You Feed Them

Matt. 14:13-21 John 6:1-14

It was like any other day-Jesus, the disciples and enough onlookers to overflow the walls of Jerusalem. Here they were listening to Jesus talk as He unveiled the wonders and mysteries of the Kingdom of God. Finally one of the disciples who probably heard his own stomach growling went to Jesus to question what the dinner plans were. Jesus’ response was slightly more than the disciple had anticipated. Jesus said, “You feed them.” The disciples knew they were being tested so I can just imagine them huddling up as if it were the last few seconds of the Super Bowl and it was fourth and goal, and the score tied. They return back to Jesus with no more than a Hail Mary, saying, “There is a little boy here who has five loaves and two fish, but what are these for so many people?” Jesus smirks as he watches them search for answers. “Have everyone sit down,” He said. Then He takes the food that the little boy had and looking up to Heaven He blesses it. Finally, Jesus passes the food out to the disciples who then pass it out to the men and women. What a sight that must have been to watch those twelve men walk around, tripping on their bottom lip as their jaws hit the ground. You can just hear them mumbling to themselves trying to figure it all out, “Five loaves + two fish = 5,000 people…? Yet in my mind the best was still to come! When the disciples cleaned up the mess and bagged up all the leftovers, there was exactly twelve baskets leftover! Don’t you know Jesus walked empty handed off the mountain that day. He made sure each one of the disciples would carry the OVERFLOW of this little boy’s lunch box! One of the many lessons taught that day to the disciples was that even your meager lunch box contains enough to feed the world when you give it to the LORD. And what of the little boy? Do you think that he was happier about the fact that his lunch just fed 5,000 people or that he was eating lunch with Jesus? I do not know but I do know that whether you were the boy, the amazed disciples, or an onlooker with a full belly, you were grateful to have been showered by the OVERFLOW of Jesus.

Today, we are feeding 5,000 people just like Jesus did. Sure we have over a thousand bags of tasty treats, but even better is we have a Holy God who goes before us raining down an OVERFLOW of His goodness! I pray we all walk away with a basket of Jesus’ leftovers!

Smile Always,
jason