Give Them Something to Eat
Well, good morning. How is everybody doing today? It is great to be with you. My name is Josh, and if we haven’t met, I have the privilege of serving on staff here in our student ministries department. Welcome to those joining us online, in our outdoor venue, and our family venue as well. It is great to be together this morning.
If you have your Bibles, go ahead and open them up to Mark chapter six. That’s where we’re going to be as we continue in our series, Invitations. Today, we are looking at another invitation from Jesus, this time in a story that may be familiar to many of us: the feeding of the 5,000.
Going to Work with My Father
As you turn there, I wanted to share a little bit about what’s been on my mind this last week. Last Sunday was Father’s Day. Happy late Father’s Day to all you dads! I hope you guys had a great day feeling celebrated, barbecuing steaks, and doing all the things that we love to do.
I spent some time this last week thinking about my old man and some of my favorite memories with him as a kid. One of the things that kept coming to mind was how much I loved to go to work with my dad. Any of you guys ever get to go to work with your old man growing up? It was a pretty cool thing, wasn’t it? When I was a little guy, getting to go to work with my dad was the business. I felt like “the man” when I was there.
My dad is a pastor. Some of you guys know him; he’s actually around here. Being a pastor’s kid meant a lot of early Sunday mornings. We had a routine: Dad would get us up, and we’d go down to the donut shop. Any Westsiders here know T&D Donuts? No? Okay, I know exactly where I stand here! Just kidding. We’d go to T&D Donuts—check it out, it’s better than Judy’s, I’d say. I knew I’d get a response to that! We can argue about that on the courtyard later.
Anyway, we’d go to the donut shop, get breakfast and chocolate milk, and then cruise over to the church. We’d sit in Dad’s office in the Student Ministry Building, have breakfast together, and then at some point, Dad would actually have to do his job. He’d get up and start getting things set up for the gatherings, and the best part was when Dad would give us something to do. Being a little guy and getting to help my dad do his job was the coolest thing. I felt ten feet tall getting to contribute and help out in the things that my dad did every day.
As I’ve grown, I’ve started to understand something. Being a dad myself now, I don’t know that I was actually any help to my dad when he took me to work. All the parents understand that! But the other thing I’ve started to understand is that I don’t think my dad was actually interested in the help I offered. I think the thing he was actually excited for was the time we’d get to spend together while at work.
I think what we’re going to see this morning in Mark chapter six is something similar. We see God inviting His children to participate in the work He is already doing, inviting us to lend a hand because He wants to be with us.
The Shepherd and the Crowd
Before we jump into the text, I want to bring us up to speed on where we are in the Gospel of Mark. Mark moves at a quick pace. He’s been listing the things Jesus has been up to: teaching on the kingdom of heaven, healing people, and performing miracles. Leading up to our text, a woman is healed just by touching His robe, and He raises a little girl from the dead. The point of these miracles isn’t just the miraculous deed; they point to the lordship of Jesus. They are road signs saying, “This is the guy we’ve been waiting for.”
In Mark 6, Jesus sends His disciples out on a ministry journey. He gives them authority to heal the sick, cast out demons, and preach repentance. While they are out, word gets to Jesus that his cousin, John the Baptist, has been beheaded. You can imagine the impact that had on Him. Then, the disciples return from their journey and begin to report to Jesus all that they had done. This is where we pick up the story.
Mark 6:31-44 (NASB)
And He said to them, ‘Come away by yourselves to a secluded place and rest a while.’ (For there were many [people] coming and going, and they did not even have time to eat.) They went away in the boat to a secluded place by themselves. [The people] saw them going, and many recognized [them] and ran there together on foot from all the cities, and got there ahead of them. When Jesus went ashore, He saw a large crowd, and He felt compassion for them because they were like sheep without a shepherd; and He began to teach them many things. When it was already quite late, His disciples came to Him and said, ‘This place is desolate and it is already quite late; send them away so that they may go into the surrounding countryside and villages and buy themselves something to eat.’ 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?’ And He said to them, ‘How many loaves do you have? Go look!’ And when they found out, they said, ‘Five, and two fish.’ And He commanded them all to sit down by groups on the green grass. They sat down in groups of hundreds and of fifties. And He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up toward heaven, He blessed [the food] and broke the loaves and He kept giving [them] to the disciples to set before them; and He divided up the two fish among them all. They all ate and were satisfied, and they picked up twelve full baskets of the broken pieces, and also of the fish. There were five thousand men who ate the loaves.
There is quite a bit in this passage, so let’s unpack it. The disciples have been working hard, and Jesus has just lost His cousin. He invites the disciples to get away to a secluded place to rest. Verse 31 says there were so many people coming and going that they didn’t even have time to eat. Some of us know that kind of busyness—skipping lunch, getting “hangry,” needing a nap just to recover from the grocery store.
Jesus often retreated to be alone with the Father, and here He invites the disciples to join Him. But as soon as they hop into the boat, the crowd sees them and runs along the shore, actually beating Jesus and the disciples to their destination. When they hit the shore, they see a sea of people waiting.
I wonder what was crossing the disciples’ minds. I’ve had moments where I hoped for rest and life didn’t give it to me. My thoughts are usually: “You’ve got to be kidding me,” or “Here we go again.” But notice how Jesus responds in verse 34. He doesn’t grumble; He feels compassion.
Why compassion? Because they were like “sheep without a shepherd.” This isn’t just a word picture. This phrase is used throughout the Old Testament to describe God’s people in need of leading. In Ezekiel 34, the Lord describes Himself this way:
“I myself will be the shepherd of my sheep, and I myself will make them lie down, declares the Lord God. I will seek the lost, and I will bring back the strayed, and I will bind up the injured, and I will strengthen the weak.”
Ezekiel 34:15-16 (NASB)
‘I will feed My flock and I will lead them to rest,’ declares the Lord GOD. ’I will seek the lost, bring back the scattered, bind up the broken and strengthen the sick; but the fat and the strong I will destroy. I will feed them with judgment.
What does this have to do with the feeding of the 5,000? Mark slows down his usually fast-paced narrative to describe Jesus’ heart. He describes how Jesus carefullly seats the people on the green grass in groups. Jesus is living out the words of David in Psalm 23: “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures.”
Psalms 23:1-3 (NASB)
A Psalm of David. The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside quiet waters. He restores my soul; He guides me in the paths of righteousness For His name’s sake.
We can never separate God’s heart for His people from the miraculous works of His hands. It is His compassion that precedes His movement.
An Impossible Invitation
While this beautiful shepherding moment is happening, the disciples are in the back checking their watches. Their stomachs are grumbling. They tap Jesus on the shoulder and say, “Hey, it’s getting late. This place is desolate. Send them away so they can find dinner.”
But Jesus responds in verse 37 with the invitation we’re unpacking today: “You give them something to eat.”
The disciples respond practically, and maybe a bit sarcastically: “Shall we go and spend 200 denarii on bread?” That’s about a year’s wages for a laborer. It was a massive, impossible undertaking. But Jesus just asks, “How many loaves do you have? Go and look.”
Notice Jesus didn’t ask about what they lacked. He asked what they had. They found five loaves and two fish. This is a kid’s lunch—a couple of pieces of flatbread and two dried sardines. It’s a couple bites of a charcuterie board at best. It’s basically nothing. It wouldn’t satisfy one person, let alone thousands.
But Jesus, unbothered by the lack of provisions, tells the people to sit down. He takes the bread, looks to heaven, blesses it, and starts handing it to the disciples. He fills their hands, they distribute it, and they come back for a reload. Over and over again until everyone was satisfied. There were 5,000 men, meaning the total crowd was likely 10,000 to 15,000 people.
Can you imagine being the disciples? Getting to be the hands that participated in this miracle? Watching two bites of a Lunchable provide for thousands? They were invited into participation.
Saved For Participation
Our Savior, though He is well within His rights and means to work alone, graciously invites you and me to participate with Him in His kingdom work. This isn’t a new invitation; it was God’s intention from the beginning. In Genesis, God tasked Adam with keeping and cultivating the garden. It was a partnership.
When sin entered in Genesis 3, that participation was severed. But God set a rescue plan in motion—not just to save us from sin, but to redeem us back to our intended design. The gospel doesn’t just save us from something; it saves us for something. It’s not a “get out of hell free” card that lets us live however we want until we die. It saves us for a life of participation with God.
Ephesians 2:10 (NASB)
For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.
We see this explained further in 2 Corinthians 5. It says that if anyone is in Christ, they are a new creature. We have been reconciled to God, and now He has given us the “ministry of reconciliation.”
2 Corinthians 5:17-20 (NASB)
Therefore if anyone is in Christ, [he is] a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come. Now all [these] things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation, namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and He has committed to us the word of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.
We are now ambassadors—messengers and representatives. As we walk through our daily lives, we carry the image and reputation of our God. Have you ever stopped to think about what a privilege that is? That God has chosen to invite jacked-up people like us to be His representatives? I don’t know why He does it, but that is what He has invited us into.
Getting Off the Sidelines
This invitation usually finds us in one of two places. Some of us get excited, but it leads to overconfidence. We think we are more capable than we are, or that it’s up to us to sustain the work. The disciples felt this when they came back from their trip reporting all they had done. Jesus’ command to “feed them” exposed that they couldn’t do it without Him. The work is not dependent on your strength.
On the other side, some of us feel inadequate or ill-equipped. Maybe you’re just disengaged. You feel unqualified or unwilling. But here is the good news: God isn’t concerned with what you think you have to offer. The work has very little to do with you. He doesn’t need the most articulate or the most talented. He just needs you to offer what little you have, like the boy with his lunch, and trust Him to do what only He can do.
Whether you are overconfident or insecure, the problem is the same: you are focusing on yourself. Participation isn’t about your ability; it’s about your presence. It doesn’t start with work; it starts with being with Him.
When you walk in the door after work and you’re zapped, and you say, “Lord, I have nothing to give my spouse or kids today,” that’s an opportunity for participation. Offer what little you have. “Lord, take my little bit of energy and work in me.” When a friend calls in need and you don’t have the words, say, “God, I’m here. Use me.”
Somebody shared a quote with me this week that sums up the Christian life: “You must do what you cannot do with what you do not have.” That leads us to total dependence on Him. And thank God that He is able to do abundantly more than we could ask or think.
Ephesians 3:20 (NASB)
Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us,
It has always been Him. Let’s pray.
Heavenly Father, we are grateful for who You are and for the work You continue to do in us. Thank You for the privilege of participating with You. As we walk out of this room, I pray we would have our eyes fixed on You. Let us have a right view of ourselves—not too lofty and not too low. You have given us all we need. We trust in You and depend on You, knowing You can do far more on our worst days than we ever could on our best. We love You. In Your name, amen.