Feeding the five thousand
In this post, Three Suppers, I’m covering three of my favorite New Testament Bible stories. Part 1 featured beautiful paintings as we explored Supper at Emmaus. The other day, I realized that I photographed a Supper-at-Emmaus painting when Logan and I went to the museum during spring break. I totally forgot about it.
Today’s post features photographs from that day at the Kimbell Art Museum—photos that go along with the miracle when Jesus fed more than five thousand people—an event recorded in all four gospels.
I’ll be focusing on the account by John because it’s the only gospel that mentions where the loaves and fish came from—a boy in the crowd. We’ll also consider some valuable nuggets from the other gospels.
Nuggets, burgers and daughters
Danger in the drive-thru
Speaking of nuggets, for some reason, the word nuggets makes me think of McDonald’s chicken nuggets—even though you couldn’t pay me to eat there. A recent 32-minute video by In Plain Bite fills in some important blanks. To protect yourself and your loved ones, please watch “12 US Fast Food Restaurants You MUST Avoid (And 4 That Are Family Safe).” I learned some very disturbing facts about many fast-food chains. Did you know that McDonald’s chicken nuggets contain Dimethylpolysiloxane—an anti-foaming agent used in Silly Putty? (See this article for more.) Did you know that McDonald’s shakes contain more than 50 ingredients and their fries contain 19 ingredients? Why, pray tell? What are they pumping into these disturbing, cost-saving science experiments?
Safe choices
By contrast, Chick-fil-A waffle fries have three ingredients: potatoes, oil and salt. That makes sense to me.
What fast-food chain was ranked best of all? Family-owned In-N-Out Burger. Yay! I’m a fan of their tasty, reasonably-sized burgers with exemplary lettuce, tomato and onion. But there’s more to In-N-Out. Read this short article about the Bible references on their packaging. I think it’ll make you smile.
Recommended documentary: He Calls Me Daughter
The heir and owner of In-N-Out Burger, Lynsi Snyder, tells her personal story in the documentary He Calls Me Daughter. Last month, my pal Charlene and I saw this excellent documentary at our favorite local theater.
He Calls Me Daughter poignantly demonstrates the impact of absent, neglectful and/or abusive fathers on their daughters, and how the damage impacts their daughters’ perceptions of and relationships with God. Your heart will be moved as you hear women’s stories—painful and sometimes shocking. What the good people saw at church wasn’t the truth. At all. That reminds me of Brandon’s World growing up. And then there was my dad, the narcissist, who had a totally different voice when he stood behind the lectern up front. Brandon’s sociopathic father was a church elder. My dad was our church’s minister of education for years. Yep. Very disturbing on both counts.
Thankfully, God gets the final word.
What man has broken, God can heal.
He Calls Me Daughter would be an excellent documentary to watch with your life group, family, friends and neighbors, or a ladies’ group. I highly recommend it. When you hear the stories, you’ll understand the dysfunction, the fractured lives, the choices. It all makes sense when you know the truth. It all makes sense.
Is the precious girl in the painting below thinking, “He loves me; he loves me not”? She looks so beautiful and privileged, but we do not know her story.
The back-story
Let’s start exploring the time when Jesus fed more than five thousand people.
Execution and grief
What happened before this epic miracle? Matthew, Mark and Luke tell us that John the Baptist—Jesus’ cousin—was beheaded by King Herod.
Then [Jesus’] disciples came, and took the dead body, and buried [John the Baptist]; and they went and told Jesus.
Matthew 14:12, New Heart English Bible
From thwarted plans to compassionate teaching
Mark tells us more of the back-story of this big day.
And [Jesus] said to [his disciples], “Come away by yourselves to an isolated place, and rest awhile.” For there were many coming and going, and they had no leisure so much as to eat. So they went away in the boat to an isolated place by themselves. But [the people] saw them going, and many recognized him and ran there on foot from all the cities and they arrived before them. And he came out, saw a large crowd, and he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd, and he began to teach them many things.
Mark 6:31-34, New Heart English Bible
Jesus taught the people “many things.” This wasn’t some snappy, five-minute snippet of good things to know. It wasn’t a short homily. Jesus’ teaching was meaty. It was important. And it took time.
Need for healing
But there’s more. John reveals that the people came because they’d seen Jesus healing people. That’s why they ran. They saw the miracles. They ran to see Jesus. Luke, the physician, and Matthew tell us that Jesus healed the sick among the crowd. What kind of crowd are we talking about? About 5,000 men, plus women and children. Were there 10,000 or 15,000 total? Twenty thousand? More?
Unpacking the back-story
Jesus’ cousin was just beheaded. That was a serious blow, emotionally, to Jesus and his disciples. Very, very serious. The quote from Mark above tells us that so many people were around them all the time that they couldn’t sit down to eat. Jesus took his disciples by boat to a desolate place so they could rest.
But they didn’t get what they wanted. They got something much bigger. I can relate to that.
My plans vs. God’s abundance
Last November, I had a delightful Airbnb reserved for my third annual writing retreat. I was really looking forward to it. I had to cancel my retreat because my first hip replacement surgery was scheduled that very month. I wanted a weekend retreat. The Lord wanted to give me my life back—the ability to go places and do things.
I had plans for a weekend. Jesus had plans for my life.
I’m doing things this month that I couldn’t have done in November—grocery shopping by myself, cooking, sailing with Brandon, Ring Day at Texas A&M, a wedding, two movies with Charlene, etc. Because of my upcoming hip surgeries, I was able to retire in November. Talk about giving me my life back! What a beautiful and precious season. Read the Simplicity posts for more.
I was looking forward to the peace of a weekend retreat. God had an incredible abundance of peace in store for me. Truly abundant. But I had to walk through some challenges to get there. The blessings were well worth the wait, the difficulties and the work. The Lord knew what was best for me. And for our family.
Your turn
Do you remember a time when you had special plans, but the Lord had something quite different in store for you—so much better and bigger? Close your eyes and think about that time in your life. Write down a few words representing that time. Put the note on your table, desk or fridge. Linger in a state of prayerful gratitude. Reflect daily on the Lord’s loving hand on you.
The Lord will fulfil his purpose for me;
[your] steadfast love, O Lord, endures for ever.
Psalm 138:8a-b, Revised Standard Version*
*Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright © 1946, 1952, and 1971 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
(If you don’t know Jesus yet as your Savior and Lord, read the Thanksgiving posts here on Choosing Peace.)
The healing aspect
Let’s continue to unpack the back-story of the feeding of the five thousand.
Jesus and his disciples were bereaved and really needed to re-charge. What they got instead was thousands of people. Jesus felt compassion on the people, taught them and healed them. How many people out of many thousands needed healing? Did Jesus heal them one at a time or en masse?
When we’ve been taught about this miracle—the feeding of the five thousand—we don’t talk about the healing aspect of this day—but it’s a huge reality. All the sick people in this massive throng were cured. This was a remarkable miracle day already, and we haven’t even gotten to the “feeding the masses” miracle yet—The Main Event.
Sometimes, remarkable miracles or interventions or revelations get lost, minimized or forgotten due to the enormity of something else at the same time. Does that ring a bell? Is there something God wants you to remember in that department? Did you forget something significant because something even bigger eclipsed it?
Pray and ask God to reveal what you need to remember…. Pause. Wait. Listen.
Welcomed and strengthened by the Savior
To use the Southern vernacular, Jesus and his disciples were tuckered out. They headed out for a mini-retreat and got a gargantuan crowd instead. They were looking forward to peace and quiet, and got the exact opposite—exponentially. Jesus didn’t tell the crowd, “Get lost; I’m tired. Come back next week.” Instead of being exasperated, Jesus welcomed the people and felt compassion on them.
What an example of our Lord’s love for us.
Can you remember a time when you felt like you couldn’t keep going, working or hoping, but you knew in your heart that you needed to press on—and you did, somehow? God Almighty strengthened you or enabled you to keep going. Thanks be to God—or “TBTG!”—as I like to say. (Here’s an example from my life. Start reading at The Shocking Loss.)
Remember this gem:
The LORD is my strength and song….
Psalm 118:14a, New Heart English Bible
Close your eyes and say a prayer of thanksgiving to God for a time when he strengthened you. Or raise your hands and say a “Hallelujah!”
The feeding of the five thousand
Evening was approaching, and Jesus’ disciples wanted the people to be sent to neighboring villages to get something to eat. “But [Jesus] answered them, “You give them something to eat” ~ Mark 6:37, NHEB.”
From the Gospel of John:
Jesus …said to Philip, “Where are we to buy bread, that these may eat?” This he said to test him, for he himself knew what he would do. Philip answered him, “Two hundred denarii worth of bread is not sufficient for them, that everyone of them may receive a little.” One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said to him, “There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish, but what are these among so many?” Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.” Now there was much grass in that place. So the men sat down, in number about five thousand. Jesus took the loaves; and having given thanks, he distributed to the disciples, and the disciples to those who were sitting down; likewise also of the fish as much as they desired. When they were filled, he said to his disciples, “Gather up the broken pieces which are left over, that nothing be lost.” So they gathered them up, and filled twelve baskets with broken pieces from the five barley loaves, which were left over by those who had eaten. When therefore the people saw the sign which he did, they said, “This is truly the Prophet who comes into the world.”
John 6:5b-14, New Heart English Bible
John provides excellent details, with actual conversations. Mark fills in some of the blanks, including Jesus telling the disciples to find out how much food was in the crowd. Also, the people were seated in groups of 50 and 100; and the 12 baskets of leftovers included fish too.
The five things
When I read John’s account shown above, five things stood out to me. (1) Jesus asked his disciple Philip a question to test him. (2) The boy gave what he had. (3) The location had lots of grass, so the people could sit comfortably to eat. (4) The leftovers were greater than the original offering. That was a massive aspect of the miracle. (5) The people acknowledged the miracle.
1. The test
Jesus …said to Philip, “Where are we to buy bread, that these may eat?” This he said to test him, for he himself knew what he would do. Philip answered him, “Two hundred denarii worth of bread is not sufficient for them, that everyone of them may receive a little.”
John 6:5b-7, New Heart English Bible
Jesus had already done miracles in front of the disciples and the people. Philip viewed the problem as if Jesus wasn’t present, willing or able to feed thousands of people. Jesus was present. He was willing. And he was able.
Supportive scriptures
We can make the same mistake—thinking Jesus isn’t interested in what troubles us. Will you read these scriptures out loud today—and in the days ahead?
♦ LORD, you have searched me, and you know me. (Psalm 139:1, NHEB)
♦ [Cast] all your worries on him, because he cares for you. (1 Peter 5:7, NHEB)
♦ My help comes from the LORD, who made heaven and earth. (Psalm 121:2, NHEB)
♦ I know this, that God is for me. (Psalm 56:9b, NHEB)
♦ […With] everlasting love I will have compassion on you, says the Lord, your Redeemer. (Isaiah 54:8b, RSV—copyright statement above)
Q&A time
Jesus asked Philip a question to test him. I remember a time when the still, small voice in my mind asked me a question: “How are these two alike?” And my answer told me everything I needed to know: “Codependent.” Who were the two people? What was going on? Check out the sections called Forgiving through The Truth in this post from the Grieving series.
Have you experienced a time when the Holy Spirit asked you a question to test and/or teach you something? If so, reflect on the question and the answer you gave. What did you learn?
2. Giving to the Lord
One of his disciples, Andrew, …said to him, “There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish, but what are these among so many?”
John 6:8-9, New Heart English Bible
The boy gave his food to Jesus, not knowing what would happen next. Considering the size of the crowd, the boy’s food seemed like so little; but in the hands of Jesus, it was more than enough.
This aspect of the feeding of the five thousand teaches us that God’s results don’t depend on the size or scale of our offering, gift, strength, ability, sacrifice, etc. If we willingly give something to the Lord, he can do a miracle with it. He can grow it beyond our wildest imagination.
The parable of the sower
In the parable of the sower, Jesus describes a man sowing seeds. The seeds represent “the word of the Kingdom” (Matthew 13:19, NHEB). Most of the seeds were unfruitful—falling on a walking path and being eaten by birds, falling on rocky soil, or falling among thorns. Only the seeds which fell on good soil “yielded fruit: some one hundred times as much, some sixty, and some thirty” (Matthew 13:8, NHEB). The ESV says the seeds which fell on good soil “produced grain.” Can you imagine sowing one seed and it producing 100 plants? Sixty? Thirty? Such a yield would clearly be a miraculous gift from the Lord, yielding an abundant, unfathomable harvest.
A Great Awakening
Speaking of a miraculous harvest, Charlene and I saw A Great Awakening at the theater this week. What a remarkable movie about 1700s evangelist George Whitefield (pronounced Whitt-field)—a prolific, Holy Spirit-anointed preacher in The Great Awakening (along with Jonathan Edwards). Whitefield preached outside to multitudes—as many as 30,000 people at a time. The Holy Spirit moved in electrifying might and power—saving the masses. See this movie if you can. You’ll be richly blessed. (Also, read this excellent biography of George Whitefield.)
In 1950, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., wrote an essay about The Great Awakening. If such an electrifying awakening to Jesus Christ—a Great Awakening—occurred in 1950, it would’ve resulted in the salvation and bringing to the church of “more than nine million souls.” How much has our nation’s population grown since 1950? According to the United States census data, our 1950 population was more than 151 million people. Our current population is approximately 350 million.
Will you pray for a Great Awakening in our day? Will you? God can do it. If he can feed many thousands of people with the contents of one boy’s lunch box, and if he can save the masses in the 1700s, he can do it again.
Looking at them, Jesus said,
“With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”
Matthew 19:26, World English Bible
3. The place
Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.” Now there was much grass in that place. So the men sat down, in number about five thousand.
John 6:10, New Heart English Bible
When it was time for Jesus and his disciples to seek some rest, they had many options on which direction to travel. They traveled to a location with abundant space and abundant grass. This wasn’t accidental or coincidental. It was the gracious hand of God. It wasn’t a rocky or steep place. It wasn’t a marshy place. It wasn’t a thorny, dangerous place. It wasn’t a dense forest. It was abundant and grassy—a comfortable place for the people to sit and eat.
Prepared by the Lord
The place was prepared by the Lord for thousands of men, women and children. The Lord showed his goodness through the teaching and healing of Jesus, through the miraculous food provided, and through the location itself.
God is so good. He prepares places ahead of time for us. See this post for recent examples from my life.
The birds and us
While I wrote about the feeding of the five thousand last Saturday, I saw a daddy and mama cardinal eating on our kitchen window sill during a major rain storm. The Lord provided them with the shelter of the eaves around our house so they could eat in a protected place on a very rainy day. He cares for the birds and oh-so-much more for us.
Can you think of a time when God prepared a place or location for your good? How did it feel, look and smell? How did the place impact you? Did you sense the Lord’s presence?
4. The leftovers
When they were filled, he said to his disciples, “Gather up the broken pieces which are left over, that nothing be lost.” So they gathered them up, and filled twelve baskets with broken pieces from the five barley loaves, which were left over by those who had eaten.
John 6:12-13, New Heart English Bible
The boy in the feeding of the five thousand brought enough food for one to maybe three people. The leftovers filled 12 baskets! Remarkable. Jesus and the disciples wouldn’t have wasted this food. Did they send it home with some of the people? What did Jesus and the disciples do next?
Next
Immediately after this miracle, Jesus sent his disciples away in the boat. Jesus dismissed the crowd, then spent time praying alone, and—between 3 and 6 A.M.—he came to the disciples by walking on the water. He’d seen that they were having a hard time because “the wind was against them” (Mark 6:48b, NHEB).
And [Jesus] got into the boat with them, and the wind ceased. And they were completely, profusely astonished among themselves; for they had not understood about the loaves, but their hearts were hardened.
Mark 6:51-52, New Heart English Bible
Why?
Did the disciples’ exhaustion harden their hearts to the miracle of the feeding of the five thousand? Were other things distracting them? Were they being bombarded by spiritual warfare? Were they overwhelmed by the crowd? Was grumbling or another sin darkening their eyes? What do you think, Peaceful Reader?
5. Miracle acknowledged
When therefore the people saw the sign which he did, they said, “This is truly the Prophet who comes into the world.”
John 6:14, New Heart English Bible
Why could the people in the crowd acknowledge the incredible miracle Jesus had just performed by feeding them all, when the disciples themselves—the very ones who passed out the food—didn’t understand? How could that be?
If we knew everything that was going on, it would make sense. We can be sure of that.
The disciples stayed with Jesus, experienced so much more, and became true believers and courageous preachers, teachers and leaders (except for the betrayer).
God Almighty’s plans and purposes prevailed.
Coming next
Join me next time as we dive into The Last Supper. Until then, thanks for reading and for Choosing Peace.
Closing word and song
“God With Us” by All Sons and Daughters
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