Mark 6:38-56, Understanding the Loaves (2)

Here are a few more observations about the “Feeding of the 5000.”

·       6:38: Coming to the “end of ourselves” not only requires an impossible task (feed all these people).  It also requires some brief moments of self-examination: “what do you have to offer in this situation.”  As long as we think we can, of ourselves, do the will of God, we will never learn the lesson of the loaves (v52).  Again, Jesus made it so the Twelve answered out loud: “all we have is 5 loaves and 2 fish.”

·       6:41: Again, Jesus spoke out loud when He blessed the food.  He intentionally brought His Father into the story. 

·       6:42: Don’t miss the fact that when Jesus fed the multitude they were “filled.”  And in addition …

·       6:43: There was an abundance left over. 

All these things we have noted in the story relate to the “lesson of the loaves.”  The Twelve have just returned from ministry and were amazed.  They might, as is often the case in ministry, have concluded that they were some pretty cool guys.  They had what it takes to serve Jesus.  Thus, Jesus put them in a position where they could not do what was needed, but He could! 

And if that was not enough, later than evening, they found themselves in yet another situation where they came to the end of themselves.  This involved the waters of the Sea of Galilee with which several of them were quite familiar.  They regularly sailed and fished these waters.  But here they were: frustrated and afraid.  They were “hardhearted” (v52).  Somehow they missed the point, that the key to and the power for and the compassion unto ministry were all found in the Lord Jesus Himself.  The ministry to which Jesus called them would be His ministry; they would succeed to the extent that they maintained their relationship with Him.  As Jesus put it in the Upper Room Discourse, He who abide in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing (John 15:5).

The chapter closed with what we called earlier an “update.”  It’s a short paragraph that describes a glimpse at Jesus’ ministry as it continued.  But we can also say that what this update tells us is that Jesus continued to serve and the Twelve continued to watch Him.  They had their season of preaching and performing the signs, and there would be more.  But now they were again watching the Master. 

We asked a question at the beginning of yesterday’s post.  We now have the answer.  You can have all the truth of God’s word in ministry, but still come up short if you go out to serve in the strength of your own flesh.  Ministry is both about Christ and through Christ.  This is the “lesson of the loaves.”