Page 22 - Back to Bethlehem

Mark 6:45-52, “And immediately He made His disciples get into
the boat and go ahead of Him to the other side to Bethsaida, while
He Himself was sending the multitude away. And after bidding
them farewell, He departed to the mountain to pray. And when
it was evening, the boat was in the midst of the sea, and He was
alone on the land. And seeing them straining at the oars, for the
wind was against them, at about the fourth watch of the night, He
came to them, walking of the sea; and he intended to pass by
them. But when they saw Him walking on the sea, they supposed
that it was a ghost, and cried out: for they all saw Him and were
frightened. But immediately He spoke with them and said to
them, ‘Take courage; it is I, do not be afraid.’ And He got into
the boat with them, and the wind stopped; and they were greatly
astonished, for they had not gained any insight from the incident
of the loves, but their heart was hardened.”

They did not learn the lesson of the loaves. So, there is a
connection; that the boat ride on the stormy sea was supposed to
remind them of the lessons of the loaves. I don’t want to spend
time on the feeding of the five thousand but I want to give you
the lesson. The lesson is described in Mark 6:37, “But He
answered and said to them, ‘You give them something to eat!’
And they said to Him, ‘Shall we go and spend two hundred denari
on bread and give them something to eat?’” Five thousand
people, plus more, “You give them something to eat.” That was
an impossible command. Nobody could do what Jesus told them
to do. They had five biscuits, two fish and maybe thousand
people, because it was men plus women and children; absolutely
impossible to obey God.

That miracle continued and showed how the impossible
can become possible. The simple answer is to bring Jesus into
the picture. Mark 6:41-43, “And He took the five loaves and the
two fish, and looking up toward heaven, He blessed the food and
broke the loaves and He kept giving them to the disciples to set
before them; and He divided up the two fish among them all. And
they all ate and were satisfied. And they picked up twelve full
baskets of the broken pieces, and also of the fish, and there were
five thousand men who ate the loaves.”