There is a famous miracle of Jesus that I love to read and study. In fact, it’s the only miracle that’s told by four gospel writers. Anytime, something in scripture is repeated it’s worth noting. What is this famous miracle? The feeding of the multitude! I know what some of you are thinking, “this is your favorite miracle because it has to do with Jesus multiplying food.” And to that I would say, “you are not wrong.” 🙂

5 Lifting up his eyes, then, and seeing that a large crowd was coming toward him, Jesus said to Philip, “Where are we to buy bread, so that these people may eat?” 6 He said this to test him, for he himself knew what he would do. 7 Philip answered him, “Two hundred denarii worth of bread would not be enough for each of them to get a little.” 8 One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, said to him, 9 “There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish, but what are they for so many?” 10 Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.” Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, about five thousand in number. 11 Jesus then took the loaves, and when he had given thanks, he distributed them to those who were seated. So also the fish, as much as they wanted. 12 And when they had eaten their fill, he told his disciples, “Gather up the leftover fragments, that nothing may be lost.” 13 So they gathered them up and filled twelve baskets with fragments from the five barley loaves left by those who had eaten. - John 6:5-13 ESV

Theologians and Bible scholars believe the crowd would have been upwards of 15,000-20,000 people total, when you add the women and children who would have been in attendance. This crowd had been listening to the teachings of Jesus and experiencing His miraculous power for hours and now it’s late in the day and they are hungry. But there’s the problem, how do you feed a sold out Kansas University Allen Fieldhouse crowd?

Three things I love about this story. First, Jesus doesn’t shy away from the needs of His people! If you have a need or a problem you are a candidate for a miracle. Jesus sees you and cares about you, even your basic life needs. Every miracle starts with a need.

Second, Jesus invites the disciples to participate. Anytime God wants to do something on earth, even a miracle, He does it through people. Often times when we are praying and believing for a miracles we take a passive seat. “God, will do this big thing? Amen.” And then we wait. But what if the miracle God wants to do, He wants to do through you?!

Anytime God wants to do something on earth, even a miracle, He does it through people.

Pastor jon

Third, Jesus takes the fish and bread and multiplies it and feeds everyone. One boys sack lunch was not enough, not even close. It could have fed him but not thousands. But what happens when the boy entrusts what He has in the hands of Jesus? Not only does He get fed but so do others. This is what happens when we trust God with what He’s placed in our hands. When we live a sacrificial life, even if all we have is a little to give, God multiplies it. In the hands of Jesus a few fish and some bread turns into a massive buffet with 12 left over bags full!

When we live a sacrificial life, even if all we have is a little to give, God multiplies it.

Pastor Jon

We don’t know the name of this boy but we do His willingness to give up what He had so others could have is a Kingdom mindset. This is what we see Jesus do on the cross, giving His life so we can live. The challenge for us today is this, “What is God calling you to put in His hands, so that He can multiply it and make a difference in the lives of others?”

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