Loaves & Fishes

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The Miracles of the Loaves and Fishes

    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.”

    Jesus replied, “They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat.”

    “We have here only five loaves of bread and two fish,” they answered.

    “Bring them here to me,” he said. 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 14:15-21

    Jesus called his disciples to him and said, “I have compassion for these people; they have already been with me three days and have nothing to eat. I do not want to send them away hungry, or they may collapse on the way.

    His disciples answered, “Where could we get enough bread in this remote place to feed such a crowd?”

    “How many loaves do you have?” Jesus asked.

    “Seven,” they replied, “and a few small fish.”

    He told the crowd to sit down on the ground. Then he took the seven loaves and the fish, and when he had given thanks, he broke them and gave them to the disciples, and they in turn to the people. They all ate and were satisfied. Afterward the disciples picked up seven basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over. The number of those who ate was four thousand, besides women and children. -- Matthew 15:29-38

    By this time it was late in the day, so his disciples came to him. “This is a remote place,” they said, “and it’s already very late. Send the people away so they can go to the surrounding countryside and villages and buy themselves something to eat.

    But he answered, “You give them something to eat.”

    They said to him, “That would take eight months of a man’s wages! Are we to go and spend that much on bread and give it to them to eat?”

    “How many loaves do you have?” he asked. “Go and see.”

    When they found out, they said, “Five - and two fish.”

    Then Jesus directed them to have all the people sit down in groups on the green grass. So they sat down in groups of hundreds and fifties. 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 his disciples to set before the people. He also divided the two fish among them all. They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces of bread and fish. The number of the men who had eaten was five thousand. -- Mark 6:35-44

Two nearly identical miracles performed under similar circumstances, probably only a few days apart, yet the disciples remained doubtful, and were surprised to find that the Lord could pull it off.

In both instances, Jesus drawn crowds, who remained with him during long periods of teaching and preaching the gospel of the kingdom. They were in a distant place and evening was approaching.

In the feeding of the five thousand, the disciples, out of concern for the people, urged Christ to dismiss them, so that they might return to their homes, or to neighboring villages, and get something to eat.

In the feeding of the four thousand, Christ was the one who initiated the concern, and supplied the remedy.

It is interesting to note that, although Christ had fed five thousand with five loaves and two fishes only a few days before, his disciples were doubtful as to how he would feed four thousand with seven loaves and a few fish.

Let’s look at the miracle of the feeding of the five thousand.

The limited provisions in the hands of Christ

  • In the hands of the disciples, the provisions were utterly insufficient to feed so many
  • In the hands of the Lord, it was enough

The order as directed by the Lord

  • Directed to sit down
  • In companies of fifties and hundreds
    • No confusion
    • Ease of count
    • Observability

Devotion

  • Order makes way for devotion
    • looking up to heaven,
    • he gave thanks
    • and broke the loaves
    • then he gave them to his disciples to set before the people
      • Showed honor to disciples
      • Emblem of office

The process of the miracle

  • Disciples distributed the food
  • In Christ’s hands, he broke it; in the hands of the disciples, it multiplied

Interesting features of the miracle

  • Public
  • Beyond the power of collusion
  • Palpable
    • Saw it
    • Ate it
    • Filled with it
  • Beyond doubt
    • Thousands

Frugality

  • Did not waste that which came about through a miracle
    • the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over
    • Afterward the disciples picked up seven basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over

Application of the miracle

  • In the multitudes of hungry people, we have a representation of the spiritually famished state of mankind
  • In the compassion of Christ, we see hope for the perishing sinner
  • In the disciples bearing the food to the people, we see the design of Christian ministry
  • In the abundance, we see the fullness of the gospel
  • In the satisfaction of the multitude, we learn that personal partaking of Christ is essential to our happiness

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