Luke 9:10-17
10 When the apostles returned, they gave an account to Him of all that they had done. And taking them with Him, He withdrew privately to a city called Bethsaida.
11 But the crowds were aware of this and followed Him; and He welcomed them and began speaking to them about the kingdom of God, and curing those who had need of healing.
12 Now the day was ending, and the twelve came up and said to Him, “Dismiss the crowd, so that they may go into the surrounding villages and countryside and find lodging and get something to eat; because here, we are in a secluded place.”
13 But He said to them, “You give them something to eat!” But they said, “We have no more than five loaves and two fish, unless perhaps we go and buy food for all these people.”
14 (For there were about five thousand men.) But He said to His disciples, “Have them recline to eat in groups of about fifty each.”
15 They did so, and had them all recline.
16 And He took the five loaves and the two fish, and, looking up to heaven, He blessed them and broke them, and gave them to the disciples again and again, to serve the crowd.
17 And they all ate and were satisfied; and the broken pieces which they had left over were picked up, twelve baskets full.
The Feeding of the Five Thousand
Disciples listing reasons why it could not be done
The disciples, who had carried out dramatic ministry, returned to Jesus filled with joy. To give them rest, Jesus quietly withdrew with them to a secluded place. Taking rest is both a blessing and a command from God. Yet even there, large crowds came pressing in. It is written, “And He welcomed them and began speaking to them about the kingdom of God, and curing those who had need of healing.” As evening came, the disciples finally spoke up: “Dismiss the crowd away, so that they may go into the surrounding villages and countryside and find lodging and get something to eat.” But Jesus answered, “You give them something to eat!” The disciples were perplexed. (1) We have only five loaves of bread and two fish. (2) There are no villages nearby. And (3) even if we tried to buy bread, we have no funds. It seems the disciples had completely forgotten the training they had received from Jesus. Are you the type who first thinks of the reasons why something cannot be done? To what extent do you take into account that in Jesus all abundance dwells?
Jesus who makes impossible possible
Let us confirm Jesus’ method. (1) Jesus valued order (He had the crowd sit down in groups of about fifty). (2) Jesus made giving thanks to God the Father the first priority. In the rendering, “He blessed them and broke them,” it can be read as though Jesus blessed the bread and the fish. However, this is a mistranslation. Correctly, it should be translated as, “Blessed (praised) the name of the Lord.” In practice, the custom at that time was to pray, “Blessed is the name of the Lord, who brings forth bread from the earth.” I, too, sometimes recite this prayer before meals. It makes me realize that I am looking up to the great God, and I am blessed. (3) Jesus performed the miracle through the disciples. (4) Jesus gave in overflowing abundance, yet nothing was wasted. Since this miracle is recorded in all four Gospels, it must have left a very strong impression on the people of the early church. This was a miracle that proved Jesus is the Messiah. At the same time, it was also a miracle that symbolically portrayed the love of Jesus, who on the cross broke His body and shed His blood. The Jesus who broke bread in the fields of Galilee now gives fullness to you as well.
Today's prayer
Gracious God, You are the One who supplies our needs daily. Transform me into one who does not dwell on reasons why things cannot be done, but who lives boldly through the abundance of Jesus Christ. In the name of Jesus Christ, I pray. Amen.