And he directed the people to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then he gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the people. They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over. The number of those who ate was about five thousand men, besides women and children. Matthew 14:19-21
A few more things Jesus wants us to remember about how He fed the five thousand (and more) people who followed Him.
Jesus broke bread. Acting in accordance with centuries-old tradition, Jesus prayed over the food, then broke a piece of the bread in half. It was an act of obedience and submission before God the Father, asking His blessing over the meal. It foreshadowed how He, the Bread of Life, would be broken in crucifixion.
Jesus directed: He gave directions to people. That’s what leaders do. Jesus was a humble but commanding figure who gave directions for the betterment of others so that they would be obeyed. And they were. Jesus didn’t (and doesn’t) coerce or threaten. He simply gave good directions.
Jesus gave thanks. Don’t ever lose sight of this one. Jesus gave thanks to the Father for the food, for the day, for the crowd, for the fellowship. He demonstrated that the Father is father of all, and that He is the worthy subject for our thanks.
Jesus delegated. Along with directing the people, He directed His disciples to perform tasks that he delegated to them. It would have been possible for God do make the food appear in front of everyone, but that isn’t participative, wouldn’t have been likely to result in ownership. What kind of a god wants you to participate in His miracles? Allah doesn’t do that; neither does Marx. Jesus does.
The people were satisfied. They had followed this silently grieving man into a lonely place, not knowing if or when they would eat. Jesus had compassion on them and preached to them, providing both food for the spirit and food for the body. If you think about it, He still does this with each of us.
There was plenty. God didn’t just provide: He provided plenty, so much that there were leftovers. Those leftovers could be shared…and the message spread further. Perhaps that’s the most important lesson of the whole miracle: That the God worthy of our thanks provides for us to share.
For each of the 5000 people, there were 5000 reasons to remember this moment. Let’s you and I remember it, too.
For more read: 1 Samuel 9:13, Mark 8:6, Luke 9:16-17, Luke 24:30, Acts 2:42, Acts 20:7&11, Acts 27:35, 1 Corinthians 16:16, 1 Timothy 4:4, Matthew 14:22
Lord Jesus, how You fed the five thousand is an account full of good lessons for me. Praise and thanks to You for it, for sharing with me.
Practical Proverbs 