The Provision of God

 

The apostles returned to Jesus and told him all that they had done and taught. 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. And they went away in the boat to a desolate place by themselves. Now many saw them going and recognize them, and they ran there on foot from all the towns and got there ahead of them. 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. And when it grew late, his disciples came to him and said, “This is a desolate place, and the hour is now late. Send them away to go into the surrounding countryside and villages and buy themselves something to eat.” But he answered them, “You give them something to eat.” And they said to him, “Shall we go and buy two hundred denarii worth of bread and give it to them to eat?” 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.” Then he commanded them all to sit down in groups on the green grass. So they sat down in groups, by hundreds and by fifties. 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. And they all ate and were satisfied. And they took up twelve baskets full of broken pieces and of the fish. And those who ate the loaves were five thousand men. (Mark 6:30-44 ESV).

 

In the history of the people of Israel, the wilderness was a place of testing. During the years when the people wandered in the wilderness, God taught them to trust in him for the necessities of life. When they became desperate for food, they cried out to God, and he provided for them. The manna they received nourished their bodies and reminded them to trust in God. (cf. Exodus 16.) More than a thousand years later Jesus taught his disciples the same lesson.

 

In our reading for today, the expressions “quiet place,” “solitary place” and “remote place” can also be translated as “wilderness.” Jesus had just finished teaching a crowd of several thousand people out in the wilderness when a crisis arose. There was a food shortage, and the disciples didn’t know what to do. Jesus told them, “You give them something to eat.” Hearing this, they were dumbfounded. Jesus then took the little they had, gave thanks, and miraculously multiplied it so that everyone had more than enough to eat. In this way Jesus taught the disciples to trust in God for their needs. All of us experience “wilderness” times in our lives. We need to learn afresh that God has the power to provide all that we need.