Last week we learned that we had deaf ears to God and we were stubborn to listen to the word of God. But Jesus opened our spiritual ears to hear his voice of love and our mouth to speak his gracious word of life. Today we are going to study “Jesus Feeds the Four Thousand.” In 6:30-44 we have already studied Jesus feeding the five thousand. Why did Mark choose to include in his gospel two events which are so similar, here with just a number difference? This underscores the importance of this event. When a professor repeats the same topic again and again, it will be in the test. Jesus wanted to teach his disciples the unlimited power of faith in this passage and plant compassionate shepherd hearts for the disciples. Jesus wanted to open the spiritual eyes of his disciples through this event. May God bless us to learn the world of faith and to grow as compassionate servants of God like Jesus in our generation.

PART I. I HAVE COMPASSION FOR THESE PEOPLE (1-3)

        Look at verses 1-3. “During those days another large crowd gathered. Since they had nothing to eat, Jesus called his disciples to him and said, ‘I have compassion for these people; they have already been with me three days and have nothing to eat. If I send them home hungry, they will collapse on the way, because some of them have come a long distance’” It was the time when Jesus healed a deaf and mute man out of his compassion. The news about the compassion of Jesus Christ shook all the towns and countryside. Around the time Jesus was healing and preaching the gospel, people wanted to see Jesus face to face and hear his word more than anything else. This event happened in the region of the Decapolis. Therefore, the large crowds gathered around Jesus were mostly Gentiles. Jesus proved himself to be not only the Savior of the Jews but also of the Gentiles. Jesus blessed the Gentiles to experience the miracle of Jesus. Jesus cared for the need of the Gentiles. As usual, Jesus loved them. Jesus shared the secret of the kingdom of God with them. Jesus wanted to show them the kingdom of God and Jesus wanted them to have the privilege of entering the kingdom of God. Jesus wanted to talk to them for a few minutes. But three days passed by. Jesus’ compassion for them to bring them to God’s glorious house was undying. When he spoke to them with great compassion and with his life-giving spirit, these four thousand ordinary people remained for three days. A one-day session became a three-day Bible conference. At that time they did not have any conference facilities and the food was very scarce. People did not eat a lot. Maybe they did not feel hungry during the conference because the word of Jesus fed their hungry souls. But at the end of the conference they felt hungry.

 Verse 2 says, “I have compassion for these people; they have already been with me three days and have nothing to eat.” How did Jesus have compassion for these people? The first step to have compassion for someone is to know the person well. Jesus understood the need of the people one by one because he loved them as his very own. Jesus knew that they did not have anything to eat though there were so many people. Jay Jagun said, “God knows what I need most because he is my father in heaven.” Jay longs for a fatherly love and Jesus understands her need very well. Jesus satisfies her soul with his precious word. To Jesus, the most urgent problem was feeding them. Now that the conference was over, it was time for the crowds to go home. Maybe it was around the lunch time. But there was no food. It was a big problem because many people came from a long distance. They had to walk all the way home hungry and might be collapsed on the way. Can you imagine to skip a lunch after we finish the conference because there is no food? It is unthinkable. But this was happening to the four thousand people. The problem was urgent and real. In chapter 6 Jesus had compassion for the crowds because they were sheep without a shepherd. This time he had compassion because they had nothing to eat and had to go home hungry. Jesus not only cared about our spiritual need but also our physical need. Jesus’ sense of responsibility to take care of their physical need runs very deep. Jesus took the crowd’s hunger problem as his own. He might be hungry too. But he was concerned about the crowd’s hunger more than his own hunger problem. When I am hungry, I pay little attention toward other’s need. But Jesus was different. He put other’s need above his own need. He showed his compassion and love for them. Jesus had a beautiful mother’s heart for the hungry crowd. Hunger is the most sorrowful thing any human being can experience. We are moved when we see the pictures of hungry children. Think about having no food in your refrigerator and going hungry everyday. Mothers care about their children’s hunger problem very seriously. They keep on saying to their children, “Come on and eat.” It is unbearable for any mother to see their children go hungry. It was unbearable for Jesus to send the crowd away without anything to eat. S. Andy Chang’s mother prepared nutritious food for Peter and Andy when they were young and as a result they became tall and handsome. Jesus came into this world to feed us spiritually and physically. He regards each of us as his children. He is concerned about our physical needs. That’s the reason why we pray in the Lord’s prayer, “Give us our daily bread.”  Jesus’ compassion is eternally beautiful. There will be no hunger problem if everyone has the compassion of Jesus. Where there is the compassion of Christ, where there is the living word of Jesus Christ, the world will be a better place to live and people will be happy to give their lives for Jesus. Once we were like the Gentiles and lived as the enemies of God. We were collapsing spiritually because we did not have any spiritual food to eat. Apostle Peter described our condition in 1 Peter 2:10, "Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.” That’s right. Once we were the objects of God’s wrath due to our sins. But Jesus had compassion for us and gave us his word of life and saved us from sin and death when we believed that he died for our sins and rose again for our eternal life. Now we became the objects of his mercy. We became God’s chosen people to declare his wonderful grace to all who are starving spiritually. God blessed us to do a new thing by his grace. 

PART II. HOW MANY LOAVES DO YOU HAVE (4-10)

Look at verse 4. “His disciples answered, ‘But where in this remote place can anyone get enough bread to feed them?’” It is easy to discredit the disciples automatically when we find their lack of faith. But when we examine their answer carefully, they had a desire to feed them but they did not know how. They were saying to Jesus, “Well, we are ready to feed them. But it is a remote place and the reality is we have no money to feed them.” If we compare this to the story in chapter 6, Jesus feeding the five thousand, we see that in the first event Jesus’ disciples did not share Jesus’ concern. They made many excuses to send the crowd away (6:35). But when we read verse 4 in deep meditation, we learn that this time they were concerned with the people who stayed there for three days and nights. The disciples also stayed with the crowd, and they never complained. They also listened attentively to the word of God for a full three days. In chapter 6, when Jesus fed the five thousand, the disciples had no motivation. They wanted to escape from their responsibility. Then they wanted to rationalize their impossible situation. Jesus rebuked their irresponsible attitude. But this time, they were different. This time they were not rebuked. They were very patient. They did not interrupt Jesus’ message. The first time their patience lasted only a few hours. At the end of the day, they came to Jesus as a group saying, “Send them away.” This time the first day passed and they patiently waited. The second day passed. On the third day, they waited for Jesus to finish his teaching and then Jesus asked them. They were more patient with the sheep. They made a big progress in their shepherd life. Their only problem was that whenever they faced impossible situation, they were frozen to their own human thinking. They despaired about their remote place mentality. They did not apply their current situation to the previous miracles Jesus performed. They did not comprehend the true person of Jesus. They did not know Jesus deeply. They worried first instead of bringing the problem to Jesus. They were slow in understanding Jesus’ power. Jesus demonstrated himself many times that he is the living God who can raise up the dead and walk on the water and head the sick. Jesus showed them that everything was possible for him who believes (Mk. 9:23). They had to look upon Jesus and rely on him whenever they faced impossible situation. Instead, they looked at the remote place and their empty pocket situation. As a result, they felt helpless. We know it is not easy for us to raise up one disciple of Jesus. One missionary shared his mission statement when he came to the United States saying, “I will raise 100 disciples in my mission life.” I do not see him saying the same prayer topic these days. Instead, he is praying, “Lord, let me just raise one disciple by your grace.” But everything is possible when we have faith in Jesus. The only problem is that we rely on our own human limitation instead of Jesus. In this respect the disciples must grow more until they understand who Jesus really is. 
When we feed sheep, we expect them to grow quickly. Sometimes we see that our sheep are never growing. They are similar to Jesus in a way: because they are the same last year and this year and seem to be the same forever. And we are greatly dismayed inwardly. But we have to be like Jesus. We have to have hope in these slippery sheep and wait on God and pray for them. We feel like reading the Bible to the ears of the cows. But in reality they are growing very slowly. James Annabel didn’t express himself, whether he believed or not, even after studying the Bible for 7 years with M. Moses Chang. But he makes a good environment whenever we have eating fellowship by moving chairs and emptying trash bags. He made a progress in his tennis and basketball skills. The kingdom of God is growing in his heart though we may not see it outwardly. Jesus promises him and everyone that if they seek his kingdom, they will find it. He can trust Jesus’ promise and seek God to the end until God gives him faith. Sometimes we are very much discouraged by sheep. But when Jesus took his disciples around, only to hang around him while he was healing and teaching the crowding people, Jesus taught them the word of life. His disciples had never looked as though they were growing spiritually. But we learn that they were growing little by little. They were gradually learning the compassion of Jesus Christ. So let’s not despair at our sheep who never listen or open their hearts to the word of God. Let’s keep on teaching them until their ears open to the word of God and they become excellent Bible teachers and powerful disciple-makers. 

Jesus knew that his disciples had not many resources with which to feed the four thousand who were critically hungry, and who could collapse on the way home if they went without eating. But Jesus treated his disciples like coworkers and asked them their opinion. Of course, Jesus could have done everything by himself. But he worked with his disciples. Look at verse 5. “‘How many loaves do you have?’ Jesus asked. ‘Seven,’ they replied.” It seems to be nothing to ask his disciples, who did not have any resources, how much they had. Later Jesus asked the disciples to set the loaves before the people. He asked them again to distribute the small fish. Jesus worked with the disciples side by side. It was the beginning point of coworking. To ask something of others seems to be easy.  But asking a few things to another remarkably creates a relationship between man and man and between man and God. Jesus knew how to communicate with his disciples. When I attended the University computer conference last May, I had an opportunity to have lunch with the CIO from Boston University. I asked him how to become a successful leader in the OIT organization. He said without hesitation, “It is CCC.” CCC means communication, communication, and communication. Nobody reads other’s mind unless he or she communicates. To be successful in the work place you have to communicate with others. Silence is not golden any more to cowork together. Introvert and loners must learn how to talk with others. Even though it seems to be an unimportant matter, it is good to ask other’s opinion. Then the communication starts and we can work together as a team. The world mission work began when 120 people in the upper room prayed together with one mind and heart. Young disciple of Jesus team began to cowork together. S. John Lee used to do multiple roles for the YDJ. Jennifer presided last Friday and John Lee played a guitar and M. James Park shared a prayer topic and S. Mahmia prepared snacks. Three Jagun sisters shared powerful testimonies and David Park added a new dimension. They are growing in Jesus through coworking.
 In coworking, we must first pray together with our coworker and talk together about many prayer topics. We must talk about how to strengthen our relationship and the spirit of coworkership. President Ronald Reagan was a famous movie star. He was not the smartest person in the world. But he knew how to talk to others. He earned a nick name “the communicator.” So he was elected as the President of the United States of America in 1980 defeating the incumbent President Jimmy Carter who was a poor communicator though he was clean and pure in his heart. I pray that each fellowship leader may learn how to cowork with others like Jesus and the disciples. 
Frankly speaking, this is the story of the coworking of Jesus and his disciples. After hearing that his company had seven Big Macs, he felt burdened for the four thousand people’s hunger and exhaustion. What did Jesus do in this case? Whenever Jesus performed his miracles, he always prayed before God. He depended on God and wanted to feed them. How? He prayed to God to feed these four thousand hungry people who were in a remote place. Here we learn Jesus’ prayer. When it was impossible, he did not despair. He held seven loaves tightly in his hand and lifted them up to heaven and prayed to God that God would feed the crowd. Mark expressed his prayer, saying, “after he had given thanks.” It means Jesus prayed in absolute faith. Mark 11:24 says, “Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.” Jesus believed that he received God’s answer and gave thanks to him. As we know, prayer is a Christian’s most potent weapon. Without prayer we cannot do God’s work.  UBF ministry developed in the last forty years from a hermit country in a dark corner of the world. Korean students prayed and prayed. When they began to pray, they never stopped until they were convinced that God would grant them world mission vision and practically, in the near future, would send many missionaries to the whole world. Humanly speaking, they looked indeed foolish.  One who asked prayer for world mission regretted that he had given them such a prayer topic and made students suffer to pray so intensively. The shepherd doubted from time to time. But the students never doubted. In this way God blessed UBF to send many missionaries to 87 nations. Here we see Jesus gripping seven loaves and lifting them up, and praying to God that he would distribute these seven loaves to four thousand people. Then God answered his prayer. He broke them and he could distribute them. We learn here that prayer is our most potent weapon.
 M. David Yun’s Hope fellowship has two prayer teams-morning prayer and evening prayer team. Women missionaries and shepherdesses decided to visit campus 150 times during the summer to establish 1:1 ministry. God will bless their prayers whether they have immediate sheep or not. I pray all men missionaries and shepherds may do the same. When I rented two buses, I had faith that God would fill the bus with many students. But I feel like it is the remote place situation like the disciples. I feel burdened because not many students are interested in attending the Bible conference. I am asking you now, “How can we fill the two buses?” Maybe each one occupies two seats. But that’s not the right way to fill the bus. We need faith in Jesus and bring this matter to Jesus with prayers. When we bought the land for our new center, we did not have money to build the center. But everyone had faith and prayed and prayed. God blessed our prayers and enabled us to offer this center as a house of prayer for all nations. We experienced the power of faith. Now we are praying for each of us to invite one student to the ISU conference. Our situation looks like the remote place. We have to invite one sheep with prayer and faith in Jesus. We don’t have to worry about anything, but we only have to pray. Whether it is answered or not doesn’t matter; whether we pray or don’t pray matters. These days, we pray that God may make America a kingdom of priests and a holy nation once again. We pray that God may send one million American missionaries once again. When we pray with absolute faith, God will grant our prayer request. Many Americans are deaf and mute, enslaved by earning money or managing it. They silently work hard day and night to make a little more money. Some change their job, even thirty times, to get a little more money. But they never make better money. Even if they make money, it cannot be God’s hope. To pray that God may make America a kingdom of priests and a holy nation is God’s hope and our meaning of life. In our generation, the work of God may not be too big.  But God will surely answer our prayer.
Look at verse 7. “They had a few small fish as well; he gave thanks for them also and told the disciples to distribute them.” The disciples were also hungry. They wanted to eat first, and next, distribute food to the people who heard the gospel message from Jesus for three days, day and night. But the disciples did not eat first. They followed Jesus’ command exactly. They participated in Jesus’ miracle as distributors of the bread. Let’s look at verses 8-10. “The people>

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