Do you think this is what the Lord does with everything we put into His hands?
Of the many miracles performed by Jesus, about thirty-five are recorded in the Gospels. Each incident was selected by the Holy Spirit to clearly illustrate the true identity of the Lord Jesus and demonstrate His power and authority. Of these, only two are included in all four Gospels: the feeding of the five thousand and His resurrection.
On at least two occasions, Jesus fed a large multitude of people using only a few small loaves of bread and fish sufficient for one or two people. We read about the 5,000 men (besides women and children) in Matthew 14:13-21, Mark 6:32-44, Luke 9:10-17, and John 6:1-13. The story about the more than 4,000 hungry people is found in Matthew 15:32-39 and Mark 8:1-10.
What exactly happened?
In both cases, great multitudes, intrigued by the healing miracles and teachings of Jesus, followed Him. When He left the cities and towns and went into the wilderness, the people tracked Him down. This fascination with Jesus initially transcended their personal comfort because, “No man ever spoke like this Man!” (Jn. 7:46). Or, as the leading teacher of Israel said, “Rabbi, we know that You are a teacher come from God; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him” (Jn. 3:2).
At this point in the public ministry of the Lord Jesus, the general population was attracted to Him. In contrast to the staid, self-righteous, religious leadership of the day, here was a fresh face, a new voice with a rather unusual approach to the interpretation of the Scriptures. Perhaps there was also a secret sense of satisfaction in the hearts of the people as they observed this man named Jesus take on the status quo and send the Jewish leaders scurrying to formulate a rebuttal. However, despite their admiration for Him, the people did not comprehend who Jesus was.
Jesus was moved by compassion for the people because they were hungry and a long way from home. He turned to Philip and tested him with a question: “Where will we buy bread so everyone can eat?” (Jn. 6:5f). But Philip did not answer the question “Where?” He jumped to question 2: “How much?” Thinking only in the natural realm, he quickly did the math. Even if there were a bakery nearby—and there wasn’t—financially it was impossible. The tab to buy supper for this crowd would take eight months’ salary. Andrew half-heartedly pointed out a lad who had a lunch of five barley loaves and two small fish. But then he asked, “what are they among so many?” (Jn. 6:9). He was right. Humanly speaking, it was an impossible situation.
These two followers of Jesus were stumped. They shouldn’t have been. Previously, at a wedding in Cana, they had observed Jesus instruct the servants to fill six 20-gallon stone jars with water. Then He told them to draw out some of the water and serve it to the master of ceremonies. Miraculously, Jesus had transformed 120 gallons of water into the best wine they had ever tasted. Interestingly, the narrative says, “This beginning of signs Jesus did in Cana of Galilee, and manifested His glory; and His disciples believed in Him” (Jn. 2:11). So where was their faith in Him now?
The Gospels record the faltering journey of the disciples as they took three steps forward then two steps back in their struggle to comprehend the deity of Christ. It wasn’t until after the resurrection that they came to a clear understanding of the true identity of Jesus of Nazareth.
Of course Jesus Himself knew exactly what He was going to do. Taking the loaves into His hands, He gave thanks. He then took the food and began distributing it to the hungry campers on the hillside. Over and over again the disciples returned for additional quantities of bread and fish and Jesus continued to hand it out to them. In keeping with His generous nature and unlimited ability to supply human needs, no one was left out and no one wished for more. John says they received “as much as they wanted. So when they were filled…” (Jn. 6:11-12). So generous was the provision of food that, in the case of the 5,000 men fed by five loaves and two small fish, twelve baskets of leftovers were gathered up. The seven loaves and few small fishes which fed the party of 4,000 produced seven large baskets of fragments.
A prophet or a king?
The diners were impressed! The hands of this teacher had been able to stretch a boy’s lunch into a meal for a multitude. They did not comprehend all that was involved in the sign performed, but they did see it as something amazing. They concluded, “Truly this is the prophet who is to come into the world” (Jn. 6:14), likely recalling Moses’ prophecy that God would raise up a prophet from their midst (Deut. 18:15-18).
Interestingly, they had earlier asked John the Baptist whether he was the Messiah. Being told “no,” they then asked whether he was “the prophet” (Jn 1:20-21). The Jewish people seemed to be expecting two distinct people: a Prophet and a Messiah.
Knowing that the multitude was determined to make Him king—by force if necessary—Jesus withdrew (Jn. 6:15). They wished for a militant Messiah who would liberate them from the domination of the Roman occupiers. They wanted Jesus to meet their preconceived notion of a king—a king on their own terms.
Eternal life
This miracle laid the groundwork for the Lord Jesus to speak of filling a greater need. Shortly afterwards He spoke of bread from heaven (Jn. 6:32f). “Give us this bread always,” they demanded (Jn. 6:34). If Jesus were truly the Messiah He should be able to provide a daily supply of bread, just like the manna that appeared daily for 40 years in the wilderness. But manna, wonderful as it was, had no ability to prolong earthly life forever. In fact, all men over twenty years of age died in the wilderness, despite a daily diet of bread from heaven. “Your fathers ate manna in the wilderness and are dead,” Jesus reminded them (Jn. 6:49). Even the bread Jesus miraculously created to feed them would only sustain them until the next mealtime. It didn’t give them eternal life.
So the Lord made the statement, “I am the bread of life” (Jn. 6:35). This is the first of the seven great “I am” statements in the Gospel of John, and it was intended to cause the people to see the link between the provision and the Provider. In the same way that bread is essential for sustaining and maintaining physical life, so the Lord Jesus is vital to eternal life.
The purpose God had in mind for the Israelites when He provided bread in the wilderness was that “You shall know that I am the Lord your God” (Ex. 16:12). In other words, the miraculous provision of bread would meet their physical needs, but they were not to get so mesmerized by the little, white, honey-flavored wafers that they forgot the Giver. God told Moses that He would send down bread from heaven every morning for the children of Israel, with the express purpose that every morning they would “see the glory of the Lord” (Ex. 16:7).
There was a significant difference, however, between Moses announcing that God would provide manna in the wilderness and Jesus giving thanks to God for the few small loaves they had, then proceeding to create more and more and more bread, until every last person was satisfied. While the Israelites generally revered Moses (between bouts of murmuring), they did not see him as a deity. Moses could not supernaturally create the manna each morning for two million hungry people. It was God who sent the bread from heaven.
The Lord Jesus proved that He was greater than Moses. He did something only God could do. As the multitudes observed Jesus performing this miracle, they ought to have remembered the words written by Moses nearly 1,500 years earlier: “…you shall be filled with bread. And you shall know that I am the Lord your God.”
If they had simply opened their eyes, ears, and hearts they would have seen the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ! He would have then given them the bread of life so that they could live forever!