Feeding Others

Matthew 14:13-21

Jesus withdrew in a boat to a deserted place by himself. But when the crowds heard it, they followed him on foot from the towns. When he went ashore, he saw a great crowd; and he had compassion for them and cured their sick. When it was evening, the disciples came to him and said, "This is a deserted place, and the hour is now late; send the crowds away so that they may go into the villages and buy food for themselves." Jesus said to them, "They need not go away; you give them something to eat." They replied, "We have nothing here but five loaves and two fish." And he said, "Bring them here to me." Then he ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven, and blessed and broke the loaves, and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds. And all ate and were filled; and they took up what was left over of the broken pieces, twelve baskets full. And those who ate were about five thousand men, besides women and children.

For Jesus, food is important. In some ways, it is most important.

In Jesus’s time, food, or more specifically, bread, was an expression of power. The wealthy and well-fed would give tremendous banquets and feasts for other ‘important’ people, while slaves and those living on the street would often go without eating. For these people, bread represented the day’s meal (remember from the Lord’s Prayer: “give us today our daily bread”?).

That’s why Jesus takes every opportunity to eat with people. We know that he ate with ‘tax collectors and sinners’. Other gospel accounts have Jesus accepting numerous invitations to stay at someone’s house and eat with them. And of course, we should not forget the Last Supper.

This is why one of the most important stories in the gospels is this one: the feeding of the five thousand. It is held that the five thousand was only counting men. Since women and children were there too, the number is more than doubled. Think attendance at a Pistons game!

But the excitement and fascination that we have for this story isn't really about a miracle. It isn't that Jesus took two fish and five loaves of bread and was able to feed a stadium's worth of people with it. That's not really the point. What is important, however, is that Jesus was sharing food with a crowd of total strangers. He wasn't the one counting who was there and who wasn't. He didn't care who received the food: the point was that everyone was being fed.

A second aspect that is important to note is the role he has for the disciples. It is they who gather up the food. It is they that offer it to Jesus. It is they who distribute it to the crowds. It is they who collect up the crumbs and remainder. It is Jesus's role to provide for the people, but it is our role to do the leg work of collection and distribution.

Thirdly, the remainder fills twelve baskets, one for each disciple. Jesus calls his disciples not just to share the food among themselves, but that there would be plenty left over to distribute.

What Jesus demonstrates is something really hard: balancing how hard we work while also depending on God to provide. This is not only hard to do, but something with which we seem to be constantly struggling!

• How do you see God's call to minister to the needs of others playing out in your life?
  
• What can you do help Jesus feed the five thousand that surround you?
• How can you help feed others that aren't in church?
  

Person Matthew 14:13-21

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