Sunday Sermonettes #015
God’s Compassion
The basis of any miracle in your life is God’s compassion. This is the first of many simple lessons of faith and possibilities in the miracle of five loaves and two fish multiplied to feed five thousand people..
Jesus is moved with compassion as he sees the hungry crowd. He wants to help them. So he asked his disciples to give them something to eat.
Your Focus
Their response is like how we respond to impossibilities we face. One of them said, “Eight months’ wages would not buy enough bread for each one to have a bite!.” That was true. But they forgot it was Jesus who was with them.
The simple lesson here is to take our eyes off the difficulties facing us and focus it on Jesus. We might not know what to do. But we can look to him with expectation and in faith.
Possibilities in Small Things
Jesus already knew what he was going to do. He asked how many loaves they had. He said, “Go and see.” Jesus was willing to see the impossible happen in small things.
By this time, another one of the disciples came to Jesus and said, “Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish.” That was good for a boy’s meal.
The disciple also added his doubts to the introduction. He asked, “But how far will they go among so many?” That was a realistic question. We too often ask such questions that express doubt, negativity, and impossibility. But we should not forget who is with us and what his plans are for the impossible situation.
Jesus was not disturbed by the question that was asked and the doubt that was expressed. He simply said, “Bring them here to me.” Yes, bring your meagre resources to Jesus and see what he is going to do with them.
A Prayer of Thanks and Expectation
Jesus creates expectancy now. He asks the disciples to seat the people in groups of hundreds and fifties. With nothing but the five loaves and two fish in the hands of Jesus,, the people would have wondered about what was going to happen.
Then Jesus exhibits his calm assurance that his Father in heaven always heard his prayers. He looked up to heaven, said thanks, and broke the loaves. He asked the disciples to distribute. He did the same with the fish. At least for once, the disciples did not doubt. They acted on his command.
Sharing and Multiplication
The five loaves of barley and two fish multiplied to feed the crowd of five thousand men besides women and children. I wonder at the willingness of the boy to share his food. Possibly if we are willing to share, God is willing to do a miracle.
Yes, God is moved with compassion when we are in need. He doesn’t always do miracles of this kind; but often uses people to meet our needs. You too can be a channel of his compassionate touch in the lives of your friends just like the boy who shared his food with Jesus.
Difficulties Can Be Met with an Attitude of Praise and Thanks
You can always take your difficulties to Jesus. You might not know what to do. But you can be assured that he has a plan. The feeding of the five thousand teaches us to thank God even before the miracle happens. It is a joyful expectation of our confidence that God is willing to meet our needs.
When we give thanks, God acts in ways beyond our imagination. We then see impossibilities give way to surplus with very meager resources. They even collected twelve baskets of barley loaves left over for Jesus had said, “Let nothing be wasted.”
What Are Miracles For?
Immediately after the miracle, Jesus dismissed the crowds and his disciples and went up alone on a mountainside to pray. That was the secret of his life. He always kept in touch with his Father in heaven, depended on him fully, and did everything to please him.
The miracles that Jesus did was a natural outflow of his constant and intimate connection with God, his heavenly Father.
The next day the crowds come searching for Jesus. Then Jesus told them something startling. “I tell you the truth, you are looking for me, not because you saw miraculous signs but because you ate the loaves and had your fill.”
How true it is that even today many follow Jesus without realizing that he is the One who satisfies their deep spiritual hunger and thirst.
Miracles are meant to lead us to God and not to satisfy our selfishness. Miracles are meant to help us focus on eternity and not on our worldly desires.
Jesus the Bread of Life
Miracles should lead us to Jesus and to the moments his body was broken for us on the cross and his blood shed there for us and the forgiveness of our sins. He is the Bread of Life who alone can fully satisfy, nourish, and gift you eternal life.
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This article is based on Jesus Feeds the Five Thousand Narratives found in the four Gospels in the New Testament of the Bible: Matthew 14:13–21, Mark 6:30–44, Luke 9:10–17, and John 6:1–14.
Featured image courtesy: Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay
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