Matt.14:13 – 16 – Now when Jesus heard about John, He withdrew from there in a boat to a secluded place by Himself; and when the people heard about this, they followed Him on foot from the cities. When He came ashore, He saw a large crowd, and felt compassion for them and healed their sick. Now when it was evening, the disciples came to Him and said, “This place is secluded and the hour is already past to eat; send the crowds away, so that they may go into the villages and buy food for themselves.” But Jesus said to them, “They do not need to go; you give them something to eat!”
I love the hidden mysteries we can find in God’s word. In this miracle we see the seeds of the gospel come to life before our very eyes. When Jesus saw the hurting multitudes of people His heart was stirred with love for them. He started that day with healing every kind of sickness imaginable. After the time of healing He fed them the bread and the fish. What is the story behind the story in this miracle? Actually this is our story, we came to Jesus with all sorts of sickness and other baggage blocking us from receiving nourishment for our souls. Just as He did in this story, first He ministered to our condition, finding whatever was keeping us from the love of God and fixed it. After He restored us He began to nourish our souls with His living bread. He healed us so that we could receive from Him. Here is how Ambrose describes this.
“After the law has passed away, the food of the gospel begins to feed the hungry hearts of the people.… It was fitting that those whom he had healed from the pain of wounds he freed from hunger with spiritual nourishment. Thus none receives the food of Christ unless he was first healed, and the calling first heals those who are called to the feast. If one was lame, he received the ability to walk, so that he came. If one lacked the sight of his eyes, he could indeed not enter the house of the Lord, unless his sight was restored.”
Healed and fed, sounds like a great church service to me. Feeding the Multitudes is what the ministry of Jesus is all about. Thankfully it continues today. He sees us in our misery, He is moved with compassion, he heals us from our condition, and finally He nourishes our soul. This miracle describes the very essence of the ministry of Jesus.
