Mark 6:30-44 – A Thanksgiving Dinner with Barley and Sardines
I’m told of a turkey farmer who was always experimenting with breeding to perfect a better turkey. His family was fond of the leg portion for dinner and there were never enough legs for everyone. After many frustrating attempts, the farmer was relating the results of his efforts to his friends at the general store get together. "Well I finally did it! I bred a turkey that has 6 legs!"
They all asked the farmer how it tasted. "I don’t know," said the farmer. "I never could catch the darn thing!"
I don’t know if you eat turkey on Thanksgiving, but today I’d like to share with you a few thoughts about the day set aside to be thankful. We’re going to spend just a few minutes looking at a miracle that Jesus did, that will hopefully encourage us to be more thankful on a regular basis. The story is in Mark 6:30-44. Turn with me there.
This is the only miracle, besides the Resurrection, recorded in all 4 of the Gospels. It happens just after King Herod had John the Baptist beheaded. It seems that Jesus wanted to pull away from people for awhile. Matthew and Luke say that Jesus and His disciples withdrew. Mark paints the picture of just needing to get away from the crowds long enough for Jesus and His disciples to eat: v30-32.
The Gospel writer John says that the boat they got in leads them across the Sea of Galilee, and Luke says the place they end up is somewhere near the town called Bethsaida. Even then, though, the crowds are there. In fact, the crowds that Jesus sailed away from follow Him to a favorite spot of His – v33. Once again, Jesus is not alone. And out of His compassion, He puts His plans on hold to get a few moments to Himself – v34.
Now, the day wears on, and at some point, Jesus’ disciples see the problem – v35-36. What will the people eat? Now, the disciples aren’t telling Jesus so that He can feed the people. They tell Him so that He can send the people away to find food for themselves. They aren’t really counting on Jesus to meet their needs.
So they are shocked when Jesus tells them to feed the people themselves – v37. They have neither the finances nor resources to feed the mass of people, perhaps 20,000 of them. It will take 200 denarii or 8 months’ wages to do it. They figure that what Jesus is telling them to do is impossible. And it is, in their own resources. That’s part of the lesson of this story, which we may look at in the new year, when I preach through the life of Jesus. Jesus commands us to do more than we are humanly able, because He gives us the abilities us to do what He commands.
So the disciples round up some food – v38. I find it hard to think that out of 20,000, the only food is 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish. That’s not a lot. The bread would be similar to pita bread, small, flat and round. And the fish would be like sardines – just little. That’s all the food they have to work with. I’ve got a hunch that that’s all anyone would share with the rest. There’s a lesson there, too.
Then, Jesus takes action – v39-44. Jesus tells His disciples to line up the people in some organized way, to reach them the fastest way possible. He takes the bread, breaks it up, and sends the disciples off to spread it around. There is enough for everybody – that’s the miracle. There is no way that everybody would even be able to have a taste, unless a miracle happened, which it does, to the point that everybody eats and has enough. Amazing.
Now, today being part of the Thanksgiving weekend, I’d like to gain 3 insights to being thankful from this story. The 1st thing that this story teaches us about thanksgiving is: 1) Be thankful you have more than enough. V42 says that everybody ate and were satisfied. The KJV says they were filled. The NLT says they ate as much as they wanted. Today, we may say, “I couldn’t eat another bite.”
You see? Jesus changed the scene from a not-nearly-enough crisis to a more-than-enough blessing. That’s what we have, too. We may gripe about all the things we don’t have but want. We may gripe about who we are and where we are. But I think this story tells us that we need to be thankful for what we do have. We have so much that none of us here is in need. What often happens is that when a person has too much, he or she forgets that God is part of the reason why.
Proverbs 30 records this prayer of the wise man: “Give me neither poverty nor riches, but give me only my daily bread. Otherwise, I may have too much and disown you and say, `Who is the LORD?’ Or I may become poor and steal, and so dishonor the name of my God.” That’s good advice. Be thankful that you have more than enough.
The 2nd thing that this story teaches us about thanksgiving is: 2) Be thankful for the simple things. Look at this. John 6:8 tells us that the bread was barley, not wheat. Barley was more or less the poor man’s food. It wasn’t the finest of the crops. But it was enough to feed a person, and it’s good for you, too. It wasn’t lobster, for sure. Then again, lobster used to be so plentiful that you could wade out into the water and pick them right off the beach. Lobster used to be used as fertilizer. Lobster was poor man’s food. I guess things change.
For Jesus to use barley bread means that nothing is beneath Him. It means that Jesus uses humble things to teach us lessons. It means that Jesus uses simple things to teach us. Another thing about the story: Jesus told His disciples to get the people to sit on the green grass. Yeah? So? Well, it was the season that grass was just getting to be green. John tells us that it would soon be Passover, which means it was early spring. Green grass was just starting to appear.
Throw into the mix the fact that that particular location in the Holy Land doesn’t generally get a lot of rain. All this leads me to think that Jesus wanted the people to sit on the green grass because it was a simple pleasure that people might take for granted. It was fresh and new and rare and Jesus wanted the people to appreciate it. The barley loaves, the green grass… those small details lead me to think that Jesus wants us to be thankful for the simple things in life. The colors of the leaves, the beauty of the river, the cool wind blowing, the gentle rains, the briskness in the air, the presence of family and friends, the love of God that washes over us in our times of dryness, the faith that keeps us going in hard times… how often do we take things for granted? Be thankful for the simple things.
The 3rd thing that this story teaches us about thanksgiving is: 3) Be thankful for the things you think you’ve earned. One thing that I find interesting about this story is that when Jesus broke the bread to pass it around, He gave thanks for it. Why? It wasn’t His bread in the first place, but He was about to do a miracle with it. He was about to use His powers to multiply the bread, but He still gave thanks. He could have made it out of nothing, I’m sure, just as easily as He could multiply some already existing bread. But still, He was thankful to the Father for providing it, regardless of what He Himself could do.
Some people like to take credit for what they have done and for who they are. They have arrived at where they are by good choices and abilities. They did it, not anyone else. They don’t have to thank God, because they did it themselves.
But it’s more like the student in school who was asked to write a paper called, "What I’m thankful for on Thanksgiving." This one student wrote, "I’m thankful that I’m not a turkey." He had nothing to do with it, but he was still thankful what God had done. Listen: you are who you are today, not just because of good choices, and not just because of good abilities. You are where you are because God has had a hand in it.
You believe because God has shown Himself to you. You trust because God has proven Himself. You are free because God has given you strength. You understand because God has given you wisdom. You testify because God has opened your eyes to His goodness. You are forgiven because Jesus died for you. Yes, there is the element of reaching back to God, but it’s only possible because He reached out to us first. We have nothing to brag about. We only have things to be thankful for.
So be thankful for you have more than enough. Be thankful for the simple things in life. And be thankful for the things you think you’ve earned.
