Lessons To Learn From Jesus Feeding 5000 People
KEY SCRIPTURES: Matthew 14:13-21; Mark 6:30-44; Luke 9:10-17; John 6:1-15, Mark 10:27
Mark 10:27 “And Jesus looking upon them says, With men it is impossible, but not with God: for with God all things are possible.”
INTRODUCTION
The story of Jesus feeding the 5000 people was recorded in four gospels though with some slight changes in the recordings. It was a noticeable and miraculous event because Jesus fed the people with a few loaves of bread and fishes coupled with the reminder of twelves baskets after the people were filled. In the story, while Jesus was going about his ministry, he heard the bad news about John the Baptist that he had been beheaded by Herod, the king. After then, Jesus’ disciples also returned from the missionary journey he sent them initially and they gave a report of all the things that happened on their way. Jesus took them with him in a boat on the Sea of Galilee to a remote place for rest and prayers.
The people saw them leaving and advanced toward them because they recognized Jesus. Jesus saw the great multitude and began to heal the sick people in their midst. He taught them the word of God and when it was getting dark, the disciples suggested that the people should be sent away to neighboring villages to get food to eat because they were in a desert area. Jesus didn’t want them to go away in physical hunger and asked the disciples the worth of food to feed them, though they doubted the worth of food to feed the people. One of the disciples told Jesus about a boy with five loaves of bread and two fishes but the food wasn’t sufficient to feed the people. Jesus took the food, told them to instruct the people to sit down in fifty and afterwards, He blessed the food and gave it to the disciples to feed the people. Everyone ate to their satisfaction and Jesus told the disciples to gather the reminding food and that nothing must be lost. The disciples gathered twelve baskets full of food. Jesus was able to feed 5000 men exclusive of women and children with five barley loaves of bread and two fishes which testified to the fact that Jesus is the source of life for all. The disciples were focusing on the problem of how to feed so many rather than focusing on God, the great provider. When we are confronted with an unsolvable situation, as Christians, we should remember that nothing is impossible with God. This article will be highlighting lessons to learn from Jesus feeding 5,000 people.
- JESUS IS WILLING TO FILL BOTH OUR PHYSICAL AND SPIRITUAL HUNGER: John 6:35
From the story, we saw that when Jesus saw the multitude, He initially build their faith by showing them the healing power of God, taught them about the saving power of God which enables them to know God spiritually and after He had fed them with spiritual food, he knew they also needed the physical food to complete the work God started in them. Jesus is always willing to fill us to both physical and spiritual food as Christians when we come to him. He has promised us rest when we surrender all to Him. Only Jesus can satisfy us in all aspects of life so as Christians, we should endeavor to seek Him just as the people did and they were filled spiritually and physically.
2. JESUS IS CALLING US TO MINISTER TO OTHERS: 1 Peter 4:10
Jesus could have feed the people by Himself without the need of calling the disciples but He called the disciples to ask them the worth of food and also gave the food to them to share after blessing it, which implies that we have been called as believers to share the good news of salvation to others, to minister to others in other to populate the kingdom of God. Jesus used the simple meal of the boy to make a great impact in the lives of the people. We are called to serve and not to be served. As believers, when we experience the fullness and goodness of God in our lives, we are meant to share them to others so that they also can taste that it is good to serve God. Jesus came to the world to die so that human beings can be saved from condemnation, and it is our duty as believers to share the great gospel to people so that more souls will be won into the kingdom of God. When God asks us to be a blessing to others, we must have faith and do it because just that simple amount or act can have a huge impact on so many lives. Nothing is too small for God to use because he will always show Himself strong through our weakness.
3. GOD CAN DO MORE WITH LESS
Humanly speaking, it is impossible to feed such a multitude with five loaves of bread and two fishes but with God, nothing is impossible. God can do more with less only if we allow Him to. All God wants from us as believers is total dependency on Him to do the supernatural, we shouldn’t look at the circumstances or situations around us, but we should solely depend on God that all things are possible through Him. His power is immeasurable if as believers, we are willing to trust and obey Him completely. As Christians, no matter how small or insignificant you may feel in this world, God wants to do big things through you if you will let Him lead you. No matter the little God provides us with, we should always be thankful and grateful for all we have.
4. JESUS IS THE ULTIMATE: Colossians 1:17
There is nothing too difficult for Jesus to do and from the story, he surpassed all expectations. He provided the needs of the people and exceeded it too. We learnt through this that in him, we have peace because he is full of greatness and when he does things, he does it to perfection without any form of regret. He is a dependable master that will never leave you or forsake you when you seek him wholeheartedly. God is larger than everything, especially any obstacles we could be facing. We are reassured of Jesus’ love for us through the story of him feeding 5000 people.
CONCLUSION
Jesus showed us as believers in the story of Him feeding the 5000 people that we should be willing to always show compassion to people no matter the situation at hand, we should learn to depend on God for all things pertaining to life and godliness, we should be thankful always whether we have in little or abundance and we should not be wasteful. We should always remember that God is the only one that has the final say in all things and we should always endeavor to trust in His sovereignty.