Lk.9:16,17 – And He took the five loaves and the two fish, and, looking up to heaven, He blessed them and broke them, and gave them to the disciples again and again, to serve the crowd. And they all ate and were satisfied; and the broken pieces which they had left over were picked up, twelve baskets full.
This miracle of Jesus is really a complete picture of the ministry and message of Jesus. The day started with a huge crowd of people looking for Jesus in Capernaum forcing Him to move out into the countryside. As He began to teach the Word of God He was moved with compassion for all the hurting people He saw in the crowd. There were the blind, the paralyzed, the deaf, and a variety of other ailments in the crowd. What did Jesus do? Of course He began to heal the hurting people there that day. Next Jesus realized that there was no way to feed such a large crowd and that’s when this great miracle took place. Just as the Lord provided bread from heaven so many years before Jesus multiplied a little boy’s lunch and fed the multitude. This miracle was about more than fish and bread, this was a picture of Christ being the very source of nourishment for all of us. Here is how Ambrose described this miracle.
“There is also a mystery in that the people who eat are satisfied. The apostles minister to them. The sign is given of hunger satisfied forever because one who has received the food of Christ will never hunger again. The future distribution of the Lord’s body and blood is based in the ministry of the apostles. It is already there in the miracle in the way five loaves are multiplied for five thousand people. It is clear that the people were satisfied not with a little but with an abundance of food.”
So have you tasted this heavenly bread for yourself? This is not just about satisfying your physical needs but it is so much more than that. Jesus came to feed our hungry souls. He said, “If you eat the Bread I have to give you will never hunger”. This is the message of the gospel, He came to make us whole by giving us Himself. This is the very heart of the Christian message, Jesus is the Bread of Life.
I thank God that He is so kind and good to His people and to those who do not know Him as yet but see their heart. He bends down to feed His people. He is always kind and caring to show His goodness to those who know Him and the Samaritan who know there must be more than what the world has to offer. He is I Am.