30 The apostles gathered around Jesus and reported to him all they had done and taught. 31 Then, because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat, he said to them, “Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.”
32 So they went away by themselves in a boat to a solitary place. 33 But many who saw them leaving recognized them and ran on foot from all the towns and got there ahead of them. 34 When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. So he began teaching them many things.
35 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 that 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 more than half a year’s wages[e]! Are we to go and spend that much on bread and give it to them to eat?”
38 “How many loaves do you have?” he asked. “Go and see.”
When they found out, they said, “Five—and two fish.”
39 Then Jesus directed them to have all the people sit down in groups on the green grass. 40 So they sat down in groups of hundreds and fifties. 41 Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then he gave them to his disciples to distribute to the people. He also divided the two fish among them all. 42 They all ate and were satisfied, 43 and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces of bread and fish. 44 The number of the men who had eaten was five thousand.
When you carry an important message and you are able to reinforce it with works, people will seek you out to hear what you have to say and see those words put into action. And so it was with Jesus and His disciples. Even though they were tired and hungry after a period of such work and even though they tried to retire to a remote place for a recharge of their batteries with the One who had sent them, they could not escape the needs of the people that were clinging to the information they had to share.
They could not get away. They could not escape. Five thousand men, and who knows how many women and children, tracked them down because they wanted a little bit of what Jesus and disciples had to share.
As an introvert, I cannot imagine this. I have to be able to escape, to recharge, to prepare for whatever the next event in my life will be, but this was not to be for Jesus and the 12. As tired as they were, Mark tells us that Jesus had compassion on this mass of humanity. He preached, He taught, he used this time He intended for rest to helped others find their rest.
Mark says that by the time Jesus had finished His remarks, it was late in the day. His disciples wanted to dismiss the crowds so they could go somewhere and get something to eat. The problem was that they were out in the middle of no where with these people and there was no McDonald's of KFC to hit before you went home.
Jesus had the solution. Instead of sending them to find their own food, Jesus said to His disciples, "You give them something to eat".
Really. Sounds simple when you just say it doesn't it. You feed them.
Immediately, the apostles begin to find reasons why this would be impossible, not the least of which was the cost - more than six months wages. This was a lot of people and resources were limited - severely limited.
So what did they do? Did they tell Jesus no?
Of course not. Instead, they began to see what they had; what was available. It was a meager amount of food. It was enough for enough for three or four people. Five loaves of bread and two fishes. How would they feed 5000+ people with that?
But they went forward anyway with what they had. They organized the crowds into small groups. And they gave Jesus the resources available and what did He do? He turned it into a mountain of food. Everyone ate. Everyone was satisfied...and there were leftovers.
So what's the point?
Nothing is impossible with God. If you are seeking to genuinely love God and love your neighbor, he can take your meager resources, whatever they may be, and help you use them to the best of your abilities. He wants His people fed.
You give them something to eat.
