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."