The account of Jesus feeding 5000 men, not including women and children, is often categorized as just a story. It is often treated as did the little boy who was asked what his favorite Bile story was. "O I don’t know," he replied. "I guess it's the one about the crowd that loafs and fishes."

Perhaps the reason this account is relegated to the status of story is due to it’s familiarity. This is one of the best known events in the life of Jesus and his disciples. A crowd had followed Jesus out into a remote area where Jesus had wanted to spend some time alone, away from those very crowds. Evening was fast approaching, and the disciples were becoming concerned about supper. They came to Jesus with their concern, advising Jesus to send the crowds away to nearby villages where they might buy food. Now if this were only a story, I think it would have read something like this.

The disciples were becoming quite concerned. It was getting very close to supper time, and they were getting hungry. "O, Jesus, isn't it time to begin thinking about supper? Don’t you think you should send these people away, so that we can go to the village and seek out a comfortable restaurant?" Jesus looked at them, and with a twinkle in his eye he said, "O I don't think we need to send these people away, do we? Why don't you give them something to eat." The disciples, with looks of surprise on their faces began to reply in turn, "What? You’re kidding right? How in the world are we going to feed all those people? That’s just not possible. Quit joking with us, and let’s go eat."

But Jesus is insistent. "Now wait just a minute here. I'm serious. You give those people something eat. I’m not kidding at all!"

"But how! We only have five little barley buns, and two little perches. That’s barely enough for just one of us, let alone that hungry mob out there. Come on. The restaurant closes in an hour. If we’re going to get something to eat, we had better hurry. Let those people fend for themselves. You didn’t ask them to come. As a matter of fact, they invaded your space, your solitude." And then of course, Jesus somehow magically turns the five loaves and two fish into enough to eat for all.

Looking at the account as recorded for us in Scripture we soon discover that this is far more than a neat little bible story. This is a significant account that tells us much about all those involved. We learn about the crowd, the disciples and of course the main character, Jesus.

First there is the crowd. We see that Jesus had decided to go to a remote place to be by himself. But it didn't last long. As soon as the people heard where he was, they gathered around him. Does that mean this crowd was insensitive? No, not at all. It only means that these people were in need. They had found someone who really cared about them, and they were not about to pass up the opportunity to have this care just showered upon them. There were so many sick ro be healed. They just loved to hear Jesus preach, because he always addressed their inner most needs. He not only had words to live by, he had the words of eternal life.

Secondly, the disciples. All four Gospels recall the account of how all these people were fed. Although all of them are slightly different, the gist of the story remains the same. According to Matthew it would seem that the disciples were not with Jesus until evening. They might have been surprised to see all those people with Jesus when they arrived. No doubt, all this time they had thought Jesus had been alone. I believe we assume that they probably had an idea of what had taken place that day. They had seen Jesus work before. So I can sense a great deal of concern for Jesus here from them. It was getting late, and Jesus must be extremely tired by now. As a matter of fact, he was tired already before these crowds had shown up. So these friends of Jesus try to encourage him to think of himself for a change, and send the crowds away. "Send the people away, and let them go to the villages to buy food for themselves" (vs 15).

The disciples thought the people should go to find food for themselves, but Jesus has a different idea. "They don't have to leave," he says. You yourselves give them something to eat" (vs 16). Here we can easily imagine their surprise. Notice that Jesus didn't say, "we can supply them with food." He said, "you supply them. You do it." Why would he say that. I believe Jesus knew exactly what he was going to do. Of course the disciples had no idea. And that was the problem. They had no idea. “All we have is five loaves and two fish” (vs 17). "Surely you don’t expect us to share that among all these people." That's a legitimate response, don’t you think? Certainly. That only makes sense. But that is not issue here. Jesus is not asking them to doing anything so absurd as that. The issue here is that these disciples by then should have known that when Jesus asks them to do something, he will also provide the means by which to do it. The prospect of feeding all those people no doubt looked mountainous to those twelve. "You feed them." "What? That's impossible. How can we do that. We don't have the resources. We don't have the ability. We don't have the talent." Do you see what the bottom line is here? They might as well have said, "We don’t have the faith." That was the problem. It was a lack of faith. These twelve by now, after nearly three years of working with, watching, and learning, should have known that when Jesus asks them to do something, it is going to be done. Before we are too hard on the disciples, we should immediately take a look at ourselves. Do we have this clear in our minds? Is our faith strong enough?

Then we see Jesus as he really is. "You feed them," he said. "Don't send them away. I will provide the means." Don't you just feel the compassion? "His heart was filled with pity for them," it says in verse 14. He was concerned for those people. But not just those. All through the Gospels we hear about his concern. There is really nothing new in that, and there still isn’t. He knows about the heartaches, the headaches, that go with being human. He knows about our fears, our pains and the concerns as well. Don't forget, he once lived with all the concerns that you and I might have. So he says, "Come unto me all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest."

I read about a school in England that has a course in compassion. Over the course of a term every student has one blind day, one lame day, one day when he may not speak, and one deaf day. The night before he is to spend his "blind" day, his eyes are bandaged, and he awakens blind and helpless. He is completely dependent on others to guide him through the day. The students do not need to ask "What does it feel like to be blind. . . what does it feel like to be deaf, or lame, or unable to speak?" They know. They have been there. They have experienced it for themselves.

So it is that Jesus knows what it is to be human. He has compassion because he has been where we are--doubted, denied, betrayed and broken in body. So when we hurt, he understands; for he has been hurt too. (King Duncan)

As the account goes, Jesus takes the available loaves and fish, and multiplies them until all have eaten. Indeed there are even leftovers. Many have tried to explain how this multiplication might have taken place. There is no reason to doubt the account of Scripture as it is written. Any other explanation would miss the point anyway. What happened there so many years ago is still proof today that Jesus can and will supply all our needs. Our needs may be spiritual, physical, emotional, whatever. Christ is sufficient. That is one element of faith that gives it so much joy. Christ cares, but more than that he is able to help. What good is compassion without capability.

There is still another group of people who play a major role in this biblical account, and that is us; all of us. We learn about ourselves in this story. What do we learn? Let's go back to Jesus words, "You feed them." You see, the disciples did feed those people. Jesus wasn’t kidding. He multiplied those loaves and fish, and they distributed them to all those hungry people. Jesus used the available resource to show people that he cared. He had something to work with, and he used it to promote and further his kingdom. We too have a part in the multiplication of those loves and fish. We too have resources he can, and will use, if we but let him. Allow me to illustrate my point.

A little boy once called at a gentleman's home and offered to sell some pictures for ten cents each. "What are you going to do with the money?" he was asked. "I'm raising a million dollars for earthquake relief," he answered. "A million dollars!" the gentleman laughed. "Do you expect to raise it all by yourself?" "No," he replied, "my brother is helping me."

We can appreciate this boy's spirit, even if we do have questions about his arithmetic. But who knows, God may multiply those few coins of his. Maybe someone that he approaches will be so impressed by his unselfish spirit that he will give a gift large enough to make a real difference. That's the way God most often works in this world.

What about you? Are there some fishes and loaves that you have that God could use in a miraculous way? Before you answer, think about what you have for a moment. It might be some material possession. It might be some talent. But is there something that you have--however small--that God might use to meet someone else's need? (King Duncan)

Jesus took those five loaves and two fish, and after giving thanks to God for them, he, "broke the loaves and gave them to his disciples, and the disciples gave them to the people" (vs. 19). The disciples didn't believe they could, they didn’t know how, yet in the end, they did indeed themselves feed the five thousand plus people. And "everyone ate and had enough" (vs 20).

Some one once described his mother as being love personified. As a boy he found her sitting at the table with an old homeless man one day. Apparently she had gone shopping, met the tramp along the way, and invited him home for a warm meal. During the conversation the old man said, "I wish there were more people like you in the world." Whereupon his mother replied, "Oh, there are. But you must look for them." The old man simply shook his head, saying. "But, lady, I didn't need to look for you. You looked for me." When that mother reflected her Christian kindness toward the man she did something more than simply offer him welfare. It was a compassion that went out of its way to love the unlovely. And that's the story of our Savior's life, death and resurrection. He came looking for us in the sick, the maimed, the lame, the bruised, the broken hearted, the wretched wanderer, the poor and forgotten, the prisoner, and the lonely rich. He is still looking today, for he want to supply all, and everyone's innermost needs. Whenever we have found even one such person, we may hear him say, "You do it, in my name."