30 The apostles gathered around Jesus and reported to him all they had done and taught. 31 Then, because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat, he said to them, “Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.”
32 So they went away by themselves in a boat to a solitary place. 33 But many who saw them leaving recognized them and ran on foot from all the towns and got there ahead of them. 34 When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. So he began teaching them many things.
35 By this time it was late in the day, so his disciples came to him. “This is a remote place,” they said, “and it’s already very late. 36 Send the people away so that they can go to the surrounding countryside and villages and buy themselves something to eat.”
37 But he answered, “You give them something to eat.”
They said to him, “That would take more than half a year’s wages[e]! Are we to go and spend that much on bread and give it to them to eat?”
38 “How many loaves do you have?” he asked. “Go and see.”
When they found out, they said, “Five—and two fish.”
39 Then Jesus directed them to have all the people sit down in groups on the green grass. 40 So they sat down in groups of hundreds and fifties. 41 Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then he gave them to his disciples to distribute to the people. He also divided the two fish among them all. 42 They all ate and were satisfied, 43 and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces of bread and fish. 44 The number of the men who had eaten was five thousand.
Question 1
How would you expect Jesus to respond as these people who follow him everywhere?
Question 2
In what ways does a shepherd care for his sheep?
So far, we have been introduced many times to the fact that Jesus is King. In the Bible, Jesus is also described as a shepherd. The Old Testament often describes God’s people as sheep in need of a shepherd. A shepherd has a great responsibility for his sheep – he guides them, watches over them, protects them, feeds them, and even gives his life for them if necessary.
When Jesus looks at this crowd that has run after him in order to listen to him, he realizes that they are like sheep. They need someone to take care of them, show them the way and provide for their needs. And that’s exactly what it does. He starts by teaching them what they need to hear and then in an absolutely miraculous way, feeds 5000 men (not to mention the women and children) with five loaves and two fish.
But Jesus wants the people to see more than the fact that he is a good teacher who can provide a feast for his followers. This passage contains several echoes of the Old Testament. First, he gets the people to sit on the ‘grass’. Mark makes a point of noting that the grass is green. This reminds us of Psalm 23. There, God himself is the shepherd who makes his people lie in green pastures (i.e. grass!) The second thing Jesus is doing here is giving bread to a large number of people in a very lonely place. This is an immediate reminder of how God himself fed the Israelites with manna while they were in the desert. Jesus Christ is the Lord God, the Good Shepherd and the King who cares for his people.
Question 3
Do you think there is a reason why Jesus teaches the people before feeding them?
Question 4
Why do you think Jesus creates so much food that there are baskets left?
Pray
to the Great Shepherd to protect you and to give you the physical and spiritual food you need.
