Daily Bread 2010
Matthew 14
Jesus Feeds the Five Thousand
13When Jesus heard what had happened, he withdrew by boat privately to a solitary place. Hearing of this, the crowds followed him on foot from the towns. 14When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them and healed their sick.
15As evening approached, the disciples came to him and said, "This is a remote place, and it's already getting late. Send the crowds away, so they can go to the villages and buy themselves some food."
16Jesus replied, "They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat."
17"We have here only five loaves of bread and two fish," they answered.
18"Bring them here to me," he said. 19And he directed the people to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then he gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the people. 20They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over. 21The number of those who ate was about five thousand men, besides women and children.
“You give them something to eat!” That sounds like an odd response from Jesus given the immensity of the need and his usual compassion for such a situation. But Jesus is using this as a teachable moment. The disciples would certainly have been reasonable in requesting a little down time with Jesus, given the rigorous schedule they had been keeping.
But Jesus teaches them a valuable lesson on how to trust in God’s provision when ours seems meager. Many times as we look at the world around us, we feel powerless to do much about the needs we see. And yet even today Jesus says to us, “You give them something to eat.” Jesus is not as concerned with how it is going to get done, but that we offer what we have and let God do the rest.
We all have something to give even as a little as two fish and five loaves. It is not so much how much we have, as the fact that we are willing to offer it up to God so He can do something great with it. In this case as the disciples gave what they had to Jesus and as he offered it up to God with thanksgiving there were even “leftovers”. Our God is not a God of scarcity, but abundance. How can you live each day out of an “abundance mentality”, rather than a “scarcity mentality”?
Prayer: God we offer what we have to you to meet the needs of those around us. Give us compassionate eyes to see those in need and then offer what we have in thanks to you trusting in You to provide enough to feed everyone. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Jesus Feeds the Five Thousand
13When Jesus heard what had happened, he withdrew by boat privately to a solitary place. Hearing of this, the crowds followed him on foot from the towns. 14When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them and healed their sick.
15As evening approached, the disciples came to him and said, "This is a remote place, and it's already getting late. Send the crowds away, so they can go to the villages and buy themselves some food."
16Jesus replied, "They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat."
17"We have here only five loaves of bread and two fish," they answered.
18"Bring them here to me," he said. 19And he directed the people to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then he gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the people. 20They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over. 21The number of those who ate was about five thousand men, besides women and children.
“You give them something to eat!” That sounds like an odd response from Jesus given the immensity of the need and his usual compassion for such a situation. But Jesus is using this as a teachable moment. The disciples would certainly have been reasonable in requesting a little down time with Jesus, given the rigorous schedule they had been keeping.
But Jesus teaches them a valuable lesson on how to trust in God’s provision when ours seems meager. Many times as we look at the world around us, we feel powerless to do much about the needs we see. And yet even today Jesus says to us, “You give them something to eat.” Jesus is not as concerned with how it is going to get done, but that we offer what we have and let God do the rest.
We all have something to give even as a little as two fish and five loaves. It is not so much how much we have, as the fact that we are willing to offer it up to God so He can do something great with it. In this case as the disciples gave what they had to Jesus and as he offered it up to God with thanksgiving there were even “leftovers”. Our God is not a God of scarcity, but abundance. How can you live each day out of an “abundance mentality”, rather than a “scarcity mentality”?
Prayer: God we offer what we have to you to meet the needs of those around us. Give us compassionate eyes to see those in need and then offer what we have in thanks to you trusting in You to provide enough to feed everyone. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
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