Give Them Something To Eat

TITLE: GIVE THEM SOMETHING TO EAT

SCRIPTURE: ST. MARK 6:32-44

This is one of the great miracles of the Bible. 5000 hungry men show up uninvited and then stay for supper. Imagine ordering 5000 pizzas-deep-dish, Chicago-style, of course. That would cost a pretty penny. Suppose you had to feed 5000 men tonight. What would you do? It’s late, the people are tired and hungry –

• Local Burger King is closed for remodeling

• The nearest Chick-fila is in Jerusalem

• Pizza Hut doesn’t deliver to the wilderness

The disciples make a very practical suggestion - “SEND THEM AWAY AND LET THEM FIND FOOD.” In other words “Send them away and let them fend for themselves.” That’s logical. The suggestion is not made from bad motives. In themselves the disciples had no resources to meet this enormous need.

• They had no food

• They had no money

• What else could they do?

• They could do nothing!

One of the disciples came up to Jesus that day, and he asked - "where are we to get enough bread for all these people to eat?" And do you know what Jesus said to his disciple? Do you know what Jesus said to the man who had given up so much in order to follow Jesus? Jesus said, "YOU, YOU GIVE THEM SOMETHING TO EAT."

Uhm…Excuse Me?

• What if you were one of the disciples of Jesus?

• What if you had given up much to follow Jesus?

• What if you had committed your life to following Jesus, to listening to him, and to serving him wherever he went?

• What if you were not one of the five thousand, but were one of the disciples?

What if you came up to Jesus and asked, "Where are we going to get these people something to eat?" Here is what Jesus said to that group? Jesus said, "You, you give them something to eat?" I love it when Jesus says, “YOU GIVE THEM SOMETHING TO EAT.” It’s somewhat funny because the disciples have just gotten through explaining why they can’t feed this massive crowd. One wonders if they were thinking something like this - “You want us to feed this crowd? You gotta be kidding! Didn’t you hear what we just said? We don’t have any money and we don’t have any food.

• What we have here is a “failure to communicate”

• But Jesus wouldn’t let his men off the hook

• He wants them to get involved in the grand adventure of helping others

Me? You want Me to give them something to eat?

• I thought Jesus was the great miracle worker?

• I thought Jesus could fix anything

• I thought Jesus could heal anything

• I thought Jesus could solve anything

• I thought Jesus could change any circumstance

Let's just turn it over to Jesus. After all isn’t that what we sing on Sunday mornings? – ‘turn it over to Jesus he’ll work it out.’ Is there anything we need? Let's just turn it over to Jesus. Well, there's some truth to that attitude, of course. But Jesus's first response to the disciples surely must have stunned them. "YOU GIVE THEM SOMETHING TO EAT." Jesus turns to his disciples, to the people who have truly shown their commitment and love to him, to his followers, and Jesus says, "You give them something to eat."

• That does not help the situation at all!

• Why won't Jesus act immediately?

• Why won't Jesus do what I, a disciple, ask?

• Why does Jesus turn the question over to me?

• Why does Jesus turn the need over to me?

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. Our success depends totally upon him.

• ST. MATTHEW 19:26 “BUT JESUS BEHELD THEM, AND SAID UNTO THEM, WITH MEN THIS IS IMPOSSIBLE; BUT WITH GOD ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE”

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. 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