From the desk of Pastor Ben

A Fulfilling Dinner For 5,000

He distributed to those who were seated; likewise also of the fish as much as they wanted. When they were filled, He said to His disciples, “Gather up the leftover fragments so that nothing will be lost.”     (John 6:11-12)

When feeding the 5,000, Jesus simply and without fanfare continually “broke the loaves and . . . Kept giving them to the disciples to set before them; and . . . Divided up the two fish among them all” (Mark 6:41). Contrary to what we might have expected, our Lord did not create a large amount of food all at once; but the crowd that partook of the meal was truly astonished — those present had witnessed the Creator God at work.

Although Jesus chose to use the apostles to distribute the food, He could have just as easily used some supernatural means to dispense the meal. Foe His own glorious purposes, God often works through weak and fallible human beings. Paul reminds the Corinthians and us in 1 Corinthians 1:27 that “God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and…the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong. (See Numbers 12:3; Judges 6:15)

Christ does not minister to people in a half-way manner. In this instance, everyone ate “as much as they wanted,” so that “they were filled.” Such abundant and divine provision offered no excuse for wasting the leftovers. Therefore, the Lord ordered the apostles to collect the fragments of bread and fish, and those were enough to fill 12 large baskets. Some theorize that the baskets represent the 12 tribes of Israel, but probably more simply, Jesus provided 12 baskets because the 12 apostles each needed one to collect the remaining food. Amazingly, the food more than satisfied the crowd AND provided for another day’s meal.

Ask Yourself:
What could be the most likely reasons for feeling less than full in relationship with Jesus Christ? Are there reasons when fullness is more than we should expect from Him? Or does emptiness and leanness of spirit almost always represent a resistance to His plenty and blessing on our part?