Lent - Day 18
The Feeding of the Five Thousand
"Meanwhile, the apostles gathered around Jesus and brought Him news of all they had done and taught. And He said to them, “Come with Me privately to a solitary place, and let us rest for a while.” For many people were coming and going, and they did not even have time to eat.
So they went away in a boat by themselves to a solitary place. But many people saw them leaving and recognized them. They ran together on foot from all the towns and arrived before them. When Jesus stepped ashore and saw a large crowd, He had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. And He began to teach them many things.
By now the hour was already late. So the disciples came to Jesus and said, “This is a desolate place, and the hour is already late. Dismiss the crowd so they can go to the surrounding countryside and villages and buy themselves something to eat.”
But Jesus told them, “You give them something to eat.”
They asked Him, “Should we go out and spend two hundred denarii to give all of them bread to eat?”
“Go and see how many loaves you have,” He told them.
And after checking, they said, “Five—and two fish.”
Then Jesus directed them to have the people sit in groups on the green grass. So they sat down in groups of hundreds and fifties.
Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, Jesus spoke a blessing and broke the loaves. Then He gave them to His disciples to set before the people. And He divided the two fish among them all.
They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces of bread and fish. And there were five thousand men who had eaten the loaves." Mark 6:30-44
Continuing with our Lenten study by reading through the Book of Mark, we read on the last message that Jesus commissioned 12 of His followers to go out to nearby towns two by two.
When they returned we read above that they have told Jesus what had happened with their "missions trip" and then afterwards they went to an isolated place to rest.
No Rest
But rest they couldn't find as crowds of people recognized them and they went out to follow them.
Jesus had compassion on these people and taught them many things until it was late for these "lost sheep" to be able to get back home safely and to eat as they were in an isolated place.
Feeding Thousands
The passage above showed that Jesus was then able to feed five thousand men (plus an unspecified number of women and children) from the little food they could find.
After they have all eaten and were full, there were twelve baskets of leftovers -- one each for the twelve followers of Jesus, who were also tired and hungry. They were once again witnesses to what Jesus of Nazareth was able to do in the middle of a crisis.
Sidenote: The coronavirus pandemic is sweeping across the whole world right now.
Many are in a state of panic and confusion. People are worried about many things while the rest really do not actually know what is going on or don't care.
General managers and government leaders are meeting with their teams on how to address the outbreak and are implementing drastic measures in response to this outbreak.
Everything is still up in the air and this could get worse before it gets better. People are being asked to avoid crowds and even stay home and to do their share to protect themselves, their loved ones and to help prevent the spread of this new virus.
In the meantime, we are almost midway into our Lenten study. And in the midst of what's been going on, this is the perfect time to ask the Lord to reveal Himself to us. Christ was real to these people, He could be the same for each one of us.
I pray that you will join us in this 40 day journey as we read through the Book of Mark, praying, fasting and abstaining from the normal things that preoccupy our daily lives.
Stay safe. Shalom.
Link: A 1,500 year old mosaic is found depicting the feeding of the 5,000.
"Meanwhile, the apostles gathered around Jesus and brought Him news of all they had done and taught. And He said to them, “Come with Me privately to a solitary place, and let us rest for a while.” For many people were coming and going, and they did not even have time to eat.
So they went away in a boat by themselves to a solitary place. But many people saw them leaving and recognized them. They ran together on foot from all the towns and arrived before them. When Jesus stepped ashore and saw a large crowd, He had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. And He began to teach them many things.
By now the hour was already late. So the disciples came to Jesus and said, “This is a desolate place, and the hour is already late. Dismiss the crowd so they can go to the surrounding countryside and villages and buy themselves something to eat.”
But Jesus told them, “You give them something to eat.”
They asked Him, “Should we go out and spend two hundred denarii to give all of them bread to eat?”
“Go and see how many loaves you have,” He told them.
And after checking, they said, “Five—and two fish.”
Then Jesus directed them to have the people sit in groups on the green grass. So they sat down in groups of hundreds and fifties.
Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, Jesus spoke a blessing and broke the loaves. Then He gave them to His disciples to set before the people. And He divided the two fish among them all.
They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces of bread and fish. And there were five thousand men who had eaten the loaves." Mark 6:30-44
Continuing with our Lenten study by reading through the Book of Mark, we read on the last message that Jesus commissioned 12 of His followers to go out to nearby towns two by two.
When they returned we read above that they have told Jesus what had happened with their "missions trip" and then afterwards they went to an isolated place to rest.
No Rest
But rest they couldn't find as crowds of people recognized them and they went out to follow them.
Jesus had compassion on these people and taught them many things until it was late for these "lost sheep" to be able to get back home safely and to eat as they were in an isolated place.
Feeding Thousands
The passage above showed that Jesus was then able to feed five thousand men (plus an unspecified number of women and children) from the little food they could find.
After they have all eaten and were full, there were twelve baskets of leftovers -- one each for the twelve followers of Jesus, who were also tired and hungry. They were once again witnesses to what Jesus of Nazareth was able to do in the middle of a crisis.
Sidenote: The coronavirus pandemic is sweeping across the whole world right now.
Many are in a state of panic and confusion. People are worried about many things while the rest really do not actually know what is going on or don't care.
General managers and government leaders are meeting with their teams on how to address the outbreak and are implementing drastic measures in response to this outbreak.
Everything is still up in the air and this could get worse before it gets better. People are being asked to avoid crowds and even stay home and to do their share to protect themselves, their loved ones and to help prevent the spread of this new virus.
In the meantime, we are almost midway into our Lenten study. And in the midst of what's been going on, this is the perfect time to ask the Lord to reveal Himself to us. Christ was real to these people, He could be the same for each one of us.
I pray that you will join us in this 40 day journey as we read through the Book of Mark, praying, fasting and abstaining from the normal things that preoccupy our daily lives.
Stay safe. Shalom.
Link: A 1,500 year old mosaic is found depicting the feeding of the 5,000.
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