Feed Five Thousand

In many versions of the bible, Mark 6:30-44 is titled “Jesus Feeds Five Thousand”. This passage is the story of Jesus giving his disciples the impossible task of literally feeding five thousand men with five loaves of bread and two fish. This event is one of the many miracles that Jesus performs. Many people don’t even believe in miracles. If someone were to tell you to feed five thousand people with such little food, you would think it is impossible. However, Jesus is able to complete this incredible feat. Another reason why this event is important is because it is recorded in all four Gospels. The purpose of this study is to find the reason how Jesus is able to feed the five thousand men with only five loaves of bread and two fish. Jesus

“In the feeding of the five thousand, he uses a traditional miracle story to show first that Jesus is Christ and second that Christ as good shepherd is perfectly able to meet all his disciples’ needs, both of body and of soul” (Williamson 172). Here, Williamson argues that Jesus has proven over and over again that he is the Messiah through the miracles he performs. This is also proven when his disciples question whether or not he can feed all five thousand with five loaves of bread and two fish. His disciples are at first very stunned, but then they eventually do what he says. By doing what Jesus had asked them to do, and believing in God, all of the five thousand men were not only satisfied, but there were also leftovers for each of the twelve disciples to eat. One must do as much as they can and have faith in God to help them with the rest. Jesus could have easily disregarded the physical need of these people, but he is very concerned with every aspect of our lives. He always puts others’ needs before his own. When people are in desperate need, there is no better way to show God’s love than to help them out and provide for their physical needs. Everyone has both physical and spiritual needs. While being spiritually strong with God, one must also feel physically strong. This is proven when Jesus wants his disciples to get some rest after spreading the word of God. This passage also focuses a lot on the disciples and what they think of Jesus during this time. When Jesus tells the disciples to feed the people, they reply in a way that seems a little disrespectful. “That would take eight months of a man’s wages! Are we to go and spend that much on bread and give it to them to eat?” (Mark 6:37). They seem upset and a little irritated because they are given an impossible task and on top of that, they were supposed to be on a break and get rest. “The disciples’