Scripture

They all ate as much as they wanted.

Observation

After three days of teaching and healing, Jesus tells His disciples that He is concerned that the people have no food left. The disciples reply, “Where would we get enough food here in the wilderness?”

Jesus tells the people to sit down, and He gives thanks to God for the bread and fish that He has. He gives them to the disciples to distribute the food to the crowd.

Everyone has as much food as they want, and there is a huge amount of leftovers – seven baskets. There are four thousand men plus women and children.

Application

The footnotes in my Bible say this crowd was mainly Gentiles while those at the feeding of the 5,000 had been mainly Jews.

The blessings of the Kingdom flow out to the whole earth because of Jesus. We should be thankful for this because we are now able to enter God’s kingdom.

I was struck in this passage by the references to God feeding the Jews in the wilderness during the Exodus from Egypt. In particular, the Bible tells us in both cases that everyone could eat as much as they wanted.

God’s vision is never stingy or limited. He always gives more than enough. Our responsibility is to receive what he gives and pass it on to others. In God’s kingdom, there is never a lack because He gives enough for everyone.

Prayer

Thank you, Lord, for your grace. Thank you that there is always enough to share and that the blessings continue to multiply. Amen.