The feeding of the five thousand

By this time it was late in the day, so his disciples came to him. 'This is a remote place,' they said, 'and it's already very late. Send the people away so that they can go to the surrounding countryside and villages and buy themselves something to eat.'

But he answered, 'You give them something to eat.'

They said to him, 'That would take eight months of a man's wages! Are we to go and spend that much on bread and give it to them to eat?'

'How many loaves do you have?' he asked. 'Go and see.'

When they found out, they said, 'Five—and two fish.'

Then Jesus directed them to have all the people sit down in groups on the green grass. So they sat down in groups of hundreds and fifties. 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 his disciples to set before the people. He also divided the two fish among them all. They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces of bread and fish. The number of the men who had eaten was five thousand. (Mark 6:35–44)

The need for miracles

There are thirty-six miracles of our Lord described in detail in the Gospels and many more that are mentioned only briefly (e.g. Mark 6:54–56). However that is a fraction of the total he performed during his three years of public ministry. John said that if all the things he did had been written down, then perhaps the whole world would not contain the books that would be written (John 21:25). Those 'things' included the performing of miracles as well as preaching and teaching. Jesus did far more miracles than have been recorded for us (John 20:30).

But why should any of his miracles be recorded at all? The prime reason is so that we may believe that Jesus is the Christ and, by believing that fact, we may have life in his name (John 20:31). Jesus said: 'Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the miracles themselves (John 14:11).'

The Church can underestimate the power that miracles have in bringing people to Christ. When Jesus told Peter to let down his nets for a catch and he caught so many fish that his boat began to sink, he fell at our Lord's feet and said: 'Go away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man (Luke 5:4–9).' Miracles have the power to convict people of sin when mere words (even the words of Jesus) fail.

When a royal official asked Jesus to heal his son, he said: 'Unless you people see miraculous signs and wonders you will never believe.' Jesus healed his son and only then did the man and his household put their faith in him (John 4:46–53).

The early Church went out and preached everywhere and the Lord worked with them and confirmed his word by the signs that accompanied it (Mark 16:20). Has man changed since then? Is the preaching of the gospel all that is needed now? No. We need miracles to be done today, as much as in the early Church, if we're to bring in the whole of the harvest for God.

A wedding at Cana

Only a sample of the miracles Jesus performed have been included in the Gospels, but each one teaches us spiritual truths. The first miracle he performed took place at Cana in Galilee (John 2:1–11). Even though it's not recorded in Mark's Gospel, I think we should look at it.

Jesus and his disciples had been invited to a wedding feast and, during the proceedings, the wine ran out. Mary mentioned it to Jesus, who told her not to involve him because his time had not yet come (the appointed time for him to perform miracles had not arrived). Nevertheless she told the servants to do whatever he told them—which is wise advice for anyone, isn't it?

Jesus told them to fill six stone jars with water and then to draw some out and take it to the master of the banquet. When the master of the banquet tasted the water that had been turned into wine, he said that the best had been saved till last.

What can we learn from this? The Holy Spirit is showing us, as in the case of the Canaanite woman (Matthew 15:21–28), that God will do things for us (even miraculously) that are outside of his will. It wasn't God's will that Jesus performed a miracle at that time, but he did so to save the situation.

We don't know why this problem arose—whether it was because of a lack of finances or an oversight on someone's part—but to run out of wine at a Jewish wedding feast would have been a source of great embarrassment to the bridegroom, whose responsibility it was to provide the wine (John 2:10). If you find yourself in trouble, even if you know it's your own fault, never hesitate to ask the Lord to get you out of it: our Lord is very gracious and compassionate. However, that is not the main teaching that comes from this miracle.

In the Bible wine is used to symbolize not only the blood of Christ, but also the Holy Spirit. Jesus said: 'You pour new wine into new wineskins (Mark 2:22),' meaning: the new wine of his Spirit that he was about to pour out at Pentecost would be put into the new flexible structure of his Church, rather than into the old inflexible structure of Judaism.

Jesus said: 'Fill the jars with water'; so they filled them to the brim. The Bible says that there were six stone jars each holding between twenty and thirty gallons. If each jar held twenty-five gallons, that would be 680 litres of wine, or 900 standard 75cl bottles.

What wedding could get through 900 bottles of wine? What is this teaching us? The fact that Jesus provided wine for a wedding is significant. Jesus, the Bridegroom, will provide an abundance of wine (the Holy Spirit) for his Bride, the Church, to prepare her for their union in heaven (Revelation 19:6–9). The supply will never run out and it will be better than anything we've ever tasted before. And isn't that true? Isn't being filled with the Spirit of God the greatest thing we can experience on earth? Of all the blessings God has afforded to man, he's saved the best till now.

Verse 11 tells us that this was the first miracle that Jesus performed and it teaches us the most fundamental of truths. Where would the Church be without the Holy Spirit? It wouldn't even exist. The Church is totally dependent upon the Spirit of God.

Isaiah 55:1 says:

Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost.

Milk, in the New Testament, is used to symbolize the Word of God i.e. spiritual truth (Hebrews 5:12). We're told to crave the pure spiritual milk of the Word so that by it we may grow up in our salvation (1 Peter 2:2).

We cannot buy spiritual truth with worldly wealth. We've told to crave it (to hunger for it) and it will be given to us. Similarly, we cannot buy the Holy Spirit with money, nor is he given to us on merit. The Holy Spirit is given to those who thirst for him; that is the only requirement. Thirst and you'll receive.

Lordship

Of the thirty-six miracles of Jesus recorded in the Gospels, only one of them is found in all four of the Gospels: the feeding of the five thousand. If that miracle is found in all four Gospels then, arguably, it's the most important miracle Jesus performed. So what does it teach us?

Is it there to show that Jesus can miraculously provide food for us when we're in need? Yes, it does teach that, but that's not the main teaching. The key to its understanding is found in verse 37: Jesus said to his disciples: 'You give them something to eat.' Jesus was going to use what his disciples gave him to perform his will on earth.

Our Lord didn't have to do that. He could have turned the stones into bread to feed them or commanded manna to come down from heaven, but he chose not to. He asked: 'How many loaves do you have? Go and see (v38).' The disciples didn't have anything of their own, they shared a common purse, but they found a boy who had five loaves and two fish and they gave them to Jesus (John 6:8–9).

The fact that the disciples didn't give anything of their own to the Lord doesn't affect the principle that is being taught here: God can only use the parts of our lives that we yield to him. He could do everything he wants to do without involving us, but he chooses not to. He limits himself to working through us, and he can only work through the areas of our lives we give him authority over.

This miracle involved finances. Jesus had compassion on the people and wanted to feed them, but that would cost money. His disciples said: 'It would take eight months of a man's wages to feed these people. Do you want us to spend that much on them?' Jesus said: 'Leave it to me, just give me what you have.'

Have you given all of your finances to God, or are there areas you've retained control of? If we don't give everything we have to the Lord, he can't use us as he wants to. He won't take things from us, we've got to give them to him. It's called 'lordship'. Have you made Jesus Christ Lord of your life? Have you given everything that you are and have to him? Have you put your life totally at his disposal, or are there areas you've kept back for yourself?

The disciples gave the Lord the little they had. He multiplied it miraculously and, a short while later, they picked up twelve basketfuls that were left over. Not only were the people blessed, but the disciples were blessed also.

Brokenness

Jesus took the loaves and broke them. He also took the fish and broke them (Luke 9:16). He didn't have to do that: he could have multiplied them out without breaking them, but sometimes things need to be broken before they can be used by God.

David wrote:

You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise. (Psalm 51:16–17)

What does God desire from us? A broken spirit (the breaking of our self-life), and a broken and contrite heart (genuine sorrow in our hearts for our sin).

You don't have to shed tears in order to be saved, but I did. I also had the privilege of sitting next to my father when he was saved. As the gospel was preached, he leaned forward, put his head in his hands and a pool of tears appeared on the floor by his feet.

The gospel is very simple. Jesus summed it up in six words: 'Repent and believe the good news! (Mark 1:15).' The basic meaning of the word 'repent' is to think differently about, i.e. to feel remorse (a deep regret) for one's sin. That doesn't have to result in tears, but it can do.

Paul wrote:

Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death. (2 Corinthians 7:10)

The sorrow for our sins that comes upon us when God moves in our heart will bring us to salvation, but worldly sorrow cannot save us.

Jesus said:

The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone. Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken to pieces, but he on whom it falls will be crushed. (Luke 20:17–18)

Jesus is the capstone (the top or finishing stone) and the chief cornerstone (foundation stone) of the Church (Ephesians 2:20). He said that everyone who falls on him (everyone who comes to him for forgiveness and mercy) will be broken to pieces (implying that brokenness—genuine sorrow for our sins and the surrendering of ourselves to God—is necessary for salvation), but he on whom he falls will be crushed.

It is better for man to come to Christ in brokenness now, than to have him come upon them later in judgement (Hebrews 9:27).

Michael Graham
November 2008

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