2 Kings 4: 42-44,
Exekiel 34: 1-10
& Mark 6:
30-44
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The New
Testament Witness of the Apostle
Peter |
The Pulpit at Pilgrim's Rest Christ Covenant Reformed (PCA) |
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There is more than one issue here in this well known passage. First, there is the obvious miracle. Second and third, there are both the material and spiritual hunger of the crowd And last, there is the lesson to the disciples that their Lord is more than adequately prepared for any and every situation. We must also observe that there are additional lessons related to why the people are so desperately hungry spiritually and how symbolically we may understand that Jesus is indeed the bread of life broken for all of His people who need to feed upon Him in the Spirit.
Several times in the last few weeks, I have had cause to refer back to an old sermon that I once called "The State of Grace". This title illustrates the necessary relationship of those who are called unto Christ and who receive Him gladly and wholly. Absolutely, we may know that some, actually many humans, never comprehend their need for this state or because they lack the experientially, do not see it in the lives of others. Christian interests in politics must obviously be as base as their own. And opposition to redefining sexuality, and all other manner of thoughless morals is seen as just plain mean spirited.
We may well understand that the religious leaders of Jesus' time did not have this State of Grace as a group, nor share that possibility with the common people. Otherwise, there would not have been the huge crowds seeking real spiritual food. I talked with someone recently who was put off by a specific church because that church required their attendees to provide proof of their income so that it could be known if the church received the allotted tithe. Abusive, I called that church and assured the gentleman that while churches should teach the tithe, they should also be grateful for whatever amount was found in the offering plates. Further, in a strict sense, people should receive more, much more in return for their time and effort than what they give in turn back to the church! And that return should be spiritual in nature - food for the soul - so that the lost, the weak, the suffering and neglected can be sustained by the power of the Holy Spirit.
The disciples themselves in this passage have just returned from a preaching assignment and were tired and run down. During the American Great Awakening, several of the leaders admitted to being extremely exhausted from time to time. In Mark's chronology the climax and close of His ministry in Galilee was approaching. Herod, as we noted last week, was already asking about Him, opposition from the Jewish authorities was growing to a fever pitch and the disciples needed spiritual recharging. And so, they withdrew to a boat and set sail to another area. However, the hungry multitudes overran their chosen retreat, and were waiting for Jesus and His disciples at the other end of the short journey. There they were, thousands waiting for a word from Christ to encourage their impoverished spirits.
Just as it is today, there was a profound hunger for spiritual food. Otherwise, why would so many people put up with abusive churches that are more interested in empire building, professional development and the latest facilities than they are in telling people what they actually need to hear. I once received a sermon sample from an organization devoted to multiplying disciples by proven techniques rather than in multiplying food for those same disciples. You have to remember that the most favored flavor of ice cream is vanilla after all, and distinctions between strawberry, chocolate and so on cause as many divisions as diverse theologies! If you doubt me just try to get ten people to agree on one flavor.
And so, when Jesus saw the spiritual hunger of the crowd He taught them for long hours. As the evening wore on, the hungry disciples observe that the people must be hungry as well. Imagine their surprise when Jesus tells them "You give them something to eat." Again, the disciples are thinking materially. First, there is the cost, then there is the problem of bringing the food to the people, even if there were time and money enough to find and furnish the meal.
Once, in Seminary, a liberal theologian explained this text by suggesting that once the crowd saw that the disciples had so little food, they were touched enough to have opened their picnic baskets and share with everyone present. Ha, that commentator obviously was not in a state of grace, because there are ample texts in the Old Covenant record to provide miraculous capacity within the providence of the Creator God. Like the disciples here who appreciate only the limits of their food stocks, liberal commentators are clueless to what great miraculous work Christ can truly, really accomplish.
And so, Jesus causes the people to sit on the ground in groups of fifty to a hundred. The symbolism here is practiced in our own ritual of communion, whereby the elders take the bread and the fruit of the vine to those who are expectant of being fed. The food is blessed by Jesus, divided amongst the disciples to distribute among the people and in the process there is a miraculous replication, if I may be so bold as to use a modern term. Please understand in the use of that term I am not demeaning the fact of the miracle. I use the term only to demonstrate the multiplication of the bread and the fish. No miracle seems to have made such an impression on the disciples as this, because this is the only miracle of Jesus which is told in all the four gospels. The disciples had been hesitant to share the meager resources, and yet when the meal was finished, there were enough leftovers for each one to have a full basket.
The wonderful thing about this story, is that all through it, there runs an implicit contrast between the attitude of Jesus and the attitude of the disciples. The story shows us two reactions to human need. When the disciples saw how late it was, and how tired and hungry the crowd was, they in effect wanted to be rid of the people so that they did not have to worry about them! Jesus took compassion upon the people and caused His disciples to do something about the problem. Let us learn an important truth here, it is always easier to let someone else take care of those in need. It is always easier to let the government handle welfare instead of the church!
This story also shows us two reactions to the availability of human resources. When the disciples were asked to give the people something to eat, they insisted that their resources were not enough. But, in the hands of Jesus, a little is always more than enough. Since the beginning of this church, there was only one year when we did not meet the budget. That year, one family accepted as much as I made from the church. And there were two other families helped as well. And yet, there was always enough to meet the needs of the church during that short meaningful downturn in the economy!
Twelve men, and several thousand believers by Pentecost. Who would have thought that so small a group could ever turn the Mediterranean Sea into a Christian lake? Yet - in spite of the Jewish, Pagan and Roman antagonism, the faith of the Church changed the world forever. The staggering audacity of what the early church undertook and accomplished is an instance of multiplication beyond the powers of human ability. A poet once gave verse to this theme:
Thy sea, O God, so
great,
My boat so
small,
It cannot be that any
happy fate,
Will me
befall,
Save as Thy goodness
opens paths for me,
Through the consuming
vastness of the sea.
Thy winds, O God, so
strong,
So slight my
sail.
How could I cub and bit
them on the long
and salty
trail,
Unless Thy love were
mightier than the wrath
Of all the tempests that
beset my path?
Thy world, O God, so
fierce,
And I so
frail.
Yet, though its arrows
threaten oft to pierce
My fragile
Mail,
Cities of refuge rise
where dangers cease,
Sweet silences abound,
and all is peace.
God is so great, and we are so small, do we dare to undertake His work? Our efforts are negligible, our resources so flimsy. Yet the Lord God knows this, just as Jesus knew the doubts and fears of His few disciples. Imagine yourself as one of the disciples as he approached the first group of fifty to a hundred people with his small basket of paltry crumbs. He walks up to the first person and cant' bear to watch it all disappear. He closes his eyes, feels the food being removed, and prepares to walk back to Jesus with an empty basket. But no, there is still food in the basked and one after another the people are fed and satisfied. Surprise and wonder, as the disciples moved from group to group. When everyone is fed they go around to gather up the left overs and each one comes away with a full basket for the morrow.
And so it is still today. What do we really have from Jesus Christ, but a little knowledge, a seemingly time worn Bible and a hostile audience that thinks we are going to run shorter and shorter of spiritual sustenance for ourselves, let alone a hungry, crying and needy world. In point of fact, very much of the world will not even look into our baskets, but to each and everyone who exists, the church must find a way to go and share what the good Lord has given to His own people - faith. A faith that sustains us, a whole basket full. Is there enough to have and to share with others? What do you think?
Of course there is always more than meets the eye in the Lord's economy! How else could we explain the course of Christian history. Whenever, the church in its magnificence wields its own power and authority - that position declines, dissipates and almost disappears. The worldly look upon us and like buzzards circling road kill, swoop in to pick up the pieces.
Just as in the Old Covenant Church in the time of Christ, the world grows much within the circles of authority. The blind guides chastened by Jesus have numerous kindred in our day. Hardly an ecclesiastical structure is controlled by the Lord's own men. They have been run out by liberals, feminists and sodomites. Even a harmless state motto "With God, all things are possible", is challenged by a craven witch pretending to be a shepherd of Jesus Christ. What resources do we have to do the Lord's work? A small company of the committed, a minimal property still not our own.
But remember, we do have the bread of life in and through Jesus Christ. And just as Ezekiel marveled at the valley of dry bones, the Lord does indeed know what can and will be accomplished within His will and in His own good time. Let us not be rundown, tired, discouraged and doubtful like the disciples in this passage. But let us accept the small resources that the Lord has given us in gratitude and invest them wisely in building up His glorious kingdom. Did you know that I have found an interest in us in the immediate neighborhood? As soon as we have room for more people - we will have to go door to door and explain the Lord's blessed gift of salvation as simply, kindly and graciously as we are able. The world awaits for the handful of bread and fish within our grasp. Let us pray to the Lord that with His blessing, His church may be multiplied. Amen.
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Cole, Alan. |
Tyndale New Testament
Commentaries: |
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Keener, Craig S. |
The IVP Bible Background Commentary:
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"Bringing the Light of the Reformation to Scripture" (Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1995) |
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B2b35 |
Early 70's & 18 Jun 00 |