“Feast In The Wilderness”
Mark 6:30-44
SCRIPTURE INTRO:
Jesus came to show us what God is like.
His miracles were
all visual sermons, teaching us about himself and his salvation.
INTRO: This morning let’s talk about a subject
that interests
every
single one of us, every single day of our lives—eating.
Eating is important to us because it’s much more than
biology.
Food means things
to us.
Have you ever heard the term “comfort food”?
Comfort food is a simple, traditional food that does more
than fill you up—
it
brings to mind pleasant memories and nostalgic feelings, it comforts you.
Macaroni and cheese
is a comfort food. Chicken and dumplins is a comfort food.
My favorite comfort food is leftover cornbread crumbled in
buttermilk.
When I was a boy
remember mother eating that, giving me some,
telling
me that she remembered her father always eating cold cornbread that way.
I love it. Not just
because of the taste and texture—
but
because when I eat it, it says “Home, mother, South.”
The Bible is full of food and eating.
Starts in Genesis with God telling Adam and Eve—
I give you every
green plant for food,
the
fruit from every tree of the garden is yours to eat.
But, there is one tree whose fruit you may not eat.
Ends
in Revelation with the wedding feast of the Lamb.
And all in between, the Bible is full of food and eating.
Manna
in desert, land flowing with milk and honey.
Trouble is
described as the bread of adversity.
Blessings are
described as bread from heaven.
What was the great sacrament of the Old Testament church?
A
meal. The Passover feast
remembering the night
What is the great sacrament of the New Testament church?
A
meal. Communion,
a re-enacting Jesus’ last supper with disciples.
What did Jesus talk about at that last supper?
A
future banquet with all of us in his Father’s kingdom.
And now we come to this passage—the feeding of the 5,000.
Which is the only
miracle of Jesus found in all four Gospels.
What does this miracle mean?
What does it tell us?
All of Jesus’
miracles tell us something about his salvation.
When he healed diseases, Jesus was saying:
I have come to
deliver you from the power and effects of sin.
When he raised the dead, Jesus was saying:
I have come to give
eternal life to all who trust me.
And when he fed the 5,000, Jesus was saying:
I have come to fill
hungry people.
Salvation is having the hungers of your heart,
filled
and satisfied with good food from Jesus Christ.
Are you hungry for peace with God?
Hungry to know you
are forgiven?
Hungry to be a
better person, more content person?
Hungry
for a sense of purpose?
Hungry
to belong or to be loved?
Salvation, Jesus says, is having all those hungers satisfied
in me.
If you aren’t hungry in those ways, hope looking at this
miracle will make hungry.
Let’s look at it under three headings:
1. The kind of food
2. The way it was eaten
3. Where it came from
MP#1 The kind of food
Bread and fish. The fish from the
The bread, John
tells us were barley loaves.
That’s significant
because barley was the grain of the poor.
If you were
wealthy, you ate bread made from wheat.
So the kind of food Jesus provided was plain food of the
common people.
Jesus could have miraculously provided different food.
He could have clapped his hands like Dumbledore in Harry
Potter movie,
and
huge platters of rich, banquet food could have appeared.
But Jesus did not
miraculously provide wine and red meat.
The food itself was not impressive—but the way it appeared
and the amount was.
There was lots of
it. Nobody went hungry. Everybody ate till satisfied.
And then twelve
baskets were filled with the leftovers.
It was a lot like the manna God provided for the Israelites
in the desert.
Manna was some sort
of a staple, not fancy, but lots and filling.
That’s what Jesus provided in this miracle—
good,
plain food that sticks to your ribs and that gave the people,
the
strength they needed to make the trek back to their villages around
What is Jesus
teaching us about salvation?
That he satisfies the spiritual hungers you have,
by
giving himself and his blessings to you in ordinary ways.
He doesn’t give visions, and out of body experiences, bolts
of lighting.
He fills you
through ordinary spiritual food.
There is a wonderful term that the church has used for
centuries—
it’s
not in the Bible but it’s still very helpful.
It’s the term “the ordinary means of grace.”
Means
the common ways that Jesus pours himself and his blessings into our lives.
What are the
ordinary means of grace.
First is the Word of God.
The Bible.
As you read it,
meditate on it, hear it preached and taught—your hunger satisfied.
Nothing
fancy. No visions or dreams. Just good, ordinary food.
Remember several years ago being in mental torment about
something—
hungering
for joy, wanting my happiness restored.
Finally, after several months of agony, I decided to see if
the Bible would help.
Found Romans 5 “And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of
God. Not only so, but we also
rejoice
in our sufferings. Because we know that
suffering produces perseverance,
perseverance
character, and character hope. And hope
does not disappoint us, for God has
poured
out his love into our hearts by his Holy Spirit whom he has given us.”
That was comfort food to me.
My joy was restored.
I’ve gone back and
eaten those verses again and again.
Another ordinary means of grace is prayer. Once again, nothing fancy.
Jesus once
said: Go into your room, close the door,
and pray to your Father.
You can’t get
anything more ordinary than that.
Prayer to your heavenly Father satisfies many hungers.
Often the case,
even when circumstances don’t change,
prayer
changes our outlook, gives contentment or peace you hunger for.
Old hymn tells what happens when don’t want good, plain food
of prayer:
“O what peace we
often forfeit, O what needless pain we bear,
All
because we do no carry, everything to God in prayer.”
Another ordinary means of grace is corporate worship.
The Lord in his
goodness has established an ordinary, weekly rhythm
for
the continual nourishment of his people.
Jesus is present in corporate worship in ways he is not
present at other times.
Especially
true of Communion. Paul points
this out in 1 Corinthians 10:
“Is not the bread
we break a participation in the body of Christ?
Because there is one loaf,
we
who are many, are one body, for we all partake of one loaf.”
You participate in the body of Christ by being with the body
of Christ when we
eat
together the bread from this Table. I
don’t entirely understand that.
But there are
unique blessings that flow from Christ through Communion.
By the way—see
communion in this miracle—took, gave thanks, broke, gave.
Some Christians never acquire a real hunger for corporate
worship—nibble some.
Others are hungry
for it. Look forward to it every Sunday. Get benefits from it.
In the journey of the Christian life, Jesus provides all the
ordinary food you need,
to
satisfy hungers of your soul. You can
eat your fill of Word, prayer, worship.
Through these ordinary means he pours out himself and his
blessings into our lives.
The main reason we
don’t eat this ordinary food more, aren’t hungry for it.
We take the edge
off our spiritual hunger with other things that are more exciting.
That brings us to the next heading.
We’ve looked at the kind of food, now let’s see the way it was eaten.
MP#2 The way it was eaten
It was eaten like a banquet.
Jesus gave them
instructions for eating that are easily missed.
It says that Jesus told them to sit down in groups on the
grass.
But the Greek word
is actually not “sit down”, it’s recline.
This verb recline
was a formal word used for banquets and feasts.
You may remember at the Last Supper, told that disciples
reclining—
that’s
because it was a Passover feast.
In Matthew 8:11, Jesus says:
“I tell you that
many will come from the east and the west, and will take their
places
at the feast with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven.”
That phrase “take their places at
the feast”
is
the way the NIV translates one word—recline.
“Many will come”, Jesus says, “and will recline with
Abraham, Isaac, Jacob.”
So when people
heard the instruction to recline, they knew a feast was coming.
Think of it this way:
If you went to someone’s house for supper and they said—Pick up a paper plate.
That would mean hot
dogs. An informal
meal.
But if they said—Come into the dining room and find your
place card.
You would think,
fancy. A special meal. A banquet.
That’s what this
word recline implied—find your place card.
This was ordinary food—but Jesus wanted them to eat it and
think of feasting.
What is Jesus
teaching us about salvation?
He is teaching us that even though we are spiritually
well-fed now—
we
are to live the Christian life looking forward to a better meal,
looking
forward to a great banquet in his eternal kingdom.
We are told over and over that after Christ’s return, and
the resurrection,
there
will be a feast, Jesus himself the host.
This feast will usher in, set the tone for life in the new
heavens and new earth.
Why a feast? Why is
eternal life described as a great banquet?
Because there is
nothing in human experience that more powerfully
illustrates
the good and blessed life than a feast.
Happy people, at a table covered with good food,
enjoying the best of
conversation and fellowship with people they love.
Out of all of Norman Rockwell’s paintings, which one is most
reproduced?
Has
to be the one of Thanksgiving dinner.
You know the one
I’m talking about.
Grandma putting a huge steaming turkey on table, covered
with food.
Three or four
generations gathered around, everybody smiling.
The title of that painting is actually “Freedom from Want.”
Loved by many Americans especially because it brings to mind
all of the good
things
that are represented in a Thanksgiving feast for Americans.
It expresses the that we most deeply long for—
to
belong, people who we love and who love us,
to
have a place where every want is filled,
every
emptiness—physical, emotional, spiritual.
Feasts are the ultimate expression of the good life.
Bible says that we are heading for the greatest banquet
feast ever conceived.
Jesus wants us to
know that, think about it, look forward to it,
even
as we enjoy the blessings he has given us now.
We need that hope because our hearts are restless.
We think that we
can get nourishment for our souls
from
things besides Jesus Christ.
This person, this success, this accomplishment, this
pleasure, this luxury—
if
I have this thing it’s going to fill me up and make me happy.
There are times for Christians when the Bible is
uninspiring,
and
our prayers are powerless, and worship is a formality.
We know that Jesus says he is the bread of life—
but
we get hungry and restless and start nibbling on things that are not food.
How do you keep an interest in the ordinary means of grace?
How do you keep
fervor and interest in Lord over long haul,
not
fall into trap of temptation and idolatry—eat things that make hungrier?
One great way, is by thinking about your future.
One day going to
recline at the banquet table—
eat
good things forever with Christ.
Anticipating that will give you a greater appetite for
knowing Christ now,
and
a desire for the people you love to have that satisfaction too.
That brings us to the third heading:
MP#3 Where this food came from
It came from Jesus, through his impossibly inadequate
disciples.
One thing that sets this miracle apart from others
is
that Jesus involved his disciples in doing it.
They didn’t do anything when Jesus healed the sick,
or
gave sight to the blind, or raised the dead, or calmed the storm.
But here Jesus deliberately involves them.
He does not feed
the people directly, he works through them.
It starts with the disciples telling Jesus that it is
getting late—
and
that he ought to dismiss the crowd so that they can go and find food.
Then Jesus makes an impossible demand—You
feed them.
And they argue—this
would take eight months wages.
Then Jesus says: How
many loaves do you have.
Look—just five
loaves and two fish.
You can almost
imagine that they are sure this will settle the matter.
But Jesus breaks the bread and sends out the 12 to feed the
people.
And as they go out
with food that in their minds is inadequate for the job,
the
need is met—people are fed through them.
Jesus used these doubting men with inadequate resources
to
satisfy the hunger of thousands of people.
What is Jesus
teaching us about salvation?
He is teaching us that the salvation that satisfies the
hungry hearts
of
sinful men and women will come to them through you and me.
It’s significant that the 12 of them are highlighted
by
the 12 baskets at the end of the story.
12 is the symbolic number of the church.
So the point is
being made—it will be through the church
that
the Lord is going to feed the hungry.
Salvation is his miracle, it’s his work—but we distribute it
though hands and voices.
But there is even more here.
It’s going to be
when we know our resources are inadequate,
and
when we are full of doubts about what we can accomplish—
that
Jesus will work through us in the greatest ways.
I read a book recently called “The Peacemaking Pastor”
by
minister Alfred Poirier—PCA minister actually.
Told story about a woman in his church named Kay who was a
secretary.
She came for
advice, wanted to quit her job.
Her boss
belligerent, arrogant—liked to mock and scream, tear people down.
Afraid of him, affecting her sleep.
Another secretarial
position open—would it be wrong to take it?
Nothing wrong with you quitting and
changing jobs.
But I’m concerned
you might take the problem with you.
How have you
responded to you boss?
Jesus tells us to bless those who curse. Have you blessed him? Prayed for him?
Admitted she
hadn’t. In fact, at lunch every day, do
opposite with others.
Started talking
about what Bible means when it says to overcome evil with good.
Kay said, that’s impossible. What good could I possibly do for him?
He’s wealthy, has everything. I’m
scraping by.
Wouldn’t do any good anyway. But she took it to heart.
There is one thing
I’m good at—I can bake. I’ll bake him a
cake.
Monday morning, got to work early, went into his office, put
cake on desk.
“As Kay tells it, Bart
entered the ring that day as always, Like some world wrestling champion, he
pushed open the door, gave his usual growl, barked a few orders, struck a few
blows and disappeared into his room, slamming the door behind him. Kay waited in fear and trembling. A few minutes late, out Bart came holding her
cake in his hands and acing very surprised. “Is this for me?” Kay told him that it was. “What’s the occasion?” “None,” said Kay. I just wanted to bless you with a cake.
And what you might have expected happened—he was kind for a
few days—
and
then back to his old self mostly—but Kay had changed.
She began to see her boss in a new light—spiritually empty
man.
Saw that Christ
could work through her, as inadequate as she felt resources were.
Started to pray for
him, convinced other Christians in office to do same.
Ended
up staying at her job. Being the hands of Christ, distributing his blessings.
What about you? Who
are the hungry people God has brought into your life?
Your resources may
seem totally inadequate—and they are.
What can you say or do that will
make any difference? Nothing
on your own.
But when you
minister in Christ’s name—his blessings flow.
CONC: Where do you get the strength?
Isn’t it interesting that these very words:
He took the bread,
gave thanks, broke it, and gave it to his disciples
are
repeated later on another occasion?
It was the last supper, the night he was betrayed.
There too, Jesus
took the bread, blessed and broke it.
Was saying in that action—
If I stay whole,
you will starve forever, apart from God’s grace.
In fact, if I am
not broken, you will be broken because of your sins.
But if I am broken, if I am torn, then I
become food for your soul.
That’s exactly what he did—he was broken, he was given.
He absorbed your
judgment.
And so you are saved, not by what you do, but by what he
did.
When you see his
great love—it gives you the power,
and
the example, to imitate him.
Say, yes—he has given me so much, filled me with so many
good things,
at
such great cost—that I can be his hands for hungry people.