"You give them something to eat"

Jesus' words jumped off the page in a fresh new way to me today.  How many times have I read Matthew 14--Jesus feeds the 5000?  I've taught it to preschoolers at least a half dozen times, always in the context of sharing and the miracles of Jesus.  However, my eyes were opened today to something new and different, and I love it.  So I had to share.

Did you know that this scene is recorded in all four of the Gospels?  As eyewitnesses to this incredible miracle, each of the authors wrote about it.  I've combined three of the Gospels here to show some key words and phrases:  

Matthew 14: 14 He saw a huge crowd, felt compassion for them, and healed their sick.  15 When evening came, the disciples approached Him and said, “This place is a wilderness, and it is already late. Send the crowds away so they can go into the villages and buy food for themselves.” 16 “They don’t need to go away,” Jesus told them. “You give them something to eat.”

Mark 6:37 They said to Him, “Should we go and buy 200 denarii worth of bread and give them something to eat?”

38 And He asked them, “How many loaves do you have? Go look.”

When they found out they said, “Five, and two fish.”

John 6:10 Then Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.”

There was plenty of grass in that place, so they sat down. The men numbered about 5,000. 11 Then Jesus took the loaves, and after giving thanks He distributed them to those who were seated—so also with the fish, as much as they wanted.

12 When they were full, He told His disciples, “Gather the pieces that are left over so that nothing is wasted.” 13 So they collected them and filled 12 baskets with the pieces from the five barley loaves that were left over by those who had eaten.

The highlighted passages struck me as something beautiful.

1.  Jesus told THEM to feed the people.  "You give them something to eat," he said.  I imagine Jesus exaggerating the word YOU.  As in, "YOU go do it."  He gave the disciples the job of feeding the people.  Jesus could have snapped his finger and made a banquet table appear with enough food for 5,000 men and their families.  However, the Son of God told them, "YOU DO IT."  Ultimately, Jesus was the power.  And the disciples were the manpower. 

2.  Jesus told them to take inventory.  The disciples were immediately aware that they were insufficient to provide.  They knew that they had very little to offer.  But Jesus told them to take inventory.  "How many loaves do you have?  Go look."  Jesus wanted them to be woefully aware of their shortcomings--so they could truly appreciate the miracle that was coming.  Jesus wanted them to see that even our meager offerings can produce abundant blessings in the hands of the Almighty.

3.  Jesus told them not to waste anything.  After all were fed and satisfied, Jesus told the disciples to pick up the scraps.  I get stressed cleaning up after our family of eight--I can't imagine what the clean-up must have been like for 15,000+ people!  However, Jesus reminds them to "gather the pieces that are left over so that nothing is wasted."  The disciples obeyed and each came back with their baskets completely full.  

In this season of my life, these words were significant to me.  As I seek to pour into the lives of others, Jesus reminds me that he has given me the job, a calling, a purpose--and that's to "feed the people."  I often times feel ill equipped to do so, but Jesus reminds me to take inventory.    What experiences has he allowed in my life to prepare me for this time?  What "loaves and fish" do I have to work with?  And as I remember that HE is the power, and I'm just the manpower, I try to remember to not waste anything... not a moment, not any opportunity to share His love.  In the past three months, three dear families, close friends and precious people, have left my life suddenly, all for different reasons, some good and some bad.  I sometimes feel regret for not making more of our time together.  For wasting the pieces of time that I had with them.  My life felt crazy just within my own home, and I thought I didn't have much leftover time to give. However, in the end, these relationship somehow feel less than full because I didn't "collect all the pieces of my time that were left over" and use it to feed our relationship.  All of these things add up to one big lesson for me: 

In Jesus' perfect plan, the emptying out and the sharing of ourselves always finds us coming back with our baskets full.   

Take the time to invest in someone else today. 

Katie