JESUS FEEDS FIVE THOUSAND MEN

PROCLAMATION

“Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, He gave thanks and broke them.  He gave them to the disciples to distribute to the people.  They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve baskets full of broken pieces that were left over.”  Luke 9:16-17 (NIV)

 

EXPLANATION

These words are from the gospel, the good news regarding Jesus, The Christ, according to Luke, the physician.   After Jesus calmed the storm, they continued across the lake to the region of Gerasenes.  There He healed the demon possessed man who lived in the tombs. (Luke 8:26-39)  The people there asked Him to leave so the returned back across the lake. (Luke 8:37)  There was a crowd waiting for Him when He returned.  Jairus, a synagogue leader, was in the crowd and asked Jesus to heal his twelve year old daughter who was dying. (Luke 8:40-42)  Before He could get to the home of Jairus, He was touched by a woman who had an issue of blood for twelve years.  When she touched the edge of His garment she was immediately healed. (Luke 8:43-48)  While He was speaking to the woman, someone from the house of Jairus came and told them that the daughter had died.  Jesus told Jairus not to be afraid, just believe, and she will be healed.  When they arrived at the house, the mourners laughed at Jesus when He said that the girl was not dead, but she was sleeping.  Jesus took the dead girl by the hand and said “Maid, arise.”  Her spirit returned to her and she stood up at once.  Then He told them to feed her. (Luke 8:49-56)  Then Jesus called His disciples together, gave them the power to cure diseases and to drive out demons, and sent them to the surrounding villages to heal the sick and to proclaim the kingdom of God. (Luke 9:1-6)  After the disciples returned, He took them with Him and they withdrew by themselves to a town called Bethsaida, but the crowd followed them.  Jesus spoke to the crowd about the kingdom of God then He told His disciples to feed them.  Jesus took a poor boy’s lunch, blessed it, and fed five thousand men, plus their wives and children, two small fish and five barley loaves of bread and had plenty of food leftover. (Matthew 14:13-21; Mark 6:32-42; Luke 9:10-17; and John 6:5-13)  He multiplied it and increased it, and He made a lot out of a little.

 

APPLICATION

Jesus, The Christ, performed a number of miracles.  The miracles were not done to impress the people.  They were always done to help the people, and to prove that He was The Son of God as He had said.  Christ is still performing miracles today.  However, people do not give Him the credit for them because He cannot be seen.  As we look back over our lives, we can see the hand of God performing miracles, beginning with the fact that we were wonderfully made. (Psalm 139:13-15)  He has protected us from dangers seen and unseen.  He has made a way for us in situations when there seemed to be no way out.  The fact that we are alive today is a miracle, given all that is going on around us in the world today.  Christ may not have fed us today, but He has performed many miracles for each of us.  He gave us the increase.

THE LORD JESUS THE CHRIST IS ALL THAT WE NEED

Proclamation:

“Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish … Jesus then took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed to those who were seated as much as they wanted.  He did the same with the fish.”  John 6:9-11 (NIV)

Explanation:

These words were written by the Apostle John under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God.  In this chapter, John records the feeding of the five thousand men, plus the women and children; (John 6:10, also recorded in Matthew 14:21, Mark 6:44, and Luke 9:14) Jesus walking on water; (John 6:19 and Matthew 14:26) and the first of the great “I Am” self declarative statements made by Jesus, the Christ. (John 6:35)  Here, John records the fourth miracle performed by Jesus, The Christ.  Jesus used a poor boy’s lunch, He blessed it, gave it to His disciples who distributed it among the people, and they fed five thousand men in addition to the accompanying women and children. (Matthew 14:21)  When all of them had eaten what they wanted, the disciples gathered up the left-over food and collected twelve baskets full of food. (John 6:13)  That was much more than they began with.  They collected that which was left over so that nothing given from God would be wasted. (John 6:12)

Application:

The Lord Jesus has the power to provide all that is needed.  A little in the hands of The Lord Jesus is more that a lot in the hands of others.  Everyone in the crowd of five thousand plus was not a true believer (John 6:66) but He blessed them all.  He fed this group physically then later declared that He was the bread of life (John 6:35 and 6:41, 48, 51, and 58) in order to feed them spiritually.  We need to believe and partake of His body and His blood. (John 6:53-58)  We can do this by partaking of The Lord’s Supper, Communion, when it is offered in our local church.  We do this in remembrance of Him until He comes again. (1 Corinthians 11:24-25)  The Lord God has all power.  Not only did Jesus, The Christ, feed the five thousand, He walked on the water across the Sea of Tiberias in the midst of a storm, and He also allowed Peter to walk on the water. (Matthew 14:26-32)  Just like Peter, we will do fine as long as we keep our focus on Him.  We will only start to sink when we focus on our situations and not on Him.  He is truly all that we need.