Training by Mission Participation

Scripture:

Mark 6:30   The apostles gathered around Jesus, and told him all that they had done and taught. ³¹ He said to them, “Come away to a deserted place all by yourselves and rest a while.” For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat. ³² And they went away in the boat to a deserted place by themselves. ³³ Now many saw them going and recognized them, and they hurried there on foot from all the towns and arrived ahead of them. ³⁴ As he went ashore, he saw a great crowd; and he had compassion for them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd; and he began to teach them many things. ³⁵ When it grew late, his disciples came to him and said, “This is a deserted place, and the hour is now very late; ³⁶ send them away so that they may go into the surrounding country and villages and buy something for themselves to eat.” ³⁷ But he answered them, “You give them something to eat.” They said to him, “Are we to go and buy two hundred denarii worth of bread, and give it to them to eat?” ³⁸ And he said to them, “How many loaves have you? Go and see.” When they had found out, they said, “Five, and two fish.” ³⁹ Then he ordered them to get all the people to sit down in groups on the green grass. ⁴⁰ So they sat down in groups of hundreds and of fifties. ⁴¹ Taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven, and blessed and broke the loaves, and gave them to his disciples to set before the people; and he divided the two fish among them all. ⁴² And all ate and were filled; ⁴³ and they took up twelve baskets full of broken pieces and of the fish. ⁴⁴ Those who had eaten the loaves numbered five thousand men.

Observation:

This scene opens with the apostles returning from their mission trip. They had gone out and healed the sick and preached the good news of Jesus to the villages of the surrounding area. Hospitality had been showered upon them by the people of these communities. Now, weary from their travels, Jesus invited them to come away to the wilderness where they could find rest. 

This was a good idea but it didn’t work out too well. Because of the ministry of the disciples, the people were anxious to meet Jesus. More than likely the crowd gathered ahead because of the effective work that had been done by the apostles. By word of mouth the news spread quickly that Jesus was coming. The apostles were faced with the success of their ministry when more than 5000 gathered to hear the preaching of Jesus. 

Jesus had instructed the apostles to carry very little with them and to anticipate that they would be shown hospitality as they ministered. Now, Jesus challenged them to do the same thing in return to those who had gathered. While they had touched the lives of individuals as they ministered, they had never experienced anything like this. The magnitude of the situation was overwhelming to them and Jesus, recognizing this, used the situation as a teachable moment. If the disciples were to participate with him in his mission, they would need to understand the scope of that mission which was much larger than they could comprehend. 

Hunger was gripping the crowd and something needed to be done. Leading by example, Jesus provided a way in which the disciples could intentionally participate in his mission. 

Application:

Jesus modeled what it meant to train up disciples by engaging the in the mission. There are some principles to be learned from the way in which he intentionally taught those who would carry on his mission after his departure. 

1. Evaluate the resources that we have at hand. In this case, it allowed the disciples to see that they didn’t have enough. Often we look at circumstances and we realize that we don’t have enough to complete the task. Sometimes this is done just as a reminder that if the task is to be accomplished, it will have to be done with the Lord’s help. Jesus wanted the disciples to see that they had more than what was at hand. 
2. Spend time listening to the Lord and learn to follow Jesus’ instructions. This is good advice for young people who are being mentored by older leaders. Seasoned leaders have had experience in life and they may actually have something good to share. It’s easy to find ourselves in the place of the disciples thinking that we need to explain why this will or will not work. Why not take the to listen to the one who is doing the mentoring and follow their instructions? In this case, the instructions worked! 
3. The work was organized. Jesus had a plan and it included organizing the people into groups so that they could be fed effectively. Doing things well and in an orderly manner may mean that we are able to accomplish even more than we had imagined. 
4. The completed work was evaluated. Jesus asked them to go back and collect any left-overs. This was a way in which to make sure that the work had been accomplished. Examining our work and looking over the results is an important way in which to determine whether what we are doing is actually working. Far too often we fail to take the time to look over the results. This includes a re-evaluation of the resources.

In the end, the disciples had more than what they had started with, which meant one basketful was provided for each of the weary apostles. By participating in Jesus’ work we learn how to continue the mission. From generation to generation this is passed on by those who are engaged in knowing Christ and modeling the work of Christ in this world. 

Prayer:

Lord, may I find myself somewhere in this discipleship continuum, by learning from others, and by passing on that which has been given to me. Amen.