Only two miracles are noted in all four gospels, the resurrection of Jesus and the feeding of the 5,000. We partake in the abundance of God's grace when we ask in faith, in Jesus name - we will experience even greater things (John 14:12-14). The disciples were like many ministry teams, filled with doubt and troubled by the cost of success. They would say, "We don't make money therefore we don't operate in terms of profitability of our programs and processes." Taking a look at the feeding of the 5,000 and Jesus promise that we will do more brings a fresh perspective, enriching our understanding of the reality of God's grace when connected to our child like faith.
Read the accounts:
Matthew 14:17-21; Mark 6:37-44; Luke 9:13-17; John 6:7-13;John 14:12-14
The Problem: Herod killed John the Baptist, knowing that this might cause a riot because people believed he was a prophet (Matthew 14:1-12). Huge crowds of people were following Jesus from many towns convinced Jesus was the Christ (Mark 1:1; Luke 1:35; John 1:34; 1:49; 11:27; Matthew 27:54; John 10:36; John 11:4; Matthew 8:29; Luke 4:41; Mark 3:11; John 20:31) , with compassion Jesus healed their sick. When evening came, disciples said "This is a desolate place, the day is now over; send the crowds away to go into the villages and buy food for themselves" (Matthew 14:13-15).
Jesus Command: Jesus said, “They need not go away; you give them something to eat.” (Matthew 14:16)
Disciples Attitude:
Disciples Plans:
We can but it will take so long that everyone would be dead by the time we completed the task. Here's the highlights of our research;
Read the accounts:
Matthew 14:17-21; Mark 6:37-44; Luke 9:13-17; John 6:7-13;John 14:12-14
The Problem: Herod killed John the Baptist, knowing that this might cause a riot because people believed he was a prophet (Matthew 14:1-12). Huge crowds of people were following Jesus from many towns convinced Jesus was the Christ (Mark 1:1; Luke 1:35; John 1:34; 1:49; 11:27; Matthew 27:54; John 10:36; John 11:4; Matthew 8:29; Luke 4:41; Mark 3:11; John 20:31) , with compassion Jesus healed their sick. When evening came, disciples said "This is a desolate place, the day is now over; send the crowds away to go into the villages and buy food for themselves" (Matthew 14:13-15).
Jesus Command: Jesus said, “They need not go away; you give them something to eat.” (Matthew 14:16)
Disciples Attitude:
- That's not our job: Mark 6:37 NLT highlights this attitude, as they said "With what?" Luke 9:13-14 shows the disciples meager resources of 5 loaves and 2 fish and the huge task of feeding 5,000 men plus woman and children. Serving people food at the end of an already stressful day was not in their job description. In this ministry I do these things, during normal working hours. This is both overtime and someone else's problem. Their response to Jesus was faithless.
Disciples Plans:
We can but it will take so long that everyone would be dead by the time we completed the task. Here's the highlights of our research;
- We can't, no one can, it's impossible: The disciples calculated it would take 200 days of labor, minus the Sabbath and PTO, sure Jesus we could certainly get it done but by the time we did all this plus shipping and handling, the people would be dead from starvation. So maybe we should do it our way and send them home. What do you think Jesus? Besides, research shows that people like these prefer going into nearby villages and buy their own food.
Jesus essentially says, "Have faith, bring me your resources, follow my instructions and I'll bring a super natural increase, let start and finish this task today"
- You, take an assessment of what we have (Mark 6:38), bring it to God (Matthew 14:18)
- You take a look at the problem with a fresh perspective, it's not one huge crowd - it's manageable groups of 50s or 100s.
- You organize them, not in sand but on the green grass (Mark 6:39). This is where harmonizing the gospel accounts get's interesting. While Matthew says Jesus ordered the crowds to sit on the grass (Matthew 16:19), Luke's account clarifies the disciples role in fulfilling the command (Luke 9:14-15)
- God always blesses the resource brought to him,
- AND
- You (the disciple) faithfully redistribute for solving problems and fulfilling needs. (Mark 6:41; Luke 9:16; John 6:11; Matthew 14:19). Notice Matthew's passage points out that resource given to Jesus and received from Jesus are given to the disciples, who distributed it to the people. And the John passage points out that everyone had their fill.
God's Promise for his Disciples today:
God's grace is immeasurably more than we can ask or imagine, yet he wants us to ask for it.
- Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think. Glory to him in the church and in Christ Jesus through all generations forever and ever! Amen. (Ephesians 3:20-21)
- “I tell you the truth, anyone who believes in me will do the same works I have done, and even greater works, because I am going to be with the Father. You can ask for anything in my name, and I will do it, so that the Son can bring glory to the Father. Yes, ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it! (John 14:12-14)
