“The Servant’s Increase”
Mark 6:30-56
“And when He had taken the five loaves and the two fish, He looked up to heaven, blessed and broke the loaves, and gave them to His disciples to set before them; and the two fish He divided among them all. So they all ate and were filled.” – Mark 6:41-42
In this feeding is the miracle of multiplication. It is the Servant’s increase by delegation, twelve more sets of hands to serve others. And at the end of the day over ten thousand were fed from two fish and a handful of barley loaves. Now that is truly a miracle! It is the Servant’s exponential increase.
“Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.” [John 14:12] Greater not in kind, but in number, because of the multiplication.
But Jesus doesn’t only multiply, He imparts His Spirit in the increase. It is His anointed delegation, which was the topic last week. Jesus has authority to delegate authority to others, which is perhaps the greatest miracle of all because it multiplies workers. He sent out the Twelve “two-by-two” and they also cast out demons and healed every disease and sickness.
And so, our passage this morning begins with their report: “Then the apostles gathered to Jesus and told Him all things, both what they had done and what they had taught.” [Mk 6:30]
But notice the message in addition to the works. They go hand-in-hand. When our words and our deeds are working together with the Spirit’s anointing, we can expect an increase in the Kingdom.
One of the greatest thrills in this life of faith is experiencing Kingdom increase. And when Jesus multiplies our gifts and provides opportunities to use them, it is truly amazing to behold. It is what we were created for.
I would encourage you to take steps of faith and serve. Because when you use your gifts to serve God and others, you will experience that wonderful Spirit-filled sense of fulfillment.
