Mark 6:35-37 “By this time it was late in the day, so his disciples came to him. "This is a remote place," they said, "and it's already very late. 36 Send the people away so they can go to the surrounding countryside and villages and buy themselves something to eat." 37 But he answered, "You give them something to eat." They said to him, "That would take eight months of a man's wages! Are we to go and spend that much on bread and give it to them to eat?" NIV
This miraculous story is fascinating for its tensions. Large crowds of people are gathered in a remote place to hear Jesus teach and the hour is getting late. The disciples begin to worry about food for such a large group and encourage Jesus to send them off but Jesus has something else in mind! Jesus is about to communicate a tremendous leadership lesson for his disciples as well as demonstrate His mighty power to the multitudes.
The book of John 6:5 provides some detail to this wonderful story. Jesus sees the crowds and asks His disciple Philip where they will be able to buy enough food for all of these people. The question shocks Philip as he considers the cost of feeding such a large crowd and whether that would be a good use of funds. But Jesus has something else in mind. John tells us that His real goal in asking the question was to test Philip. He was preparing to demonstrate another aspect of His power and so first He chooses to set the stage with Philip by asking this question. John tells us that Jesus already had in mind what He was going to do.
So what are the lessons of this passage? The first one is simple “when Jesus asks you a question, look for a deeper answer than the obvious one!” Many times with the Lord the obvious lesson is not the primary one. In many cases He will also be at work to teach you something deeper or connect you to something that He is doing on a deeper level. The second lesson of this passage comes in the form of resource allocation. The answer that the disciples give in verse 37 questioning whether they should spend that much on one meal makes a statement that they had these resources available. If they were not present then the disciples would have said so. But their response is questioning the decision to spend not concern that there is not enough. This understanding changes the nature of this miracle. Jesus did not simply make a decision to create food during a time of lack. Jesus leaned on God when He could have leaned on man!!!!
There were obviously enough funds that they could have made the purchase. Jesus was able to see beyond what was humanly possible and conceive of something better. We need to learn this valuable lesson. Just because we are humanly able to accomplish something using conventional means doesn’t mean that we should! There are times with the Lord that He desires to demonstrate His power and mercy even though we could do it in our own strength. Perhaps the lack in some areas is because we have used natural resources to accomplish something without consulting God. Perhaps there have been times that because we were able to do something without Him, we failed to receive the provision that He had intended to provide for us if only we had asked in that situation. The lesson of the loaves is also one of recognizing which source to draw from on which occasions. Jesus knew the time for a miracle even though they could have met this need using their regular operating budget.
The third insight from this passage is that when the disciples asked Jesus to do something, His response was a command for them to do something! Many times we forget that most of God’s miracles happen in partnership with US! He seldom works outside of the realms of human partnership. This passage is in many ways a micro-picture of prayer. The disciples turn to Jesus in their own wisdom and ask for Him to do something. He turns to them with divine wisdom and commands them to meet the need without directing them as to how. This engages them in a process of thought, inquiring, research and God directed action that brings about a miracle. The interaction between Jesus and His disciples on the road to this mighty miracle is a revelation of process! Learn not only how to ask from God but how to walk out the answers that He unfolds progressively in your life and you will see much more of the supernatural kingdom of God!
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