Week 6: Jesus Feeds the Five Thousand

Read: Mark 6:30-44

Reflect: Growing up, I had a lamb. Fitting to her fluffy body and colored nose, I named her Puffy Pinky. Puffy Pinky was not smart. If Puffy Pinky fell into a snowbank, she wouldn’t even attempt a recovery but lie and “Baaa” until a human propped her back up. Puffy Pinky, like all sheep, was an unintelligent wanderer without discretion. She was easy prey, dumb, and defenseless.

Puffy Pinky’s stupidity, however, never stopped me. I loved that lamb. I bottle fed her, put her in the barn at night, and suffered some shocking experiences while visiting her through the electric fence. Why did I do this for a sheep who seemed to be lacking a brain? Because she was mine.

When I read this passage, all I can think is: What a compassionate shepherd. 

Just prior to these verses, Jesus was hatefully run out of his hometown, lost his beloved cousin to a brutal beheading, and was hungry and exhausted. Planning to rest, Jesus and his disciples went to find a quiet spot. Instead, a crowd found them. 

Jesus had every right to explain his horrible circumstances and move on, but Mark tells us Jesus “had compassion on them because they were like sheep without a shepherd. Then he began to teach them many things.”

Ignoring his own needs, he stepped in and fed their souls. Then he fed their stomachs all the fish and bread they could ever want. I hope he and the disciples feasted, too.

Like Puffy Pinky, I, too, am prone to wandering, making poor decisions, and getting stuck. I am so thankful that Jesus is the Good Shepherd (John 10:14) who tends to his sheep, gathers us in his arms, and gently leads us (Isaiah 40:11) because we are His.

Next Step: Just like Jesus made time for the people who needed him, be intentional this week to look for opportunities to love and help others in Jesus’s name.

Pray: Father, Thank you for being my shepherd and savior. Just like a lamb, I know I need you and cannot do anything apart from you. Thank you for your loving kindness in taking me in and leading me as your own.