Feeding the Multitude
TRANSLATION
(30) The apostles returned to Jesus and told him all that they had done and taught. (31) And he said to them, “Come away by yourselves to an isolated place and rest a while,” for many were coming and going, and they hardly had any time to eat. (32) So they left in the boat for an isolated place by themselves. (33) Now many saw them depart and recognized them, so together they ran on foot from the surrounding towns and arrived there ahead of them. (34) And when Jesus went ashore, he saw a large crowd and felt compassion for them because they were like sheep without a shepherd. And he began to teach them many things.
(35) Now when it had grown late, his disciples came to him and said, “This is an isolated place, and the hour is late. (36) Send the crowd away so that they can go into the surrounding countryside and villages and buy for themselves something to eat.” (37) But he said to them, “You give them something to eat.” And they answered him, “Should we go and buy two hundred denarii worth of bread and give them to eat?” (38) 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.” (39) Then he instructed all of them to sit down in groups on the green grass. (40) And they sat down in groups of hundreds and fifties. (41) He then took the five loaves and the two fish and, looking up to heaven, blessed and broke the loaves. He then gave the pieces to the disciples to set before the people, and the two fish he divided among them all. (42) And they all ate and were satisfied. (43) Then they gathered up twelve baskets full of the broken pieces and of the fish. (44) Those who ate the loaves amounted to five thousand men.
(45) And immediately he made his disciples get into the boat and go ahead of him to the other side to Bethsaida while he dismissed the crowd.
OBSERVATIONS
Jesus feeding the five thousand is the only miracle that appears in all four Gospel accounts. According to Matthew, Mark, and Luke, Jesus challenged his disciples with the statement, “You give them something to eat,” after they had urged Jesus to send the crowds away. Only Mark, who mentions “isolated place” three times (vss. 31, 32, & 35), tells us that Jesus had earlier invited the disciples to accompany him on a retreat where they could rest for a while from the pressures of the ministry to which he had called them. Other repetitions included the phrase, “something to eat” (vss. 36 & 37), “loaves” (four times in vss. 38, 41, & 44), and “fish” (also four times in vss. 38, 41, and 43).
OUTLINE
I. Jesus’ invitation to rest was interrupted by the pressing needs of the multitude. (30-34)
II. Jesus miraculously fed everyone with the meager provisions the disciples had located. (35-45)
IDEA STATEMENT
Those whom Jesus calls to serve must learn to rely on him to make them adequate for the work he calls them to accomplish.
APPLICATION
Jesus’ disciples eventually came to realize that their faith would only flourish in frustrating circumstances. We see this principle at work in these verses. First, they experienced disappointment with unfulfilled expectations, namely in Jesus’ invitation to come away and rest, an invitation thwarted by the persistence of the crowds that relentlessly pursued them. They needed to learn that in a ministry of compassion the needs of others must always take precedence over personal concerns. Next, we sense the disciples’ frustration at Jesus turning away from them to minister to the needs of those whom he called “sheep without a shepherd.” As in a hospital’s emergency room, those with the most pressing concerns had to be treated first. In ministry, those who can wait must learn to give way to those whose needs demand immediate attention.
In a final climactic moment of frustration, Jesus refused to send the multitude away and told the disciples to feed them. By doing this, he taught his disciples two more crucial lessons. First, serving him will often take us beyond our personal capacity to meet the needs of others. Then, just when we feel overwhelmed with our inability to meet such needs, we must learn that we can always rely on Jesus to enable us to rise to the occasion if we are willing to put what little we have into his powerful hands. The moment the twelve entrusted to Jesus what they had managed to scrape together he performed one of the greatest miracles of his earthly ministry. He would later tell them, “Apart from me, you can do nothing” (Jn. 15:5). The unstated corollary to that principle is this: “As you trust in my enablement, you will have all that you need to accomplish whatever I have assigned you to do.”