Pastor Scott Andrews | February 23, 2025
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Luke 9:12-17
Before us this morning is one of the most familiar stories in the Bible – the feeding of the five thousand. It’s a story we’ve heard since childhood in most Sunday schools we’ve ever attended. The task before us is to take this familiar story and learn what it teaches within its context.
Of Jesus three dozen miracles recorded in the gospels, this is the only one, besides the resurrection, told in all four gospels – it’s an important miracle. Understand as we begin, some suggest this is the highpoint miracle of the gospel of Luke. From this point, Jesus and the Twelve begin to make their way south, to Jerusalem, and what awaited Jesus there. Yes, there is much of Luke left – many great events and teaching that happen, but we are walking resolutely toward the cross.
Now, so unbelievable is this incredible miracle, it’s prompted some to explain it away. Some suggest the meal, large enough to feed 5,000 men alone, was funded by those wealthy women mentioned back in chapter 8. Of course, that’s not what the text says. Others say the real miracle is not taking five loaves and two fish and feeding a multitude. No, the real miracle is a little boy willing to share his poor lunch with the Savior, prompting the crowd to share what they had with everyone around them. Everyone was filled, twelve baskets of leftovers collected, and everyone went away satisfied with changed attitudes, feeling good about themselves and the lesson they had learned about sharing. If only Jesus had worn a cardigan sweater, Mr. Rogers would have been proud.
Others suggest Jesus and the disciples set this up – they’d secretly stored provisions in a nearby cave, and the Twelve acted as a bucket brigade, passing bread and fish to Jesus from behind – as He deceitfully fed the people. Again, no indication of such an outlandish explanation. Still others, not wanting to accept the magnitude of the miracle, have said Jesus actually presided over the first Lord’s Supper here – when He blessed the bread, broke it, and gave it to His disciples, it’s the same language as Mark’s account of the Lord’s Supper. So, that’s it: He broke the bread into small portions, much like we do, which were then given to everyone. This was just a token meal. To me, then, the incredible miracle is how everyone was stuffed with a communion wafer. Isn’t it that way for you? What do you want for lunch today, honey? Oh, nothing, we had communion today – I couldn’t eat another bite. Now, I’m not trying to dimmish communion – oh no – but it is a token of the feast of the Lamb to come. Not only that, when the twelve passed the empty baskets to collect the communion cups – it’s amazing how they collected twelve baskets of leftovers.
You understand, people want to explain this miracle away because it is so incredible and they don’t want to accept the supernatural – that is, the fact Jesus is the Son of God and God in the flesh and so could do this. It is true, the story before us is indeed a miracle which defies explanation. And possibly, we’re so familiar with it, it doesn’t amaze us like it should. But it was so incredible, of all the miracles, it was told in all the gospels. It was so incredible, art in the early church often contained five loaves and two fish. The early believers were amazed at how Jesus could feed so many with so little. In a culture where we can run to McDonald’s for a quick lunch, we’re not as amazed. But in a culture where one meal a day for most was the norm, where bread was the very staple of life, this was a magnificent event. It would be like taking a Happy Meal and feeding all of Boone. Not unlike manna in the wilderness for forty years. Let’s read the text, Luke 9:10-17.
It truly is an amazing story. Our outline will go like this:
- The Desire for Rest (10)
- The Display of Compassion (11)
- The Disbelief (or Disability) of the Disciples (12-13)
- The Demonstration of Power (14-17)
I’m simply going to tell the story and weave in details from the other gospels so we have a good understanding of what happened. But let’s make sure we understand why Luke included it here. What was his purpose? Everyone’s been asking the question, who is this Man, including Herod last week. So Luke is answering the question – and will continue to do so – who but God could do this? Well, let’s start by looking at the Desire for Rest in verse 10.
Jesus had sent out the Twelve, and they had returned from a prolonged period of ministry – we don’t know how long – weeks, months. They report to Jesus all they had done and taught. Back in verse 6, we learned they were preaching the gospel, healing people everywhere. We assume they were casting out demons since Jesus gave them authority and power to do so – plus, Mark says they did. So now, having returned, they needed rest. So, the plan was a little retreat to recuperate. Make sure you see that, even Jesus and the Twelve needed rest from ministry. You see, because of the crowds, He and His disciples were constantly ministering, constantly serving, so much, Mark tells us, they didn’t even have time to eat. It was time for a break. In His humanity, with all the teaching and healing and traveling, Jesus and the Twelve were exhausted.
That’s an important point – in order to serve effectively, in order to give, you’ve got to rest every once in a while. You’ve got to get away to receive, to be restored and retooled for the work. You can’t give what you don’t have. We find Jesus doing that over and over in the gospels – He would pour out, but there came a time when He needed rest – whether it’s sleep in the back of a boat, or a retreat to a desolate place.
So, Mark says they got into a boat and traveled across the northern end of the Sea of Galilee, Luke tells us, to Bethsaida. Bethsaida was located off the northeastern shore of the Sea – perhaps on the shore since the name means the house of fish, or perhaps a bit inland. Meaning, if they were around Capernaum when they left, it was just a few miles travel by boat, a few more by foot. Now, just outside Bethsaida, right by the sea, were large, grassy meadows – large enough to accommodate the crowds – it fits the account we read here.
All that brings us to the Display of Compassion in verse 11. We’re so used to seeing it, and it’s just a summary statement, we can miss it if we’re not reading carefully. As Jesus and His disciples approached the shore and to make their way to Bethsaida to find a secluded, deserted place to rest, they were met, again, by the ever-present crowds. You see, apparently, when Jesus and the Twelve got in the boat, either the crowds overheard where they were going, or they could tell by the direction of the boat. Either way, the crowds hightailed it around the north edge of the Sea to meet the boat when it arrived on the other side.
Now, Mark emphasizes this was a secluded place. Jesus said, let’s go to a secluded place. So, they went away to a secluded place. In fact, in verse 12 of our text, the disciples said, this is a desolate place. What’s the point? Don’t miss, God met the Israelites in the wilderness and provided for their needs miraculously, in a desolate place. Water from a rock. Manna from heaven. Now Jesus will do the same. Luke is continuing to answer the question, who is this man? He is the Son of God. In fact, in John’s account, he will make the connection explicit. Right after the picnic, they make their way back to Capernaum. The people follow – they wanted another meal. But Jesus tells them, what they really need is Him – He is the bread of life come down from heaven. They wanted more physical bread, Jesus came to give them eternal, spiritual bread.
Now again, Matthew notes the crowd followed Jesus on foot. Why would he say that – it’s not like they’d hop into a Jeep Cherokee and drive. What’s the point? They didn’t follow by boat; they didn’t follow by riding horses or chariots or donkeys or whatever other mode of transportation there was. Why? These were poor, needy people – the kind of people Jesus seemed to be drawing to Himself. We’ll find they don’t have food, and the food they do have was the lunch of a poor boy. John will tell us they were barley loaves, the food of the poor. And we find many of them need healing. This is a miserable lot of people, just the kind Jesus attracts.
You see, in Matthew and Mark, mildly referenced in Luke, we’re supposed to notice the difference between this feast, and the one before it. The one before was hosted by Herod Antipas – a drunken party of who’s who of Galilean aristocracy. This one was hosted by Jesus, attended by poor people. One host was a would-be imposter king, the other was the King of kings. Herod’s was at a magnificent palace, Jesus’ was on green pastures. Herod’s was filled with sensual dancing. Jesus’ was filled with teaching. Herod’s ended in death and grief, Jesus’ in healing and hope. What do you want in life – to be among the rich and the famous, magnificent palace, or to sit at the feet of Jesus?
Upon arriving by sea, when Jesus saw the crowds, He forgot all about His needs, the needs of the Twelve, and began to minister. Which is another good point – sometimes, even when we need rest, we sacrifice for the needs of others. He was trying to get away, but when He saw the crowds, something happened – Matthew and Mark tell us He felt compassion. And that compassion moved Him to action. You see, when Jesus saw people, He had an immediate reaction – compassion. It just happened – because He saw them for what they were, sheep without a shepherd. The only hope they had was the Shepherd. This should be our response to lost, hopeless, helpless people. Not annoyance, irritation, condemnation, but compassion moved to action, and a desire to introduce them to Jesus.
The word compassion comes from a Latin word, compassio, which means, to feel with. But the Greek word is splanchna, which refers to the intestines or the bowels. We’ve talked about this before. To have compassion on someone is to be moved in your bowels for them. Doesn’t sound nice – when I saw you, I had a movement. But if you think about it, it makes sense. For us, the seat of emotions is the heart – we say things like, “I love you with all my what? Heart,” or, “My heart ached for you.”
But for the Jew, the seat of emotions wasn’t the heart. The heart for them was the center of their being – their mind. “As a man thinks in his what? Heart – so is he.” The heart wasn’t the seat of emotions – the bowels, the stomach, the intestines, were. So, they’d say, I love you with all my colon. And, really, we understand that. Remember the first time you got up the nerve to call that special girl? You had butterflies in your heart? No – stomach. Sometimes you’ve been so nervous or upset that you’ve felt sick to your what? Heart? No – sick to your stomach. We speak of a gut reaction, a gut check.
It’s the same idea. To be moved to the very center of your emotions is to be moved in your bowels. Jesus looked at these people and it made Him sick to His stomach. It was a mingling of love and grief for their condition. What moved Him, what motivated Him to be around the broken people of society – the outcasts, the sinners, the lepers, the dying, the dead, the demon-possessed – was compassion – His love for them, and His gut-wrenching grief for their condition. So, these gospel accounts of this massive picnic tell us tell us Jesus did three things:
First, He began speaking to them about the kingdom of God. It’s important we understand, Jesus could heal all day long, but if they didn’t understand the truth of the kingdom – that they needed to repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand, then all they’d be is healthy sinners. I’ve said this before. In our caring for people, we’ve got to make sure we don’t just meet physical needs – we’ve got to meet spiritual needs. Meeting physical needs – giving them food and clothing, heaters and generators, dehumidifiers and shovels, green beans and canned soup – is a wonderful thing to do. But beyond that, we must share the claims of Christ.
I want you to understand what I’m saying. As a church, we’re doing all kinds of really good things. Disaster relief, benevolence care. Latino ministry, children’s ministry, youth ministry, life group ministries caring for neighbors. We’re doing, not random acts of kindness, but deliberate acts of kindness for people in great need. Why? To demonstrate the love of Christ, providing physical care in tangible ways that will support the truth of the gospel.
Listen, people will not go to heaven because they’ve had their houses cleaned out or rebuilt, or because they’ve had electricity restored or clean water, or warm clothes or good food. No – we must go beyond that. In doing so, we’re doing the same thing Jesus did. We’re doing acts of kindness, so that when they say, do you know what your crazy church did for me? Why are you guys here? What are all these orange shirts? We can say, yeah, we know why. Let me tell you about the love of Jesus for you. Jesus cared for all their needs and told them about the kingdom.
Which leads to the second thing, Jesus healed them. Let that sink in, He healed them, again. He was exhausted. He traveled to this remote area to get some rest. And when He got there, the crowds were already there. Sick, lame, deaf, blind, lepers, pressing in. And He healed them.
Do you ever get tired of ministry? I do. There are times I need a break. I mean, don’t get me wrong, ministry would be great, if it wasn’t for the people. That’s what ministry is – it’s meeting the constant demands of people. It is what I’m passionate about, but, I get tired. Jesus got tired. I have a feeling if it was me getting off the boat that day, I would have said something like, “What’s wrong with you people? Can’t you see I’m on vacation? Can’t you see I need a break? Can’t you give me a little space?”
You ever get tired of serving? Jesus did – but He never seemed to lose compassion. And His compassion led Him to minister to people in need. Paul said it this way – “For it is for this we labor and strive, because we have fixed our hope on the living God.” The word strive is agonizomai – from which we get our word agony. The idea is, we work to the point of exhaustion, agony, for the sake of the gospel. That’s what Jesus did. That’s what Paul did. That’s what we do.
Not only did He teach them, not only did He heal them, but thirdly, He fed them. He met their physical needs, which brings us to this incredible miracle. But we need to start with the Disbelief or Disability of the Disciples.
You have to get a picture of what’s happening. As the disciples got off the boat, there was an enormous crowd already there. And so, Jesus began teaching, healing. At some point late in the day, the disciples came to Jesus and said, enough is enough. This place is desolate, and it’s getting late. John adds Jesus looked over the crowd, and said to Philip, “Where are we gonna buy bread so all these people can eat?” He asked Philip for two reasons. First, Philip was from around there – he would have known where the closest Publix was.
Second, John says, Jesus wanted to test Philip, and frankly the rest of the disciples. You see, Philip was the analyzer – he was the one who had everything figured out – he was the one who could tell you whether ministry could be done or not. He was the guy who ran around, abacus in hand, telling you whether this or that ministry fit into the budget – still lots of Philips in the church today.
Philip surveyed the crowd, did a quick calculation, and said, not gonna happen. Based on my calculations it would take more than two hundred denarii, that is, two hundred day’s wages to feed this many people. No way. So, the disciples press Jesus further, look, it’s getting late. The place is deserted, Philip says there are no grocery stores around here. Send them away so they can go buy themselves something to eat and find a place to sleep. Do you see that? The crowd had a need, and the disciples’ response was get rid of them, send them away, the need is too great. We can’t do it.
This time, Jesus looks them squarely in the eye, with steel in His own eyes and firmness in His voice, and said, “You give them something to eat.” You is in the emphatic – You do it. And they responded, you heard Philip – do you want us to spend 200 denarii to feed them? And Jesus shakes His head and says, you still don’t get it. This was a test, and you failed miserably. You just spent weeks, months with My power and authority – what happened to that?
Remember, they’d been with Jesus for a while now. They’d seen Him heal everybody who needed healing, even that very day. They’d seen Him raise the dead, calm storms, turn water into wine. To pass the test, they were supposed to say, “This is gonna be good – we don’t know what you’re gonna do Jesus, but you’ve never let us down before – what do you want us to do?”
Instead, they said, get rid of ‘em, there’s nothing we, or You, can do. Do you understand? It’d be like standing in front of Niagara Falls and saying, “Anybody around here know where I can get a drink of water?” They were standing in front of God, who had proven His power over and over, and when faced with a problem, they looked, not to Him, but to their own resources and said, we’re in trouble. We don’t have enough money, we don’t have enough food – this is a serious problem.
Have you ever done that? God has proven Himself to you over and over. You’ve seen Him prove His power to you. You’re facing a problem – and you begin to exhaust all your puny resources. And once you’ve done a quick inventory – five loaves, two fish – I’m in trouble. And God’s still there, with all the power of the universe, wanting you to turn to Him and say – I can’t, will you? I can’t wait to see what you’re going to do this time, God.
But they said, Jesus, we only have five loaves and two fish; it’s all we’ve got. Again, the five loaves were barley loaves. Barley was the poor man’s grain – coarse bread. And when you think of loaves, you need to think of pita size pieces of bread, enough for a boy’s lunch – that’s where John says they got it – from a lad. Not only that, he had two fish. Fish back then were commonly pickled and spread on bread like relish. Yum, like anchovies on pizza.
Anyway, when they said, “We’ve only got five loaves and two fish,” what did Jesus say? That’ll do. I’ll take your little and turn into much. Have the people sit down in groups of fifty. Think about that – if there were 5,000 men, with women and children, most suggest there could have been 20,000 people there. Or 400 groups of fifty. This was a massive crowd. So, we read the disciples did so. They go through this huge crowd and say, recline in groups – leave some aisles so we can serve you. “What’s on the menu?” We have no idea.
Mark tells us they were commanded to sit on green grass. Jesus had compassion, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. He, the Great Shepherd, had them lie down in green pastures.
And that’s when the fun stuff starts – point four, The Demonstration of Power. Jesus took five loaves and two fish. He looked to heaven and blessed the food. A common prayer before eating was, “Blessed are you, O Lord our God, King of the Universe, who brings forth bread from the earth.” But please notice – Jesus thanked God for the food before there was any food. It was outrageous. The people had to be looking around thinking, is He crazy? And with that, He broke bread and gave it to His disciples along with the fish, who began giving it to the crowds. And they ate, and they ate, and they ate, till they were satisfied. The word speaks of animals feeding at the trough until they were full – this was a Golden Chorale buffet, only better – they ate till they could eat no more.
And I just want to speculate a bit here. You have to go with me on this. When Jesus turned the water into wine, it was good wine – the best wine. When He created this bread –you have to understand, it wasn’t there, then it was – He created it – this was good bread – much better than barley loaves – these were Stick Boy dinner rolls. The fish was smoked salmon. Since Jesus created it, I’m suggesting this was the best dinner they ever tasted.
How did He do it? I have no idea. He just broke the bread, and every time He broke it, there was more there – and He kept giving it to the disciples, and they kept serving it. They didn’t run out till everyone was served and satisfied. When they collected the leftovers, there were twelve baskets full. The word speaks of large baskets. Again, Luke tell us there were 5,000 men alone, besides women and children. Conservative estimates place the crowd at 15,000-20,000 people. This was an incredible miracle.
You do understand, Jesus created something that wasn’t there. He took five loaves and two fish and fed a multitude, collected 12 baskets of leftovers. It’s one of the reasons people have such a problem with this miracle and try to explain it away. You can’t just create something out of nothing, can you? You see, we, as followers of Jesus, know the Scripture says Jesus is the creator – at least the agent of creation. Without Him was not anything made that was made. All things were created by Him and for Him. He created the universe by His mere spoken word – let there be, and there was. Feeding 20,000 hungry people was really no big deal.
So, why is it here? What does it teach us? Jesus took the little they had– remember, it was a test – and performed an unbelievable miracle. He knew there wasn’t a Publix close by. He took the little they had, blessed it, broke it, and multiplied it. And I believe He does the same thing in our lives. We are to look to Him instead of our own puny resources to make it through the demands and challenges of life. He will provide. We must learn to be content whatever the circumstances.
And notice something else: He wants us to serve – He wants you to give away what you’ve got and trust Him for what you need. Notice how many baskets they took up? Twelve. Why? Because there were twelve disciples and they were hungry, too. They had rowed all night, worked all day. They had just served 20,000 people dinner – that’s a serious banquet. Five loaves, two fish – they knew what they started with. Jesus just kept breaking it, multiplying it, and giving it to them to what? Give away. They had given it all away. Then, the leftovers were collected. You give it away – you serve – and let me take care of you. There’s more than enough where that came from to meet your needs. Don’t worry about whether you’ll have enough to take care of yourself. I will take care of you. Birds of the air, lilies of the field remind you of anything?
Let me ask one final question before we close. Why is this here? Yes, it’s a great miracle, and recorded in all four gospels, but why does Luke record it here? Remember his main point – he wants to prove Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, all that we’ve heard about Him is true, so we can continue to trust Him. This is supposed to be a faith-building story. You see, the previous story began with people asking, who is this Jesus? Some thought He was John the Baptist, others thought He was Elijah, or one of the prophets. Luke says – He’s much greater than that. He is the Son of God. Trust Him.