David Bahn – Reflections

Mark 6:30-44

 After he took the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven and blessed the food. He broke the loaves apart and kept giving them to the disciples to give to the people. He also gave pieces of the two fish to everyone. ⁴² All of them ate as much as they wanted.

Proverbs 30:15-16

“There are three things that are never satisfied, four that never say, ‘Enough!’: the grave, the barren womb, land, which is never satisfied with water, and fire, which never says, ‘Enough!’

I’ve not thought of it this way before, but I wonder whether any lack of satisfaction has more to do with the results of sin than the amount of provision. That might seem obvious. But consider this: the grave, difficulty in child birth, land that produces thorns and thistles are all part of the judgement of God on account of sin. Fire is the means by which judgement will come upon the earth and by which the world will one day be destroyed.

But Jesus feeds a multitude with five loaves of bread and two fish and they are satisfied; all of them ate as much as they wanted. Was it that each person was satisfied by a morsel of fish? Or were the fish multiplied so that each person had a fish feast? Whatever the means and the case, two fish satisfied a multitude of 5000 men.

I wonder whether I might be able to be sooner satisfied by God’s presence and provision than any of the other pursuits to which I give myself. Consider these Bible verses as you pursue your goals and dreams today.

Psalm 17:15

 “As for me, I shall behold your face in righteousness; when I awake, I shall be satisfied with your likeness.”

Philippians 4:19

2 Corinthians 9:9-11

As it is written,

¹⁰ He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing andincrease the harvest of your righteousness. ¹¹ You will be enriched in every way to be generous in every way, which through us will produce thanksgiving to God.

Mark 6:30-44

The apostles gathered around Jesus. They reported to him everything they had done and taught. ³¹ So he said to them, “Let’s go to a place where we can be alone to rest for a while.” Many people were coming and going, and Jesus and the apostles didn’t even have a chance to eat.

³² So they went away in a boat to a place where they could be alone. ³³ But many people saw them leave and recognized them. The people ran from all the cities and arrived ahead of them. ³⁴ When Jesus got out of the boat, he saw a large crowd and felt sorry for them. They were like sheep without a shepherd. So he spent a lot of time teaching them.

³⁵ When it was late, his disciples came to him. They said, “No one lives around here, and it’s already late.³⁶ Send the people to the closest farms and villages to buy themselves something to eat.”

³⁷ Jesus replied, “You give them something to eat.”

They said to him, “Should we go and spend about a year’s wages on bread to feed them?”

³⁸ He said to them, “How many loaves do you have? Go and see.”

When they found out, they told him, “Five loaves of bread and two fish.”

³⁹ Then he ordered all of them to sit down in groups on the green grass. ⁴⁰ They sat down in groups of hundreds and fifties.

⁴¹ After he took the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven and blessed the food. He broke the loaves apart and kept giving them to the disciples to give to the people. He also gave pieces of the two fish to everyone. ⁴² All of them ate as much as they wanted. ⁴³ When they picked up the leftover pieces, they filled twelve baskets with bread and fish. ⁴⁴ There were 5,000 men who had eaten the bread.