Aside from the resurrection, the story of Jesus feeding the 5,000 is the only miracle recorded in all four Gospels. Obviously, the Gospel writers considered this a significant miracle. When Christ fed the masses that day, he began with only “five barley loaves and two fish,” borrowed from a child’s meal ( John 6:9 ). Feeding 5,000 people with five loaves and two fish is certainly miraculous, but the Greek term used in Matthew 14:21 specifies males, and Matthew further emphasizes the point by adding ” plus the women and children.” Many Bible interpreters believe that the actual number of people fed that day could have been 15,000 to 20,000. Jesus’ disciples had wanted to send the people away because evening was approaching and they were in a remote location ( Matthew 14:15 ). They knew that the people needed to get to nearby towns quickly to buy food, find lodging, etc., or they would likely go hungry ( Mark 6:36 ). But Christ had a better idea: “You give them something to eat” ( Matthew 14:16 ). At this point, the disciples should have remembered the many miracles they had seen Jesus perform. Perhaps some of them did, but Andrew asked, “And what are they among so many?” ( John 6:9 ). And Philip exclaimed, “Two hundred denarii worth of bread will not be enough for each one to have a little” ( John 6:7). Jesus asked for the bread and fish to be brought to Him ( Matthew 14:18 ). Then He gave thanks for the food, broke the bread, and gave it to His disciples to distribute to the crowd. Amazingly, the entire crowd was fed from that little bit of food. Jesus provided “as much as they wanted” ( John 6:11 ), “and they all ate and were satisfied” ( Matthew 14:20 ). Christ didn’t just meet the need; He filled them with so much food that there were “twelve baskets full of broken pieces left over” ( Mark 6:43 ). God will shatter low expectations of what His followers can do if they would learn to bring Him what has already been given to them. “Much is little when God is in it.” When Christians are willing to sacrificially offer their lives, relinquishing their control over what God has given them in terms of time, money, talents, etc., God will use these ordinary things to create extraordinary things. Christians must never believe that their resources are too small to serve God. God delights in taking a humble, seemingly insignificant person and using them for His glory (see 1 Corinthians 1:27 ).
Philip’s mind immediately raced to the cost of the project. He quickly calculated how many man-hours it would take to feed all those people; he saw the task as impossible because he approached it as if everything depended on his own labor. Jesus’ approach was different. Jesus bypassed all human effort and did the impossible. It is “not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit, says the Lord” ( Zechariah 4:6 ).
It is remarkable that Jesus fed the people through the agency of His disciples. He could have simply snapped His fingers and made everyone present a meal, but He did not. Instead, He gave “to the disciples to set before them” ( Mark 6:41, ESV ). In this way, the disciples had to trust the Lord for everything they distributed. They could only give as they received. Philip, Andrew, and the rest were put in a position of total dependence on the Lord for supply. God still uses people in the same way today.
Christians should also remember that their problems are never too big (the “so many” of John 6:9 ) for God to handle. Surely, Andrew was wondering, “What good are five loaves and two fish?” Of course, theoretically, believers know that God can easily multiply whatever He wants, to feed as many people as He wants—He is God. The problem arises when we are faced with the practical application of the theory; we tend to doubt that God wants to meet our needs.
There is a foreshadowing of Christ’s miracle in the life of Elisha in 2 Kings. Elisha told his servant to feed the people who had gathered there, even though there was not enough food for the hundred men. One of the men said, “How can I set this before a hundred men?” ( 2 Kings 4:42-43 ). Yet, in the end, the men not only had enough to eat, but they “ate and had some left over” ( 2 Kings 4:44 ). Isn’t that just like God? He says that He will do more than provide for His people; He will give abundantly ( Psalm 132:15 ).
Christians are to bring their lives to God in a spirit of obedience and sacrifice, no matter how insignificant they may think their gifts or talents are ( Romans 12:1). In doing so, they expect God to do far beyond what they can imagine ( Ephesians 3:20
). Furthermore, Christians are to trust that God not only wants to meet the needs of His children, but He wants to shower His children with spiritual blessings, even to overflowing ( Psalm 23:5 ).