What to learn from feeding 5,000 people

Of all of Jesus’ many miracles, only the Resurrection and the feeding of the 5,000 are recorded in all four Gospels. Obviously, the Gospel writers considered the feeding of 5,000 a significant miracle. When Christ fed the masses that day, He began with only “five barley loaves and two fish,” borrowed from a boy’s lunch.  To feed 5,000 people with five loaves and two fish is indeed miraculous, but the Greek term used in this week’s gospel specifies males, and Matthew in the gospel further emphasizes the point by adding, “Besides women and children.” Many Bible scholars believe the actual number fed that day could have been 15,000 – 20,000 people. 

Jesus’ disciples had wanted to send the people away because evening was approaching and they were in a remote place. They knew the people needed to reach surrounding villages soon to buy food, find lodging, etc., or they would likely go hungry.  But Christ had a better idea: “You give them something to eat”.  At this point, the disciples should have recalled the many miracles they had seen Jesus do. 

Jesus called for the bread and fish to be brought to Him.  He then gave thanks for the meal, broke the bread, and gave it to His disciples to give to the crowd. Amazingly, the entire multitude was fed with that small meal. Jesus provided “as much as they wanted “and “they all ate and were satisfied” the gospel states.  Christ did not just meet the need; He lavished them with so much food that there were “twelve baskets full of broken pieces and of the fish” left over. 

Note that Jesus fed the people through the agency of His disciples. He could have simply snapped His fingers and caused everyone present to have a meal, but He didn’t. Instead, He gave to his disciples to distribute to the people”. In this way, the disciples had to trust the Lord for everything they distributed. They could only give as they received. The disciples were put in a position of total dependence upon the Lord for the supply. God still uses people the same way today. 

And so it is with each of us, that we too should also be reminded that their problems are never too large (the “many”) for God to handle. Surely, Andrew was wondering, “What good are we going to do with only five loaves and two fish?” Of course, theoretically, believers know God can easily multiply whatever He wants, to feed as many people as He wants—He is God. The problem comes when we are faced with a practical outworking of the theory; we tend to doubt that God will want to meet our need. 

Perhaps this gospel has nothing to do with bread and fish. Perhaps Jesus is saying we must bring our lives to God in a spirit of obedience and sacrifice, no matter how insignificant we may think our gifts or talents are.  When doing so, we can expect God to do far beyond what can be imagined. Also, we should trust that God not only wants to meet the needs of His children, but He wants to lavish His children with spiritual blessings, even to overflowing.