Count the Cost of 5000

Luke 9:10-17

English Standard Version Chapter 9

Jesus Feeds the Five Thousand

10 On their return the apostles told him all that they had done. And he took them and withdrew apart to a town called Bethsaida. 11 When the crowds learned it, they followed him, and he welcomed them and spoke to them of the kingdom of God and cured those who had need of healing. 12 Now the day began to wear away, and the twelve came and said to him, “Send the crowd away to go into the surrounding villages and countryside to find lodging and get provisions, for we are here in a desolate place.” 13 But he said to them, “You give them something to eat.” They said, “We have no more than five loaves and two fish—unless we are to go and buy food for all these people.” 14 For there were about five thousand men. And he said to his disciples, “Have them sit down in groups of about fifty each.” 15 And they did so, and had them all sit down. 16 And taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven and said a blessing over them. Then he broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples to set before the crowd. 17 And they all ate and were satisfied. And what was left over was picked up, twelve baskets of broken pieces.

So what does this story actually mean for us? Why is it here? What lesson are we supposed to take from it?

I think more than just that the story should teach us that “God provides” there’s a “So what?” attached to that, it’s specifically “God Provides, therefore go” Act, and I think we can substantiate this idea elsewhere in this same chapter, and give ourselves that context, just before this is the story of Jesus sending out the 12, does anyone remember what He tells them?

English Standard Version Chapter 9

9 And he called the twelve together and gave them power and authority over all demons and to cure diseases, 2 and he sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal. 3 And he said to them, “Take nothing for your journey, no staff, nor bag, nor bread, nor money; and do not have two tunics. 4 And whatever house you enter, stay there, and from there depart. 5 And wherever they do not receive you, when you leave that town shake off the dust from your feet as a testimony against them.” 6 And they departed and went through the villages, preaching the gospel and healing everywhere.

So yeah, He sends them out, and He is specific that they do not need to take any food or extra clothes or even money! How are they supposed to survive without those things?

Exactly, they have to rely on the provision of people, of people loyal to God.

Whats more is we have even more in this same chapter believe it or not that hits home this exact idea, Luke 9:23-27 is maybe one of the most famous passages in the entire Gospel of luke, if not the Bible

English Standard Version Chapter 9

Take Up Your Cross and Follow Jesus

23 And he said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. 24 For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it. 25 For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses or forfeits himself? 26 For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words, of him will the Son of Man be ashamed when he comes in his glory and the glory of the Father and of the holy angels. 27 But I tell you truly, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the kingdom of God.”

and another place in this very chapter Jesus makes it clear that to follow Him isn’t this cake walk, that following Him means relying on God to provide for your needs, down starting in verse 57:

English Standard Version Chapter 9

57 As they were going along the road, someone said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.” 58 And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.” 59 To another he said, “Follow me.” But he said, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.” 60 And Jesus said to him, “Leave the dead to bury their own dead. But as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.” 61 Yet another said, “I will follow you, Lord, but let me first say farewell to those at my home.” 62 Jesus said to him, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.”

now at first this may sown like Jesus is JUST warning them of the hardship, but it’s not just that, He is warning them that a true life devoted to Him and the Father is one that you can’t turn away from and you MUST rely on Him to provide for you. see Jesus knows His old testament, and there’s a specific story I believe He is referencing here when He speaks of a plow, and running back to you house real quick before you follow, does anyone have a guess?

That’s right, Elisha and Elijah, the passing of the mantle, lets run over there real quick to 1 Kings 19:19–21 “So he departed from there and found Elisha the son of Shaphat, who was plowing with twelve yoke of oxen in front of him, and he was with the twelfth. Elijah passed by him and cast his cloak upon him. And he left the oxen and ran after Elijah and said, “Let me kiss my father and my mother, and then I will follow you.” And he said to him, “Go back again, for what have I done to you?” And he returned from following him and took the yoke of oxen and sacrificed them and boiled their flesh with the yokes of the oxen and gave it to the people, and they ate. Then he arose and went after Elijah and assisted him.”

As we look at this story it shows us perfectly what the master disciple relationship looks like, and you can instantly see the similarities between what Jesus said and what Elijah did with Elisha, but what are some of the inconsistencies that you can see?

That’s right, in this story, Elijah allows Elisha to go back and say good bye, so what’s the difference, is this an example of Jesus holding His disciples to a higher standard that Elijah is?

To some extent yes, Elijah is specific in saying “What have I done to you?” essentially pointing out that he isn’t here to ruin his life or anything, but I think it actually has more to do, as many things with Jesus do, with the heart, take note of WHY Elisha went back, it was a goodbye, but not just a goodbye, it was a burning of the bridge so to speak, the exact reason why Elisha wanted to go back, and take the day to do something was because he was making it clear to himself, his parents, and to Elijah, that he was devoted, he burned his plow, het ate his farming animal, this is like if Jesus called you from farming in the modern era so you went and poured sugar in the gas take of your truck and lit your tracker on fire. Elisha is here to show us that he isn’t playing around. So back to our very first text of the day, I think what we can really learn from all of this is that when God calls you, listen, sure we will try to make excuses, sure we will try to avoid doing what He wants us to do because we want to take the easy way out, but we can’t allows ourselves to do that, when He asks you to feed the 5000, don’t say “Whelp, we can’t do that, it’s impossible” no do what Jesus did, pray over what you have and start feeding, God will make it work out if He’s the one that told you to do it. Just like the disciples with the 5000, just like the disciples when Jesus sent them out, just like the men who asked to follow Jesus, when we follow Him, we sometimes won’t have a bed, we sometimes won’t have food, we sometimes won’t have a house, heck, we may not even have the thing He is asking us to give, but we just have to trust Him, and we can’t leave ourselves an exist strategy, no plan b, nothing sitting on the back burner “Just in case” Burn your plow, pick up your cross, and trust Him to give you not just enough for you to survive, but enough for you to follow His directions and minister the way He wants you too.

Dr. Vance Havner the Southern Baptist revivalist said this:

The Complete Gathered Gold: A Treasury of Quotations for Christians Discipleship

Our Lord made discipleship hard and lost many prospective followers because he called them to a pilgrimage, not to a parade—to a fight, not to a frolic.

Vance Havner