“‘But we only have five loaves and two fish here,” they said to him. ‘Bring them here to me,’ he said. Then he commanded the crowds to sit down on the grass. He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, he blessed them. He broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds. Everyone ate and was satisfied. They picked up twelve baskets full of leftover pieces. Now those who ate were about five thousand men, besides women and children.” (Matthew 14:17-21)
This story is very familiar to many of us, especially if you went to Sunday School. However, many of us have glossed over two remarkable aspects of the account – Jesus’ astounding miracle and His self-revelation.
I like to dig into the text to find the color, contrast, and contour of what’s buried in God’s word. I often start with various translations. Online tools like the Bible Gateway are great for that (www.biblegateway.com). You can switch between versions quickly.
To dig deeper, some Christians can handle the Greek and Hebrew tools, with far fewer adept at reading and translating the original languages. That’s where more specialized and accessible tools can help. One tool that inspires me is The Discovery Bible, New American Standard New Testament (Reference Edition, Moody Press) with H.E.L.P.S., The Study System of the Discovery Bible. The Discovery Bible is easy to use by even beginning Bible students and should be a part of every pastor and teacher’s library. It reveals which words the Greek text emphasizes using italics and which verb tense is used via symbols. Let me show you how wonderful and inspiring it is to dig into the text with this study aid. Warning: Nerd alert!
Let’s start with Matthew 14, the Feeding of the Five Thousand. To summarize, Jesus took the five loves and two fish (hereafter known as “the snack”), looked to heaven (Matthew’s euphemism for “God”), blessed the snack, broke it apart, gave it to the disciples, and the disciples distributed fish and bread around the crowd.
It seems simple, right? Except we miss the impact of the miracle. The Discovery Bible shows us that Matthew emphasizes all. They all ate. All five thousand men, “aside from the women and children.” So, counting family members, we’re realistically talking about around ten thousand people, give or take a few hungry mouths.
Furthermore, Jesus’ provision was not just a tiny communion-sized micro bite. No sir. They all “were satisfied.” By satisfied, it means “to satiate.” The Greek word for satisfy also includes “to gorge (supply food in abundance).”
I’m pretty sure it wasn’t a gorge-fest, but it certainly wasn’t a skimpy one-bite snack, a divine Lunchables®, or a micro-charcuterie. I’m sure there were a few big bruisers in the crowd whose satisfaction level was pro-level feasting.
It would be safe to say there wasn’t one gurgly, rumbly in anyone’s tummy after Jesus’ heaven-prepped feast. And to be safe, Jesus even provided an after-dinner repaste of twelve food baskets for His disciples for their soon-to-follow-night cruise. (Matthew 14:22-33)
So, Jesus started with a snack smidgeon and ended with a full spread for the 5k+ crowd, plus leftovers. However, something happened during the process, according to Matthew. To find out, we must check out other accounts of mass feedings of four and five thousand people in Matthew 15, Mark 6 and 9, Luke 9, and a little look at John 6.
In his 15th Chapter, Matthew writes that Jesus thanked His Father. That’s more specific than just looking up to Him per Matthew. Jesus thanked His Father, likely for what He had and what His Father would help Him make of it. Jesus then started giving the fish and bread to His disciples, who served it up to the four thousand famished followers—a glorious alliteration, eh?
Matthew’s emphasis here is on three words; all are, seven large baskets full, and four thousand men, besides women and children (about nine thousand hungry souls). Matthew’s point? The Lord provided a full measure for everyone from a scant portion for one.
But now we discover what happened once the snack was in Jesus’ hands. The Greek verb tense for “started giving” means “Happened repeatedly or continuously, not just once; action vividly in process.” After the snack was put in Jesus’ hands, He blessed His Father. He broke the bread and then continually gave it to His lunch line crew to serve. That means the food was multiplying in His hands as Jesus broke it apart and handed it out. The snack multiplied so much that every person was satiated with a lot left over. Okay, on to Mark’s account.
In Mark’s Gospel (6:30-44), the author describes Jesus following the same pattern as with the 5k+ crowd in Matthew 14, that is, looking up to His Father, blessing the food, and then continually dividing the snack so that all five thousand men (and more) were satiated with twelve baskets of leftovers. The text emphasizes how just two fish fed all those ravenous thousands.
But here is Mark’s contribution to the account. While Jesus was multiplying the snack, the disciples were also continually involved. They just kept handing out what Jesus gave them. Imagine their surprise, amazement, and then laughter as the lunch line kept moving along all the way to the last person.
In the Mark 8 version of the Feeding of the Four Thousand, Jesus blessed a few small fish and repeatedly gave the food to His disciples, who continually served it to the crowd. Again, after meeting the whole need, there was more to spare.
Let’s jump to Luke 9 and see what Luke recorded about his Feeding of the Five Thousand. What’s funny to me is how Luke reveals Jesus’ sense of humor. His disciples realize the day is waning, and they ask Jesus to shoo the people away to nearby towns to get something to eat. Luke emphasizes, “For here we are in a desolate place.” That means nothing is available for the people, neither food nor lodging. And yet, Jesus turns to His disciples and says (paraphrased and with textual emphasis), “YOU, right now, give them something to eat!”
I can visualize the stunned disciples squinting and looking at each other as they stammer, “W-w-w-we have no more than a snack. It’s only enough for a couple of fillet-o-fish sandwiches with a side of bread. That is unless WE go right now and buy food for thousands of people, Jesus.”
Awkward pause as Jesus lets that revelation sink in.
Then Jesus laughs (and I can hear Him say, “Just kidding, guys!”) and commands His disciples to seat the people in groups of fifty for easy serving, no doubt. He takes the snack in His hands, looks up to His Father (the source for what was coming), blesses the food, breaks the fish and loaves (miraculously multiplying and dividing), and keeps giving full servings to everyone (continuously, not just once; action vividly in process). And “they all ate and were satisfied.” (Luke 9:17)
Every. Last. Person.
Finally, John has a remarkable take on this miracle in John 6:1-14. Stay with me here.
Five thousand people follow Jesus because of the miracles He’s doing (John 6:2). John notes that this event happened just before the Feast of Passover (John 6:4), which is a very significant note. By mentioning Passover’s nearness, John is cluing us in on the crowd’s mindset and expectations.
Just as God sent Moses to deliver the children of Israel from Egypt’s bondage, so messianic expectations ran high among the Jews under Rome’s occupation. God had promised to send a prophet like Moses who would speak God’s words to them. “The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your own brothers. You must listen to him.” (Deuteronomy 18:15)
Moses was not only God’s prophet but also God’s deliverer, and so Moses became a foreshadowing of God’s Messiah to come. Furthermore, just as the people were required to listen and obey Moses, God told them to do the same with the “Moses-yet-to-come” Messiah. God would hold His people accountable if they refused to listen to the Messiah. This is why the people followed Jesus after seeing His miraculous signs, which were on par with and even greater than Moses’ deeds. “If He’s the Messiah, then we’d better listen up and obey!”
So let me ask you, dear reader, how did God feed His emancipated Israelites for forty years in the wilderness? Right! He produced a bread-like substance called manna (Exodus 16), and no matter how much the people gathered, little or much, it was enough to satisfy every person.
Sound familiar?
In the wilderness, the people linked Moses with God-provided bread. Therefore, God’s Messiah would provide bread for His people just like Moses did. God-sent bread was a sign many Jews were looking for from their Messiah as God’s stamp of authenticity.
Back to John 6. With the massive crowd around them, Jesus asks Philip, “Where are we going to buy bread right now, so that all of these may eat right now” (paraphrased with clarified verbs and textual emphasis). Here’s the best part. Jesus said this to set Philip up. “And this He was saying to test him; for He Himself knew what He was intending to do” (John 6)
Yup. Jesus was prepping for a miracle. In so doing, He made sure all His disciples knew there was absolutely no way they could meet such an overwhelming need short of divine intervention. Philip points out, “Not even six months’ wages worth of bread would meet the need, even a smidgeon.” (6:7, paraphrased with emphasis)
John emphasizes how insufficient the amount was versus the need when the two fish and five loaves of bread are presented to Jesus. Remarkably, John doesn’t focus on the multiplication miracle. He focuses on the person creating the bread. Jesus’ manna-like miracle wasn’t lost on the people. They saw and understood that Jesus was throwing down His “prophet like Moses”/messianic business card. They exclaimed, “This is of a truth the Prophet who is to come into the world.” (6:14)
So, what can we take away from this? A lot. But I’ll offer just a few thoughts.
First, Jesus is, without a doubt, God’s promised “Moses,” Israel’s Messiah. Through Jesus, deliverance and an exodus from the Dark Kingdom are available to all people, Jews and Gentiles. (Colossians 1:13; Romans 1:16)
Second, you may think you have little to offer the Lord, but great and miraculous things can be accomplished in His hands. This multiplication factor is not because of you but because of the One into whose hands you place the meager aspects of your life.
Do you want to see Jesus work through your life and impact the world? Then surrender all you are to Him – your body, mind, will and emotions, knowledge, learning, experiences, wisdom, and all you have. Everything.
Moses surrendered a stick to the Lord, and through it, Moses challenged and defeated a world-power king and his demonically-empowered priests. (Exodus 4:1-5; 7:14-14:31) How could Moses do that? Only because it was God’s power, not anything of Moses, that transformed a staff into a force to be reckoned with.
David, without armor, ran toward a Philistine giant and knocked him out with a slingshot and a stone. (1 Samuel 17:9) Then he took Goliath’s sword and dispatched the one-man brute squad. How could that happen? Because David was empowered by God’s Spirit (1 Samuel 16:13), and the Holy Spirit used David’s sling-skills to send the humiliated Philistines a-runnin’.
Samson wiped out one thousand Philistines with a donkey jawbone, which, in my opinion, is both amazing and yucky at the same time. (Judges 15:14-15) How could Samson do that? Because “The Spirit of the Lord came powerfully on him.”
Jesus used mud and spit to create eyes. (John 9:6-7)
Even Paul’s sweaty hankies and workman’s apron healed people (Acts 19:12), which is quite astounding.
But that’s how many of us believers feel, like dry sticks, simple or weird weapons unfit for significant battle victories, spitty mud, or a sweaty cloth. How could the Lord ever use us to impact the world through our snack-sized abilities?
Simple. Usefulness and impact are not about a thing’s nature but the nature of the One using it.
Do you want to make an impact on the world for good? Don’t worry about the details. Just give your entire self to the Lord. If you haven’t already done so, do it right now. For me, it was along the lines of, “Lord, I’m yours, and You are mine. I receive all that Jesus has done for me. Now I want to do my all for Him.”
Commit your life’s direction to the Lord, for Psalm 37:35 says, “Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him, and he will act.”
Devote yourself to Him, for 2 Chronicles 16:9 says, “For the eyes of the Lord roam throughout the earth to show himself strong for those who are wholeheartedly devoted to him.”
Now you’re poised to be used, O Little Stick and Sweaty Hanky.
When the Lord brings a need to your attention, ask for what He intends, for He already knows what He wants to do. The fun comes when He makes you a part of the miracle He performs to meet that need.
But be prepared. When you ask the Lord’s intention, He’ll often turn to you and ask, “What do you have for Me to use? Bring it to me.” Moses had a stick, David had a sling, Samson had a jawbone, Jesus had mud, the disciples had a snack, and Paul had that awful hanky.
No matter. The Lord did astounding things with all those items once they were metaphorically and literally placed in His hands. The Holy Spirit is a force multiplier!
The Assemblies of God denomination produced a discipleship process called We Build People. The putting-your-faith-into-action section asks what your S.H.A.P.E. is – your Spiritual gifts, Heart (what you’re passionate about), Abilities, Personality, and Experiences. Together, those categories reveal what the Lord has created you to do for Him.
Do you want to impact the Lord’s world and bring Him glory? Find your SHAPE, place yourself in Jesus’ hands, and watch how He multiplies your plans and efforts beyond what you can ask or think.
What do you have? Why not take a quick self-inventory and sign it over to Jesus for Him to call upon? Thank Him in advance and ask for His blessing. Then, watch Jesus go to work in and through you.
Do it right now. You will be amazed at how many people you bless with your five loaves and two fish.
Or sweaty hanky.
Shining the Light of God’s Truth on the Road Ahead
Pastor Jay Christianson
The Truth Barista, Frothy Thoughts