Today’s Scripture reading recounts the famous story of the feeding of the 5000 or as I like to call it, “An Impossible Picnic.”

 

Ministry Retreat (10)

When the twelve disciples returned from their ministry internship of preaching about the kingdom of God and healing people from diseases, they gave Jesus a full report about what they had done. Jesus recognized that they were weary from all of their hard work and he knew that they needed some physical and spiritual rest. So, Jesus had them retreat to the town of Bethsaida, a little fishing village on the northern shore of the Sea of Galilee.

            Jesus knew the importance of retreat! He practiced this discipline in his own life and instilled it in his disciples. Whether it is ministry or another vocation, it is not healthy to go full steam ahead all of the time. Dealing with people and problems fatigues the body and the soul. We can only do it so long before the negative affects take their toll on us.

            Jesus’ actions in this passage remind us why we need to take some days off work, go on a vacation, disconnect from people (unplug our computers and turn our cell phones off), and spend time in prayer and reflection. Burn out doesn’t benefit anyone! It is detrimental to you and everyone else around you!

            Many of you have heard the parable of the two woodsmen, but it bears repeating here: One man challenged another to an all-day wood chopping contest. The challenger worked very hard, stopping only for a brief lunch break. The other man had a leisurely lunch and took several breaks during the day. At the end of the day, the challenger was surprised and annoyed to find that the other fellow had chopped substantially more wood than he had.

            “I don’t get it,” he said. “Every time I checked, you were taking a rest, yet you chopped more wood than I did.” “But you didn’t notice,” said the winning woodsman, “that I was sharpening my ax when I sat down to rest.”

            Do you ever retreat for rest and reflection? Do you periodically withdraw from people and activity to rest your body, relax your mind, and sharpen your soul?

 

Ministry Perseverance (11-12)

As Jesus and his disciples were on their way to Bethsaida for retreat, the crowds found out where they were going and followed them. Now they were faced with a difficult decision—should they turn the crowd away or go ahead and minister to them even though they were already exhausted? Here is where Jesus’ compassion for people took precedent over his own personal needs. He went ahead a spoke to them about the kingdom of God and cured those who needed healing.

As they day wore on and Jesus continued to minister to people, the disciples became disgruntled (you know how people get when they are tired and hungry). They told Jesus, “Send the crowd away to go to the surrounding villages and countryside to find lodging and get provisions, for we are here in a desolate place.” At first glance it appears that the disciples are looking out for the best interest of the people in the crowd, but I suspect that their true motive was selfish. Sure, they wanted Jesus to send the crowd away so that they could get something to eat and find a place to stay for the night, but based on the context, I think that the disciples were more interested in finding a Buffalo Wild Wings and Holiday Inn for themselves.

            Ministry perseverance is the flip side of ministry retreat. Even though Jesus understood the importance of rest and reflection, he also knew that there are occasions when we need to sacrifice our own personal desires and conveniences for the sake of others. Sometimes we are called to minister to people when we are tired and hungry; we can eat and rest later.

            I remember a similar occasion in my own life about twelve years ago. I was back in my hometown to officiate my best friend’s wedding. This was my first big wedding since I had become a pastor, and I had the added pressure of knowing every guest there. I was extremely nervous, but we made it through the whole service without a hitch. After the wedding, I was looking forward to enjoying the reception: a good meal, conversations with old friends, and maybe even a cold beverage!

            But before I could get to the buffet, one of my old classmates approached me and asked if we could have a private conversation. As we stepped into a side room where it was quieter, I knew that this wasn’t going to be a casual or short conversation. (Now I hate to burst your perception of me as a perfect pastor, but I have to confess that I had a bad attitude about this. After an already long day, I wasn’t thinking, “Wow, thank you Lord for this great ministry opportunity.” All I could think about was how good that roast beef would have tasted. (I was just like Jesus’ disciples.) But I knew that the Lord wanted me to sacrifice my own desires and minister to this young woman.

            For the next two and a half hours she confessed to me the fact that she got pregnant out of wedlock and that she and her boyfriend decided to have an abortion earlier that year. With great detail, she described the emotional pain and guilt she carried from that decision. She wanted to know if God still loved her and if she could ever be forgiven for this sin. She wanted to know if her baby was in heaven or hell. She wanted to know if God would prevent her and her now husband from having children in the future. As I shared the gospel of Jesus Christ with her and ministered to her soul, she put her faith in Jesus, repented from her sin, and became a Christian that very evening. Her life was forever changed!

            Later on, as I ate my roast beef and enjoyed my beverage, the Holy Spirit convicted me for my attitude earlier. And I definitely learned a lesson about perseverance in ministry!

            How about you? Are you willing to sacrifice your desires, comforts, and conveniences to minister to those in need?

 

An Impossible Picnic (13-17)

As the disciples try to get Jesus to disperse the crowd, he had the perfect response for their selfishness. He looked at them and simply said, “You get them something to eat!” This was a command, not a question. But what were they to make of it? They didn’t have enough food to feed themselves, let alone host a dinner party of 5000 people. Can you imagine trying to come up with enough food to feed that many people? Jesus was demanding the impossible!

The disciples pointed out how ridiculous Jesus’ expectations were when they said, “We have only five loaves and two fish—unless we go and buy food for the crowd.” They knew that the closest Costco was over 100 miles away, and besides, they didn’t have enough money to buy a membership.

Jesus used this occasion to test the disciple’s faith and once again teach them to rely on him rather than themselves. From a human perspective it was impossible to feed this crowd. But with God, all things are possible. The disciples failed to remember how God miraculously provided manna to their ancestors for 40 years in the wilderness. They failed to remember how God used Elisha to miraculously provide barely bread to 100 people back in 2 Kings 4. They failed to remember all of Jesus’ other miracles he performed.

When the disciples failed their test of faith, Jesus took over. He told them to organize the crowd in groups of fifty and then, looking to heaven, he gave thanks, and broke the bread. He kept breaking the bread and distributing to his disciples to serve the people. They all ate enough that they were completely satisfied.

And just to drive home the point that God can always provide abundantly more than what people need, Jesus made sure that there were 12 basketfuls of leftover bread. Can you imagine the humbled looks on the disciple’s faces as they carried their full baskets back to Jesus?

            Most of us are just like the disciples in this story. We tend to look at our problems from a human perspective. We often face adversities that seem impossible. Sometimes Jesus even tests our faith by expecting us to do the impossible. And like that group of doubting disciples, we forget how God has provided for us in the past and we fail to believe that he will give us what we need in the present.

            Are you facing any adversities today? Are you in the midst of any perils that seem impossible? Is your faith being challenged? Remember that Jesus is God! If he can feed 5000 people with two measly fish and five morsels of bread, he can take care of all of your problems and so much more!

 

            The feeding of the 5000 reminds us that God is not limited by our inadequacies. Rather, our very limitations can display the glory and grace of Jesus Christ when he does what we are unable to do: His power is made perfect in our weakness!

            One man who understood this principle well was Robert Morrison, the famous missionary to China. In 1805 the London Missionary Society recruited Morrison to go to China. It was the time of Napoleonic wars, however, and the only British ships traveling to China belonged to the East India Company, which refused to transport missionaries. So Morrison went to the United States, hoping to book passage to China. When the owner of the ship heard about Morrison’s plans, he was skeptical. “And so, Mr. Morrison,” he said, “do really expect to make an impression on the idolatry of the great Chinese Empire?” “No, sir,” Morrison quickly replied, “I expect God will.”

            Through Morrison’s ministry, in all of its weakness, God did make an impression on China’s idolatry, with spiritual results that last to this present day. It is when we know that we are at the end of our own resources that we are ready to see what God will do! (Ryken 437)