Mark 6 - Dinner on the Grounds

Old people fear falling; women fear running out of food when they’re feeding a crowd. You would think after 40 years of cooking we could accurately plan just how much food is needed so we’re not taking home a gallon of baked beans at the end of the day.

The disciples are ready for a practice run. Knowing he won’t live past 33, Jesus has chosen these men to take his message worldwide vs a regional crusade. He sends them out two by two and gives them authority to cast out demons and heal the sick. They’re to take no money, no food and no change of clothes. They are not to make hotel reservations. It was a grand success. They were pumped.

So Jesus says, “Ya’ll are tired…let’s go to a lonely place so you can rest.” (Southern translation). The crowd finds them…in fact it says a multitude finds them. The report was 5000 men so it wouldn’t be a stretch to say the wives and kids were there too.

The disciples were exhausted to begin with so by the end of the day, they were more than ready to send these people home. “The place is desolate; it’s late; send them away so they can go buy food.”

Jesus replies, “You feed them.”

Add hunger to exhaustion and I’m sure they were irritable as well and he knew what they had. They all rode over to this “lonely place” in a boat. They didn’t have squat.

“Are you kidding? Do you know how much that would cost? Do you know how much food we would have to truck in here?” I’m sure they replied, incredulously. So Jesus said, “How many loaves do you have? Go look.” They return with five loaves and two fish. I would be sweating bullets and hyperventilating at this point.

Not Jesus. “Tell them to all sit down in groups of fifties and hundreds.” He prayed, broke the bread, handed out the fish and when everyone had eaten and were satisfied, I repeat…were satisfied…they picked up twelve full baskets and one gallon of baked beans.

They had just gotten back from a preaching, healing, casting out demons crusade with only the clothes on their backs. They had met with fabulous success. They had never done anything remotely like this in their lives and knew they were able to pull it off only because Jesus had commissioned them. I don’t know about you but if I were them, when I cast out my first demon? Healed my first sick person with a word or a touch? I’d believe.

Yet when faced with several thousand hungry people, not one, not one hairy guy said, “Hey, you are God! You do something!”

This is like the Imax theatre though with the disciples sitting on the front row cheering even though…they don’t get it or him. Big audience. Big God.

He’s about to zoom in and make it up close and personal.

Immediately following dinner on the grounds, (so late afternoon/evening) he tells them to get in the boat and go to the other side and He would send the multitude away. They hop in and take off. The winds are strong though and they are still rowing during the “fourth watch” which is between 3 and 6 a.m...so they’ve been struggling all night.

Jesus sees them and begins walking toward them…on the water. They see him and think it’s a ghost until he calls out and says, “Take courage! It is I. Do not be afraid.” Then he climbs into the boat and the wind completely stops.

Dead silence. Twelve men are sitting there motionless, staring…with their mouths hanging open.

The feeding of the 5000 was for the disciples yes, but for the masses too. This is a miracle…but I am God. Add another brick. But not just a show up and produce food to feed a multitude God thing. It says he was filled with compassion because they were like sheep without a shepherd.

I saw an interview with Tom Brady the other day. He looked like a sheep without a shepherd. Fabulously successful as an NFL quarterback, good looking with money, fame, a supermodel wife and bottom line of the whole interview was something like yeah, this is great, but there’s just got to be something more. This was not a cocky, cavalier comment either…it was a shaking his head, puzzled, “I got to the top and there was nothing there,” kind of look. “Where is it or what could it possibly be”, I’m sure he was wondering.

Yet he’s not just compassionate with a crowd of people. He’s compassionate one on one. He got into the boat with them. The wind stopped. They were able to complete the journey.

I don’t care that you can feed 5000 men enough food to satisfy them and take up 12 baskets of leftovers in the Mideast 2000 years ago or in Stockholm last year. If I’m in a crisis, I want to know you’ll be in the boat with me. If it’s 3 a.m. and I’ve been rowing all night after a busy day after a busy week of hard work and I’m exhausted, I want you in my boat. I want to see God working in my boat.

And that’s what he showed them. God in their boat.

They were still exhausted, far from their destination, it was the middle of the night, they were probably cold and wet. Think it made any difference to them that now God was in the boat with them?

He climbs in and would probably say something like, “Ok guys, remember the five loaves and two fish? Give me what you’ve got.”

I’m sure they said, “We’re exhausted, cold, wet, hungry and we’ve still got to keep rowing….we’re not even close to where we’re going.”

And his response was probably something like, “I’m God and I’ll multiply your strength and resolve so it’ll be enough to get you to your destination. Don’t be afraid…I’m here.”

Maybe you’ve never needed God in your boat. Maybe you’re entirely self sufficient.

Give it time.