When he disembarked and saw the vast crowd,
his heart was moved with pity for them, and he cured their sick.
Jesus wanted his disciples to have the same compassion for the crowd that he had. He desires that we too have compassion for those around us, especially those who are troubled and abandoned and alone.
He said to them, “There is no need for them to go away;
give them some food yourselves.”
We admire the compassion of Jesus when he expresses it directly, curing the sick and casting out demons. But when the locus of action is shifted by him away from his direct intervention toward us assuming the active role we immediately encounter our own insufficiency.
But they said to him,
“Five loaves and two fish are all we have here.”
This is going to be our experience almost anytime we let Jesus lead us into the service of others. Ultimately, we do not have enough to satisfy them. Even the problems of a merely natural and physical nature are seemingly endless. How much less can our own words and insights sate the deep spiritual hunger in the world? But we must not give up.
Then he said, “Bring them here to me,”
Jesus did not simply feed the crowd himself. Rather, he desired that his disciples would be the ones to respond to their need, and that they would begin with what they had, however meager. He wanted them to know and understand that what seemed too limited from a purely rational point of view could be enough if and only if it was brought to him in faith.
They all ate and were satisfied,
and they picked up the fragments left over–
twelve wicker baskets full.
Relying on God does not necessarily mean sitting back and watching while he does everything for us. It does not necessarily mean he will hand us all of what we need in a given situation. Instead, he will often force us to face our own apparent inadequacy by making our efforts required but not sufficient. By this he draws from us faith that is greater than that of a spectator rooting for their favorite team. He is requiring of us a faith that touches us personally, that believes not only that with God all things are possible (see Matthew 19:26), but that we ourselves can do all things through Christ who strengthens us (see Philippians 4:13).
The fact that Jesus wants to involve us can worry us because we do not know how receptive the crowd will be. We may find ourselves in a situation like that of Moses were after the miraculous appearance of manna the crowd is still seemingly insatiable. At such times we may be tempted to despair, just as was Moses.
If this is the way you will deal with me,
then please do me the favor of killing me at once,
so that I need no longer face this distress.
Yet if God's will for us is to tend this particular crowd he will not leave us stranded. We may be waiting, with grumbling and hunger on one side and no immediate response from God on the other. We may think that we are not providing any value to the situation at precisely this moment and that things would be better off without us. Yet God does desire to work through our own human limitations for the sake of his people. He desires that we offer those very limitations to him in faith. When we do so we remove the barriers within us and allow God's own power to be unleashed.
While Israel I would feed with the best of wheat,
and with honey from the rock I would fill them.”
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