What Jesus did #10: he fed the hungry

Another of the spectacular events of Jesus’ life here on earth that got everyone talking was the feeding of the five thousand. It’s recorded in Matthew 14, Mark 6 and John 6. Then there’s also the lesser known feeding of the four thousand as recorded in Matthew 15 and Mark 8, where there are seven loaves, a few small fish and seven basketfuls of bread left over.

I grew up in a church tradition that concentrated purely on the spiritual. Our job as Christians here on earth was purely to save souls. We’d leave meeting the physical needs of those around us to other people. We had a ‘higher purpose’. All that mattered was people’s souls. I love these accounts of Jesus feeding vast crowds of people because they blow that thinking to pieces. Jesus cared about every part of every person, every need: body, mind and soul were all part of the whole.

So let’s remind ourselves of the story from John’s Gospel before we go any further. John’s account is the only one which mentioned the young boy bringing forward the food, but this is the story we’ll have been taught in Sunday School so let’s go with this one –

Some time after this, Jesus crossed to the far shore of the Sea of Galilee (that is, the Sea of Tiberias), and a great crowd of people followed him because they saw the signs he had performed by healing the sick. Then Jesus went up on a mountainside and sat down with his disciples. The Jewish Passover Festival was near.

When Jesus looked up and saw a great crowd coming toward him, he said to Philip, “Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat?” He asked this only to test him, for he already had in mind what he was going to do.

Philip answered him, “It would take more than half a year’s wages to buy enough bread for each one to have a bite!”

Another of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, spoke up, “Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far will they go among so many?”

Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.” There was plenty of grass in that place, and they sat down (about five thousand men were there). Jesus then took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed to those who were seated as much as they wanted. He did the same with the fish.

When they had all had enough to eat, he said to his disciples, “Gather the pieces that are left over. Let nothing be wasted.” So they gathered them and filled twelve baskets with the pieces of the five barley loaves left over by those who had eaten.

After the people saw the sign Jesus performed, they began to say, “Surely this is the Prophet who is to come into the world.” Jesus, knowing that they intended to come and make him king by force, withdrew again to a mountain by himself.  John 6:1-15

Doesn’t reading this account fill you with wonder? These well-known stories have become so familiar that the wonder of it all can get lost on us, can’t it? Take a moment to picture the scene. Imagine yourself there. Feel the hunger in your belly. Listen to your kids whining on for food. The mood in the crowd is changing. There’s that hangry thing going on. There’s nowhere nearby that can cater for that amount of people. You’ve all got carried away listening for far too long to this guy and now it’s a long way home on an empty stomach.

And Jesus sees the need. Jesus has compassion. He knows what it is to feel hungry (remember he went for forty days in the wilderness without food). He can’t bring himself to send them away with no food in their stomachs. He’s been addressing their spiritual needs but their physical needs are just as important.

Feeding people when they are hungry matters. It matters to Jesus and so it should matter to us.

But just think of the scale of it. Five thousand men. Women and children too. A huge crowd. On a practical level, it’s impossible. Philip gets caught up in the practical details. He can’t see beyond the impossibility of it all. Andrew brings the little that he can find – a boy with a few loaves and fish – but he still can’t begin to imagine what Jesus could do with so little in the light of so much need.

Bring the little you have and you’ll be amazed what Jesus can do with it.

Some people interpret this part of the story as demonstrating a generosity on the part of the individual. As this one young lad sets the example of sharing what he has, others are prompted to do the same. Some say this is undermining the miracle that Jesus performed. I don’t see it that way, because sharing what you have with so many when you and your family are hungry is a miracle in itself. It’s not an easy thing to do. I can’t imagine being willing to share in this situation myself. We’ve been taught to care for our own needs first before looking to meet the needs of anyone else, haven’t we? What’s mine is mine. I earned it. I deserve it. Each to their own. You look after yourself and I’ll look after myself. Sharing is super hard.

If there’s not enough to go around, then I’ll make sure I get what I need first.

But there is enough to go round, that’s the point. More than enough. There’s an abundance in God’s kingdom. We’ve looked at that before. Jesus takes the food offered and gives thanks for it. That’s an important point too.

Giving thanks for our food reminds us that all that we have comes from Him. Anything we offer up to share with others comes from the abundance of all that God has given us.

God will give us all that we need. He is the great provider. Jesus tells us not to worry about what to eat and what to wear. There’s an abundance on the earth. There’s enough to go round. He has provided. He teaches us to pray each day for our daily bread. Enough for that day, no more, no less. That’s where the problem is, you see. When some start taking more than they need and stockpiling the earth’s resources, that’s when others go hungry.

When some take more than they need (more than they could ever possibly use), that’s when there isn’t enough for everyone.

Jesus is concerned about waste. I love that. I have a real thing about waste. I have an issue with all you can eat buffets and carveries and all inclusive holidays. They encourage greed and they encourage waste. People take far more than they need because they can, because they’re entitled to it. And the amount that gets left and thrown away is obscene. That’s one of my bug bears, that’s for sure. I’m the Queen of the leftovers in our house! Everything gets used and re-used until it’s gone!

If Jesus concerned himself with what was left over, then so should we.

The world we live in now makes no sense to me. I cannot understand how some can have so much they don’t know what to do with it all while others are starving to death. Where’s the humanity in that? In that moment on that mountainside, however he did it, Jesus met the needs of all the people there. Everyone’s needs were treated as equal. Everyone ate until they were satisfied. That means that some will have got more bread and fish than others, because their need was greater. And that was fine. The portions weren’t fair as in everyone got the same. The portions were fair in that everyone got what they needed. No more, no less.

There’s a huge challenge in this story for us in our world today, isn’t there? A challenge and a reassurance, for Jesus has promised to meet our needs. We don’t have to worry about that. But we have a part to play in meeting the needs of others too.

We need to learn to share.