From Mark 6: (ESV)
7 And he called the twelve and began to send them out two by two, and gave them authority over the unclean spirits. 8 He charged them to take nothing for their journey except a staff—no bread, no bag, no money in their belts— 9 but to wear sandals and not put on two tunics.[a] 10 And he said to them, “Whenever you enter a house, stay there until you depart from there. 11 And if any place will not receive you and they will not listen to you, when you leave, shake off the dust that is on your feet as a testimony against them.” 12 So they went out and proclaimed that people should repent. 13 And they cast out many demons and anointed with oil many who were sick and healed them.
30 The apostles returned to Jesus and told him all that they had done and taught. 31 And he said to them, “Come away by yourselves to a desolate place and rest a while.” For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat. 32 And they went away in the boat to a desolate place by themselves. 33 Now many saw them going andrecognized them, and they ran there on foot from all the towns and got there ahead of them. 34 When he went ashore he saw a great crowd, and he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. And he began to teach them many things. 35 And when it grew late, his disciples came to him and said, “This is a desolate place, and the hour is now late. 36 Send them away to go into the surrounding countryside and villages and buy themselves something to eat.” 37 But he answered them, “You give them something to eat.” And they said to him, “Shall we go and buy two hundred denarii[f] worth of bread and give it to them to eat?” 38 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.” 39 Then he commanded them all to sit down in groups on the green grass. 40 So they sat down in groups, by hundreds and by fifties. 41 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. 42 And they all ate and were satisfied. 43 And they took up twelve baskets full of broken pieces and of the fish. 44 And those who ate the loaves were five thousand men.
45 Immediately he made his disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side, to Bethsaida, while he dismissed the crowd. 46 And after he had taken leave of them, he went up on the mountain to pray. 47 And when evening came, the boat was out on the sea, and he was alone on the land. 48 And he saw that they were making headway painfully, for the wind was against them. And about the fourth watch of the night[g] he came to them, walking on the sea. He meant to pass by them, 49 but when they saw him walking on the sea they thought it was a ghost, and cried out, 50 for they all saw him and were terrified. But immediately he spoke to them and said, “Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid.” 51 And he got into the boat with them, and the wind ceased. And they were utterly astounded, 52 for they did not understand about the loaves, but their hearts were hardened.
53 When they had crossed over, they came to land at Gennesaret and moored to the shore. 54 And when they got out of the boat, the people immediately recognized him55 and ran about the whole region and began to bring the sick people on their beds to wherever they heard he was. 56 And wherever he came, in villages, cities, or countryside, they laid the sick in the marketplaces and implored him that they might touch even the fringe of his garment. And as many as touched it were made well.
7 And he called the twelve and began to send them out two by two, and gave them authority over the unclean spirits. 8 He charged them to take nothing for their journey except a staff—no bread, no bag, no money in their belts— 9 but to wear sandals and not put on two tunics.[a] 10 And he said to them, “Whenever you enter a house, stay there until you depart from there. 11 And if any place will not receive you and they will not listen to you, when you leave, shake off the dust that is on your feet as a testimony against them.” 12 So they went out and proclaimed that people should repent. 13 And they cast out many demons and anointed with oil many who were sick and healed them.
30 The apostles returned to Jesus and told him all that they had done and taught. 31 And he said to them, “Come away by yourselves to a desolate place and rest a while.” For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat. 32 And they went away in the boat to a desolate place by themselves. 33 Now many saw them going andrecognized them, and they ran there on foot from all the towns and got there ahead of them. 34 When he went ashore he saw a great crowd, and he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. And he began to teach them many things. 35 And when it grew late, his disciples came to him and said, “This is a desolate place, and the hour is now late. 36 Send them away to go into the surrounding countryside and villages and buy themselves something to eat.” 37 But he answered them, “You give them something to eat.” And they said to him, “Shall we go and buy two hundred denarii[f] worth of bread and give it to them to eat?” 38 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.” 39 Then he commanded them all to sit down in groups on the green grass. 40 So they sat down in groups, by hundreds and by fifties. 41 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. 42 And they all ate and were satisfied. 43 And they took up twelve baskets full of broken pieces and of the fish. 44 And those who ate the loaves were five thousand men.
45 Immediately he made his disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side, to Bethsaida, while he dismissed the crowd. 46 And after he had taken leave of them, he went up on the mountain to pray. 47 And when evening came, the boat was out on the sea, and he was alone on the land. 48 And he saw that they were making headway painfully, for the wind was against them. And about the fourth watch of the night[g] he came to them, walking on the sea. He meant to pass by them, 49 but when they saw him walking on the sea they thought it was a ghost, and cried out, 50 for they all saw him and were terrified. But immediately he spoke to them and said, “Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid.” 51 And he got into the boat with them, and the wind ceased. And they were utterly astounded, 52 for they did not understand about the loaves, but their hearts were hardened.
53 When they had crossed over, they came to land at Gennesaret and moored to the shore. 54 And when they got out of the boat, the people immediately recognized him55 and ran about the whole region and began to bring the sick people on their beds to wherever they heard he was. 56 And wherever he came, in villages, cities, or countryside, they laid the sick in the marketplaces and implored him that they might touch even the fringe of his garment. And as many as touched it were made well.
The disciples would've had to been completely worn out a lot while following Jesus... if not overwhelmed physically by the end of the day, at least psychologically-boggled. They were following behind a man who called Himself the Son of GOD; a man, yet had lived in Heaven. He told parables, stories no one could completely understand. His preaching followed the law, yet contradicted the leaders of it. He drove demons from men to pigs, and somehow made 5 loaves and 2 fish stretch to feed more than 5,000.
How could the disciples not be??
This passage alone made me wonder. It starts out with Jesus sending the disciples out two-by-two (with nothing but a staff) to enter houses, preach the Good News, cast out demons, anoint with oil and heal. That's got to be the first time they'd ever done any of that. =P Upon returning, no one leaves them alone... so Jesus suggests they find another quieter place to eat and rest. The people around saw where Jesus was heading, so ran ahead and set up camp where Jesus and the disciples were supposed to find quiet and rest. Jesus had pity on them ("they were as sheep without a shepherd), so stayed to teach them. It got late, and Jesus was still tending to His flock - so the disciples asked Jesus if maybe the people should leave and go find something to eat (the disciples have most likely not eaten still after their excursions). Jesus answered with, "You give them something to eat". The story then proceeds the way we all know it: Jesus feeds 5,000 men and their families with food meant to feed only a few. Surely this baffled the disciples! But, alas, "...they did not understand about the loaves... their hearts were hardened". Immediately Jesus sent the disciples ahead of Him on the boat while He went to the mountain to pray. During the storm raging on the waters, Jesus walks across the top of it - probably scaring the disciples out of their whits. "'Take courage! It is I. Don't be afraid.' Then He climbed into the boat with them, and the wind died down. They were completely amazed." When the crossed over the lake, they landed and anchored.
"As soon as they got out of the boat, people recognized Jesus. They ran throughout that whole region and carried the sick on mats to wherever they heard He was. And wherever He went - into villages, towns, or countryside - they placed the sick in the marketplaces. They begged Him to let them touch even the edge of His cloak, and all who touched Him were healed."
My, oh my. What a full day. Jesus on earth twisted the way of nature as we know it, and flipped thinking as we know it too. Both of those things happened quite a bit that day, on top of the disciples healing and sending demons out of people moooost likely for the first time in their lives... all the while Jesus so peaceful and content. Merciful, though He was wasted, I'm sure. His humble strength. What an example to see lived out in front of your very eyes!
I don't know why this chapter fills me with so much. 1) I see in it Jesus teaching His disciples how to love. They were worn out, hungry... yet He gave them an opportunity to see past their own needs and see the needy. The sheep without a shepherd. "Give them something to eat". Even when you're own soul is hungry, needy, dry. Find strength in giving to others. Maybe I'm reading too far into it, but I still think its a neat analogy. 2) I see Jesus teaching His disciples how to trust in Him, not in physical things or things we can attain for ourselves. He sent them to preach without food or money. He told them to feed 5,000 families. He taught them of their inadequacy (thus, their need for HIM). They couldn't feed that many people. They couldn't walk on water, nor calm the storm. They could only heal within HIS power. 3) I see an example of how God works in ways we don't understand. They could have just gone and preached the Word, come back and eaten, rested, and enjoyed talking about what they experienced. Simple simple. But Jesus didn't let their day end there. He took them to a hill where they fed thousands of people and experienced His power, they were sent out on the water where they once again were amazed at His power and ability. They then ended the day following Jesus as He continued to heal and perform miracles. Showing mercy, and seeing the helpless sheep as they really are. His idea of way the day was supposed to go was very different from theirs. As is His idea of our days very different from ours. He has a purpose in it, even when WE don't see it.
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