What a Feast!

English Standard Version Chapter 14

Jesus Feeds the Five Thousand

13 Now when Jesus heard this, he withdrew from there in a boat to a desolate place by himself. But when the crowds heard it, they followed him on foot from the towns. 14 When he went ashore he saw a great crowd, and he had compassion on them and healed their sick. 15 Now when it was evening, the disciples came to him and said, “This is a desolate place, and the day is now over; send the crowds away to go into the villages and buy food for themselves.” 16 But Jesus said, “They need not go away; you give them something to eat.” 17 They said to him, “We have only five loaves here and two fish.” 18 And he said, “Bring them here to me.” 19 Then he ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass, and taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven and said a blessing. Then he broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds. 20 And they all ate and were satisfied. And they took up twelve baskets full of the broken pieces left over. 21 And those who ate were about five thousand men, besides women and children.

Alone time. I have heard it said that what is used as a punishment for little children, as an adult is often seen as a reward. LOL! In our text for today, we find Jesus, following the death of his good friend, John the Baptist, seeking to be alone with the Father, yet the crowds continue to follow Him. Then we find the epic feeding of the 5,000. As we explore this text together this morning, may we look for something new. May we allow the text, by the power of the Holy Spirit, to speak afresh and anew to us this morning. May we allow the Bread of Life to feed our souls. And with that being said, May God Bless the preaching of this, His Most Holy Word.

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Our first point for this morning is Compassion. As I said, our text for this morning begins with the background of John the Baptist being beheaded. The news of this horrific event has just reached Jesus and we read in our text for today, “Now when Jesus heard this, he withdrew from there in a boat to a desolate place by himself.” Jesus felt sorrow just like you and me. And upon hearing of this news and feelings of sorrow and sadness coming over Him, Jesus desires to be alone. So we read that He withdrew from there in a boat to a desolate place. The Greek word that we find here for “withdrew” is the word, “anachōreō.” It means to withdraw or go away. Jesus needed time to himself. But. Gotta love that word don’t you.

We read in the second half of verse 13, “But when the crowds heard it, they followed him on foot from the towns.” Jesus couldn’t catch a break. Yet even in the state that Jesus was in, we read in verse 14 of His response towards the crowd. It reads, “When he went ashore he saw a great crowd, and he had compassion on them and healed their sick.”

Warren Weirsbe writes, “Jesus and His disciples desperately needed rest. Mark writes in Mark 6:31, Jesus saying, “And he said to them, “Come away by yourselves to a desolate place and rest a while.” For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat.” ; yet the needs of the multitudes touched His heart. The word translated “moved with compassion” literally means “to have one’s inner being (viscera) stirred.” It is stronger than sympathy. The word is used twelve times in the Gospels, and eight of these references are to Jesus Christ. Jesus was “moved with compassion” when He saw the needy multitudes (Matt. 9:36). They were like sheep that had been lacerated from brutal fleecing—torn, exhausted, and wandering. Twice He was “moved with compassion” when He beheld the hungry multitudes without food (Matt. 14:14; 15:32). The two blind men (Matt. 20:34) and the leper (Mark 1:41) also stirred His compassion, as did the sorrow of the widow at Nain (Luke 7:13).” “If our Heavenly Father has such compassion toward us, should we not have compassion toward others?” May we learn from the Lord Jesus, how to put the needs of others ahead of our own and how to show compassion to those in need.

Our next point for this morning is Complaining. My mom has told me that I was lhe world’s worst whiner when I was little. We have video footage of me on Christmas morning when I was about 5. My parents woke me up by placing a black lab puppy on top of me in the bed. I whined because they woke me up, gained a little excitement from the puppy, then got upset again because they wouldn’t let me name the dog what I wanted to name it. My parents pointed out to me that the puppy had a tag on it that said, “Cole”. I immediately started whining because I wanted to name the dog, “Rambo.” LOL!

Well in our text for this morning, the disciples are found whining. We read in verse 15, “Now when it was evening, the disciples came to him and said, “This is a desolate place, and the day is now over; send the crowds away to go into the villages and buy food for themselves.” What I find interesting about this verse is how the disciples bring their agenda, their wants, and their demands to Jesus. Basically they are telling Jesus what needs to be done and how to do it. But we don’t do that do we? NOOO! Never!

Then you have to love Jesus’s response. Jesus says in verse 16, “They need not go away; you give them something to eat.” How many times do we bring our plans, our wants, and our desires to Jesus and He turns it on its head? He does something compleltely different, better than what we had in mind.

In our text, Jesus responds to the plans and complaints of the disciples by putting it back in their ballpark. The disciples felt inadequate for the task. If it depended solely upon them, there would have been no feeding of the 5,000. Can you imagine what our lives would like if everything was left up to us? A lot would go wrong, and many things simply would never have happened because of our inadequacy. But God.

Following the command of Jesus to the disciples, telling them to give them something to eat, they respond back to Jesus with their lack. The disciples are looking only to themselves and their ability to solve the problem. So they respond in verse 17, “They said to him, “We have only five loaves here and two fish.” They are looking to themselves and their ability and it is not enough. That is true of us today. If all we look at in this life is me and my ability to solve this problem or get out of this situation, it will never be enough.

But, verse 18 gives us hope. We read, “And he said, “Bring them here to me.” I love this verse! What cannot be accomplished by our own strength, ability, or willpower, can always be accomplished in the hands of Jesus! Warren Wiersbe writes, “How like many of God’s people today. For some reason, it is never the right time or place for God to work. Jesus watched His frustrated disciples as they tried to solve the problem, but “He Himself knew what He was intending to do” (John 6:6,NASB). He wanted to teach them a lesson in faith and surrender. The miracle of multiplication was in His hands! So I ask you this morning church. What have you been holding so tightly to in your life that you have not submissively given to Jesus? A lot more can be done with our problems in the hands of Jesus than can be in done in our hands or minds. Trust Him with your problems.

Our final point for this morning is Communion. Following Jesus ordering the crowds to sit on the grass, we read in verse 19, “and taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven and said a blessing.” You will notice that in Matthew 26, verse 26, Jesus does something very similar as He and His disciples celebrate the Last Supper. Let us not overlook the importance of this step.

Then the transfer takes place. We read in verse 19, “Then he broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds.” Commentator Warren Wiersbe writes, “The disciples had the people sit down as Jesus ordered. They took the broken pieces and distributed them, and discovered that there was plenty for everybody. As His servants, we are “distributors,” not “manufacturers.” If we give what we have to Him, He will bless it and give it back to us for use in feeding others.” May we seek to give Jesus our all and watch to see what amazing thing He does!

The final two verses of the text report to us what happened. We read, “And they all ate and were satisfied. And they took up twelve baskets full of the broken pieces left over. 21 And those who ate were about five thousand men, besides women and children.” You see what happens when we trust and place our situations in the hands of Jesus?

Once again, to quote Wiersbe, he says, “There were twelve baskets filled with pieces of bread and fish after the people had eaten all they wanted. But these pieces were carefully collected so that nothing was wasted (Mark 6:43; John 6:12). I wonder how many of the pieces the lad took back home with him? Imagine his mother’s amazement when the boy told her the story!”

So what are we to gain from this story. First, let us never underestimate the power of compassion. May we be ever aware of the souls around us and seek to live like Christ. Second, it’s easier said than done, but instead of complaining, may we take our concerns to Christ and leave them in His hands. Lastly, when we leave our concerns, worries, and fears in the hands of Christ, it is then that we can truly commune with Him. So this week, let’s practice placing our concerns in the hands of Jesus, leaving them there and seeing what amazing things He does. In His Hands great things happen. In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit! Amen!