Feeding the Five Thousand
TRANSLATION
(14) When Jesus landed and saw a great crowd, he had compassion for them and healed their sick. (15) Now as evening approached, the disciples came to him and said, “This is a remote place, and it is already growing late. Send the crowd away so that they can go into the villages and buy some food for themselves.” (16) But Jesus said to them, “They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat.” (17) They said to him, “We have only five loaves and two fish.” (18) And he said, “Bring them here to me.” (19) And he directed the crowd to sit down on the grass. Then he took the five loaves and the two fish, and, looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowd, (20) and they all ate and were satisfied. Then they gathered up all that remained of the broken pieces filling twelve baskets. (21) And those who ate were about five thousand men, besides women and children. (22) Immediately, he made the disciples get into the boat and go ahead of him to the other side while he dismissed the crowd.
OBSERVATIONS
The feeding of the five thousand remains the only one of Jesus’ miracles that made its way into all four gospels. “Crowd” spelled out as “five thousand men besides women and children” was the most frequently repeated term in this segment (five times in vss. 14, 15, 19, & 22). “Disciples” is found three times (vss. 15, 19, & 22), “eat/ate” also three times (vss. 16, 20, & 21), and “five loaves and two fish” twice (vss. 17 & 19).
OUTLINE
I. The disciples could only find five loaves and two fish to feed the multitude. (14-18)
II. Jesus took what they had and multiplied it to feed everyone with plenty left over. (19-22)
IDEA STATEMENT
When we give what little we have to Jesus, he makes it sufficient to meet the needs of those among whom we are called to minister.
APPLICATION
The miracle that Jesus performed in feeding five thousand men plus women and children from the small provision of five loaves and two fish remains one of the most memorable demonstrations of Christ’s divine power and authority during his earthly ministry. The following is an example of how those who seek naturalistic causes for the miracles attributed to the Lord might try to explain what happened. “The feeding of the five thousand was not a miraculous provision of food but simply a ‘miracle’ of human kindness. In essence, Jesus’ teaching about loving our neighbors prompted those who had gathered to share the picnic lunches that they had already brought with them, and thus, all five thousand were fed.”
Such attempts to explain away the miracles Jesus performed sometimes require more faith than the actual miracles themselves. How much better it is for us to accept at face value what the Scriptures tell us regarding God’s supernatural working in and through his Son! Jesus, in the Gospel of John, linked his feeding the multitude to God’s miraculous provision of manna that sustained the nation of Israel during forty years of wilderness wandering. Understood in this way, Jesus becomes the “living bread” given to sustain us spiritually. He said, “If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh” (Jn. 6:51). If we attempt to strip away the supernatural from the life and ministry of Jesus, we are in danger of destroying the significance of his incarnation, his atoning sacrifice, and his rising from the dead to provide eternal life for those who believe.