Devotional 8-4-17

The Feeding of the 5000

Matthew 14: 13-21   

¹³ When Jesus heard what had happened, he withdrew by boat privately to a solitary place. Hearing of this, the crowds followed him on foot from the towns.  ¹⁴ When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them and healed their sick.
¹⁵ As evening approached, the disciples came to him and said, "This is a remote place, and it's already getting late. Send the crowds away, so they can go to the villages and buy themselves some food."

¹⁶ Jesus replied, "They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat."
¹⁷ "We have here only five loaves of bread and two fish," they answered.
¹⁸ "Bring them here to me," he said. ¹⁹ And he directed the people to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then he gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the people. ²⁰ They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over. ²¹ The number of those who ate was about five thousand men, besides women and children.

In these scriptures, Jesus withdrew to a solitary place to mourn.  Jesus' cousin, John the Baptist, has just been beheaded by Herod.  Who among us does not want privacy and solitude when we lose a loved one? Yet- his desire for solitude was interrupted by the large crowd of people who wanted to see and hear him.  Even as Jesus was in spiritual pain at the loss of his cousin- he looked out at this mass of people and had compassion on them and immediately starting healing the sick!

As evening comes, the disciples urge Jesus to send the crowd away, but instead Jesus commands the disciples to give them something to eat.  The miracle of feeding the 5,000 ensues.

How about you and your spiritual journey?  Have you mourned the loss of a loved one?  Ever yearned for peace & quiet to heal your hurts? Regret words said or actions done?  In this account, I feel there are several miracles we can learn.  First- no matter the pain, no matter the suffering, no matter the sin.... Jesus is there with us.  He knows our inner struggles and can help shoulder the weight, because he has been there too!  Secondly- Jesus challenges us to stretch our faith beyond what we can imagine.  You see what is not possible with man is achievable through Jesus.  Jesus physically fed 5,000 but only after giving thanks.  Today in God's kingdom here on earth we can be fed the bread of life no matter how desperate our situation if we, like Jesus, give thanks!  May it always be so.

Prayer: Father thank you for helping each of us as we wrestle with the problems of life. Help us to remember that when we give thanks miracles happen! Amen

Marv Jones