what He had to say.
Jesus sees us the same way. He knows what we need and has compassion when He sees us trying to fill our needs in other ways and places. Jesus came “to seek and to save the lost” (Luke 19:10), not to beat us over the head for getting lost in the first place. He knows all the ways we’ve been broken—and He desires to provide for us and make us whole again.
What distractions may hinder us from recognizing ministry opportunities?
Mark 6:38-44
38 He asked them, “How many loaves do you have? Go and see.” When they found out they said, “Five, and two fish.” 39 Then he instructed 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. 41 He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, he blessed and broke the loaves. He kept giving them to his disciples to set before the people. He also divided the two fish among them all. 42 Everyone ate and was satisfied. 43 They picked up twelve baskets full of pieces of bread and fish. 44 Now those who had eaten the loaves were five thousand men.
As a father of two children, my job is to provide for them in two ways: physically and spiritually. In the same way, Jesus modeled the right way to provide for people on the shore of that lake. Those in the crowd were hungry to learn from Jesus, so He fed them spiritually— “He began to teach them many things” (6:34). But the people were also just plain hungry. So Jesus provided for them physically, as well.
Sometimes it’s easy to think spiritual things are all that matter. But God created us as whole beings: spirit, soul, and body. Physical needs are important, too. As the apostle James wrote: “If a brother or sister is without clothes and lacks daily food and one of you says to them, ‘Go in peace, stay warm, and be well fed,’ but you don’t give them what the body needs, what good is it?” (Jas. 2:15-16).
How do we balance the importance of meeting physical needs and spiritual needs?
The disciples noticed the physical needs of the crowd, but their solution was purely practical: send them away so they can buy dinner. Thousands of people were in the crowd—five thousand men alone—so their solution seemed far more reasonable than what Jesus said: “You give them something to eat” (v. 37).
Jesus was calling His disciples to do the impossible; after all, it would take two hundred days’ worth of wages (see Mark 6:37; Matt. 20:2) to purchase enough food to feed such a large number—yet these twelve disciples had abandoned their jobs to follow Jesus and had no wages! The best the disciples could come up with were two dried, salted fish and five loaves of barley bread—but what they called “loaves” were more the size of dinner rolls today. That was it. Not nearly enough to get the job done.
Of course, Jesus is always enough to get the job done. Jesus “blessed and broke the loaves,” and then He distributed the food among the people—and it never ran out. “Everyone ate and was satisfied.”
Surely this miracle had an impact on the thousands gathered there, but the greatest beneficiaries should have been the twelve disciples. After all:
- Jesus led the disciples to that spot for rest.
- Jesus asked the disciples to help feed the people.
- The disciples saw every aspect of the miracle unfold.
- The disciples picked up twelve baskets of scraps—one for each of them.
Unfortunately, they missed it. Right after this event, the disciples were again crossing the lake when they were caught in a terrible storm—the same storm in which Jesus walked on water to save them. At this, the disciples “were completely astounded, because they had not understood about the loaves” (Mark 6:51-52).
Today, don’t miss the truth that Jesus is sufficient for you. Wherever Jesus has brought you, He will sustain you, for He is the only one who is able to fully provide for you—physically and spiritually.
Where do we have opportunities to participate in God’s provision for others?
LIVE IT OUT
How will you put your trust in Jesus’ care and provision this week? Consider the following suggestions:
- Communicate. Take five minutes to thank God for bringing you as far as He has, for giving you what He’s given you, and for doing what He’s done so you can have a relationship with Him.
- Count. Make a list of the ways you have seen God provide for you in the past. Then, make a list of things that you need Him to provide now. Pray over both lists each day this week.
- Care. Be a channel of God’s care and provision in the life of someone else. Find one person with big needs this week and help that person out of love for Christ and because of the way He has provided for you.
We’ve all received gifts in our lives. Some of us have received gifts that were especially meaningful or transformational. All of us have the chance to receive the life-giving, life-changing gift of a relationship with Jesus—the only One who can truly meet our needs.
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Teacher Notes
Video: A Wish at 11:11
There are many things in our life that we fail to adequately appreciate. I’m praying that the Holy Spirit would bless us with a new awareness of God’s care and provision.
Mark opens with Jesus’ ministry in Galilee: After John the Baptist is put in prison.
1. Mark 1 - Jesus Calls - His Twelve Disciples: We are told that following Jesus is a life-changing adventure, and we’re invited.
Jesus Teaches with Great Authority: He Heals a Demon Possessed Man: “I know who you are – the Holy One of God. And Jesus says, “Be Quiet! Come out of him! The people said What is this? A new teaching – and with authority! He even gives orders to evil spirits and they obey Him. News spreads quickly…
Jesus Heals Peter’s Mother-in-Law and Many More
Jesus Preaches throughout Galilee
Jesus Heals a Man with Leprosy
Jesus Heals a Paralyzed Man: 4 friends bring him to Jesus
Jesus Eats with Sinners at Matthew’s House
Jesus describes His true family
2. Mark 4 - Jesus Teaches – He tells the Parable of the Four Soils: We are told that obeying Jesus’ teachings leads to fruitful living.
Jesus tells the Parable of the Mustard Seed
3. Mark 4 - Jesus Rules - He Calms the Storm: We are told that we can trust Jesus in the storms of life. “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?”
Jesus Sends the Demons into a Herd of Pigs
4. Mark 5 - Jesus Heals – He heals a Bleeding Woman and Restores a Girl to Life: We are told that Jesus brings healing to our lives. “Don’t be afraid; just believe.”
The People of Nazareth Refuse to Believe
Jesus Sends Out the Twelve Disciples
Herod Kills John the Baptist
5. Mark 6 – Jesus Provides – We are told that Jesus cares and meets the needs in our lives.
6:30 The apostles gathered around Jesus and reported to Him all they had done and taught.
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.” So they went away by themselves in a boat to a solitary place.
Video: Feeding the Multitude
I. Jesus knows our needs and has compassion Mark 6:34-37
34 When he went ashore, he saw a large crowd and had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. Then he began to teach them many things.35 When it grew late, his disciples approached him and said, “This place is deserted, and it is already late. 36 Send them away so that they can go into the surrounding countryside and villages to buy themselves something to eat.” 37 “You give them something to eat,” he responded. They said to him, “Should we go and buy two hundred denarii worth of bread and give them something to eat? ”
How can we develop Christ-like compassion? Do we have genuine compassion for people in need?
- Jesus looks at the masses and sees people upon whom He has compassion. The teachings of Jesus are intended to meet the great needs of our lives; He is more than a philosopher or theorist. Jesus expects us to be attentive to others during their time of need. What may seem impossible to us is possible with the Lord.
Do we trust Jesus enough to obey Him even when it doesn’t make sense?
- Do we believe He’ll provide for our needs? (Matthew 6:35-34).
- Do we believe He’ll answer prayer? (Matt. 7:7-11).
We have to be balanced when we talk about trusting God. On the one hand, God expects us to be good stewards of what He has entrusted to us, so we should use our resources wisely. On the other hand, sometimes God expects us to obey Him first and trust Him to take care of the details. This was the case when Jesus commanded His disciples to give food to a huge crowd of people. He already knew what He planned to do, but He wanted to test the faith of His disciples (John 6:6). This is the only one of Jesus’ miracles, other than His resurrection, that is recorded in all four Gospels.
II. Jesus provides for all our needs Mark 6:38-44
38 He asked them, “How many loaves do you have? Go and see.” When they found out they said, “Five, and two fish.” 39 Then he instructed 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. 41 He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, he blessed and broke the loaves. He kept giving them to his disciples to set before the people. He also divided the two fish among them all. 42 Everyone ate and was satisfied. 43 They picked up twelve baskets full of pieces of bread and fish. 44 Now those who had eaten the loaves were five thousand men.
Sometimes it’s easy to think spiritual things are all that matter, but physical needs are important, too. James wrote: “If a brother or sister is without clothes and lacks daily food and one of you says to them, ‘Go in peace, stay warm, and be well fed,’ but you don’t give them what the body needs, what good is it?” (Jas. 2:15-16).
How do we balance the importance of meeting physical needs and spiritual needs?
Over the past year, how has God proven to be enough for the challenges you faced?
Susan: Wow! I shared this a year ago and can without a doubt, testify to God's faithfulness and perfect timing this past year - ALWAYS!!! - Ann Voskamp - January 11, 2017 Posted ...new day & *no fears* because fears are just the bad stories we tell ourselves. *And your Father is far bigger than your fears.* This is why "I have set the Lord always before me. Because He is at my right hand I will not be shaken" Psalm 16:8. He pulls you right close & whispers it, "Do Not Be Afraid." He knows how hard things are. And He knows how *faithful He will be.* That's why He repeats it again & again, 365 times, so we don't have need to fear any day of the year: Do Not Be Afraid. He holds every minute of this day & His grace & timing are *perfect.* You can abandon all your cares because Christ will never, ever abandon you. You can abandon your fears and abide in the safe expanse of Your Father. So, we're just going to go all out & Trust & be brave: It takes courage to listen with our whole heart to the tick of God’s timing, rather than march to the loud beat of our fears.
How does that encourage you to keep on believing that Jesus can change things in your life by providing for your every need?
We have a big God, and He promises to bless those who obey Him. When things don’t go as you expected, just trust God anyway, and show that trust by obeying Him. He may not bless you immediately, but He will bless you, and He will remind you that His promises are indeed true.
Mark 6:34-43
34 When he went ashore, he saw a large crowd and had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. Then he began to teach them many things.35 When it grew late, his disciples approached him and said, “This place is deserted, and it is already late. 36 Send them away so that they can go into the surrounding countryside and villages to buy themselves something to eat.” 37 “You give them something to eat,” he responded. They said to him, “Should we go and buy two hundred denarii worth of bread and give them something to eat? ” 38 He asked them, “How many loaves do you have? Go and see.” When they found out they said, “Five, and two fish.” 39 Then he instructed 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. 41 He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, he blessed and broke the loaves. He kept giving them to his disciples to set before the people. He also divided the two fish among them all. 42 Everyone ate and was satisfied. 43 They picked up twelve baskets full of pieces of bread and fish. 44 Now those who had eaten the loaves were five thousand men.
Jesus’ disciples had wanted to send the people away because evening was approaching and they were in a remote place (Matthew 14:15). They knew the people needed to reach surrounding villages soon to buy food, find lodging, etc., or they would likely go hungry (Mark 6:36). But Christ had a better idea: “You give them something to eat” (Matthew 14:16). At this point, the disciples should have recalled the many miracles they had seen Jesus do. Perhaps some of them did, but Andrew asked, “What are [five loaves and two fish] for so many?” (John 6:9). And Philip exclaimed, “It would take more than half a year’s wages to buy enough bread for each one to have a bite!” (verse 7). Jesus called for the bread and fish to be brought to Him (Matthew 14:18). He then gave thanks for the meal, broke the bread, and gave it to His disciples to give to the crowd. Amazingly, the entire multitude was fed with that small meal. Jesus provided “as much as they wanted” (John 6:11), and “they all ate and were satisfied” (Matthew 14:20). Christ did not just meet the need; He lavished them with so much food that there were “twelve baskets full of broken pieces and of the fish” left over (Mark 6:43).
What can we learn from Jesus’ feeding of the 5,000?
Aside from the resurrection, the story of Jesus feeding the 5,000 is the only miracle recorded in all four Gospels. Obviously, the Gospel writers considered this a significant miracle. When Christ fed the masses that day, He began with only “five barley loaves and two fish,” borrowed from a boy’s lunch (John 6:9). To feed 5,000 people with five loaves and two fish is indeed miraculous, but the Greek term used in Matthew 14:21 specifies males, and Matthew further emphasizes the point by adding, “Besides women and children.” Many Bible scholars believe the actual number fed that day could have been 15,000—20,000 people.
God will shatter the pint-sized expectations of what His followers can do if they would learn to bring Him what they have already been given. “Little is much when God is in it.” When Christians are willing to offer their lives sacrificially, relinquishing their hold on whatever God has given them in terms of time, money, talents, etc., God will use these ordinary things to create extraordinary things. Christians must never believe their resources are too little to serve God. God delights in taking a humble, seemingly insignificant person and using him or her for His glory (see 1 Corinthians 1:27).
Philip’s mind immediately ran to the cost of the project. He quickly calculated how many man-hours of work it would take to feed all those people; he saw the task as impossible because he approached it as if everything depended on his own work. Jesus’ approach was different. Jesus bypassed all human effort and did the impossible. It’s “‘not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,’ says the LORD Almighty” (Zechariah 4:6).
It is noteworthy that Jesus fed the people through the agency of His disciples. He could have simply snapped His fingers and caused everyone present to have a meal, but He didn’t. Instead, He “gave . . . to his disciples to distribute to the people” (Mark 6:41). Why?
In this way, the disciples had to trust the Lord for everything they distributed. They could only give as they received. Philip, Andrew, and the rest were put in a position of total dependence upon the Lord for the supply. God still uses people the same way today.
Christians should also be reminded that their problems are never too large (the “many” of John 6:9) for God to handle. Surely, Andrew was wondering, “What good are we going to do with only five loaves and two fish?” Of course, theoretically, believers know God can easily multiply whatever He wants, to feed as many people as He wants—He is God. The problem comes when we are faced with a practical outworking of the theory; we tend to doubt that God will want to meet our need.
There is a foreshadowing of Christ’s miracle in the life of Elisha in 2 Kings. Elisha told his servant to feed the people gathered there, although there was not enough food for the hundred men. One of the men said, “How can I set this before a hundred men?” (2 Kings 4:42–43) In the end, however, the men not only had enough to eat, but “they ate and had some left” (2 Kings 4:44). Isn’t that just like God? He says He will do more than provide for His people; He will give an abundance (Psalm 132:15).
Close: Christians must bring their lives to God in a spirit of obedience and sacrifice, no matter how insignificant they may think their gifts or talents are (Romans 12:1). When doing so, expect God to do far beyond what can be imagined (Ephesians 3:20). Also, Christians should trust that God not only wants to meet the needs of His children, but He wants to lavish His children with spiritual blessings, even to overflowing (Psalm 23:5).
Hope to see you this Sunday!
In His Love,
David & Susan
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