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THERE’S NOTHING TO EAT MARK 6:34-37 Pastor Barry Kerner

THERE’S NOTHING TO EAT

MARK 6:34-37

Pastor Barry Kerner

 

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! Are we to go and spend that much on bread and give it to them to eat?”

 

Having children in the house can prove very challenging. We go grocery shopping often so most of the time we have plenty of food around the house. I have been amazed whenever I hear my kids say to Cheryl and me – “There’s Nothing To Eat.” How many times have you heard this from your children while they’re rifling through the refrigerator and cupboards on a food foraging mission? How many times did we ourselves say that to our own parents while we were growing up? And the usual answer that comes from mom or dad is this – “there’s plenty of food in this house for you to eat!”

Sound familiar? More often than not, there is indeed plenty of food to eat that’s right under our nose. It might not be exactly what we wanted or what we were looking for, but there is food right there, if we’re willing to accept it

And that’s where the problem lies – we’re not sure we are willing to accept it because it’s not what we were looking for. This helps to set the stage for today’s Gospel lesson as Jesus feeds the 5000 with five loaves and two fish. Other than Jesus’ resurrection, the feeding of the 5,000 is the only miracle to occur in all four gospels. This repetition gives it a high degree of importance. I want to focus on just one detail of the narrative. When the great multitude came to Jesus in the wilderness, he was moved with compassion because he saw they were tired and hungry. Late in the day his disciples suggested he send the people home so they could find something to eat.

Let me take a moment to back up to ensure we know why Jesus and the disciples were there and how they encountered so many people who wanted to hear him. John The Baptist had become a thorn in the side of the monarchy and an enemy of those who believed they didn’t have to be accountable for their actions. Out of hatred and jealousy, King Herod’s wife and daughter demanded – and received – John’s head on a platter.

In grief and sorrow, Jesus withdrew to a place apart; a place where he could spend time alone praying and recovering from his heartfelt anguish. But solitude was something which was rare for him, and it was not to be found this time. The crowds followed him. And his compassion overrode his fatigue and he moved about them, Preaching- Teaching – Touching – Healing

When evening came, it was obvious they were hungry. After all, even the most compelling of teachers – even the Son of God – can’t hold a crowd’s attention indefinitely without a break now and then for food and a bathroom run. There were five thousand men there that day. The miracle that is about to happen only increases in amazement when you stop to consider there were probably more than 5,000 people there – the text says 5,000 plus women and children.

Let’s make the assumption that many of those men were married. They would have had their wives along. In addition, there would have been children as well. All in all, we may be talking about 15 to 20,000 people – a huge crowd.

The disciples, not being all that creative, didn’t see any way they could feed all these people. So they began to encourage Jesus to send them away while it was still light enough that they could make their way into town to find food and shelter. Jesus told them sending them away wasn’t necessary. He told the disciples to feed them. Wait a Minute, What….Really?

The disciples in essence were saying to Jesus, the crowds hunger was not their problem. Jesus floors, them by saying – “Give Them Something to Eat.” Don’t be too hard on the disciples, after all, what would we have done? It’s late, and the people are tired and hungry. The local Burger King is closed for remodeling. The nearest Walmart is miles away in Jerusalem. Pizza Hut doesn’t deliver to the wilderness. Door Dash needs a physical address.

The disciples therefore make a very practical suggestion — “send them away and let them find their own food.” That’s the logical plan. The suggestion is not made from bad motives. It was just that in themselves the disciples had no resources to meet this enormous need of the people. They had no food and no money. What else could they do There was nothing THEY could do, nothing! So they tell Jesus, “There’s nothing to eat.”

Most of us would have said the same thing. We’re quick to see what we can’t do and quick to talk about what we don’t have. The disciples saw the crowds and realized their inadequacy. Somehow, they forgot that the Son of God was standing right there with them. In the days of Jesus, take out and prepackaged snacks weren’t an option. There were basically two food groups – bread and fish. The disciples looked around, rummaged through their pockets, canvassed the area, talked with other folks present and discovered that all they could come up with were five loaves of bread and two fish. Nowhere near enough for such a large crowd!

This is how Jesus often works with his followers. Over and over again he puts us in positions where we are helpless, and then he says, “do something!” In our desperation we cry out to heaven, “How?” and he replies, “I’m glad you asked.” It’s not that Jesus wants us to fail, but he does want us to know that without him we can do nothing. In fact in John 15:5 Jesus makes that clear when he says, “Apart from me you can do nothing!” Our success depends totally upon him, and the sooner we learn that the better off we will be.

John’s account of this miracle tells us it was Andrew who found the young boy with the five loaves and two fish and brought him to Jesus. We should not miss the obvious lesson here – don’t ever despise the day of small things. Job 8:7 reminds us, “Though your beginning was small, your latter end will greatly increase.”

Just because something is small or seemingly insignificant doesn’t mean God can’t use it. He used a baby’s tears to attract Pharaoh’s daughter, and the infant Moses was saved from certain death. Later he used Moses’ rod to deliver the children of Israel. And still later a teenage boy named David used one smooth stone to defeat the mighty giant Goliath. Now Jesus is about to feed 5000 men and their families with just five loaves of bread and two fish. How little we have doesn’t matter with God. He can use anything we offer to Him.

Along with not being very creative, the disciples didn’t remember their history very well. They had heard all of the narratives of the faith. They had been told about the exploits of their heroic ancestors. They grew up knowing they could trust God. But at that particular moment, they forgot. I guess there is nothing all that unusual about that. We forget about God from time to time ourselves. In our times of distress we often forget how God has delivered us in the past, time and time again. So the Disciples forgot their history. They forgot about, among other things, the prophets Elijah and Elisha.

During the ministry of the prophet Elijah, there was a drought in the land. He found himself up in the city of Zarephath, in modern day Lebanon, on the Mediterranean coast. There was a widow there who was down to her very last bit of flour and cooking oil. She was planning to make one last meal for her and her son and then prepare to die. But Elijah asked her to feed him first. After he selfless sacrifice, Elijah promised her that as long as the drought lasted, she would always have flour and oil. The writer of I Kings tells us during the course of the drought, the woman’s jar of flour was never empty and her jug of oil did not fail. The disciples had forgotten about that.

In 2 Kings:42-44 we can read about the time the Prophet Elisha was down in the Jordan Valley during a severe famine. He happened to be in the company of about a hundred people when this fellow came along with twenty barley loaves and a sack of grain. Elisha told the man to give his provisions to the people to eat, but he said there was no way this food would feed a hundred people. But Elisha repeated his instruction, everyone ate, and they had food left over. The disciples had forgotten about that

So, Jesus’ disciples had come up with a just a little bread and a couple of fish from a little boy whose mother thought enough to make her son a small lunch for one, saying to him, “if you want to go with the crowd to hear Jesus, I better fix you something to eat, because I heard He can be long winded.” Jesus knew that little boy’s lunch would be enough.

First, Jesus had all of the people sit down on the grass. After blessing the food, Jesus gave it to his disciples to pass out to the crowd. Not only was there enough to feed everyone, but after dinner was finished, they collected twelve baskets of leftovers.

We become concerned that we won’t have enough. We worry over our limited resources, and we forget Jesus’ words,“Bring them here to me.”  Jesus invites us today, as he did his disciples then, to bring what we have to him, trusting that little is much in the hands of our Lord.

Will we bring what we see as small and insignificant to Jesus that he might bless them and us? Will we follow Jesus’ command so that he might do what seems impossible to us? God asks us to do the impossible and then he gives us whatever we need to obey his command.

Jesus often told people to do impossible things.

  • To a Lame man he said, “Rise, pick up your bed, and walk”
  • To a Dead man, he cried out, “Lazarus, come forth”
  • To 10 Lepers he said, “Show yourselves to the priest”
  • To Peter he said, “I bid you come walk out on the water”

There is a sense in which every command of the Lord is impossible for us to obey. On our own we will always lack what we need to obey God’s commands. But when we partner with God he is faithful to give us whatever we need when we ask. We then bring it to him to accomplish the impossible. What God demands, he supplies. He bids us to rise up like eagles and gives us not just wings but the air beneath those wings to soar.

Jesus tells us to give them something to eat. He knows we have resources we don’t yet realize. When the Hungry come looking for a bit to eat. When the Grieving come looking for comfort and reassurance. When the Lost come looking for a new direction. When the Weak come looking for strength. When the Resentful come looking for understanding. When the Afraid come looking for courage. When the Addicted come looking for freedom. And, when the Hopeless come looking for hope. It is up to us to remember the words of Jesus, “YOU GIVE THEM SOMETHING…”

When there are needs around us, people do not need to be sent away. We have it in our power to help them see God through us. When people wonder what God is like, let them look at us as we model godly behavior. Let them see God through our eyes. Let them understand the lengths God will go to to meet their needs. When someone needs to hear the Gospel, let them look no further than our lives.

If the Lord can feed 5000 plus people with five loaves and two small fish, can’t he provide for all our needs today as well? We live in a time of great uncertainty. There are all kinds of things going on in our lives and in the world today that can make it hard to sleep at night. What are we to do? There is a call to each one of us. Instead of worrying ourselves sick, we need to trust that the Lord will indeed provide. The Lord, whose ways are not our ways and whose thoughts are not our thoughts, invites us to put our trust and confidence in him. He may well choose to provide for us through means that we would never have imagined in our wildest dreams. And when we are called, like those first disciples, to do what seems Unlikely – Improbable – even Impossible by human wisdom and worldly standards, we look to Jesus to do what is more than possible. I can do all things through Jesus Christ who strengthens me!

I can’t recall if it was a book I read or a Bible Study some years ago entitled “How To Prepare For A Miracle.” There were four steps recorded in the process of receiving miracles in people’s lives.

  1. Admit that you have a need;
  2. Assess what you have to work with;
  3. Give God whatever you have;
  4. Expect God to multiply whatever you give him.

More often than not, the Lord is not able to bless us or send miracles for our situation because we are too quick to shout – THERE’S NOTHING TO EAT! Sometimes, it seems to me that Christians can be a little self-centered, selfish, and arrogant. Those attitudes can keep the miraculous from happening.

I do believe Jesus came in order that we might have life and have it more abundantly. But I don’t believe that OUR abundant life is first on the agenda. The more that I read the Gospel, the more that I come to understand that our task is to ensure the abundant life of others first. When we are so occupied with meeting the needs of others, it seems to me, our own abundant life will take care of itself.

Our calling therefore is to give them something to eat. I believe when Jesus tells us to do that, we always underestimate our resources. We always tend to believe that –

  • We don’t have enough
  • We can’t do enough
  • We don’t know enough
  • We’re not smart enough
  • We’re not creative enough

Years ago one of my favorite TV shows was “MacGyver.” Anyone remember that show! He was pretty cool. He was some sort of special, super-duper secret agent who always went on assignments with nothing in his pocket except his Swiss army knife. In every show, he would get into trouble and would be facing a situation of certain death. But he would always find a roll of duct tape somewhere and some other little items. With those things and his pocket knife, he was always able to solve any problem he faced. The guy could build a 747 with duct tape and a pocket knife!

Do you know that we have provision enough though the hands of Jesus? Thanks be to God that Jesus provides not only food for the body, but food for the soul as well. Jesus is our Bread of life, who died for us that we might live for him.

God, who did not spare his own Son, but freely offered him up for us all, calls us to trust that he will do what we ask him in faith to do in the Lord’s Prayer — “Give us this day our daily bread.”

Jesus will give us what we need for this day. When all is said and done, isn’t that all that any of us has – this day? May our use of this day bring glory to the Lord Jesus Christ by serving the needs of our neighbors in Christ’s Name

The thing that Christians need to realize is that we already have been given abundance. Sharing that abundance with others is our task and our joy. Miracles occur in our life when we help others see the miracles in their own lives.

But, like the crowd that followed Jesus we must have a Hunger for It. If you want success in life – you must be Hungry for it. If you want your relationship restored – you must be Hungry for it. If you want to grow in this Christian Journey – you must be Hungry for it. Can I tell you that there is plenty to Eat if you are Hungry enough.

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Jesus Restores Our Lives Colossians 3:12-17

Jesus Restores Our Lives

Colossians 3:12-17

Pastor Barry Kerner

If we are in Christ, if we have become Christians, a change has taken place. We have had to say goodbye to the Old Man, to Mr. Wrong and all the habits, passions, and practices of the past. And because Jesus has restored our life, because He has given us abundant life, we are new creations, made in His image.

 

Here in Colossians 3 verses 12-17 we are given clear and cogent instruction on what the new person in Christ looks like. We are told how to live the new life in Christ and what that restored life looks like. A certain and undeniable change should have taken place. That change is not something we have done. It is something Christ has done for us, in us and through us. And as we read and study this passage, we need to remember that the Bible is not a book about people. It is a book about God and His dealings with people – In this case God’s dealings with us as His people.

 

With your Bibles open let’s read Colossians 3 verses 12 through 17.

 

12 Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. 13 Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. 14 And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.

15 Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. 16 Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts. 17 And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

 

 

As we examine this text, let us remember that God is always proactive. He always takes the initiative. He took the initiative in creation, He took the initiative in salvation, and He takes the initiative in our sanctification. God always takes the initiative and then calls upon us to respond appropriately.

 

Notice five areas where He has taken the initiative to restore us, and the response He expects from us as those who have been restored to fellowship with Him.

 

First, because He chose us, we enjoy favor with God (v. 12a)

Paul begins by reminding us of the fact that God chose us or elected us, and therefore we enjoy a position of unique favor with God.

 

We are Holy – set apart from sin, from the rest of the world, and set apart unto God. We are God’s unique creation, His people, chosen to demonstrate His reality to the world in which we live. We were chosen to be different so that others can see His power and glory. He restored us to demonstrate His power to the world around us.

 

Phillips’ translation says because you are “Picked representatives of the new humanity, purified and beloved of God Himself.”

 

Now not only are we holy, or set apart unto God, but we are beloved, or loved by God. It means that God loves us and wants the very best for us.

Deuteronomy 7:7-8a: “The Lord was devoted to you and chose you, not because you were more numerous than all peoples, for you were the fewest of all peoples. But because the Lord loved you . . .”

 

And Because God loves us He counsels us to put off the old man, the sinful way of life, and to “put on,” or clothe ourselves, cover ourselves. It is the same word used in Ephesians 6:14 where the Scripture tells us to put on the armor of God before we do spiritual warfare. But in this context he is telling us to put on certain characteristics that will prepare us for peace, not war. Whereas in Ephesians we are putting on the armor for war, here we are dressing ourselves for a peaceful existence with other Christians. We are to clothe ourselves with garments of the new life in Christ. These are the garments worn by the person who has been changed by Jesus

 

This brings us to our second observation. Look in verses 12b-14.

Because He changed us, we love the People of God (verses 12b-14)

 

Paul is clearly talking about unity in the church. He is talking about the kind of harmony that should exist among those people who really love the Lord, among those people in whom the Holy Spirit is living.

 

Verse 14 sums it up, and the preceding characteristics should all be seen in light of the love God commands us to have for one another. Remember that love is the sash or belt that binds all of these garments together.

 

  1. We are to have heartfelt compassion

This is mercy or sympathy. As Christians we are part of the same family and we should not be indifferent to one another. We should not be cruel, harsh, and cold toward one another. One of the characteristics of a genuine Christian is that he or she possesses heartfelt compassion for other Christians. This is nothing less than feeling towards others as God feels towards them.

 

  1. We are to put on kindness

This is a sweetness of disposition. It is also translated generosity or goodness. A person who is kind has good things to say about others, is considerate of the feelings of others. Their words are tempered with grace and with tenderness. A kind person is not abrupt or harsh but is soft-hearted, and genuinely cares about others.

Everyone of us knows someone like this, someone whose manner and smile communicates kindness, even if they never said a word. This, too, is evidence of the Holy Spirit living inside of a Christian.

 

  1. We are told to put on the garment of humility

This means that we are to submit ourselves one to another. Putting the other person before ourselves, to have a proper estimation of ourselves. It means to be lowly. In God’s economy it is the lowly that are exalted and the proud who are brought down. If Jesus humbled Himself, even to death on the cross, we too must humble ourselves.

We live in a world where we are constantly told we must promote ourselves. People today are seeking to “one up” the next guy. Their pride is easily wounded. In this crazy society people even shoot each other if someone disrespects them on the freeway. The Christian should never be possessed by this type of attitude.

 

It is interesting to me how we have come to understand sin. In many Christian circles mortal sins are always defined by sins of the flesh. Those who drink or smoke, watch R-rated movies, and other such worldly things are looked down upon as the dregs of society. While sins of the heart sins such as pride, arrogance, anger, envy, hatred, and mean spiritedness – are tolerated. Self promotion and boasting may be seen as marks of a “secure” or well adjusted person in the world, but in the church such attitudes create division and discord. Humility enables us to be servants instead of insisting that others serve us.

 

Remember that God is always more concerned with the condition of our heart for it is the heart that determines the actions and course of our lives.

 

  1. We must put on the garment of gentleness or meekness

It is the willingness to suffer injury instead of inflicting it. What a contrast with the way the world thinks. The world sees meekness as weakness.

 

Sometime ago humorist J. Upton Dickson said he was writing a book titled Cower Power, and that he had also founded a group for submissive people called Doormats – an acrostic for Dependent Organization of Really Meek and Timid Souls, if there were no objections. Their motto was, “The meek shall inherit the earth, if that’s OK with everybody.” Their symbol was a yellow traffic light.” That’s the way the world sees meekness, as weakness. But the  Bible says Jesus was meek, and we know He was not weak. Meekness, from a biblical perspective, is strength under control. It takes a greater strength to exhibit meekness than to burst forth with anger and lose control.

 

  1. We are told to clothe or envelop ourselves with patience

This is long suffering, especially in the face of injury or insult. It is marked by the ability to respond in love when others treat us poorly.

 

William Barclay writes, “This is the spirit which never loses its patience with its fellow-men. Their foolishness and their unteachability never drive it to cynicism or despair; their insults and their ill-treatment never drive it to bitterness or wrath”

 

Patience in our own strength is impossible. Patience is not something the world teaches us to practice. In fact, while the world may give lip service to these characteristics in a kind of patronizing kind of way, it looks down upon these traits and ascribes them to weak, timid, insecure losers.

 

So the question is this: Will we give in to worldly pressures and act like the world, or will we allow Christ to have control of our lives, and live according to His mandates, regardless of what the world thinks?

 

When we clothe ourselves with gentleness and meekness two specific things take place:

 

  1. We forbear with one another

That means to put up with or tolerate one another. It can even mean “to endure.” Have you ever know those people you simply had to endure. Being around them is never any fun, it is never a joy or pleasure. But we are told to tolerate, to have patience with or endure these people. There can never be unity in the church unless we are willing to tolerate one another. The only way we can do this is through forgiveness.

 

  1. We forgive one another

That’s the second thing that happens when we clothe ourselves in these traits – we forgive one another, even as Christ forgave us. Even if you have a valid complaint against someone, forgive.

 

I have seen people who call themselves Christians who have unforgiving spirits. Their pride and ego was wounded and they cannot bring themselves to forgive another Christian for some offense. One author puts it this way: “Forgiveness is surrendering my right to hurt you for hurting me.”

 

To forgive someone involves three things. First, it means to forego the right of striking back. One rejects the urge to repay gossip with gossip and a bad turn with a worse turn. Second, it means replacing the feeling of resentment and anger with good will, a love that seeks the other’s welfare, not harm. Third, it means the forgiving person takes steps to restore good relations.

 

For the true Christian, forgiveness may not be easy, but it’s not optional either. It is an essential characteristic of the transformed life. Forbearance and forgiveness are never a problem when we are talking about people we really love. Because He restored us to fellowship with Him, we love the people of God even as He loves them..

 

Third, because He called us, we participate in the peace of God (v. 15)

 

The word translated “called” means to summon or to call your name, as if you had been summoned to court or to the table of the king. The imagery here is that God has called us out of the world to live in His eternal presence. In His presence there is peace. There is no fighting between His people. If Christians could simply picture themselves in the presence of God, where His holiness, might, splendor, and glory were on display, there would never be any lack of unity or peace between them.

 

The peace of God mentioned here is not the indwelling feeling of comfort, but rather an external reality that mediates between Christians. What Paul is saying here is that the peace of God should govern our hearts. It should have control of and power over our hearts to the end that as a body we are one.

 

Don’t misunderstand me. There is a right way and a wrong way to have peace. The wrong way is to leave sin unchecked, to compromise truth for the sake of unity, to allow the devil a foothold. The right way is by speaking the truth in love, confronting sin, and forgiving the sinner. But because we are called or summoned into His presence, we are to allow His peace to arbitrate all of our dealings with one another.

 

Fourth, because He counsels us, we build up the family of God (v. 16)

 

There is much we could say about the word of God, about its promises, its power, its prophecies, its principles and its priorities. But the context of what Paul says here is the instructive nature of the Word of God as we meditate upon it, as we ingest it as spiritual food. He is talking about the fruit that is borne from instruction. That is the richness of the Word, the fruit it bears in our lives.

 

As it teaches us, we instruct, teach, and admonish one another. The truth here is that we are one other’s keepers. We are accountable to God for one another, particularly in the local church.

 

In wisdom we are to teach and admonish one another. Teaching is the positive side of this coin. It is where we positively instruct one another, where we share insights, truths, and wisdom with each other. Admonition, on the other hand, is the negative side of teaching. It means to warn or to caution others. When you love someone, you do both. You instruct them as to what they should do and you warn them as to what they should not do.

 

Because God’s Word is at home in our hearts, we are to allow it to direct our interactions with one another. We are to allow God’s Word to teach us, to counsel us as we teach and admonish one another. And all this is to be done in an attitude of praise and worship, as we give thanks to God for all He has done.

 

This is fascinatingly insightful. Some people, when they admonish or teach others, assume a condescending or holier than thou attitude. But what the Scripture is teaching us is that our attitude should be one of praise and worship, one of gratitude and thanksgiving.

 

When you are focused upon praising God, upon worshiping Him, upon thanking Him for all He has done for you, it will keep you in His presence, mindful of His mercy and His grace, mindful of your own unworthiness. It will keep you from having a wrong attitude toward others.

 

Finally, because He cares for us, we cherish the Name of God (v. 17)

 

Our gratitude causes us to be careful about how we carry the name of Christ. This is one aspect of third third commandment on not taking the Lord’s name in vain. If we call ourselves Christians are we reflecting Christ or are we living in vain reflecting things of the world. It causes us to be mindful of the fact that we are called Christians, and that our actions reflect to the world the reality of Christ. That’s what it means to do something in the name of Christ – to do it on His behalf, under His authority, and according to His will.

 

Conclusion

Is that wonderful change in your life evident? Has light filled the darkness of your soul? How has it changed the way you treat your fellow Christian? Has His presence given you the ability to forbear, to forgive, to love others more than you love yourself? What change has been wrought in your life? Has your life ever been restored? And if not, why not today?

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