Knowing The Word in Luke 9:10-17

Jesus Feeds the Five Thousand

9:10 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.

Comments

The Feeding of the Five Thousand is the one miracle, apart from the resurrection, that appears in all four Gospels. The setting is near the town of Bethsaida, which means “house of the hunt.” It was east of Capernaum on the northern shore of the Sea of Galilee and the hometown of Peter, Andrew, and Philip. Jesus went there to give his disciples a respite after sending them out on mission.

Why did the crowds follow him? Did they think he would not return, having gone to a location outside Herod’s jurisdiction? Jesus, not irritated by their arrival and the necessary change of plans, welcomed them graciously and prepared to feed them. Jesus asked his disciples to do exactly what he planned on doing for the people. Because people could not return home, we can suppose many were not locals, and that Jesus had many people following him around the Sea of Galilee.

Having just accomplished the mission Jesus gave them, Jesus put them to the test. There was confusion on how to proceed. They tried to come up with a plan but only rounded up five loaves of bread and two fish. In the count, women and children were not included. It was not that they did not count, but there were probably mostly men in the group. Moving around the Sea with children was not a good idea. Jesus had the people arranged in groups to make serving easier. Giving a blessing was normal for Jews to do at the beginning of a meal. The satisfied people did not get a token but a full meal.

We could make too much of the twelve baskets of food left over, but we do know that each disciple ended up with his own basket. Each likely understood the visual point Jesus made. Yes, they could go out and do ministry in his name, preaching, teaching, healing, and exorcising demons, but they could not create food out of nothing. Only God could do that.

Application

The miracles of Jesus all reveal who he is. Have you seen or experienced a miracle in your own life that you have credited to God? If not, tell him would like to experience one.

Prayer

Lord God, open my eyes to the mysteries of your majestic power, of your merciful love, of your bold interventions, and of your still, soft voice. I want to know you in all of your glory.