The Feeding of the Five Thousand
When I start preparing my sermons, I usually start thinking about a question. And it's usually a stupid question. Last time we looked at Jesus taking the disciples away to rest, and I wondered why they didn't have time to eat. This time, we are looking at the feeding of the five thousand, and so I want you to think about what my stupid question about this passage might be.
Last time, the disciples were tired and hungry, and Jesus took them away for a rest. But they did not get much time alone! People saw them coming, and they all rushed to where Jesus was going. They gathered because they wanted to see what Jesus would do next. Jesus has been going around teaching and doing miracles, so he is a pretty interesting person to watch! But he has also been overturning people's expectations. He has shown a new view of holiness, and a new view of who is important to God. People came to watch him because they did not know what he was going to do next! A lot of Christians have a slogan - ``What Would Jesus Do?'' They think about how Jesus would react in their situation. I used to really dislike this slogan, but I listened to a teacher in Bible college who changed my view of it. He said that it's a great slogan. Because it reminds us that we have no idea what Jesus would do. He would do something unexpected! He was unpredictable! That's why they came to see what he would do.
And Jesus has compassion on these people and he teaches them until well into the evening. Earlier it was the disciples who were tired and hungry, but now it is the people. And maybe they have learnt something. Because they tell Jesus that the people should go home to eat. Now Jesus has no problem here. He could easily do what the disciples say, and tell the people to go home. Nobody would think any worse of him. Normally when Jesus does a miracle it is because there is a problem - someone is sick, there is a big storm which might drown them all, and so on. And these miracles show who Jesus is. They show that he has power and authority. But sometimes there is no problem; Jesus performs a miracle as part of his teaching. He wants to show people something more than just his power.
And this is one of his most important miracles. Do you understand why? If you don't, don't worry. The disciples did not understand why. If you look ahead to verse 52, it says that the disciples were astonished when Jesus walks on the water ``because they did not understand about the fish''. So if they had understood about the fish, they would not be surprised that Jesus can walk on water. Somehow the miracle of the fish is supposed to tell them that Jesus can walk on water. I want to try to explain what Jesus was teaching when he did this miracle.
The first thing Jesus does is ask the disciples what food there is, and tells them to arrange the people in groups. The disciples are not stupid. They know that five loaves and two fish will not feed everyone. But because Jesus says so, they make the people sit down and get ready to eat. Often Jesus tells the disciples that they have little faith, but this time they do show faith. They trust that Jesus will do something to feed the people, even though they don't know what he will do. And the people must have had faith too. This translation of the Bible says they ``sat down'' but the Greek actually says they ``lay down'', which is what you would do if you were going to eat a meal.
Keep one finger in Mark, and turn to Ezekiel 34 and I'll read verses 1 to 3, and then 14 to 15. God is talking about how the kings of Israel behaved, and how He behaves. Now let's look at Mark for a minute. Just before today's passage, there is an example of a bad king. King Herod has a big, luxurious banquet while many people are hungry. And while he has this banquet, he is impressed by one of the dancing girls, and asks her what he can do for her. And she asks him to kill John the Baptist, and he does. John the Baptist has been doing God's work, and yet the King of Israel has him killed! This man is not the rightful king. He does not belong on the throne; God did not put him there, the Romans put him there. This is what God was talking about in Ezekiel: ``You eat the fat, you clothe yourselves with the wool, you slaughter the choice animals'' - this sounds like Herod's banquet - ``but you do not feed the sheep''. Mark says that Jesus saw the crowds and had compassion on them because they were like sheep without a shepherd. The king of Israel is not the rightful king. He is not looking after the people, he is not teaching them God's ways, and he is not doing God's work.
In Ezekiel, verses 14-15, this is what God says he will do: God himself will put them on green grass on the mountain heights of Israel. God himself will make them lie down. And then God himself will feed them.
Now turn back to Mark. In verse 34 Jesus sees that the people are like sheep without a shepherd. In verse 39 he makes them lie down. Where does he put them? On the green grass of the mountains of Israel. And then in verse 40 he feeds them. Jesus is doing exactly what God said he would do himself. Jesus is showing the people that he is nothing less than God Himself. If the disciples understood this, they would not be surprised the he could walk on the water.
Now, could you guess what my stupid question was? My stupid question is this: If Jesus was God, why didn't he know how many people there were there? I mean, why did he make too much food? Mark says there were twelve baskets of food left over. In other words, he made way too much food! Why didn't he make just enough for five thousand?
Actually I think that Jesus was teaching people something about the Kingdom of God. A lot of Jesus' teaching is about the Kingdom of God, and what God's Kingdom is like. And I think Jesus wants to show people that the Kingdom of God is not about ``just enough''. In Luke 6:38, he says ``Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap.'' When God gives, he doesn't just give you just enough. He gives you just enough, then He presses it down and gives you some more; then He shakes it down and gives you some more.
I am not saying that God gives us everything we ask for and more. I am not saying that we just need to pray and God gives us everything we want. But I am saying that when God gives, he gives abundantly. In 1 Timothy 1, Paul says ``The grace of our Lord was poured out on me abundantly, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.'' This is not a question of ``just enough''. God gives grace and love and faith more than enough.
I have a friend who is a pastor in England and he has written a book called ``More''. It's a fantastic book. He writes that many people feel dissatisfied with their relationship with God. They have learnt to get by with ``just enough'' but they feel that they are missing something, that there must be more. There's even a worship song in the UK, which starts ``There must be more than this.'' And my friend writes that there is more than this! God gives Himself abundantly. He gives ``life to the full.'' He expects us to be satisfied. In the Kingdom of God we do not need to settle for ``just enough''. When the people had finished their bread and fish, ``they all ate and were satisfied'' (v. 42) but even then there was still more (okawari) left over. To leave food left over in the New Testament period was almost an embarrassment. When rich people had a banquet they would make too much food so that they could show that they were rich enough to waste some.
When Jesus fed the hungry he did not give them ``just enough''. He gave them a banquet. That's how he deals with us as well.
There is a famous story by the English author Charles Dickens called Oliver Twist. It's about an orphan growing up in an orphanage. And one day this orphan, Oliver, after dinner goes up to the man who runs the orphanage and says ``Please, sir, can I have some more?'' (okawari) ``More?'' asks the man, and gives Oliver a slap. Nobody dares ask for more. Sometimes we can have that image of God - we think he gives us just enough to survive, and we do not dare to ask for more. But God offers us a banquet, and there is always more left over.
Jesus revealed who he was to the disiples by doing all the things that God himself promised to do. But Jesus also showed us what God is like; a God who loves to give in abundance. All we have to do is sit down and receive.