Category: Equipping

Mar 6:42-45 And (the people) all ate and were satisfied. And (the disciples) took up twelve baskets full of broken pieces and of the fish. And those who ate the loaves were five thousand men. Immediately he made his disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side, to Bethsaida, while he dismissed the crowd. Through feeding perhaps 10,000 people the plan Jesus had made was fulfilled – ‘they all ate and were satisfied’ (v42). At this point it would have been possible to say ‘mission accomplished’. But that would not have been true. The account has two more verses. First, we find the disciples on the hillside clearing up the left-overs (v 43). How typical this is of so many tasks. When the people are…

Mar 6:41-42  And taking the five loaves and the two fish he looked up to heaven and said a blessing and broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples to set before the people. And he divided the two fish among them all. And they all ate and were satisfied.  Once order was established, with all the people sitting down, and his authority recognised, Jesus turned his attention to the Father, from whom he was expecting a miracle (v 41). Knowing the Father had heard him, but without the evidence to show it, he took action and started delegating, handing out the loaves and fish to the disciples. It is not clear at what point the loaves were multiplied. It is possible that this happened as Jesus gave the…

Mar 6:39-40  Then he commanded them all to sit down in groups on the green grass. So they sat down in groups, by hundreds and by fifties. Up to this point the crowd would have seen Jesus being interrupted and discussions taking place. ‘What’s going on?’ ‘Why has he stopped speaking?’ ‘Can you hear what he is saying?’ Those near him were pushing forward to listen and were passing rumours back to their neighbours. It could have appeared that no one knew what to do. So it was important for them to acknowledge Jesus’ leadership. By now Jesus clearly had a plan in mind for he next started to engage the people’s attention. He commanded them to sit in groups of hundreds and fifties. It is difficult to cause a…

Mar 6:39-40 Then he commanded them all to sit down in groups on the green grass. So they sat down in groups, by hundreds and by fifties. As Jesus stood before as many as 10,000 people and learnt that only 5 loaves and 2 fish were available to fulfil the task he must have had to dig deep in faith! My friends, John and Alex Kpikpi in Ghana, experienced a similar challenge when they put down a deposit for a substantial piece of land on which they wanted to develop a church building and other facilities. They knew the cost and they knew that they did not have the necessary amount of money to complete the purchase in only a few days. However, they moved forward in faith, not presumption,…

Mar 6:37-38 But he answered them, "You give them something to eat." And they said to him, "Shall we go and buy two hundred denarii worth of bread and give it to them to eat?" And he said to them, "How many loaves do you have? Go and see." And when they had found out, they said, "Five, and two fish." Let us return to Jesus and the disciples on the hillside. The sun is beginning to go down and perhaps as many as 10,000 people (including women and children) are in need of food and drink. Jesus’ next move was to establish what resources were available for the task. He involved the disciples by directing them to ask the crowd what food they had brought with them. It seems…

Mar 6:37-38 But he answered them, "You give them something to eat." And they said to him, "Shall we go and buy two hundred denarii worth of bread and give it to them to eat?" And he said to them, "How many loaves do you have? Go and see." And when they had found out, they said, "Five, and two fish." As Jesus stood before well over 5000 people he needed to exercise faith and be in touch with the Father. Administration must always live in an atmosphere of faith and be responsive to the revealed will of God. Administration does not exist to give reasons for not doing something but rather to help create conditions to ensure the vision is fulfilled. I have often quoted a catch phrase which…