Princeton Presbyterian Church

Princeton Presbyterian Church (EPC) Sermon # 1702

September 28, 2025

Mark 6.30-44        Click here for audio worship.

Dr. Ed Pettus

(This is an extended outline, not a verbatim transcript.)

 

“Something to Eat”

 

The apostles returned to Jesus and told him all that they had done and taught. And he said to them, “Come away by yourselves to a desolate place and rest a while.” For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat. And they went away in the boat to a desolate place by themselves. Now many saw them going and recognized them, and they ran there on foot from all the towns and got there ahead of them. When he went ashore he saw a great crowd, and he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. And he began to teach them many things. And when it grew late, his disciples came to him and said, “This is a desolate place, and the hour is now late. Send them away to go into the surrounding countryside and villages and buy themselves something to eat.” But he answered them, “You give them something to eat.” And they said to him, “Shall we go and buy two hundred denarii worth of bread and give it to them to eat?” And he said to them, “How many loaves do you have? Go and see.” And when they had found out, they said, “Five, and two fish.” Then he commanded them all to sit down in groups on the green grass. So they sat down in groups, by hundreds and by fifties. And taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven and said a blessing and broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples to set before the people. And he divided the two fish among them all. And they all ate and were satisfied. And they took up twelve baskets full of broken pieces and of the fish. And those who ate the loaves were five thousand men.

 

• Something To Eat

 

Mark 6 includes the narrative of the disciples being sent by Jesus two by two with the authority to drive out demons, to heal, and to call people to repent. In our reading today, we start with the disciples returning from that mission and telling Jesus about everything that had happened. We can only imagine what stories they told and how excited they were to tell Jesus. Jesus then invites them to come away to a deserted place for rest. Jesus knew well the need for rest. Jesus knew well the command to rest for God set aside a day of rest as a commandment. Our bodies are designed to rest as the days draw to a close and we slowly fall to sleep for our daily rest.

Well, in common fashion, the crowds saw them and raced ahead to meet Jesus and the disciples perhaps hoping for more healings and teachings. They were hungry for Jesus and He taught them for hours until it was late. It was time to eat something more than His teachings, but to eat food. Rest also includes refreshing ourselves with food in order to return our strength and energy. The disciples told Jesus He should send them away so they could get food. But Jesus said to the disciples, “You give them something to eat.” Either they did not have the money for such a large crowd or they did not want to spend so much, the text is not clear. But Jesus simply asks them what they have. Five loaves and two fish. Well, we know there were five thousand men, even more when we trust that did not include the women and children present. Five measly loaves and two fish cannot possibly feed five thousand.

Jesus takes what they have, gives thanks, blesses it, sets it before them and everyone eats and is satisfied. Jesus gave them something to eat. Jesus worked a miracle for their physical needs. Jesus gave them sustenance to refresh and strengthen. One of the great lessons we learn from this story is that we bring what we have to God and God can do miracles with just a little bit. Another lesson might be, frankly the point of this sermon, drawn from the phrase, “something to eat”, that there is something more to eat than physical food.

• Feasting

 

Most people love to eat. When hungry, food tastes better. I’d bet that the loaves and fish would have been met with glee at the feeding of the five thousand. Food always better outside, always tastes better at a picnic. All churches all brag about their family night meals, or whatever they call those gatherings. Casseroles, jello deserts, fried chicken, some things we joke about, but no matter what is presented on the table, we feast on it all. The Bible talks a great deal about eating. It uses taste to speak on God’s Word, meals for festivals, manna from heaven, and so on. But the Bible also warns us about feasting on the wrong things, physical or spiritual. I was thinking about some of the examples on both sides, good and bad.

 

On the joy of feasting:

 

God’s Word is sweeter than honey and the drippings of the honeycomb!

Psalm 19.7-11 –

The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul; the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple; the precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes; the fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever; the rules of the Lord are true, and righteous altogether. More to be desired are they than gold, even much fine gold; sweeter also than honey and drippings of the honeycomb. Moreover, by them is your servant warned; in keeping them there is great reward.

 

Jesus feasts with the disciples!

Luke 22.14-15

And when the hour came, [Jesus] reclined at table, and the apostles with him. And he said to them, “I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer.

 

God feeds His people with bread from heaven!

Psalm 78.23-25

Yet he commanded the skies above and opened the doors of heaven, and he rained down on them manna to eat and gave them the grain of heaven. Man ate of the bread of the angels; he sent them food in abundance.

 

The bread from heaven was not just physical, but spiritual food!

1 Corinthians 10.1-4

For I do not want you to be unaware, brothers, that our fathers were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea, and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, and all ate the same spiritual food, and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank from the spiritual Rock that followed them, and the Rock was Christ.

 

Feasting on the wrong things:

 

This passage haunts me every time I think about losing weight!

Philippians 3.17-19, “Brothers, join in imitating me, and keep your eyes on those who walk according to the example you have in us. For many, of whom I have often told you and now tell you even with tears, walk as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their end is destruction, their god is their belly, and they glory in their shame, with minds set on earthly things.

 

When people feast on sin!

Proverbs 6.16-19

There are six things that the Lord hates, seven that are an abomination to him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that make haste to run to evil, a false witness who breathes out lies, and one who sows discord among brothers.

 

We might ask, on what are we feasting? There is more to eat than the food we share at table.

 

• Something More To Eat

 

I do not want to over spiritualize the feeding of the five thousand and I know that I could be accused of taking the phrase “something to eat” a bit too far. But the Scriptures are so deeply filled with feeding stories, verses, and teachings that bid us to look carefully at what we eat, both physically and spiritually. The Bible gives us much to eat. Jeremiah 15.16, another one of my favorite verses, “Your words were found, and I ate them, and your words became to me a joy and the delight of my heart, for I am called by your name, O Lord, God of hosts.”

What does it mean to eat God’s Word? Well, we know it is not about ingesting pages of the Bible, but it is about reading and meditating and abiding in God’s Word so that we hide it in our hearts, we live by it, we trust it, and we find our joy and delight in it. Same thought in Psalm 1.2, “but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night.”

There is a fascinating Word from Jesus in the story of the woman at the well. The disciples had returned from town with food to eat and we see this exchange:

Meanwhile the disciples were urging him, saying, “Rabbi, eat.” But he said to them, “I have food to eat that you do not know about.” So the disciples said to one another, “Has anyone brought him something to eat?” Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work” (John 4.31-34). My food is to do God’s will. I probably should do a sermon just on this statement because it has so many implications for all of us, possibly at so many levels. How does doing God’s will feed and nurture us? I’ll make one comment on that about worship. It is certainly God’s will that we worship together. To neglect worship is to miss out on this food, spiritual food. We do not come to worship to be fed, that is not the primary purpose. The primary purpose is to give ourselves over to the praise and glory of God, to express God’s worthiness to be worshiped above all. But secondary to worshiping God is that we are indeed fed.

 

The Bible also speaks of food in a spiritual sense, especially in using fruit. It is the fruit that we bear when we devote our lives to Christ. Fruit, not just apples and oranges, but fruit of repentance (Matthew 3.8), fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5.22-23), fruit of righteousness (Philippians 1.11), fruit of God’s Word (Psalm 1), and the fruit of light (Ephesians 5.9).

 

In all these things, there is something more to eat than today’s lunch, more than our daily bread, more than five loaves and two fish. We have a feast of spiritual food as well. And I would hope we recognize that the spiritual food is as vital to our lives as physical food. I would say spiritual food is even more vital to our being.

 

 

 

 

 

• To The Glory of God

 

No matter what food we consider, we are to do all to the glory of God. When Paul was teaching about eating food sacrificed to idols, his conclusion was to do all to the glory of God.

 

1 Corinthians 10.31,

So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.

 

Jesus teaches us to not be anxious about what we shall eat.

 

4 - Matthew 6.25, 31-33,

“Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?

 

Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

 

Before that Jesus countered the devil’s temptation with our need to eat of God’s Word:

Matthew 4.4

“‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”

 

Let us connect Jesus’ Words about anxiety with Psalm 127.1-2, “Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain. Unless the Lord watches over the city, the watchman stays awake in vain. It is in vain that you rise up early and go late to rest, eating the bread of anxious toil; for he gives to his beloved sleep.”

 

What the Bible teaches us is that we need to watch what we eat, more so on the spiritual life, but also about how we handle our physical feasting.

The Lord offers us plenty to eat, something more to eat. Isaiah sums up the topic for today,

 

Isaiah 55.1-3a,

“Come, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and he who has no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your labor for that which does not satisfy? Listen diligently to me, and eat what is good, and delight yourselves in rich food. Incline your ear, and come to me; hear, that your soul may live;”

 

The rich food is found in listening to God, listening to His Word. For the Lord indeed has something more for us to eat, food that the world does not know about. Feast in His Word, feast on His body and blood at communion, feast on spiritual food, and feast as well on daily bread. For the Lord has provided physical and spiritual food! Give thanks. Amen.