A Special Miracle

Miracles are all over the Bible, and today we’re coming to one of the most famous ones.  Besides Jesus’ resurrection, there’s only one miracle recorded in all four Gospels: Jesus’ feeding of the five thousand.  The early historians of Jesus’ movement unanimously thought this miracle was worth remembering.  So this miracle has been lodged in the church’s collective conscience for two thousand years.

Today we’re going to consider the miracle, the meaning, and the message, looking at the text through the grid of what it says, what it means, and what it means for us?  As we do so, ask the Lord to show you what he wants you to see in this miracle.

The Miracle

First, let’s look at the miracle itself as Luke records it in Luke 9:10-17.  Jesus is ministering to a great crowd of people in “a desolate place” (v. 12) when the day begins to end and the disciples think Jesus should send the people away so they can go find food and lodging.  Jesus, however, tells them to feed the people, to which they respond that they only have five loaves and two fish.  So Jesus takes what they have and multiplies it to feed the whole crowd, with food left over.  And thus we have the world’s most famous picnic!

Let me bring a few things to your attention in this narrative.  Verse 10 says Jesus took the disciples away from the crowds after their mission so they could rest.  But verse 11 says the crowds follow them and Jesus doesn’t drive them away.  Rather, he welcomes them and helps them.  Jesus was always ready to receive people in need, and when he did, he was always able to meet their need.  There was never a case he couldn’t resolve.

Then notice the very practical difficulty that arises in the course of ministry that day (v. 12).  As the day began to end, the disciples point out a legitimate logistical concern: how are all these people going to eat and where are they going to stay?  The disciples are thinking about the good of others, but their request sounds more like a demand.  They basically tell Jesus to get rid of the crowds, “Send the crowds away.”  This is understandable because they’re exhausted after their short-term mission trip.  Who doesn’t become more demanding when they’re tired and hungry?

But then notice that Jesus responds with a demand of his own: “You give them something to eat” (v. 13a).  This was a command, not a question.  And it’s a command that the disciples didn’t obey because they said they were powerless to help (v. 13b).

Jesus’ idea must’ve sounded absurd to them, especially given that there were 5,000 men (v. 14), not counting women and children, so probably around 15,000 people there.  How could they provide for so many with so little?  And they couldn’t afford to go buy that much food.  Imagine being asked to prepare a meal for 15,000 people only using the leftovers in your fridge!

So Jesus takes over and tells them to have everyone sit down in groups of fifty.  Then he takes the five loaves and two fish and prays to the Father a blessing over them.  Then he breaks them and keeps breaking them until everyone was full and there was food left over (vv. 16-17).

Those who’ve heard this story many times may lose sight of how amazing what happens here is, and how utterly amazed the people and the disciples must’ve been.  The tense of the verbs indicate that Jesus kept on breaking and kept on giving the bread and fish (v. 16).  The more he broke it, the more there was.  Five loaves fed five thousand men.

By multiplying the bread and fish, Jesus is creating new matter.  Some say this couldn’t have happened because matter cannot be created or destroyed.  But if Jesus is who he says he is, the One who wrote the laws of nature, then he has the authority and power to suspend or supersede those laws.  If Jesus is God, then this miracle is perfectly possible.

The Meaning

Now let’s consider what this miracle means.  To do that, I want us to think about why this miracle, of all the miracles Jesus did, is the only one (besides his resurrection) in all four Gospels.  I think there are two main reasons why, one historical, one theological.

First, this miracle is in all four Gospels to prove the historical veracity of the Gospels.  Think about it.  15,000 people experienced this miracle, meaning that it was better attested than even the resurrection of Jesus because Paul says that only up to 500 people saw Jesus after he was raised (1 Cor. 15:6).  More people experienced this feeding than saw Jesus alive from the dead.

So if this miracle didn’t happen, then Christianity couldn’t have gotten off the ground because there were 15,000 people out there who could confirm or deny whether it happened.  The scale of this miracle made it easy to prove or disprove.  If it didn’t happen, the Gospels wouldn’t have been credible.  If it happened, then they are credible.  There’s never been a good case against Jesus’ miracles, the question is why did they happen?

Second, the miracle is in all four Gospels because it was Jesus’ way of announcing who he was.  Notice what bookends the miracle in Luke.  In verse 9, Herod asks, “Who is this Jesus?”  Then in verse 18, Jesus asks his disciples who people think he is, and Peter says he’s “The Christ of God” (v. 20).  The miracle happens in between two episodes that raise the question of Jesus’ identity because it was a crucial event for understanding the nature of Jesus’ identity.

Usually when Jesus does a miracle, there’s some reaction from the crowd, but not here.  There’s no description of the crowd’s reaction.  Why?  Because the miracle isn’t primarily for them.  It’s for the disciples.  It’s to prepare them to answer the question he asks in verse 20.

The miracle is Jesus’ answer to his own question.  The miracle reveals who Jesus is.  His act reveals his identity.  So what is his action saying?

Remember what happened after Israel came out of Egypt?  The Lord led them through the Red Sea and then into the wilderness, into a desolate place where there wasn’t any food.  And what happened?  The people grumbled, but in mercy the Lord sent them manna.

The Lord fed the people of Israel in the wilderness.  As a sign of his power, he preserved the people by sending them bread.  The Lord brings his people into the wilderness and then serves them bread (Ex. 16:13-15).

So what’s Jesus saying with this miracle?  He’s answering Herod’s question and answering his own question to the disciples, “Who do you say that I am?” (v. 20)  He’s saying, “I’m the one who feeds my people bread in the wilderness.  I’m the Lord.”

This miracle says Jesus is the God of the Old Testament, the Lord who brought Israel out of Egypt and fed them in the wilderness.  But there’s more.

Jesus says in John’s account of this miracle that he’s not just the One who sends bread from heaven, he is the bread too.  After feeding the crowd, he says, “Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died.  This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die.  I am the living bread that came down from heaven” (Jn. 6:49-51a).  So with this miracle, Jesus is saying, “I’m the One from on high, the one who came from where the manna came from.  I’m the bread you need.”

Jesus is the Lord who gives bread and the Lord who is bread.  So this miracle enacts the gospel and is a picture of the incarnation.  In the gospel, the Lord sends himself to give people what they need to live, namely, himself.  As Jesus says, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst” (Jn. 6:35).

Have you found that nothing in this world seems to satisfy the hunger or quench the thirst of your soul?  Do you know why?  Because you were made for God, and until you’re in a relationship with God, your soul will hunger.  Tragically, God offers us the most satisfying bread but we prefer other bread instead.  So we deserve God’s justice, but instead he offers us mercy in Jesus if we’ll own our sin and come to him in faith.

The way to be filled is to empty yourself of all your attempts to satisfy the hunger on your own, turn away from sin and self, and turn to Jesus who alone can satisfy your hunger.

The Message

We’ve considered the miracle and its meaning, now let’s consider what it means for us, or its message.  There are at least four things we learn here.

God Will Provide

First, we learn that God will always provide for his people.  The disciples responded to Jesus the way they did in verse 12 because they, like us, were only looking at things from a human perspective.  As one writer says, “They were acting like men without a God, thinking only in terms of what they had on hand and what they had the ability to provide from their own resources, not considering the power and the providence of their God.”[1]

Granted, the disciples hadn’t seen a miracle like this before, as Jesus had been healing people one at a time, unveiling his powers gradually.  So we can understand why they didn’t anticipate this miracle in advance.  But they should’ve known to expect the unexpected from Jesus, should’ve developed the spiritual reflex of asking for Jesus’ help when things were humanly impossible.

There was a man named Robert Morrison who wanted to go to China as a missionary in 1805.  When he finally found a ship that could take him, the owner of the ship was skeptical about Morrison’s plans.  He said, “And so, Mr. Morrison, do you really expect that you will make an impression on the idolatry of the great Chinese Empire?”  “No, sire,” Morrison quickly replied, “I expect God will.”[2]  It’s when we come to the end of our own resources that we’re ready to see what only God can do.

God promises to provide for his people, no matter what kind of wilderness we’re in.  He promises to provide our daily bread, our food, clothing, and shelter.  He can meet our needs for friendship, give us the guidance we need as we seek him with the help of godly counselors.  He’ll provide ways for us to serve him, and when the opportunity comes, he’ll give us what we need to fulfill our calling.

This miracle teaches us that we’re never limited by what we have on hand.  May we remember this as we walk through a difficult financial season for our church.  May we not look to our own resources, but to the faithful and full hands of our Lord.  As one writer says, “The pieces (of bread) grew under (Jesus’) touch, and the disciples always found his hands full when they came back with their own empty.”[3]  As we come to the Lord with our need, he’ll never turn us away.

A Part to Play

The second thing we learn here is that we have a part to play in Jesus’ work on earth.  Jesus broke the bread, but he gave it to his disciples to distribute.  Jesus had the power to pass out the bread, but he called his disciples into his work.  This is a beautiful parable of our ministry together in the church.

Earlier Jesus told them to feed the people and they couldn’t.  Only Jesus could.  But there were some things they could do.  They could see people’s needs, give Jesus what they had, and then give away what Jesus gave them.  Through them, the people would be fed.

It’s easy to see people in need and keep moving, or “send them away.”  But like the disciples, Jesus has called the church to join him in his work of redeeming and sanctifying sinners.  What we have to offer always feels inadequate, but when we offer what we have, Jesus takes it, and by the supernatural power of his multiplying grace, he uses it to help people.  So next time a need comes your way, ask Jesus to help you address it, even if you only have a few loaves and fish.  Jesus can do a lot with our little.

Jesus Exceeds Our Expectations

The third thing we learn is that Jesus exceeds our expectations for a Messiah.  We don’t see it as much in Luke’s account, but in Mark and John’s account, we see that the people were gathered there because they were ready to make Jesus king (Jn. 6:15).

The crowd that day had expectations for Jesus that didn’t align with his plans.  He didn’t come to fight, he came to serve.  He didn’t come to be whatever we want him to be.  He came to be a suffering servant.  He didn’t come to rescue us from the physical oppression of Rome.  He came to redeem us from the spiritual oppression of sin and Satan.

Not only was he not what they were expecting, he was so much more than they were expecting.  Like a river overflowing its banks, Jesus bursts our expectations for a Savior.  This miracle shows us the superabundance of his grace.

In the Old Testament, there weren’t supposed to be any leftovers of the manna.  But here there are twelve baskets full, symbolizing the twelve tribes of Israel, because Jesus came to satisfy, not just 15,000 people, but all his people.

The bread Jesus brings is superabounding.  His first miracle was to make the best wine.  Here he makes a feast where everyone is stuffed.  Why?  To show us that he’s Lord of the Feast.

What do you think Christianity is?  You may think it means all your fun is over, that now you need to be careful, stay in line, and keep all the rules – or at least look like you are.  You think this is just the price you pay to go to heaven.

But this miracle shows us that Jesus is the Lord who revels in life, that his power and grace is superabundant.  Why else do you think there are 400,000 species of beetle?  Couldn’t there be two hundred?  But God loves life and came in Jesus to burst our expectations for what God is like, showing us that he “came that we might have life and have it abundantly” (Jn. 10:10).

Two Other Meals

The fourth thing we learn is how this miracle points to two other important meals: the Lord’s Supper and the marriage supper of the Lamb.  Verse 16 uses the same four verbs that Jesus used at the Last Supper (22:19).  At the miracle and in the Last Supper, Jesus took/blessed/broke/gave the bread.

The miracle points to the Supper, and the Supper points to the cross.  On the cross, the Father took the bread of Jesus’ body, blessed it, broke it, and gave it to his people.

But the Lord’s Supper points us to another meal.  In heaven, there’ll be a great feast for all who’re married to Jesus through faith, the marriage supper of the Lamb (Rev. 19:6-9).

Jesus’ feeding of five thousand men in the wilderness foreshadows his meal with twelve men in the upper room, which foreshadows his banquet in heaven for “a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages” (Rev. 7:9).

Will you be part of that banquet?  Have you eaten the bread of heaven?

[1]Philip Graham Ryken, Luke, Volume 1: Luke 1-12, Reformed Expository Commentary (Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R Publishing, 2009), 436.

[2]Quoted in ibid., 437.

[3]Quoted in ibid., 439.