By Mark D. Roberts

Jesus took the five loaves and two fish, looked up toward heaven, and blessed them. Then, breaking the loaves into pieces, he kept giving the bread and fish to the disciples so they could distribute it to the people.

Gospel: Luke 9:16

The story in Luke 9:12-17 is often called "The Feeding of the 5,000," though, in fact, the total number of people fed was much larger, since 5,000 identifies the number of men present. The plot of the story is simple. Thousands of people gathered in a "remote place" where Jesus was teaching and healing them. When it came time for the evening meal, there was nothing for people to eat, other than five loaves of bread and two fish. From these, however, Jesus was able to provide ample food for the whole crowd. He miraculously multiplied the quantity of food so that everyone was well fed and there were twelve baskets of leftovers.

Not unlike Jesus' healing miracles, his feeding of the crowd shows his compassion of human beings and their needs. Jesus cared for the people in their ordinary hunger and demonstrated loving hospitality.

Yet, like the healings, the miracle of feeding also demonstrated the presence of the kingdom of God. It echoed the familiar story of God providing manna for the children of Israel as they journeyed through the wilderness (Exod. 16:1-36). And it began to fulfill Old Testament prophetic promises, such as are found in Isaiah:

In Jerusalem, the LORD of Heaven's Armies
will spread a wonderful feast
for all the people of the world.
It will be a delicious banquet
with clear, well-aged wine and choice meat.
There he will remove the cloud of gloom,
the shadow of death that hangs over the earth.
He will swallow up death forever!
The Sovereign LORD will wipe away all tears.
(Isa. 25:6-8)

Yes, the Sovereign LORD is coming in power.
He will rule with a powerful arm.
See, he brings his reward with him as he comes.
He will feed his flock like a shepherd.
He will carry the lambs in his arms,
holding them close to his heart.
He will gently lead the mother sheep with their young.
(Isa. 40:10-11)

Thus, feeding the hungry is both an act of compassion and a demonstration of the presence of God's kingdom.

Throughout the centuries, Christians have followed the lead of Jesus in seeking to feed people, especially those with limited access to food. Increasingly, we are striving to help the poor, not only by feeding them, but also by helping them to develop the means to feed themselves. Luke 9:12-17 serves as an encouragement to those who work in businesses that provide food: farmers, truckers, people in the grocery and restaurant businesses, as well as many others. This passage also provides inspiration for those who cook for their families and friends. Through our efforts to care for human need and to offer hospitality to people, we are able to participate in the kingdom ministry of Jesus.

QUESTIONS FOR FURTHER REFLECTION:

What strikes you in the story of The Feeding of the 5,000? When you eat, do you think of your food as a gift from God? In what ways are you helping to feed people? Do you think of this as participation in the work of God's kingdom? How might this perspective change the way you feel or act?

PRAYER:

Lord Jesus, first of all, I thank you for caring for my ordinary human needs. Thank you for my "daily bread."

I also thank you today for the presence of your kingdom. Though the fullness of your reign is yet to come, nevertheless, we are able to begin to experience life under your gracious sovereignty.

I bring before you, Lord, all of those who provide food for people. I want to thank you for those who grow the food I eat, for those who transport it and sell it, and for those who prepare it (especially my wife!). I thank you also for those people and organizations that seek to feed the hungry and help the poor to develop the means to produce food.

Finally, I pray for those who are hungry today. May you provide for them. May you stir up your people to feed the hungry, even as you once did in the wilderness. May individuals and charitable organizations and businesses and governments work in partnership so that all people might have access to food for life. And may all of this be for your glory! Amen.

Answer:

Aside from the resurrection, the story of Jesus feeding the 5,000 is the only miracle recorded in all four Gospels. Obviously, the Gospel writers considered this 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 (John 6:9). To feed 5,000 people with five loaves and two fish is indeed miraculous, but the Greek term used in Matthew 14:21 specifies males, and Matthew 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 (Matthew 14:15). They knew the people needed to reach surrounding villages soon to buy food, find lodging, etc., or they would likely go hungry (Mark 6:36). But Christ had a better idea: "You give them something to eat" (Matthew 14:16). At this point, the disciples should have recalled the many miracles they had seen Jesus do. Perhaps some of them did, but Andrew asked, "What are [five loaves and two fish] for so many?" (John 6:9). And Philip exclaimed, "It would take more than half a year's wages to buy enough bread for each one to have a bite!" (verse 7).

Jesus called for the bread and fish to be brought to Him (Matthew 14:18). 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" (John 6:11), and "they all ate and were satisfied" (Matthew 14:20). 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 (Mark 6:43).

God will shatter the pint-sized expectations of what His followers can do if they would learn to bring Him what they have already been given. "Little is much when God is in it." When Christians are willing to offer their lives sacrificially, relinquishing their hold on whatever God has given them in terms of time, money, talents, etc., God will use these ordinary things to create extraordinary things. Christians must never believe their resources are too little to serve God. God delights in taking a humble, seemingly insignificant person and using him or her for His glory (see 1 Corinthians 1:27).

Philip's mind immediately ran to the cost of the project. He quickly calculated how many man-hours of work it would take to feed all those people; he saw the task as impossible because he approached it as if everything depended on his own work. Jesus' approach was different. Jesus bypassed all human effort and did the impossible. It's "‘not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,' says the LORD Almighty" (Zechariah 4:6).

It is noteworthy 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" (Mark 6:41). In this way, the disciples had to trust the Lord for everything they distributed. They could only give as they received. Philip, Andrew, and the rest were put in a position of total dependence upon the Lord for the supply. God still uses people the same way today.

Christians should also be reminded that their problems are never too large (the "many" of John 6:9) 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.

There is a foreshadowing of Christ's miracle in the life of Elisha in 2 Kings. Elisha told his servant to feed the people gathered there, although there was not enough food for the hundred men. One of the men said, "How can I set this before a hundred men?" (2 Kings 4:42–43) In the end, however, the men not only had enough to eat, but "they ate and had some left" (2 Kings 4:44). Isn't that just like God? He says He will do more than provide for His people; He will give an abundance (Psalm 132:15).

Christians must bring their lives to God in a spirit of obedience and sacrifice, no matter how insignificant they may think their gifts or talents are (Romans 12:1). When doing so, expect God to do far beyond what can be imagined (Ephesians 3:20). Also, Christians 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 (Psalm 23:5).

Recommended Resource: Jesus: The Greatest Life of All by Charles Swindoll

by Rev. Todd A. Linn, PhD, Henderson, KY

Gospel: Luke 9:10-17

We are continuing our study of the Gospel of Luke, a series we are entitling "Certainty in Uncertain Times." This title comes from the opening verses of Luke, the prologue, where Luke the writer states the purpose of his Gospel as he is writing to a Christian named Theophilus. Luke writes in Luke 1:4, I am writing this book, Theophilus, "that you may know the certainty of those things in which you were instructed." What is true for Theophilus is true for you and me. This Gospel is given to us that we may have certainty concerning the things of God, certainty in uncertain times.

With our Bibles open to Luke 9, I want us to see the context in which we find this morning's passage. Our passage will be verses 10-17. You will recall from last time, verses 1-9, that after the 12 Disciples go out in the surrounding villages preaching the Kingdom of God that Herod, verse 9, asks the question, "Who is this of whom I hear such things?" That is the question. Who is this Jesus? Then, if you jump down to verse 18, you see Jesus asking the same question of the disciples. He asks, "Who do the crowds say that I am?" They give various replies in verse 19 and then verse 20, "But who do you say that I am?"

So on both ends of our passage this morning, verses 10-17, you have this question, "Who is this Jesus?" You have the question to introduce the passage and the question follows the conclusion of the passage. And the passage itself, verses 10-17, answers the question. Jesus is the Christ who meets our every need. As God, Christ meets our every physical and spiritual need. Listen for that truth as we read of Christ's meeting the need for food, miraculously providing for the need of 5,000 hungry men.

The 12 Disciples have just returned from their preaching tour, having gone to all the surrounding villages, preaching the Kingdom of God. Then we read this:

10 And the apostles, when they had returned, told Him all that they had done. Then He took them and went aside privately into a deserted place belonging to the city called Bethsaida.
11 But when the multitudes knew it, they followed Him; and He received them and spoke to them about the kingdom of God, and healed those who had need of healing.
12 When the day began to wear away, the twelve came and said to Him, "Send the multitude away, that they may go into the surrounding towns and country, and lodge and get provisions; for we are in a deserted place here."
13 But He said to them, "You give them something to eat." And they said, "We have no more than five loaves and two fish, unless we go and buy food for all these people."
14 For there were about five thousand men. Then He said to His disciples, "Make them sit down in groups of fifty."
15 And they did so, and made them all sit down.
16 Then He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, He blessed and broke them, and gave them to the disciples to set before the multitude.
17 So they all ate and were filled, and twelve baskets of the leftover fragments were taken up by them.
Luke 9:10-17

Introduction:

One of the great hymns of the faith is a hymn that speaks of the God who will take care of us. It goes:

Be not dismayed whate'er betide,
God will take care of you;
Beneath His wings of love abide,
God will take care of you.

God will take care of you,
Through every day, o'er all the way;
He will take care of you,
God will take care of you.

Through days of toil when heart doth fail,
When dangers fierce your path assail,

All you may need He will provide,
Nothing you ask will be denied,

No matter what may be the test,
Lean, weary one, upon His breast,
God will take care of you.

One of the encouragements I receive by coming together with you in weekly worship is that the Bible seems to remind me continually of the God who will take care of me this week. "No matter what may be the test, lean, weary one, upon His breast. God will take care of you."

When we read the Gospels - Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John - we are reading the historical events of Jesus of Nazareth, a man who was more than a man, a man who was also God. Christ's teachings, His miracles, and the whole of Scripture points to Jesus Christ as being God in the flesh. So what we learn of God is true of Christ. God meets our every need, Christ meets our every need.

I want to talk about that truth this morning: Christ meets our every need. Christ will take care of you this morning. Christ will take care of you this week. So let's go back through this small passage of Scripture, verse-by-verse, and then afterwards I want to give you three reminders to take with you as you leave this morning. Before we get to those reminders, let's walk back through this passage of Scripture together to make sure we are interpreting the Bible correctly. All in favor of interpreting the Bible correctly? Okay. Look again at verse 10:

10 And the apostles, when they had returned, told Him all that they had done. Then He took them and went aside privately into a deserted place belonging to the city called Bethsaida.

So the 12 Disciples return from their preaching circuit, having traveled to the small villages and towns around Galilee, preaching the Kingdom of God which is, in essence, the Gospel. They return and they tell Jesus all that happened. And Jesus decides to take them away to a deserted place in Bethsaida, a small town Northeast of where the Jordan flows into the Sea of Galilee, and Jesus plans some quality time with the 12, but He is then interrupted by the crowds. Verse 11:

11 But when the multitudes knew it, they followed Him; and He received them and spoke to them about the kingdom of God, and healed those who had need of healing.

When I read verse 11 in my study this week, I was immediately reminded again about our Lord's willingness to be interrupted. Most of us hate interruptions. We've got a goal or a task or a plan, an agenda you know, and someone calls or knocks on the door and our plans are interrupted. Jesus planned to have some one-on-one time with this smaller group of 12, but the multitudes, several thousand men and women, track Him down. And rather than getting upset about it, Jesus "received them and spoke to them."

And in our efforts to be like Christ we will endeavor to be as kind when we are interrupted this week. It's nearly always helpful to think of our interruptions as divine appointments. God sent that person to knock on your office door for a reason. God led that person to call or come by for a reason. Embrace the opportunity when others interrupt you and see what God is up to.

But we are also encouraged to know that our Lord doesn't mind our interrupting Him. As often as we need Him we come to Him. Christ says, "Come to Me all you who labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest (Matthew 11:28)" and, "If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink (John 7:37)." To quote another hymn:

Are you weary, are you heavy hearted?
Tell it to Jesus, tell it to Jesus.
Are you grieving over joys departed?
Tell it to Jesus alone.

Jesus delights in our interrupting Him. You cannot go to Him too much in prayer. Just get alone somewhere quiet and tell it to Jesus. You will often find that in just the telling of it to Him that He grants you a peace that surpasses all understanding. Tell it this week to the God who is never too busy to be interrupted. Verse 12:

12 When the day began to wear away, the twelve came and said to Him, "Send the multitude away, that they may go into the surrounding towns and country, and lodge and get provisions; for we are in a deserted place here."

The 12 are concerned for this group of over 5,000 people. Luke tells us later that there about 5,000 men. Matthew in his Gospel tells us that this number did not include the women and children (Matthew 14:21) so this number may be as large as 20,000 people. The 12 are watching the sun begin to go down and they get concerned about these people not having anything to eat: "Send them to the surrounding towns to get lodging and food for we are in a deserted (uninhabited) place here." Verse 13:

13 But He said to them, "You give them something to eat." And they said, "We have no more than five loaves and two fish, unless we go and buy food for all these people."

It's an odd thing, really. Jesus says, "You give them something to eat." Impossible! They even reply, "Look, we've taken an inventory and all we have are about 5 loaves of bread and two fish. We could go ourselves and buy food for all these people, but the whole thing seems crazy." Verses 14 and following:

14 For there were about five thousand men (again, add the women and children and perhaps as many as 20,000. Luke provides the more conservative number. He was obviously not a Baptist! Had a Baptist been there he would have been counting every single person and animal). Then He said to His disciples, "Make them sit down in groups of fifty."
15 And they did so, and made them all sit down.
16 Then He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, He blessed and broke them, and gave them to the disciples to set before the multitude.

Verse 16 sounds a bit like what Christ does in the Lord's Supper. He "looked up to heaven" in prayer, blessed and broke the bread, giving the bread to the disciples to set before the people. Then verse 17:

17 So they all ate and were filled, and twelve baskets of the leftover fragments were taken up by them.

And somewhere there in verses 16 and 17 you have this incredible power of Jesus Christ in His multiplying the bread and fish from 5 loaves and 2 fish to enough food to feed perhaps as many as 20,000 people. It is a miracle. We cannot understand how it happened. There is no natural explanation. It is supernatural. How does one get enough food to feed several thousand people from one picnic basket? Alexander Maclaren accentuates the power of Christ by writing, "The pieces grew under (Christ's) touch, and the disciples always found His hands full when they came back with their own empty."

Of course the point is unmistakable: Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God. Just as God provided in a similarly miraculous way through the Prophets Elijah and Elisha (1 Kings 17:16, 2 Kings 4:42-44), so God - in Christ - provides because the Son of God was with the Heavenly Father in the creation of all things. As Paul writes in Colossians 1:16-17, "For by Him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible…all things were created by Him and for Him…"

Now let me give you these reminders that surface from our study of this passage. First:

1) Remember what Christ has already done for you

It is a bit puzzling in verse 12 that the disciples insist on Jesus' dismissing the crowds in order that they might find food and lodging in the surrounding towns. I say it is puzzling because if you will remember, one of the points Luke has been making from as far back as verse 22 of the previous chapter, Luke 8:22 and following, is that Jesus Christ has all authority and power over everything. There is nothing He cannot do and no need He cannot meet. He calms the storm, demonstrating His Lordship over nature. He is Lord over danger, Lord over demons, Lord over disease, and even Lord over death. There is nothing He cannot do and no need He cannot meet.

So now we have these crowds of people who need to eat and it's as though the 12 Disciples forgot about Christ's power and authority over everything. You almost sense from Jesus in His reply - verse 13 - "You give them something to eat," a gentle reminder of their inability to take care of this problem and His absolute ability to take care of this problem. I suppose had you or I been in the Jesus' shoes we would have been like, "Where have you guys been?! Don't you remember what I've already done for you? Don't you remember what I did for you in the stilling of the storm? Even then I asked you, ‘Where is your faith?' Did you misplace your faith? Don't you remember my power over demons, disease, and even death? Don't you think I can take care of the physical hunger of a few thousand people?!"

But really Jesus may say the same thing to you and me. We cry out to Him, "Help! Get me out of this problem!" Or worse, we don't even think of Jesus' helping us. Yet He has gotten us through so much. Look over your shoulder and remember how much He has done for you.

Has He not met your every need? I didn't say you're every desire. We often say, "Jesus will meet our every need, not our every greed." There are some things Christ does not give us because He knows best. But when you and are really walking in the Lord and trusting Him, our desires are His desires. Isn't that right? Psalm 37:4 says, "Delight yourself in the Lord and He shall give you the desires of your heart."

Remember how He has met your needs yesterday and you will be encouraged that He will continue to meet your needs tomorrow. He'll meet every need you have in this life. He is your Savior from anxiety, worry, anger, loneliness, and depression.

So Remember what Christ has already done for you. Number two:

2) Remember our Lord often tests us to teach us to depend upon Him

Once the disciples tell Jesus to dismiss the crowds, Jesus makes this statement in verse 13, "You give them something to eat." He may as well have said, "You calm the sea. You heal this bleeding woman. You raise this girl from the dead." That was an impossible task. How in the world are the disciples going to get enough food to feed some 20,000 people? Their befuddlement is sensed in the reply, "We have no more than five loaves and two fish!" I mean, come on, Jesus!

But our Lord Jesus means to show that what is impossible with man is possible with God. Jesus Christ makes possible the impossible. So this is a test to teach them to depend upon Him.

You see this even more clearly in John's Gospel. And, incidentally, this miracle is the only miracle occurring in all four Gospels. In John's Gospel, chapter 6, John adds a detail. Jesus, turns to Philip and says, "Where shall we buy bread, that these may eat?" Then John adds, "But this He said to test him, for He himself knew what He would do (John 6:5-6)."

Our Lord often tests us to teach us to depend upon Him. He will put you into situations this week at work to teach you to depend upon Him. He will put you into situations at school this week to teach you to depend upon Him. He will put you into situations in your home and family and marriage to teach you to depend upon Him. So - depend upon Him.

What is impossible with man is possible with God. Nowhere is this any truer than in our need for salvation. We cannot save ourselves. It is impossible. So Jesus Christ meets our need for salvation, dying on the cross for our sins, taking our punishment upon Himself and rising from the dead. What is impossible with man is possible with God.

Remember what Christ has already done for you. Remember our Lord often tests us to teach us to depend on Him. And thirdly:

3) Remember to obey Jesus even when it doesn't seem to make sense

You have to credit the disciples here. Jesus implies that He is going to feed the crowd of some 20,000 people. He tells the disciples in verse 14 "Make them sit down in groups of fifty." And verse 15 says, "And they did so, and made them all sit down." Now, they had to be thinking, "What in the world is He going to do?! I'll do this, but it doesn't make sense."

There are times you and I come to the Word of God and we read things that don't seem to make sense. Tithe. Return to the Lord 10% of all He has given you. Love Jesus more than your mother or father, husband or wife. Sell all you have and give to the poor. Let the dead bury their dead. Come and follow Me. Walk by faith and not by sight. So:

Be not dismayed whate'er betide,
God will take care of you;
Beneath His wings of love abide,
God will take care of you.

God will take care of you,
Through every day, o'er all the way;
He will take care of you,
God will take care of you.

Trust Christ to meet your every need.