YOU CAN HELP HERE
Opening Prayer
Lord, Your power to supply needs is beyond our comprehension.
Read MATTHEW 14:13–21
Jesus Feeds the Five Thousand
13 When Jesus heard what had happened, he withdrew by boat privately to a solitary place. Hearing of this, the crowds followed him on foot from the towns. 14 When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them and healed their sick.
15 As evening approached, the disciples came to him and said, “This is a remote place, and it’s already getting late. Send the crowds away, so they can go to the villages and buy themselves some food.”
16 Jesus replied, “They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat.”
17 “We have here only five loaves of bread and two fish,” they answered.
18 “Bring them here to me,” he said. 19 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. 20 They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over. 21 The number of those who ate was about five thousand men, besides women and children.
New International Version (NIV)
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Reflect
Jesus took the bread, blessed God for it, broke it and gave it to the people. Give thanks for God’s provision of food and for his provision of Jesus.
The power of Jesus is directed by compassion and aims at bringing wholeness. The disciples’ inclination is to chase people away (15)—as with the Gentile woman and the children—but Jesus extends a welcome. It is tempting to pass the problem elsewhere, not wanting to be hassled by the complexity or size of the need. Jesus challenges his disciples to answer this need (16). It would be quite a task for any of us to feed 5,000 people with a few loaves and fish. None of us is the Messiah. Yet Jesus expects us to interact with those who are needy rather than withdraw and, especially, to “bring them here to me” (8). We do this as we pray for others and point them to the Lord Jesus.
Jesus then feeds the people—and he does so through his disciples (19). So, eventually they do give the people something to eat, if only as Jesus’ helpers in distributing food. They worked with Jesus to perform this miracle. He chose to use them, and he extends the same privilege to us, fulfilling his mission through our activity, our words, and our service.
Matthew records this miracle with no fanfare and without stating anything explicitly about the incredible power of Jesus. Rather, he requires us to draw conclusions based on our knowledge of Moses and how he supplied manna for the people in the desert. Here is the new deliverer, fulfilling the widely held Jewish belief that manna would reappear as a sign of Messiah’s coming. Could there also be hints of the messianic banquet, this particular miracle anticipating when God’s people will sit down (18) and join in the end-time celebration with the Messiah? Promise and fulfillment reside here in Jesus.
Apply
Is there someone whose issues are just too demanding? There is no easy answer to this question, but could Jesus be saying to you: “Give them something…” (some help, perhaps)?
Closing prayer
Lord, use me in the task of solving problems and providing resources when called upon.
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