Luke 9:12-17 | Exodus 16:1-15
Let’s suppose Jesus was in the business of feeding people. (He did do it a time or two, right?)
Let’s suppose that not all five thousand men and thousands more women and children were living righteously. We might even imagine that in such a crowd, some were living quite unrighteous lives. Is that hard to imagine? No, right?
Jesus fed them all.
He didn’t make them line up and find out who could pay or who couldn’t. He didn’t ask if anyone was a murderer. He didn’t separate out Democrats or Republicans. He didn’t ask who was straight or who was gay. He didn’t take inventory of who would receive the benefits of his feeding business and who wouldn’t.
They all ate.
And they ate until they were full.
…because Jesus fed them.
Luke 9:12-17
When the day was almost over, the Twelve came to him and said, “Send the crowd away so that they can go to the nearby villages and countryside and find lodging and food, because we are in a deserted place.”
He replied, “You give them something to eat.”
But they said, “We have no more than five loaves of bread and two fish—unless we go and buy food for all these people.” (They said this because about five thousand men were present.)
Jesus said to his disciples, “Seat them in groups of about fifty.” They did so, and everyone was seated. He took the five loaves and the two fish, looked up to heaven, blessed them, and broke them and gave them to the disciples to set before the crowd. Everyone ate until they were full, and the disciples filled twelve baskets with the leftovers.
Exodus 16:1-15
The whole Israelite community set out from Elim and came to the Sin desert, which is located between Elim and Sinai. They set out on the fifteenth day of the second month after they had left the land of Egypt. The whole Israelite community complained against Moses and Aaron in the desert. The Israelites said to them, “Oh, how we wish that the Lord had just put us to death while we were still in the land of Egypt. There we could sit by the pots cooking meat and eat our fill of bread. Instead, you’ve brought us out into this desert to starve this whole assembly to death.”
Then the Lord said to Moses, “I’m going to make bread rain down from the sky for you. The people will go out each day and gather just enough for that day. In this way, I’ll test them to see whether or not they follow my Instruction. On the sixth day, when they measure out what they have collected, it will be twice as much as they collected on other days.” So Moses and Aaron said to all the Israelites, “This evening you will know that it was the Lord who brought you out of the land of Egypt. And in the morning you will see the Lord’s glorious presence, because your complaints against the Lord have been heard. Who are we? Why blame us?” Moses continued, “The Lord will give you meat to eat in the evening and your fill of bread in the morning because the Lord heard the complaints you made against him. Who are we? Your complaints aren’t against us but against the Lord.”
Then Moses said to Aaron, “Say to the whole Israelite community, ‘Come near to the Lord, because he’s heard your complaints.’” As Aaron spoke to the whole Israelite community, they turned to look toward the desert, and just then the glorious presence of the Lord appeared in the cloud.
The Lord spoke to Moses, “I’ve heard the complaints of the Israelites. Tell them, ‘At twilight you will eat meat. And in the morning you will have your fill of bread. Then you will know that I am the Lord your God.’”
In the evening a flock of quail flew down and covered the camp. And in the morning there was a layer of dew all around the camp. When the layer of dew lifted, there on the desert surface were thin flakes, as thin as frost on the ground. When the Israelites saw it, they said to each other, “What is it?” They didn’t know what it was.
Moses said to them, “This is the bread that the Lord has given you to eat.
Prayer
God,
In the beginning, you gave us food, fruits and vegetables and all the things of plants.
After the flood, you gave us the meat of animals and we ate our fill.
In the desert you made sure Israel ate, full of quail and manna and water.
Time and time again you provided sustenance to individuals in need: Hagar, Elijah, the widow of Zarephath, John the Baptist, and many more.
And in Christ, you fed small groups and large groups alike.
Everyone ate their fill.
So thank you, God, for the food we have and the ground from which it came.
We think of those who have it not and pray them help, in Jesus’ name.
Amen.
It's a bit beyond the point today, but I couldn't help thinking about the miracle of the disciples finding a way to split 5000 people into groups of 50. That's a lot of groups and must have been a logistical challenge itself.
Would be interesting if a public announcement was sent out that anyone for any reason can come and eat for free and hear about the Gospel... the church would trust that God would provide the food to fee an unspecified amount of people.