Matt.14:15,16 – And when it was evening, his disciples came to him, saying, This is a desert place, and the time is now past; send the multitude away, that they may go into the villages, and buy themselves victuals. But Jesus said unto them, They need not depart; give ye them to eat.
This is the way Jesus always operated. You know – roll away the stone, fill the barrels with water, go wash in the Pool of Siloam, rise up and walk….you get the picture, do what He says to do no matter how impossible things seem. This was one of those situations, thousands of people who were out of food and a long way from home. The disciples had no resources to accommodate the crowd but Jesus said, “You give them something to eat”. Andrew had scrounged up some fish and bread from a little boy’s lunch but it was embarrassing to even mention it – but Jesus was persistently asking. This moment was critical for all of the disciples. Just a short time after this Jesus would command an even greater and more impossible task of His disciples. He would tell them into go to all of the world and make disciples of all nations. Maybe the disciples had this lesson of fish and bread in their heads when Jesus gave them the Great Commission. Nevertheless, Jesus took the lunch from Andrew and a great miracle took place. Everyone ate fish and bread and they were all satisfied. Here is what Spurgeon had to say about this.
“Glorious word! “They need not depart .” We are able, when he is with us, to meet any cases of want which may arise; we never need send the multitude away to be dealt with by the State, by the parish, or by hirelings.
If we will but set to work, we shall find that the Lord makes us competent for every emergency. “Give ye them to eat ”: you talk of their buying for themselves, but they are penniless, and cannot buy. Everything must be free, or they will starve; you are the men to feed them freely; get at it. Begin at once.”
This is how it always works with ministry. It’s not just stepping out to try to do impossible things, its following His word, that’s the tough part. So today we have a hungry mob roaming the streets of the world. They are hungry and don’t even know it. Maybe its time to go to Jesus and get some more fish and bread.
