This was such an important miracle that all four gospel evangelists record it. And even though each of them add different points, they all agree on the major points. This is the feeding of the 5,000 and not of the 4,000 which came later. That multitude came together from around the northern part of the Sea of Galilee. And in fact, more people from the south arrived after the miracle as concluded, as we see in verse 23. 5,000 men, in addition to women and children, were fed a good meal by the Lord Jesus Christ. Matthew adds that there were women and children involved.
And that brings me to our illustration for today – our day. For various reasons, there are millions who order meals to be delivered to their homes and businesses. Food delivery is almost a modern-day miracle. People sit at home, order food through their phone, wait a while and that food is brought to their door. In many cases not a dime of money need be exchanged. It is miraculous. Analysts are predicting that $450 billion will be spent on food delivery in this country this year. Three of the biggest companies in the industry are Grubhub, Doordash and Uber Eats. I know for a fact, people working in one food place will order food to be delivered from another food place. Laying aside professional caterers, I wonder what the largest food order Grubhub has ever delivered? Whatever it is, I’m sure that no Doordash driver has ever fed 5,000 people. And that is why I am calling this message “Ultimate Uber Eats.” The Lord Jesus and His disciples delivered more than 5,000 meals at one sitting.
Twelve years ago, we had two messages under the unspectacular title “Feeding the Five Thousand.” In the morning message that day I preached the gospel – using the bread and fish as my illustration. And in the evening, I looked more at the details of the miracle. This morning, I still plan to preach the gospel, but it will be from a different angle. And I’m not going to spend much time on the miraculous details, which I hope most of you know simply by listening to the scripture we just read. Today, I want to consider three points: the feeding of the 5,000, the feeding of the 12 and the feeding of God’s elect.
First, the feeding of the 5,000, plus the women and children.
This event took place just as the persecution against Christ was intensifying. And to be precise, it was this miracle which started to turn the tide against our Lord. For about a year prior to this, everyone was singing the praises of Jesus of Nazareth. Not only was He healing the sick and raising the dead, but His disciples were authenticating their message – “the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand” – through Christ’s gift of medical miracles. No one at this point was preaching the gospel as we know it, because as yet there was no good news about salvation through the death, burial and resurrection of Christ. Jesus, John and the disciples were preaching the nearness and approach of God’s Kingdom. From the very beginning, “When Jesus had called unto him his twelve disciples, he gave them power against unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all manner of sickness and all manner of disease.” The people of Israel, and particularly the Galileans had become awash with the miracles of Christ. And they wanted more. They couldn’t endure His absence even for a few hours. Some had seen the creation of wine out of water. Lepers had been cleansed, while palsied and blind people had been cured. The people in Capernaum heard about Peter’s mother in law. Everywhere Jesus went, and often when the disciples preached, there were miracles. Galileans were drunk on the wine of Christ’s miracles.
In the process, “Jesus” became a household name; He was a hero. If there had been an election, he would have won by a landslide. And that was making the leadership in Jerusalem worried. That was upsetting Herod and the Romans. The tide was slowly turning against Christ, but still in Galilee, He was worshipped – but NOT as GOD. He was a rock star; He was sports hero; people were ready to crown Him the next King of Israel. And through it all, Jesus’ disciples – especially the twelve – were becoming physically exhausted handling all the details of the ministry and coping with Jesus’ popularity. But not only that, they were getting caught up in the hoopla, looking at their Master as something less than they should have. So Christ ordered everyone into one of the fishermen’s boats to sail east across the lake for a time of rest and recreation and also some theological restoration.
But other hanger’s on saw what Jesus and the disciples were doing, and they refused to let them escape. One told others, who told others, until there was a huge mob running along the shore, keeping their eyes on the boat and its iconic occupant. In fact, many of them anticipated where Jesus was headed, and they were on the shore when the disciples tied up their boat. “And Jesus, when he came out saw much people, and was moved with compassion toward them, because they were as sheep not having shepherd; and he began to teaching them many things.” The crowds were as sheep without a shepherd, so the Good Shepherd led them toward the green pastures and the still waters of Biblical truth.
Finally, as the sun was casting a beautiful sunset from across the sea, Christ Jesus took steps to feed them all. He prepared a table before them. “And they did eat, and were filled: and (the disciples) took up of the fragments that remained 12 baskets full.” I wonder if the disciples also ate at that time or if they ate later from the leftovers. And did Jesus eat along with the multitude? Or did He say, “I have meat to eat that ye know not of”?
That evening several thousand of people ate – their bellies were satisfied, even if there wasn’t any cake, ice cream and coffee to complete the meal. But it was ONLY their bellies that were full, NOT their hearts or even their minds. John records, for us, that the next day there was a sermon which flowed out of that uber-feast. Jesus will tell many of the same people, who by this time were looking for a nice lunch – “Ye seek me… because ye did eat of the loaves and were filled.” The feeding of the five thousand was physical and temporal; it was material and temporary. And to these people the Lord will say, “Labor not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you.” I will come back to this in my third point this morning.
The 5,000 hungry bellies were temporarily filled, and they wanted more of the same the next day.
With that I come to the feeding of the TWELVE.
During this period in His ministry the Lord Jesus had hundreds, if not thousands, of followers. Many of the people who chased Him around the northern edge of the lake might have called themselves “Jesus’ fans.” And many of them were willing to sign up to help Jesus and the twelve in their miracle-making ministry. Luke 10:1 – “After these things (including the feeding of the 5,000) the Lord appointed other seventy also, and sent them two and two before his face into every city and place whether he himself would come.” Many of these appointees were serving Christ with an eye toward the Millennial kingdom. I think that Judas Iscariot was one of them. They were looking toward the overthrow of the Romans. Many of them were looking at Jesus’ miracles and picturing wealth and prosperity for everyone. They were saying, “When the Messiah comes there will be a chicken in every pot.” And the twelve were not immune from this secular and political plague. The apostles had not yet graduated from their Bible school education.
So Jesus, like a military general, already knowing exactly what He intended to do with these 5,000 hungry men, asked the twelve what they would do to feed them all. The disciples offered two solutions. One idea was to dismiss everyone so they could procure supplies from the villages surrounding them. The other, even though it might be difficult, would be to send Judas into town to buy food for the crowd. Both suggestions were feasible and logical; they had been given some thought. “Philip answered him, Two hundred pennyworth of bread is not sufficient for them, that everyone of them may take a little.” Philip had counted the cost so-to-speak. And Andrew had apparently made a quick survey to find only one young boy with a small meal for himself. But Jesus asked the question to test them; “for he himself knew what he would do” – verse 6.
I believe in the absolute deity of Jesus Christ, even when in His human flesh. I believe that everything He did was with a planned, divine purpose. He wasn’t just bouncing around – caught up and responding to the circumstances. This miracle was not designed simply to feed the multitude – but to teach, test and ultimately to separate the sheep from the goats. The spiritual military general asked His adjutants what they would do, knowing what He was going to do. The question was asked because these future apostles needed to learn to think like the General. They needed to leave the idea of mere belly-filling and lift their eyes toward heavenly purposes. And they needed to be absolutely sure about who their Master really is.
This brings me to the simple question of WHY Jesus fed all these people. Since there was potential food in the surrounding villages, this appears to be a miracle without a purpose. But again, Christ Jesus never did anything without a reason. In this case, the simple answer might be that Jesus didn’t need a reason to display His divine power. He didn’t ask Himself: “Is this serious enough to demand a miracle?” The people were hungry, if not hangry; and Christ, being loving and compassionate, could be of help. He was a liberal, generous person – as is God, His Father. On the other hand, He could have done this for his own benefit – to magnify his image in everyone’s eyes.
There might be several explanations for this uber-feast. But I assure you, it was not simply to fill empty bellies. This was to be a symbolic miracle; a teaching and testing miracle. It was a separating miracle. The spiritual people were eventually going to look at this as a sign and proof of Christ’s deity. But the carnal were going to be hung up on the fact they ate miraculous food, and they hoped to do that again and again. And these two kinds of people would eventually be torn asunder.
So this dinner in the desert – Uber-delivered by the power of God – was not merely an act of mercy, it was an act of judgment. Jesus mercifully fed the hungry multitude in order to sift them and to separate true from spurious disciples. That sifting was far more important than the feeding itself. To allow so large a mixed multitude to follow Christ any longer would have encouraged false hopes and misunderstandings about Jesus’ true purpose. Christ Jesus has never needed or wanted a million followers whose only interest was their own bellies. And similarly, He has no need for “Christians” who are only interested in their entrance into Heaven. There was no better method of separating the wheat from the chaff than a miracle about bread, bringing to the surface the carnality of the majority of this large crowd. The next day, when back on the other side of the sea, Jesus would preach an extremely offensive sermon, using as His introduction this very tangible illustration.
And that brings us to the feeding of GOD’S ELECT.
Verse 24 tells us that on the following day, “when the people… saw that Jesus was not there, neither his disciples, they also took shipping and came to Capernaum, seeking for Jesus.” The ships they used were probably those which came up from Tiberias carrying people who had not yet been filled with bread and fish. “When they found (Jesus) on other side of the sea, they said unto him, Rabbi, when camest thou hither?” “Jesus answered them and said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Ye seek me, not because ye saw the miracles, but because ye did eat of the loaves, and were filled. Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of Man shall give unto you…” From there these belly-hungry people pointed to Israel’s manna in the wilderness, demanding that if Jesus wanted their allegiance He was going to have to duplicate Moses’ miracle so many centuries earlier. “Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Moses gave you not that bread from heaven; but my Father giveth you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is he which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world. Then said they unto him, Lord, evermore give us this bread. And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.”
Here is where the Saviour begins to feed those He intends to eternally save and bless. “For the bread of God is he which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world” – verse 33. “And this is the Father’s will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day. And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day.” At this, the sieve swept through the multitude of disciples and pulled out some of the useless husks. The Jews began murmuring “because he said, I am the bread which came down from heaven.” “Who does He think He is?” He is exactly who He is telling you – the Son of God, the Creator, the Messiah, the Saviour. “The Jews therefore strove among themselves, saying, How can this man give us his flesh to eat?”
“Then Jesus said unto them, Verily , verily I say unto you, except he eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink His blood, we have no life in you.” “This (pointing to Himself)… this is that bread with came down from heaven; not as your fathers did eat manna, and are dead; he that eateth of this bread shall live forever.” “Many therefore of his disciples, when they had hear this said, This is an hard saying; who can hear it? When Jesus knew in himself that his disciples murmured at it, he said unto them, Doth this offend you. What and if ye shall see the Son of man ascend up where he was before? It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life. But there are some of you that believe not. For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were that believed not, and who should betray him. And he said, Therefore said I unto you, that no man can come unto me, except it were given unto him of my Father.”
“From that time many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him.” “Then said Jesus unto the twelve, Will ye also go away? Then Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life. And we believe and are sure that thou art that Christ, the Son of the living God. Jesus answered them, Have not I chosen you twelve, and one of you is a devil? He spake of Judas Iscariot the son of Simon: for he it was that should betray him, being one of the twelve. After these things Jesus walked in Galilee: for he would not walk in Jewry, because the Jews sought to kill him.”
Children’s Sunday School classes have enjoyed the story of Jesus’ feeding the five thousand for centuries. It IS an important lesson which clearly points out the deity of the Lord Jesus Christ. As Nicodemus said, “no man can do these things which Christ doeth, except God be with him.” But the greater lesson was not the meal of bread and fish, but rather the meal of God’s sovereign salvation. The bread and fish were nothing but the sieve which scooped up the unbelievers out of the midst of Jesus’ disciples.
Conclusion:
The important question in all this is not whether we believe Christ can multiply our scanty resources. Without a doubt He can, but that was not the purpose for the incarnation of the Son of God. Physical prosperity is NOT a Christian doctrine, despite what some wealthy evangelists try to tell us. Christ Jesus became incarnate, walking among us and calling disciples unto himself, in order to save souls and feed them with the eternal bread of God.
If you seek Christ, thinking that He can deliver you from your addiction and restore you to your fractured family, you may find that He can do these things. And your belly might be full for a while – until you relapse or move on to another addiction. If you want the Jesus of the “name it and claim it” Christians; the Christ of the prosperity gospel, you may have your wish for the next fifty early years. But then what? If you want a Saviour only so He can take you to Heaven when you die, you are spiritually dead already.
Christ Jesus drove way those disciples with these low, earthly, and religious ideas. He wanted, and still wants, disciples who will love Him and follow Him from this day forward into death and eventually into glory. He wants people who will repent of their sins and live in humility before Him. The Lord is calling for you to believe Him and believe on Him, trusting Him and granting Him full allegiance. Christ doesn’t want your belly; He wants your heart.
Will you, this morning, put your faith in Him as your Lord and Saviour?