St Louis UBF UBF Bible Study : Luke 9:10-17 (2011)

Bible Study Materials

Luke 9:10-17 (2011)

by Paul Choi 03/27/2011

Question

YOU GIVE THEM SOMETHING TO EAT

Luke 9:10-17

Key Verse 9:13a

1. Read verse 10. What was the result of fieldwork training? What does “apostle” mean? Where did Jesus take them and for what purpose?

2. Read verse 11. Why was a quiet staff conference impossible? What was Jesus’ attitude toward the uninvited crowd? What do we learn from him? What did he teach the crowd? Why? How did he show God’s love for them?

3. Read verses 12-13a. What problem did the disciples bring to Jesus late in the afternoon? What was their practical and reasonable suggestion? What did Jesus say to them? (13) What was he teaching them here? What should we learn?

4. Read verses 13b-17. What did the disciples bring to Jesus? How did Jesus make them participate in feeding the 5,000? What was Jesus teaching them?

5. What did Jesus do? How did he glorify God, teach the crowd God’s love and train his disciples through this?

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YOU GIVE THEM SOMETHING TO EAT-questions.doc

Message

YOU GIVE THEM SOMETHING TO EAT

Luke 9:10-17

Key Verse: 9:13a “He replied, “You give them something to eat.”

Last week we learned that Jesus called his twelve disciples and sent them out to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick. When he sent them, Jesus gave them authority and power with several instructions which made them capable of carrying out their mission. When his disciples obeyed, they experienced the power of God. They healed the sick and drove out demons. Above all, they preached the message of repentance and the good news of the kingdom of God. Last Friday, Kit West and I went out to reach out to Wash U. Jesus gave us authority and power so that we could boldly preach the message of Jesus to Wash U. students. We were nobodies from a human point of view. But from God’s point of view we were apostles and ambassadors of Christ Jesus for our time.

Today’s passage teaches us how Jesus fed five thousand with five loaves of bread and two fish. Through this passage Jesus taught his disciples to have a sense of responsibility, a shepherd’s heart, and faith that depends on God. Jesus also teaches us how to work together in doing the work of God. May God help us to hear Jesus’ words and to apply them into our lives. Amen.

First, Jesus welcomed the crowd. (10-11) Look at verse 10. “When the apostles returned, they reported to Jesus what they had done. Then he took them with him and they withdrew by themselves to a town called Bethsaida…” Here the author Luke called the twelve ‘the apostles’ because they were sent out for an evangelistic journey. When the apostles returned, they reported to Jesus what they had done. Peter might have said to Jesus, “Master, when I called out in your name, many demons came out.” James and John also might have said, “Lord, we saw many sick people being healed when we put our hands on them and prayed for them in your name.” Even Bartholomew might have added, “Rabbi, as you told me, I preached the message of repentance to the people. To my surprise, they listened to me and repented.” The twelve disciples reported how God had worked mightily during their apostolic trip. They experienced the great work of God when they simply trusted in Jesus and obeyed him. God’s miracles come through obedience, not through intelligence.

Jesus knew that his disciples were tired and hungry after returning from their mission trip (Mk 6:31). So Jesus took them to a solitary place in order to give them some rest. Jesus was like a caring mother who prepares foods for her children after they come back from their school. Was his plan successful?

Look at verse 11. “but the crowds learned about it and followed him. He welcomed them and spoke to them about the kingdom of God, and healed those who needed healing.” Have you ever had an experience where your family gathering was disturbed by unexpected guests? In this individualistic society, family gatherings are very important. No family member wants their family time to be disturbed or irritated by another, no matter how great that person is. Jesus’ disciples had been with Jesus for three years. They left everything to follow Jesus. They were more than brothers to Jesus. They eagerly desired to spend time with their master and spiritual father Jesus. It was more than a family gathering to them. It was a heavenly feast with the Lord Jesus Christ.

But the crowd did not care. They did not mind if Jesus’ plan was disturbed or not. They only thought about their own needs. They saw a shepherd in Jesus. They saw the kingdom of God in Jesus. They saw a real hope in Jesus. So they were desperate to follow Jesus. According to Mark’s gospel, they had arrived there before Jesus and his disciples got there. How were Jesus’ disciples supposed to think about the crowd? They must have thought that the people were senseless. The disciples thought that the people were annoying and irritating them. They might have condemned the crowd as senseless, selfish, and stubborn sinners.

However, Jesus did not think so. Jesus welcomed them. Jesus welcomed the crowd and spoke to them about the kingdom of God, and healed those who needed healing. Jesus did not mind his plan being ruined. Jesus did not care about his physical tiredness. He was first concerned about others and their interests. We need to learn about Jesus, especially his welcoming love, despite our own plans and physical conditions. We have to welcome all kinds of needy people who come to us during our family gatherings. Good shepherds are those who are always ready to serve all kinds of sheep by denying their own plans and desires. Jesus welcomed the demanding and persistent crowd because he always thought about others before himself. It made him sacrifice his life on the cross and die for our sins. Praise Jesus!

Second, you give them something to eat (12-13) Look at verse 12. “Late in the afternoon the Twelve came to him and said, “Send the crowd away so they can go to the surrounding villages and countryside and find food and lodging, because we are in a remote place here.” Jesus’ disciples might have been looking for a chance to get rid of the crowd who frustrated their vacation plan. They might have been waiting until the sun went down. Finally, they came to Jesus and presented a reasonable suggestion. “Send the crowd away so they can eat by themselves!” What a simple, easy and reasonable way to solve their problem! In reality, it was too late for the crowd to find food. It was too far for the disciples to find food for them. There were too many of them to feed, and they had too little money. But sending them away to fend for themselves sounded like a fantastic idea to the disciples. Probably this idea came from Philip, who was known among the twelve for being full of ideas.

How did Jesus reply? Look at verse 13a. “He replied, “You give them something to eat.” What an unreasonable and unrealistic command for his disciples! Here Jesus uses the emphatic personal pronoun “You” in making his message clear. Matthew’s gospel interprets Jesus’ words, “They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat.” (Mt 14:16) Why did Jesus respond to his disciples’ reasonable suggestion in this way? What did Jesus want to teach them?

First of all, Jesus wanted them to have a sense of responsibility as shepherds for God’s flock. The disciples’ idea was reasonable, but irresponsible. Sending the crowd away to find food for themselves was reasonable to his disciples, but not to Jesus. This was because Jesus was responsible for the hungry crowd as a shepherd. In John’s gospel, Jesus compares irresponsible men to the hired hand who abandons the sheep and run away when wolves come. But a good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep because he is responsible for his sheep.(Jn 10:11) In this world, there are many reasonable leaders who have fantastic ideas, but not many responsible shepherds who lay down their lives for the sheep. Jesus disciples wanted to avoid their responsibility by sending the crowd away. But Jesus wanted his disciples to grow as responsible shepherds for God’s flock. Jesus also wants all of us to become responsible shepherds for young people. Those who are responsible become true leaders. Amen.

Second of all, by saying, “You give them something to eat”, Jesus wanted his disciples to have shepherd hearts. What is a shepherd heart? A shepherd heart is a compassionate heart for the sheep. According to Mark 6:34, when Jesus saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. Jesus’ heart was broken when he thought about their helpless and adverse situation. Jesus shared their suffering, affliction, and agony with them. A shepherd heart is God’s heart. God’s heart was motivated to send Jesus Christ in order to save us from our sins. When we have compassion on others, we share God’s heart. Those who have compassion become shepherds. Those who have compassion brings God’s miracle. In ancient time, Koreans did not have their own language. The Korean people suffered much to learn difficult Chinese characters. When King Sejong of Korea saw this, he had compassion on his people. His compassion motivated him to create Han Gul, the Korean Alphabet. Some complain about the language barrier and other human limitations for teaching the Bible. However, a compassionate and shepherding heart goes beyond race, language, gender, age and so on. Among the crowds who were following Jesus were many gentiles. But they followed Jesus because Jesus had compassion on them. Those who have compassion become true leaders and shepherds of their day.

Third of all, Jesus wanted to teach his disciples to depend on God alone. In reality, it was impossible for his disciples to feed such a large crowd. The crowd included more than five thousand men plus women and children. How could the disciples feed all of them? As Philip calculated in John’s gospel, “Eight month’s wages would not buy enough bread for each one to have a bite!” (Jn 6:7) Indeed, it was impossible for the disciples to feed them all. However, what is impossible with men is possible with God. Jesus wanted his disciples not to depend on themselves, but depend on God the Almighty. They could not do anything, but God can do everything. Faith is depending on God. Faith is realizing my weakness and acknowledging God’s ultimate might. Believing that I cannot do anything, but God can do everything is faith. When Jesus said, “You give them something to eat!”, he did not mean that the disciples should provide all food for the crowd. He meant that the disciples should humbly come to God for help. Jesus taught them how to depend on God in taking care of God’s sheep. We frequently confront human limitations in taking care of God’s sheep. Some are faced with the stubbornness of their sheep. Others meet language barriers. Still others have many responsibilities as students, fathers and mothers, workers, Bible teachers, and so on. Jesus wants us to come to him and depend on him. Those who kneel down and pray experience God’s miracles. We can do everything when we depend on God Almighty. Amen.

What was the disciples’ response? They answered, “We have only five loaves of bread and two fish-unless we go and buy food for all this crowd.” (13b) The disciples were not upset about Jesus’ unreasonable command. They did not withdraw, either. They brought what they had to Jesus-which was five loaves of bread and two fish. According to John’s gospel, the five loaves of bread and two fish were not their own, but belonged to a little boy. But Andrew coaxed the boy and took the boy’s lunch box and brought it to Jesus. In fact, Andrew needed faith to persuade the boy to donate his lunch box to the crowd. In this way, his disciples did whatever they could do. In this way, they pleased Jesus. Living by faith is simple. It is when we do our best in a given situation and wait for God’s mercy. To bring the five loaves of bread and two fish to Jesus was the disciples’ prayer. To bring our own five loaves and two fish to Jesus is our prayer, which is an act of our faith. I believe that weekly group Bible study on campus is like bringing our five loaves of bread and two fish to Jesus. Our daily bread, weekly testimony meeting and one to one bible studies are our five loaves and two fish for this generation. Amen.

Finally, Jesus taught his disciples about co-operation in the doing the work of God. (14-17) Look at verse 14. “(About five thousand men were there.) But he said to his disciples, “Have them sit down in groups of about fifty each.” Jesus did not perform the miracle to feed them all by himself. He wanted to work together with his disciples. In fact, feeding more than five thousand men, women and children was a huge job. Jesus wanted his disciples to participate with him in doing the work of God. Jesus wanted his disciples to work together with him and with each other. God’s work is not a solo performance. It is teamwork between God and us and between us and others. When we study the bible carefully, we learn how closely and wonderfully Jesus worked with God the Father and God the Holy Spirit. In John’s gospel, Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does.” (Jn 5:19) Jesus worked together with God the Father and God the Spirit when men were created (Ge 1:26). God worked together in judging Adam after Adam violated God’s command in the Garden.( Ge 3:22) Above all, God worked together for our salvation when Jesus died on the cross for our sins and rose again from the dead. We have heard about discords and divisions among UBF co-workers around the world. We must learn how to work together despite differences of race, culture, age and gender.

Look at verse 15. “The disciples did so, and everybody sat down.” It was not easy for the disciples to control such a large crowd. CBF teachers sometimes complain about how difficult it is to control several children. But when Jesus’ disciples prayed together and worked together, God helped them. They were able to arrange and manage more than five thousand people. Jesus was very pleased with their faith. Look at verse 16. “Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke them. Then he gave them to the disciples to set before the people.” Jesus blessed the disciples’ faith when they brought five loaves and two fish. Jesus blessed their co-operation when they fed the crowd. Jesus was thankful when they fed the hungry people. Look at verse 17. “They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over.” Some godless, skeptical people have argued that Jesus could only have fed the crowd by crushing the five loaves of bread and the two fish into powder and giving the people nothing but crumbs and scales. But the Bible clearly says that they all ate and were satisfied. This meant that they all ate until their stomachs were full. Not only were all the people satisfied, but also the disciples picked up twelve extra basketfuls of bread. Here we learn that Jesus’ blessing is overflowing. His blessing is beyond our expectation and imagination. Jesus blesses us when we have compassionate hearts as shepherds. Jesus blesses us when we come to him by faith. Jesus blesses us when we co-operate with him and with each other. May God bless our five loaves and two fish for young people on campuses in the St. Louis area. May God bless our coming Easter Bible Conference. May God make America a kingdom of priests and a holy nation by raising many compassionate, responsible and co-operative shepherds. Amen.

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