Feeding the Sheep
“[Jesus] said to [the disciples], “Come away to a deserted place all by yourselves and rest a while.” For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat. And they went away in the boat to a deserted place by themselves.”
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There is only one of Jesus’ miracles that is recorded in all four of the Gospel narratives. Do you know which one it is?
It’s the feeding of the five thousand recorded in Matthew 14, Mark 6, Luke 9, and John 6. I’ve been studying this story this week, comparing and contrasting the different accounts.
I don’t know if it’s appropriate to have a favorite, but I think my favorite of them is Mark’s account. I like it because Mark—who is usually the least descriptive of the Gospel writers—in this story gives us the most details. I like this account, because readers are given the most context.
The story starts like this:
[Jesus] said to [the disciples], “Come away to a deserted place all by yourselves and rest a while.” For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat. And they went away in the boat to a deserted place by themselves.
– Mark 6:31-32 (NRSV)
So prior to the feeding of the five thousand, we learn that Jesus and his disciples have been so busy, and so overwhelmed with ministry, that their intention is to get away and take a break. They’ve been too busy to even take a lunch break.
There’s a whole sermon in these two verses about how Jesus understands the need for spiritual retreat and perhaps even the spiritual and mental health break.
But then as they are making their getaway, something else comes up. Isn’t that the way it always goes? As they say, ’best laid plans of mice and men often go awry’ . . . .
Now many saw them going and recognized them, and they hurried there on foot from all the towns and arrived ahead of them. As he went ashore, he saw a great crowd; and he had compassion for them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd; and he began to teach them many things.
– Mark 6: 33-34 (NRSV)
So according to Mark, word spread faster than their boat crossed the sea, and folks were already there waiting on Jesus when he arrived. His plans for a quiet retreat were foiled.
But rather than tell all the crowds to go home, he allowed compassion to stop him in his tracks. He noticed that they were “like sheep without a shepherd.”
Mark uses this turn of phrase which is used in Numbers when Moses wonders who will lead the Israelites after his death. He appoints Joshua to lead and guide the people of Israel “so that the congregation of the Lord may not be like sheep without a shepherd” (Numbers 27:17).
So in response to their lostness, Jesus postpones his rest plans and takes time to offer them teaching, or as Mark might say, a little shepherding.
I can imagine Jesus’ disciples rolling their eyes here, frustrated that their plans are delayed. As evening draws near, the disciples begin to get antsy.
When it grew late, his disciples came to him and said, “This is a deserted place, and the hour is now very late; send them away so that they may go into the surrounding country and villages and buy something for themselves to eat.” But he answered them, “You give them something to eat.”
– Mark 6:35-37
I imagine at this point, the disciples are hungry and tired. They haven’t had a chance to eat in a while and are likely ready to send everyone on their way so that they can have a break themselves.
But Jesus gives them what might seem like an impossible directive: “You give them something to eat.”
Their answers are predictably confused, as you or I would be if we had been given the command to feed 5,000 families. . . . How exactly should we do that?
The rest of the story should be familiar to you.
A boy offers up his loaves and fishes, what was meant to probably only feed his family, and it is multiplied miraculously, feeding the masses, and feeding the disciples too, with leftovers to spare.
There is much to be gleaned here, from the faithfulness of a young boy to the deity of this man from Nazareth. As Jesus followers, though, I think we can safely put ourselves in the shoes of the disciples in the gospel stories.
How tired and hungry they must have been! How worn out and in need of a break! Does that sound like something you can relate to?
But it is in those tired moments of faithfulness that we find ourselves fed in the process of feeding others.
As you journey forward, may you keep your heart open for a nudge from Jesus, interrupting your plans, whispering, “You give them something to eat.”
Rev. Kelsey Lewis Vincent
Pastor for Youth & Families