Sermon #25 Series:
Mark
Title: “THEY HAVE NOTHING TO EAT”
Text: Mark 6:30-47
Readings: Office: Buddy Daugherty Auditorium: Paul Wendrel
Subject: The Feeding of the Five
Thousand
Date: Sunday
Evening - July 13, 1997
Tape # T-88
Introduction:
Mark 6:30-46 "And the
apostles gathered themselves together unto Jesus, and told him all things, both
what they had done, and what they had taught. (31) And he said unto them, Come ye yourselves apart into a desert
place, and rest a while: for there were many coming and going, and they had no
leisure so much as to eat. (32) And
they departed into a desert place by ship privately. (33) And the people saw them departing, and many knew him, and ran
afoot thither out of all cities, and outwent them, and came together unto him. (34) And Jesus, when he came out, saw
much people, and was moved with compassion toward them, because they were as
sheep not having a shepherd: and he began to teach them many things. (35) And when the day was now far
spent, his disciples came unto him, and said, This is a desert place, and now
the time is far passed: (36) Send them away, that they may go
into the country round about, and into the villages, and buy themselves bread:
for they have nothing to eat. (37) He
answered and said unto them, Give ye them to eat. And they say unto him, Shall
we go and buy two hundred pennyworth of bread, and give them to eat? (38) He saith unto them, How many
loaves have ye? go and see. And when they knew, they say, Five, and two fishes. (39) And he commanded them to make all
sit down by companies upon the green grass.
(40) And they sat down in ranks, by hundreds, and by fifties. (41) And when he had taken the five
loaves and the two fishes, he looked up to heaven, and blessed, and brake the loaves,
and gave them to his disciples to set
before them; and the two fishes divided he among them all. (42) And they did all eat, and were filled. (43) And they took up twelve baskets full of the fragments, and of
the fishes. (44) And they that did
eat of the loaves were about five thousand men. (45) And straightway he constrained his disciples to get into the
ship, and to go to the other side before unto Bethsaida, while he sent away the
people. (46) And when he had sent
them away, he departed into a mountain to pray."
In verse 36 we are told of this great
multitude that “They have nothing to eat.” That is a good description of us.
Hungry sinners come to Christ with nothing to eat. We have nothing. We can
provide nothing for ourselves. We have tried to feed our souls on the swine
husks of materialism, ritualism, ceremonialism, and even licentiousness, but
found nothing to satisfy our souls! So we come to Christ, hungry and thirsty,
having nothing to eat.
Yet, before the day was over, we read that five thousand men
(not including women and children), “did all eat, and were filled.” Not
only did the Son of God feed upwards of twenty thousand people with five loaves
and two fish, when everyone had eaten all he wanted, the disciples took up
twelve baskets full of fragments! It is my prayer that our Lord will be pleased
to repeat the miracle of the loaves and fishes in our midst tonight. I pray
that everyone here will be fed by him and fed upon him, who is the Bread of
Life, fed to the satisfaction of our souls.
Tonight, I want us to learn the meaning of this great
miracle and the lessons contained in this passage for us. As God the Son, our
Lord Jesus Christ is our lesson, may God the Holy Spirit be our Teacher.
Proposition: Christ
alone is able to feed and satisfy immortal souls.
Divisions: As
we meditate together upon these verses of Scripture, I will direct your
attention to seven things in them.
1.
Christ’s Servants (v. 30)
2.
Christ’s Instruction (vv. 31-32)
3.
Christ’s Compassion (vv. 33-34)
4.
Christ’s Patience (vv. 35-36)
5.
Christ’s Power (vv. 37-44)
6.
Christ’s Provision (vv. 42-43)
7.
Christ’s Conduct (vv. 45-46)
I.
First, I want
to show you something about the conduct of CHRIST’S
SERVANTS, when they returned from their first preaching mission (v.30).
Mark
6:30 "And the apostles gathered
themselves together unto Jesus, and told him all things, both what they had
done, and what they had taught."
These are very instructive words.
Every servant of God should do exactly what these Apostles did.
·
When preparing to
preach, they must seek a message from the Master.
·
While preaching, they
must seek the Lord’s power, wisdom, grace, and strength.
·
When the message is
done, they must report back to the Master, tell him all they have done and
taught in his name, and seek his Spirit to make their labors effectual.
In the work of the ministry, nothing
is so important as prayer. Prayer moves him who moves heaven and earth. Prayer
displays faith in and dependence upon Christ. Let every gospel preacher be
diligent in study, devoted in labor, and ardent in preaching. But the secret of
power in the pulpit is prayer. Blessed is that church which has a praying
pastor, one who knows he cannot preach without the power of God’s Spirit, one
who cries with Ezekiel…
Ezekiel
37:9 "Come from the four winds, O
breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live."
He
is a faithful pastor, he is a faithful servant of God who gives himself to “prayer and the ministry of the Word” (Acts
6:4).
II.
Secondly, I
want to show you CHRIST’S INSTRUCTION
to these faithful disciples who had been ministering to the souls of men (vv.
31-32).
Mark
6:31 "And he said unto them, Come
ye yourselves apart into a desert place, and rest a while: for there were many
coming and going, and they had no leisure so much as to eat."
I realize that there are very few who
need instruction about the necessity of rest and relaxation. There are very few
who are so zealously devoted to the work of the gospel that they do not even
have time to sit down for a meal. Yet, for those few who are so devoted, our
Lord’s words here are very needful. Someone said, “We must come apart and rest
a while, or we will come apart.”
J.C. Ryle wrote, “The
prosperity of a man’s ministry and public work is intimately bound up with the
prosperity of his own soul.”
Our Lord knows that we carry the
treasure of his gospel in earthen vessels. He knows that we are only weak,
frail mortals, compassed with many infirmities. He does not require more than
we can do. It is better to do little and do it well than to do much and do it
haphazardly.
A.
The work of
the ministry is, to a faithful man, a matter of tremendous labor.
B.
It is a labor
of the heart and mind, involving the entire life of a man.
2
Corinthians 11:28 "Beside those
things that are without, that which cometh upon me daily, the care of all the
churches."
C.
While constantly
ministering to the souls of others faithful men are in great danger of
neglecting their own souls.
Song
of Songs 1:6 "Look not upon me,
because I am black, because the sun
hath looked upon me: my mother's children were angry with me; they made me the
keeper of the vineyards; but mine own
vineyard have I not kept."
If it is not abused, occasional times
of rest and relaxation are very useful and beneficial. Such times should be
times of…
·
Rest.
·
Reflection.
·
Relaxation.
·
Recuperation.
We
must never become so encumbered with doing things for Christ and serving him
that we fail to take the time to sit quietly at his feet and hear his Word.
III. Thirdly, in verses 33-34, we are given a glimpse of CHRIST’S COMPASSION.
Mark
6:33-34 "And the people saw them
departing, and many knew him, and ran afoot thither out of all cities, and
outwent them, and came together unto him.
(34) And Jesus, when he came out, saw much people, and was moved with
compassion toward them, because they were as sheep not having a shepherd: and
he began to teach them many things."
Our dear Savior was moved with
compassion as he beheld the multitudes before him. That which moved him was the
act that these thousands standing before him stood before him “as sheep not having a shepherd.” They
had plenty of priests, but no priests from God. They had preachers, but no
preacher after God’s own heart to feed them with knowledge and understanding.
They had prophets in abundance; but they were all prophets of deceit. They had
religious form and ceremony, traditions and customs, devotion and zeal; but “they had nothing to eat.” Their form of
godliness was empty and meaningless. They knew nothing of the power of
godliness. They knew nothing of the gospel. Their religion was all husk.
Thousands of immortal souls stood before our Lord, ignorant, helpless, and
needy, on the high road to hell, the high road of religious darkness,
blindness, ignorance, self-righteousness, and superstition! Angry as he was
when denouncing the Scribes and Pharisees, those who should have taught the
people the way of life, when our Lord beheld the perishing multitudes, he was
ever “moved with compassion toward them.”
Matthew
9:36 "But when he saw the multitudes,
he was moved with compassion on
them, because they fainted, and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no
shepherd."
Matthew
14:14 "And Jesus went forth, and
saw a great multitude, and was moved with compassion
toward them, and he healed their sick."
Matthew
15:32 "Then Jesus called his
disciples unto him, and said, I have compassion on the multitude, because
they continue with me now three days, and have nothing to eat: and I will not
send them away fasting, lest they faint in the way."
Matthew
20:34 "So Jesus had compassion on them, and touched their eyes: and immediately their eyes
received sight, and they followed him."
Mark
1:41 "And Jesus, moved with compassion, put forth his hand, and touched him, and saith
unto him, I will; be thou clean."
Mark
5:19 "Howbeit Jesus suffered him
not, but saith unto him, Go home to thy friends, and tell them how great things
the Lord hath done for thee, and hath had compassion
on thee."
Mark
8:2 "I have compassion on the multitude, because they have now been with me
three days, and have nothing to eat."
Luke
7:13 "And when the Lord saw her
(The Widow of Nain) , he had compassion on
her, and said unto her, Weep not."
Luke
10:33 "But a certain Samaritan, as
he journeyed, came where he was: and when he saw him, he had compassion on him."
Luke
15:20 "And he arose, and came to
his father. But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his
neck, and kissed him."
“Let us never forget that our Lord is
the same yesterday, today, and forever. He never changes. High in heaven, at
God’s right hand, He still looks with compassion on the children of men. He
still pities the ignorant, and them that are gone out of the way.” ---J.C. Ryle
Being
“moved with compassion toward them,” our
Savior not only healed the sick and fed them, but also “began to teach them things.” I have no doubt at all what he
taught them. He taught these people the same, blessed gospel he taught
everywhere else.
·
Their Need of Grace.
·
The Necessity and
Nature of the New Birth.
·
The Purpose of His
Coming.
·
The Wonders of
Redemption.
·
The Blessedness of
Repentance and Faith.
Here is a place for personal
examination. We must not attempt to examine and judge one another; but
we must examine and judge ourselves, lest we be judged with the world.
·
Am I like my Savior,
tenderly concerned for and moved with compassion toward perishing sinners?
·
Do I really care for
eternity bound men and women?
·
Am I willing and
ready to meet and minister to the needs of those around me?
These are serious questions. Do not
answer them in haste. We ought to look upon ourselves as Paul did, as debtors
to all men. We ought to use every means to preach the gospel to eternity bound
men and women. We ought to give willingly for the spread of the gospel
throughout the world. If the definition of a Christian is “one who is Christ
like,” it must be concluded that anyone who is not moved with compassion toward
the souls of men is not a Christian.
IV. Verses 35-36 give us another display of CHRIST’S PATIENCE.
Mark
6:35-36 "And when the day was now
far spent, his disciples came unto him, and said, This is a desert place, and
now the time is far passed: (36) Send them away, that they may go
into the country round about, and into the villages, and buy themselves bread:
for they have nothing to eat."
These disciples were so much like us!
Rather than trusting the Lord to do that which was wisest and best, they
presumed that they knew what was wisest and best. Judging by what they could
see, that it was way past dinner time, that the people had nothing to eat, that
they were a long way from town, and that the crowd was hungry, they said to he
Lord Jesus, send them away to get something to eat. They leaned to their own understanding,
rather than trusting in the Lord. Yet, the Lord Jesus was so patient! How much
like them we are! Yet, the Lord Jesus is patient!
V. CHRIST’S
POWER as God is manifestly
displayed in the miracle recorded in verses 37-44.
Mark
6:37-44 "He answered and said unto
them, Give ye them to eat. And they say unto him, Shall we go and buy two
hundred pennyworth of bread, and give them to eat? (38) He saith unto them, How many loaves have ye? go and see. And
when they knew, they say, Five, and two fishes. (39) And he commanded them to make all sit down by companies upon
the green grass. (40) And they sat
down in ranks, by hundreds, and by fifties.
(41) And when he had taken the five loaves and the two fishes, he looked up
to heaven, and blessed, and brake the loaves, and gave them to his disciples to set before them; and the two fishes
divided he among them all. (42) And
they did all eat, and were filled. (43) And
they took up twelve baskets full of the fragments, and of the fishes. (44) And they that did eat of the
loaves were about five thousand men."
Our Lord Jesus fed five thousand men,
besides women and children, with five loaves and two fish. We are distinctly
told that the crowd had nothing to eat. There was one boy in the bunch who had
just these five loaves and two small fish with him. These were put into the
hands of Christ. With them, the Lord Jesus fed about twenty thousand people;
and after dinner the disciples took up twelve baskets full of fragments. What a
banquet! We would be wise to store up the facts here revealed in our hearts and
minds, so that we may remember them in times of need.
A. He who is our
Savior is also God our Creator, one whose power to protect and provide for us
is the power of omnipotence!
B. Our Lord does
not need us to do anything; but he does condescend to use us in the
accomplishment of his miracles of mercy.
Those five loaves and two small fish were insignificant.
Such a little could never feed such a crowd, but it did! That little boy’s
lunch was utterly insignificant, until it as put in the hands of the Son of
God. That boy could never have dreamed of feeding twenty thousand people that
day, but he did!
C. That which is
given to Christ is never wasted, lost, or even diminished, but only increases.
That which was given was very little; but that which was
done with it was very great. That boy did not give much; but he gave what he
could and gave all he had at the time; and God honored his gift. There are some
lessons to be learned here about giving.
Proverbs
3:9-10 "Honour the LORD with thy
substance, and with the firstfruits of all thine increase: (10) So shall thy barns be filled with plenty, and thy presses
shall burst out with new wine."
2
Corinthians 9:6-11 "But this I say, He which soweth sparingly shall
reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also
bountifully. (7) Every man according
as he purposeth in his heart, so let him
give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver. (8) And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having
all sufficiency in all things, may
abound to every good work: (9) (As it
is written, He hath dispersed abroad; he hath given to the poor: his
righteousness remaineth for ever. (10) Now
he that ministereth seed to the sower both minister bread for your food, and multiply your seed sown,
and increase the fruits of your righteousness;) (11) Being enriched in every thing to all bountifulness, which
causeth through us thanksgiving to God."
Galatians
6:6-10 "Let him that is taught in
the word communicate unto him that teacheth in all good things. (7) Be not deceived; God is not mocked:
for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. (8) For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap
corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life
everlasting. (9) And let us not be
weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not. (10) As we have therefore opportunity,
let us do good unto all men, especially
unto them who are of the household of faith."
Luke
6:38 "Give, and it shall be given
unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over,
shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal
it shall be measured to you again."
VI. In verse 42, we are given an example of CHRIST’S PROVISION.
Mark
6:42 "And they did all eat, and
were filled."
The Jews did not consider it a meal
unless everyone had all he wanted, and looked upon it as a shameful
embarrassment if there was not a good amount left over after everyone had eaten
his fill.
This
is certain - All who feed at
Christ’s banqueting table are well fed!
A. His provisions
of grace are infinitely bountiful.
1.
Righteousness
2.
Redemption.
3.
Forgiveness.
4.
Peace.
5.
Adoption.
6.
Acceptance.
7.
Security.
8.
Eternal Life!
B. His provisions
of providence are overflowing with goodness.
Those who drink at his well always find it full. Those who
feed from his barrel of meal always find bread enough and to spare. Those who
fill their vessels from his supply of oil always have their vessels filled. The
only vessel that is empty is the vessel that is not brought to him.
Psalms
34:7-10 "The angel of the LORD
encampeth round about them that fear him, and delivereth them. (8) O taste and see that the LORD is good: blessed is the man that trusteth
in him. (9) O fear the LORD, ye his
saints: for there is no want to them
that fear him. (10) The young lions
do lack, and suffer hunger: but they that seek the LORD shall not want any good
thing."
Psalms
37:23-25 "The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD: and he
delighteth in his way. (24) Though he
fall, he shall not be utterly cast down: for the LORD upholdeth him with his hand. (25) I have been young, and now
am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging
bread."
Luke
22:35 "And he said unto them, When
I sent you without purse, and scrip, and shoes, lacked ye any thing? And they said, Nothing."
This has been my experience. In thirty years I have never
lacked for anything. Have you? Has he not proved himself faithful to you?
VII. Now, take a brief glance at verses 45 and 46, and observe CHRIST’S CONDUCT.
Mark
6:45-46 "And straightway he
constrained his disciples to get into the ship, and to go to the other side
before unto Bethsaida, while he sent away the people. (46) And when he had sent them away, he departed into a mountain
to pray."
A. Our Lord
constrained his disciples to take a ship to Bethsaida, knowing full well that
he was sending them into the eye of a terrible storm.
We will, the Lord willing, look at this in greater detail
next Sunday evening; but, for now, I want you to see just three things about
this.
1.
The Lord sent his beloved disciples into the storm
deliberately.
2.
He came to his disciples and made himself known to them in
the storm in a way that they could not have known him otherwise.
3.
He brought them safely through the storm.
B. When he had
sent his disciples away into the storm, the Lord Jesus went up into a mountain
to pray.
What a picture! Child of God, your Savior, your Master, your
Lord has sent you through many a storm and will yet send you through many more.
Sometimes he acts as if he is going to simply pass you by and leave you in the
storm; but he never will. He who sent you into the storm has gone up into the
high mountain of heaven. There he prays for you and makes intercession on your
behalf before the throne of God. Look at John 17, and I will show you how he
prays for you.
John
17:6-19 "I have manifested thy
name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world: thine they were, and
thou gavest them me; and they have kept thy word. (7) Now they have known that all things whatsoever thou hast given
me are of thee. (8) For I have given
unto them the words which thou gavest me; and they have received them, and have known surely that I came
out from thee, and they have believed that thou didst send me. (9) I pray for them: I pray not for the
world, but for them which thou hast given me; for they are thine. (10) And all mine are thine, and thine
are mine; and I am glorified in them.
(11) And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I
come to thee. Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast
given me, that they may be one, as we are.
(12) While I was with them in the world, I kept them in thy name: those
that thou gavest me I have kept, and none of them is lost, but the son of
perdition; that the scripture might be fulfilled. (13) And now come I to thee; and these things I speak in the
world, that they might have my joy fulfilled in themselves. (14) I have given them thy word; and the world hath hated them,
because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. (15) I pray not that thou shouldest
take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil. (16) They are not of the world, even as
I am not of the world. (17) Sanctify
them through thy truth: thy word is truth.
(18) As thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them
into the world. (19) And for their
sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the
truth."
John
17:25-26 "O righteous Father, the
world hath not known thee: but I have known thee, and these have known that
thou hast sent me. (26) And I have
declared unto them thy name, and will declare it: that the love wherewith thou hast loved me may be in them, and
I in them."