Mark 6:30-44 – Jesus Feeds the Five Thousand

Mark 6:30

1. The word “apostle” means “sent” and is a title that also indicates mission.
2. Jesus had previously sent his twelve closest disciples to represent him by preaching repentance, casting out evil spirits and healing the sick. Now that they have returned, they will report back.
3. It is Jesus who is the true shepherd and teacher, but a disciple can have the opportunity to represent Jesus by being a shepherd or teacher.
   1. Then you are to represent Jesus by teaching what Jesus has previously taught, while being aware that you will have to give an account to Jesus and that you will receive a harsher judgment (Jas 3:1).

Mark 6:31

1. Jesus worked hard but also made it a priority to rest. Jesus wants to teach us not only how to work but also how to rest.

Mark 6:34

1. Sheep without a shepherd don’t last long; they can’t find food and water on their own and they can’t protect themselves from attackers.
2. Just as the disciples of the past, we need to go to Jesus today for food, water and protection. In other biblical texts, these are symbols:
   1. Food = the Word of God (Matt 4:4).
   1. Water = the Holy Spirit (John 7:38).
   1. The aggressor = the devil (1 Peter 5:8).

Mark 6:36

1. Jesus and the disciples faced the same problem, but they had completely different solutions to the problem.
   1. The disciples want to send the people away while Jesus wants to perform a miracle.
2. A “denarius” is equivalent to a day’s wages, so if the disciples were to pay for the food out of their own money, it would be a lot of money.

Mark 6:37

1. Here Jesus teaches us several things:
   1. Jesus cares for the hungry.
   1. Jesus commands his disciples to feed the hungry.
   1. Nothing is too small to be used in God’s service, Jesus can multiply what little we have.
2. First Jesus gave the people spiritual food by teaching them, then he gave them real food.
   1. In this we should take Jesus as an example and invest in both without neglecting either.
3. Just as God provided food for the people of Israel during the wilderness wanderings, Jesus provides food for the people of Israel (Exodus 16:4).

Mark 6:39

1. It is no coincidence that Mark first describes Jesus as a “shepherd” and then mentions the “green grass”, for Psalm 23 says: “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures.” (Psalm 23:1-2a).

Mark 6:43

1. Even though Jesus had the capacity to miraculously create a huge amount of new food, it was still important not to throw away the food that was left.
2. In the same way, today we should think about not throwing away food unnecessarily while there are poor and hungry people around us.