Feeding the Five Thousand in John 6:1-15

How does Jesus feeding the five thousand apply to us in the 21st century? Do we see any instances of Jesus multiplying bread and fish? Yes. In our Hook ‘Em for the Hungry mission every May, we get fish donated from people outside our church, and Thrivent Financial contributes a matching amount in cash that helps us buy 800 lb. of processed chicken to send to the local food distribution agency, along with our fish. After the recent ice storm, lots of local people lost food that their refrigerators and freezers couldn’t maintain without electricity; people couldn’t work for a week or more; and our conference/synod churches sent $2,800+ in donations to assist with additional food and utility needs. As Luther pointed out in his sermon, Jesus knows our needs and knows how He’s going to meet those needs before we are aware we’ll need them. When we are seeking the kingdom/reign of God in our lives, we don’t need to worry about our basic needs being met. Even when we don’t think we have enough to offer, we forget it’s not about what we have to offer but Who it is that uses the meager amount that is available. For example, I was the perfect example of Andrew in the story only ten minutes before our discussion group met. A man came into the church looking for information about our congregation. He is semi-retired and his two grandchildren (8 + 12 yr) live with him. He asked if we had a children’s ministry. This has been one of my frustrations in a rural, retirement-living community – very few young families, very few kids – “only five small barley loaves and two sardines.” The church secretary helped get me up off my apologetic explanation so we could detail the positive things we do with the kids placed in our care. It’s not about what resources we have, but about what Jesus does to multiply our small offering to satisfied the needs of others. It turned out this man has a very nice website for a children’s ministry he has conducted in other congregations. Maybe he will be the abundance Jesus will use to uplift our own ministry… We noted in this version of feeding the 5000, Jesus gives the bread and fish after he blessed them. What’s that about? Maybe if the disciples gave out the food, the people would have had reason to think the disciples multiplied the bread and not Jesus. How can anyone be a biblical literalist when in Matthew, Jesus gives the bread to the disciples to give to the people? The difference is because each gospel writer was saying something specific about Jesus and the detail of who gives the bread is ancillary to the Person who multiplies it in whatever ways He wants. We don’t have time to study the details of the other gospel writers’ versions here. Luther looked at this story allegorically, as spiritual food for the soul. He noticed there was much grass to sit on, which he compared to the grass as a picture of holiness and righteousness in the Old Testament that flourishes for a while and then fades and dies like the grass. It is only good to be eaten by animals – food only for fleshly hearts, not those who possess the Spirit. The Word of God, the Bread of life, nourishes the common, hungry people. The five loaves of barley bread stand for the words of the voice that are spoken by the mouth that are understood by the five human senses (reason/logic) and found ‘locked’ in the basket of Scripture. Jesus takes these words, blesses them, and increases them for our understanding – He multiplies the meaning of the words to be far beyond what the written words mean. The two fishes are the prophets and patriarchs, also found in the basket, and these strengthen Christian doctrine; there are two because the examples of love require two people, a giver and a receiver. The twelve baskets left over are all the writings of the Apostles and Evangelists (New Testament) that are what remain from the Old Testament. Philip and Andrew are disciples who want to help but all they have are the laws and words at their disposal. Christ alone can explain with His Word to satisfy and deliver from sin and death to give peace and joy. This is another example of how Luther believes the words and ink on the pages of Scripture are like five barley loaves and two fishes. When we give them out to people on our own, they don’t go far. Only Jesus can change them into something that nourishes and satisfies the hunger of the soul. Fed by the Spirit - PWM