Five Thousand Hungry People: Mark 6:35-37
“35) When it was already quite late, His disciples came to Him and said, “This place is desolate and it is already quite late; 36) send them away so that they may 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 spend two hundred denarii on bread and give them something to eat?”Mark 6:35-37
The disciples recognized they had a problem brewing. The crowd was huge, the time was getting late, they were all hungry and there were no restaurants in this remote place. They had a crisis brewing.
Their solution was that Jesus needed to send the people away immediately so they could return to the city to buy food. They were unprepared for His next command; “You give them something to eat!”
Their response was so natural. I can imagine one of then turning to Judas and asking; “How much money do we have?” The second question quickly followed; “What is our budget for this project?” I don’t know who proposed the budget, but two hundred denarii was quickly proposed. Then someone did the math; they were still short of the needed amount.
We often reduce ministry to money. I admit, money can help, but ministry is not measured by money. Many times the absence of money sets the stage for the true miracle. They were looking to money as their provider. They failed to acknowledge that the true Provider was standing right in front of them. They were stuck in a money mindset!
Sadly, not one of them asked; “Jesus, what would you do?” Neither did anyone propose turning to God in prayer.
I’m not going to be too critical of the disciples. Their sandals feet really well on my feet. We are conditioned to think in terms of ministry and budgets.
Apart from a major prompting from Jesus, I would have never directed the people to sit in groups of fifties and hundred and then taken the five loaves and two fish and blessed them. This miracle was in a category way beyond healing the sick and casting out unclean spirits. This was changing the laws of physics. This was pulling fish and bread out of thin air. They needed some big food trucks to show up quickly.
Speaking of food trucks, this was small compared to what Moses faced. He had millions of people in the wilderness to feed for forty years. He needed a daily supply chain.
At some point ministry is going to Include food, clothing and shelter. It is going to include trusting God to take care of the daily physical needs of people.
Daily Bible Commentary By Terry Baxter: Cofounder of GoServ Global
“35) When it was already quite late, His disciples came to Him and said, “This place is desolate and it is already quite late; 36) send them away so that they may 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 spend two hundred denarii on bread and give them something to eat?”Mark 6:35-37
The disciples recognized they had a problem brewing. The crowd was huge, the time was getting late, they were all hungry and there were no restaurants in this remote place. They had a crisis brewing.
Their solution was that Jesus needed to send the people away immediately so they could return to the city to buy food. They were unprepared for His next command; “You give them something to eat!”
Their response was so natural. I can imagine one of then turning to Judas and asking; “How much money do we have?” The second question quickly followed; “What is our budget for this project?” I don’t know who proposed the budget, but two hundred denarii was quickly proposed. Then someone did the math; they were still short of the needed amount.
We often reduce ministry to money. I admit, money can help, but ministry is not measured by money. Many times the absence of money sets the stage for the true miracle. They were looking to money as their provider. They failed to acknowledge that the true Provider was standing right in front of them. They were stuck in a money mindset!
Sadly, not one of them asked; “Jesus, what would you do?” Neither did anyone propose turning to God in prayer.
I’m not going to be too critical of the disciples. Their sandals feet really well on my feet. We are conditioned to think in terms of ministry and budgets.
Apart from a major prompting from Jesus, I would have never directed the people to sit in groups of fifties and hundred and then taken the five loaves and two fish and blessed them. This miracle was in a category way beyond healing the sick and casting out unclean spirits. This was changing the laws of physics. This was pulling fish and bread out of thin air. They needed some big food trucks to show up quickly.
Speaking of food trucks, this was small compared to what Moses faced. He had millions of people in the wilderness to feed for forty years. He needed a daily supply chain.
At some point ministry is going to Include food, clothing and shelter. It is going to include trusting God to take care of the daily physical needs of people.
Daily Bible Commentary By Terry Baxter: Cofounder of GoServ Global
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