Luke 9:12-17
"And when the day began to wear away, then came the twelve, and said unto him, Send the multitude away, that they may go into the towns and country round about, and lodge, and get victuals: for we are here in a desert place. But he said unto them, Give ye them to eat. And they said, We have no more but five loaves and two fishes; except we should go and buy meat for all this people. For they were about five thousand men. And he said to his disciples, Make them sit down by fifties in a company., And they did so, and made them sit down. Then he took the five loaves and the two fishes, and looking up to heaven, he blessed them, and brake, and gave to the disciples to set before the multitude. And they did eat, and were all filled: and there was taken up of fragments that remained to them twelve baskets," Luke 9:12-17.
It has been a very long day for the disciples. They had hoped to get a little rest and time alone with their Lord, but people with needs began to show up. Five thousand men, plus women and children. There could have been anywhere from 15,000 to 30,000 people that had gathered there to hear and see Jesus Christ. As the sun begins to set, the disciples are calculating. It has been a long day, with little rest, and they were looking to the end. The sun setting sets up the perfect excuse to send the people away so the disciples could rest (verse 12). In a rare moment, all the disciples were in agreement. They were sure they had a legitimate argument. They are looking around, adding things up, and come to the conclusion that they cannot give to the multitudes what they will need. Their hearts begin to harden towards the people they are supposed to be ministering to, and without realizing it, their hearts are also hardening towards Christ.
Luke 9:12 says they were in a desert place. This is a lonesome place; waste, desert, desolate, solitary, wilderness. This place provided rest, but there were no facilities there to accommodate the people. The logical thing to do would be to send all the people away before they begin to faint because of hunger or thirst, and then be even more burdensome to the disciples. Surely Jesus would agree with them.
"But he said unto them, Give ye them to eat. And they said, We have no more but five loaves and two fishes; except we should go and buy meat for all this people," Luke 9:13. The disciples were not expecting this reply from Jesus. Christ actually told them to do something they could not do within the time it needed to be done. The disciples did not have enough money or resources to provide all these people with food. On top of that, there wasn't enough food in that area to provide for that amount of people. Christ told them to do something they could not do. Keep in mind the disciples had just returned from a successful evangelistic mission. Success can go to our heads and cause us not to be depended upon Christ. We can actually begin to think that our successes is the result of our own labour and power. We glory in us, our abilities, and not in Christ. When we do this, we begin to draw the attention of others to ourselves, and not to Christ. Then add to this that when we look at people, we think if we cannot reach them of our own power or wisdom, that they will not be reached. So Christ gives them a command that they cannot accomplish, "Give ye them to eat."
"For there were about five thousand men. And he said to his disciples, Make them sit down by fifties in a company. And they did so, and made them all sit down," Luke 9:14-15. The disciples did what they were told to do, but they did not do this with a good attitude. Can you imagine what they were saying, how they were murmuring and complaining about what they had to do, and Who told them to do it? The disciples are learning a valuable lesson here, but they don't know it yet.
"Then he took the five loaves and the two fishes, and looking up to heaven, he blessed them, and brake, and gave to the disciples to set before the multitude," Luke 9:16. This was the common way for the Jews to pray over a meal. They would thank God for the food, etc. The focus was on God, not the food. There is a word in verse 16 that we can easily read over and miss what is taking place in this verse. This one word magnifies Jesus Christ. It is the word "gave". "Gave" in this verse is used in the imperfect tense, which is continuous or linear action in past time. This means that Christ "kept giving" to the disciples to give to the multitude. How is this possible? Turn to John 1:1-3; Colossians 1:15-17. Jesus Christ continually created food, there, on the spot. There are times that we forget who Christ is. When we forget, we take matters into our own hands, and we think we have to figure things out in our own power and wisdom. The disciples missed these truths at that time (Luke 8:25; Mark 6:52). Creating more food was something only Christ could do. No one today has this power.
Does Jesus Christ still create things today? When Christ converts us, we become a new creation (II Corinthians 5:17). This is something only God can do. Turn to John 6:44; Acts 16:14; I Corinthians 1:9; Philippians 1:6, 2:13; II Timothy 1:9; etc. By the power of Christ we are converted, He makes us a new creation, and He is the Consummator of our salvation. "Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith…" Hebrews 12:2a. And also Romans 8:28-30, 18-25.
In Luke 9:10-17, all the glory goes to Christ. It's not about who handed out the most food, or who ministered to the most groups. No one was getting awards or recognition, no, it was about what Christ did. We see the same thing in sharing the gospel with the world. When people are not getting the results they want, they seek for better ways which produce the results desired. The salvation is reduced to a prayer, feeling, or emotion, and the end result is church houses are filled with people who Christ has not converted, and their life shows it.
"And they did eat, and were all filled: and there was taken up of fragments that remained to them twelve baskets," Luke 9:17. I am thankful that God uses people. We are His servants, and we give to others what He has given to us to give to them, mainly the gospel. Let us not mess this up. May we turn our focus onto Christ, and may the Lord grant us the grace that we would remain focused on Christ. Why did Christ tell them to do what they could not do? So they would not lean to their own understanding; and in all that they would do, that they would do it for the honour and glory of their Lord and Saviour. Christ is worthy to serve.
Has Jesus Christ saved your soul? God draws us, and He gives us the faith to believe. Trust Christ alone. "All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out," John 6:44.
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Soli Deo Gloria.
