The Feeder
Matthew 14:13-21; 15:29-39
"Jesus... was led by the Spirit in the desert, where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing during those days, and at the end of them he was hungry."
(Luke 4:2)
Some billion people in our world suffer from hunger, and many die every single day. This is true in several countries, even in some that are not considered third-world. In Israel today where we have more than 700,000 children living under the poverty level, there are many ministries and other non-profit organizations that provide soup kitchens for the needy.
Food is one of the basic needs of our lives. It sustains and provides for our bodily needs. As fully God and fully Man, Jesus knew hunger. When He was in the wilderness for forty days, He did not eat anything, and Luke tells us that He was hungry. As a result, He could sympathize with those that were hungry. When he saw the crowd who had come from far places and had been listening to Him for hours, He fed them.
The physical feeding was to be a picture of how He would fill our hungering souls. The longing we have to be loved and rescued is met in Jesus, our Bread of Life. He cares about all our needs, physical ones and spiritual ones alike.
INSIGHT
If He cares about our most basic needs, then how much more will He care for our other needs?
READ THROUGH THE BIBLE IN A YEAR
Isaiah 18-19
Psalm 80
John 21
Matthew 14:13-21; 15:29-39
Jesus Feeds the Five Thousand
13 When Jesus heard what had happened, he withdrew by boat privately to a solitary place. Hearing of this, the crowds followed him on foot from the towns. 14 When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them and healed their sick.
15 As evening approached, the disciples came to him and said, "This is a remote place, and it’s already getting late. Send the crowds away, so they can go to the villages and buy themselves some food."
16 Jesus replied, "They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat."
17 "We have here only five loaves of bread and two fish," they answered.
18 "Bring them here to me," he said. 19 And he directed the people to sit down on the grass. 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 the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the people. 20 They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over. 21 The number of those who ate was about five thousand men, besides women and children.
Jesus Feeds the Four Thousand
29 Jesus left there and went along the Sea of Galilee. Then he went up on a mountainside and sat down. 30 Great crowds came to him, bringing the lame, the blind, the crippled, the mute and many others, and laid them at his feet; and he healed them. 31 The people were amazed when they saw the mute speaking, the crippled made well, the lame walking and the blind seeing. And they praised the God of Israel.
32 Jesus called his disciples to him and said, "I have compassion for these people; they have already been with me three days and have nothing to eat. I do not want to send them away hungry, or they may collapse on the way."
33 His disciples answered, "Where could we get enough bread in this remote place to feed such a crowd?"
34 "How many loaves do you have?" Jesus asked.
"Seven," they replied, "and a few small fish."
35 He told the crowd to sit down on the ground. 36 Then he took the seven loaves and the fish, and when he had given thanks, he broke them and gave them to the disciples, and they in turn to the people. 37 They all ate and were satisfied. Afterward the disciples picked up seven basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over. 38 The number of those who ate was four thousand men, besides women and children. 39 After Jesus had sent the crowd away, he got into the boat and went to the vicinity of Magadan
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