Feeding the Five Thousand
NAS Matthew 14:13-21 Now when Jesus heard it, He withdrew from there in a boat, to a lonely place by Himself; and when the multitudes heard of this, they followed Him on foot from the cities. 14 And when He went ashore, He saw a great multitude, and felt compassion for them, and healed their sick. 15 And when it was evening, the disciples came to Him, saying, “The place is desolate, and the time is already past; so send the multitudes away, that they may go into the villages and buy food for themselves.” 16 But Jesus said to them, “They do not need to go away; you give them something to eat!” 17 And they said to Him, “We have here only five loaves and two fish.” 18 And He said, “Bring them here to Me.” 19 And ordering the multitudes to recline on the grass, He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up toward heaven, He blessed the food, and breaking the loaves He gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave to the multitudes, 20 and they all ate, and were satisfied. And they picked up what was left over of the broken pieces, twelve full baskets. 21 And there were about five thousand men who ate, aside from women and children.
THE FEEDING OF THE 5,000 IS UNIQUELY IMPORTANT IN SCRIPTURE… The account of the feeding of the five thousand (numbers are always spelled out in the original languages of the Bible, but often cardinal numbers are used by scholars for convenience and custom; I will do it occasionally myself in this blog) is the only miracle that is recorded in all four gospels. In each gospel account this miracle is placed at the climax of the Lord’s ministry…
THIS IS ONE OF THE MOST BEAUTIFUL STORIES ABOUT JESUS in the New Testament…
THE NUMBER OF 5,000 WAS PROBABLY MUCH LARGER – Some commentators estimate as large as 20-25,000. The Bible tells us there were “about 5,000 men, besides woman and children” (Matt 14:21). Some point out that women were especially attracted to Jesus (the same today) and that it is likely that many came to see and hear Him in large groups…
BACKGROUND… The feeding of the five thousand was the apex of Christ’s Galilean ministry. It was at the height of His public popularity. John 6:4 says that the time was near the Jewish Passover, a time when hundreds of thousands of Jews flooded the Judean countryside in anticipation of the holy day. Some scholars, however, think the crowd was mostly the 5,000 men. They argue that because of the rough terrain, few women and children would have been in attendance. Jesus had been going from town to town and city to city openly proclaiming the good news of the kingdom of God. To authenticate His ministry and to draw crowds to hear His message, Jesus performed miracles…
THE FEEDING OF THE 5,000 WAS A MIRACLE…
MIRACLES… Let us be very careful to distinguish between “First Class” and “Second Class” miracles. The miracles Jesus performed – the Feeding of the 5,000, turning Water into Wine (John 2), Walking on Water (John 6), Healing (John 9), and Raising the Dead [Lazarus] (John 11), to name but a few – these were “First Class” miracles. These miracles are not occurring now, obviously. The miracles we see today, such as unexplainable healings, are “Second Class” miracles. Still remarkable events, to be sure, but there is big a difference…
GENERAL SETTING… Herod the tetrarch had just beheaded John the Baptist. Jewish religious leaders were growing more hostile toward Jesus the more popular He became, the more clearly He proclaimed His identity as Messiah, as Christ, Savior. The large crowds that were attracted to Jesus were fickle and could – and eventually would – turn on Him. Yet He continued to minister openly around the countryside…
SPECIFIC SETTING… John the Baptist’s disciples buried his body and then came and reported the news of John’s death to Jesus who was ministering at the time in the northern area of Capernaum, a seaside resort and fishing town by the Sea of Galilee north of Jerusalem…
WE PICK THE STORY UP IN V. 13 OF MATTHEW 14…
NKJ Matthew 14:13 When Jesus heard it, He departed from there by boat to a deserted place by Himself. But when the multitudes heard it, they followed Him on foot from the cities.
JESUS WAS PROBABLY TIRED… Scholars point out that Jesus must have been fatigued from the press of the constant crowds…
AND YET…when He saw the crowds He did not turn them away…
NAS Matthew 14:14 And when He went ashore, He saw a great multitude, and felt compassion for them, and healed their sick.
ISN’T THAT A BEAUTIFUL PICTURE OF JESUS?…
MARK GIVES US THE SPECIFIC REASON FOR JESUS’ COMPASSION…
KJV Mark 6:34 And Jesus, when he came out, saw much people, and was moved with compassion toward them, because they were as sheep not having a shepherd: and he began to teach them many things.
JESUS HAD COMPASSION BECAUSE THE PEOPLE WERE LIKE SHEEP WITHOUT a shepherd…
THINK OF THE IMAGE… SHEEP WITHOUT A SHEPHERD ARE LOST, confused, lonely, defenseless afraid. Sheep without a shepherd can easily be lead astray (e.g., false teachers and cults). We should always be compassionate toward unbelievers because they have no Shepherd…
CONSIDER THE COMFORT WE HAVE BECAUSE WE HAVE A SHEPHERD…
NAS John 10:11 “I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep.
IT WAS LATE IN THE DAY… The natural inclination would have been to dismiss the crowds, get some rest and see them in the morning, but Jesus “was moved with compassion toward them” [KJV]…
“MOVED WITH COMPASSION” is a very strong term in the Greek. The Greek word is σπλαγχνίζομαι (splagx-need-zah-my). It literally means – forgive me if this seems indelicate – one’s bowels. The ancients thought that the seat of love and pity was deep within one’s bowels. It is still common for someone to say today that he feels it “in the gut”…
JESUS WAS EVER THE SERVANT, concerned with the need of others…
KJV Mark 10:45 For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister,
“THE SON OF GOD WAS NOT REMOTE CONCERNING MAN’S NEEDS but was always deeply moved by the suffering, confusion, despair, and spiritual lostness of those around Him. Jesus felt pain, experiencing genuine anguish for the suffering of others, whether they were believers or unbelievers, Jews or Gentiles, men or women, young or old, wealthy or poor. Jesus physically revealed the compassionate heart of God.” – John MacArthur
JESUS POSTPONED HIS REST, GAVE UP HIS PRIVACY, His time alone with His trusted disciples, even His prayer time with the Father, to minister to the needs of others. A most convicting thought, wouldn’t you agree?…
THE DISCIPLES TRIED TO GET JESUS TO DISMISS THE CROWD…
NAS Matthew 14:15 And when it was evening, the disciples came to Him, saying, “The place is desolate, and the time is already past; so send the multitudes away, that they may go into the villages and buy food for themselves.”
“EVENING” would probably mean the first evening. The Jews had two periods of evening: one from 3-6 PM, the other from 6-9 PM. This was the first evening (It must be acknowledged that determining time exactly in Scripture was often an imprecise science. Although it is true that the Jews were a people, unlike any other, who abiding by a set schedule of time [witness the set times of the temple], and sundials and sand hourglasses were used, there were no clocks and people did not wear watches. Time was told in great part by the position of the sun. Complicating matters further was the fact that Roman time, which was different than Jewish time, was often the prevailing standard, and the fact there was not universal agreement amongst the Jews themselves on standards of telling time)…
“DESOLATE”… Evidently they were in a spot that was miles from the nearest town. Even if all the people had been dismissed, the chances of a crowd this size finding food were not good…
THE SAME GREEK WORD FOR “DESOLATE” ἔρημος (eh-ray-mos), meaning simply an uninhabited area) may also be translated “desert” or “wilderness.” This reminds us of the ancient Old Testament and the desert wanderings of Jews and their divine provision of manna (see Exodus 16)…
JESUS DISTRIBUTED BREAD JUST AS GOD DID IN THE WILDERNESS OR DESERT with the nation of Israel some 1,500 years before…
NAS Exodus 16:14-15 When the layer of dew evaporated, behold, on the surface of the wilderness there was a fine flake-like thing, fine as the frost on the ground. When the sons of Israel saw it, they said to one another, “What is it?” For they did not know what it was. And Moses said to them, “It is the bread which the LORD has given you to eat.
“BREAD OF LIFE” ALSO COMES TO MIND…
KJV John 6:35 And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to Me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on Me shall never thirst.
JOHN’S ACCOUNT GIVES US FURTHER INSIGHT ON OUR STORY… John tells us Jesus Himself had brought up the question of food earlier in the day…
KJV John 6:5-6 When Jesus then lifted up his eyes, and saw a great company come unto Him, He saith unto Philip, Whence shall we buy bread, that these may eat? And this He said to prove (test) him: for He Himself knew what He would do.
PHILIP WAS FROM THAT AREA and possibly knew where food could be gotten…
BUT JESUS TESTED PHILIP… He wanted Philip to look to Him as the source and not think simply from a human perspective. But Philip had his eyes on the crowd and the human need, and not on the magnitude of Jesus’ power…
CERTAINLY WE CAN DRAW APPLICATION HERE… How often do we look for human or natural help instead of relying entirely on the Savior?
JESUS TESTS US IN ORDER TO STRENGTHEN US AND TEACH US…
LET’S SPEND A MOMENT CONSIDERING PHILIP… Philip was the logical one. “There’s no way,’ he probably thought. ‘This is too big. We can’t afford it. Where are we going to find the money? It’ll never work. There’s no hope’”…
PROBABLY EACH ONE OF US HAS KNOWN A PHILIP…
MAYBE EACH ONE OF US AT ONE TIME OR ANOTHER HAS BEEN A PHILIP… BACK TO MATTHEW’S ACCOUNT…
NAS Matthew 14:16 But Jesus said to them, “They do not need to go away; you give them something to eat!”
JESUS WILL CHALLENGE HIS DISCIPLES…
KJV Matthew 14:17 And they say unto him, We have here but five loaves, and two fishes.
JOHN TELLS US WHERE THEY GOT THE FIVE LOAVES AND THE TWO FISH…
KJV John 6:8 One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, saith unto him, There is a lad here, which hath five barley loaves, and two small fishes: but what are they among so many?
HERE WE SEE TWO OTHER CHARACTERS IN THE PLAY: Andrew and the young boy. Andrew was a little more optimistic than Philip. Philip saw nothing; Andrew saw something. But both Andrew and Philip looked at the circumstance and not at Jesus. Neither understood that Jesus had authority over any circumstance…
THE LITTLE BOY… is a beautiful picture of someone who didn’t have much, but what he had, he gave willingly. Only John mentions the little boy…
THE LITTLE BOY DIDN’T GET HUNG UP ON CIRCUMSTANCE; he simply entrusted God with all he had. There is a lesson there for all of us…
WHEN I FIRST BECAME A PASTOR THE FIRST SERMON I PREACHED was Jesus feeding the five thousand. The main reason was the lesson of the little boy. I believe all Christians should be like this little boy: simply trusting Jesus. We have little. We are not strong enough to meet the demands of many of the trials in which God has placed us. Yet if we will give what little we have to Jesus, if we trust Him with our situation, He will multiple what little we have and what little strength we have and meet the challenge…
JESUS SPECIALIZES IN USING LITTLE PEOPLE, WEAK PEOPLE…
IF YOU’RE GOING THROUGH THE VALLEY, REMEMBER that the Bible says “through” (Psalm 23:4)…
JESUS ACTS TO MEET PEOPLE’S NEEDS…
KJV Matthew 14:18 He said, Bring them hither to me.
JESUS TAKES COMMAND OF THE SITUATION…
KJV Matthew 14:19 And he commanded the multitude to sit down on the grass, and took the five loaves, and the two fishes, and looking up to heaven, he blessed, and brake, and gave the loaves to his disciples, and the disciples to the multitude.
WHATEVER JESUS BLESSES, HE ALSO BREAKS… (cf. Matthew 26:26). Did you catch that? We want Jesus to bless us, but are we willing to also be broken?…
JESUS TOOK WHAT LITTLE THE LITTLE BOY HAD AND MULTIPLIED IT… He took that little and miraculously transformed it. Another lesson for us. What little we have, if we give it to Him in childlike faith, He may be pleased to multiple it. If Jesus can do so much with five small loaves and two little fish, what can He do with our lives?
AND DON’T MISS THE FACT THAT THE FOOD DID NOT BEGIN TO MULTIPLY until the disciples began to minister to the crowd. God does not usually act in our lives until we make ourselves available to Him…
KJV Matthew 14:20 And they did all eat, and were filled: and they took up of the fragments that remained twelve baskets full.
KJV Matthew 14:21 And they that had eaten were about five thousand men, beside women and children.
JESUS CHRIST IS LORD OVER ANY CIRCUMSTANCE… Let me say that again: Jesus Christ is Lord over any circumstance. Nothing in life or death is too big for Him to handle…
JESUS CHRIST IS SUFFICIENT TO MEET ANY NEED…
WHY TWELVE BASKETS? The Greek word for “baskets” κόφινος (kah-fee-nos) means big baskets, wicker baskets. Abundance. I think it may have been twelve that each of the disciples had a basket…
GOD REWARDS HIS OBEDIENT SERVANTS… “Ours is a God of abundant providence, who does not give stingily. The ministry of God’s servants should also be characterized by giving without reserve or measure, considering the needs of others before our own. Before the disciples knew that food would be left for them, they obediently gave all they had to the multitudes. Just as the food did not begin to multiply until after the disciples started to distribute it, their own needs were not met until they had met the needs of others.” – John MacArthur
WHAT AN ENCOURAGEMENT TO GOD’S SERVANTS TODAY!…
SO MANY GREAT, LIFE-CHANGING LESSONS FOR US in this one little story!
BUT PERHAPS THE NO. 1 LESSON we can learn from the feeding of the 5,000 is to trust God to supply what seems impossible. When we’re in the desert (and you could rightly say this earthly life is a desert) with nothing to eat and things look bad, we can trust Jesus. He will provide…
ESV Matthew 19:26 But Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”
I REMEMBER THE REACTION OF THE CHURCH SECRETARY AT THE TIME…After the sermon she told me this was her favorite story in the whole New Testament about Jesus. That surprised me. I don’t think I’d ever heard anyone say that before. I asked her why. She had to think for a moment and then she said, “I think it’s because it somehow makes me feel safe.” I think that’s good. I think that points to the heart of the story…
JESUS’ AUTHORITY OVER THE SITUATION, AND JESUS’ ABILITY TO PROVIDE, I think does translate into security for us…
IT IS A WONDERFUL THING THAT OUR EFFECTIVENESS IS NOT MEASURED by the extent of our resources…
HE IS LORD! HE IS ABLE! HE IS SUFFICIENT! HE WILL PROVIDE! TRUST HIM!
– Professor Thomas A. Rohm
