NOTES for Mar 6:30-44
After a whole day spent in ministry, Jesus sends the tired disciples to a deserted place so that they could rest a little. The Lord understands the importance of rest and recuperation — without this, one can “burn out,” even when doing God's work.
Verse 6:33 reports on the result of the apostolic ministry — people gather in a huge crowd to Jesus. In my opinion, this is the best evaluation of preaching, when people strive towards the Lord, and not towards the one who preaches about Him.
Mark wonderfully describes Jesus' meeting with the multitude of people. In Jesus' eyes, these people were “like sheep without a shepherd.” Who will take care of them, who will have compassion? “And He began to teach them many things,” — the Lord gives them what their souls need most. Evening came, and the apostles point out to Jesus another urgent need of the people — they must be fed. Jesus suggests that the apostles solve this problem themselves. True, the solutions proposed by the disciples have one flaw: they exclude the actions of God. What is brought to God has the property of being transformed. In his time, the prophet Elisha fed 100 men with twenty barley loaves and a small amount of grain (see 2 Kings 4:42-44), and here is He Who is greater than Elisha. Even 5 loaves and 2 fishes turned out to be enough for 5,000 people! Jesus knows how to satisfy both the spiritual and physical needs of people. He is both the Word and the Bread of Life.
Do you notice the spiritual needs of people or only the physical ones? We can help many people by giving the little that we have into the hands of the Lord.