When Little Becomes Much

“When Jesus heard what had happened, he withdrew by boat privately to a solitary place. Hearing of this, the crowds followed him on foot from the towns. When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them and healed their sick.

> As evening approached, the disciples came to him and said, ‘This is a remote place, and it’s already getting late. Send the crowds away, so they can go to the villages and buy themselves some food.’
> Jesus replied, ‘They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat.’
> ‘We have here only five loaves of bread and two fish,’ they answered.
> ‘Bring them here to me,’ he said. And he directed the people to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then he gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the people. They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over. The number of those who ate was about five thousand men, besides women and children.”

### 1. The Setting: A Grieving Savior

Do not skip verse 13. “When Jesus heard what had happened…”

What had happened? John the Baptist—Jesus’ cousin, his forerunner, his friend—had just been beheaded by Herod. Matthew tells us, Jesus *heard* it, and he withdrew. The Greek word is *”anachoreo”—he retreated. He wanted solitude. To grieve. To pray.

Jesus knows what it is to be exhausted and heartbroken. He knows the desire to get away from everyone.

But the crowd finds him. They ran around the lake on foot to intercept him. Most leaders would be annoyed. The text says something else entirely:

“When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them.”

The word is *”esplanchnisthe”—his guts were moved—a deep, visceral compassion. Your unplanned interruptions do not exhaust his compassion. He sees your sickness, your hunger, your grief, and he is moved.

He had come to mourn, and instead he spent the whole day healing.

This is our God.

### 2. The Problem: An Impossible Command

Evening comes. The disciples do the sensible, managerial thing:

“Send the crowds away… so they can buy themselves something.”

It’s logical. It’s responsible. It’s also exactly how we think: *Lord, the need is too big, send it somewhere else. Let someone else handle it.*

And Jesus gives them an impossible answer: “They do not need to go away. *You* give them something to eat.”

You give them something to eat. With what? The disciples do an inventory: five loaves, two fish. The lunch of a poor boy. Enough for one, not for five thousand men plus women and children – perhaps 15,000 people in total.

How often do we stand before the needs of our families, our church, our city, and say: “We have here *only*…” Only a little faith, only a little time, only a little money, only a little strength.

We children—perhaps Jesus focuses on the *here*.

He does not ask you to produce what you don’t have. He asks you to bring what you do have.

### 3. The Miracle: The Order of Grace

Look at the order of the miracle. It is the same order as every Eucharist, every Holy Communion:

Jesus takes. He looks up to heaven. He gives thanks. He breaks. He gives.

**He takes:** “Bring them here to me,” he said. The miracle begins when we place the little we have into his hands. As long as the bread stays in our hands, it remains only five loaves. In his hands, it becomes enough.

**He gives thanks:** In Greek, *”eulogesen” means “he blessed. Before there is enough, he gives thanks. Thanksgiving is not after the provision; thanksgiving is the pathway to provision.

**He breaks:** The bread must be broken to be multiplied. What we offer to Christ will be broken – our pride, our plans, our self-sufficiency – but in the breaking, it is multiplied.

**He gives:** He gave to the disciples, and the disciples gave to the people. Jesus could have rained bread from heaven. Instead, he chooses to feed people *through* people. God still works that way. The broken bread passes through human hands.

And the result?

“They all ate and were satisfied.” Not just a bite. In the Greek, *echortasthesan* – they were filled, gorged, satisfied. The God of the Bible is not a God of barely enough. He is a God of abundance.

And then: “twelve basketfuls left over.” Twelve – one basket for each disciple. One for each of those who thought they had nothing to give. Jesus not only provides for the crowd; he provides for his servants who serve the crowd. You will not be poorer for having given what you had to Jesus.

### Application: What is in your hand today?

So I ask you today, as we leave this place:

1. **Where do you need to bring your “only” to Jesus?** Is it your tired marriage, your small faith, your limited gifts? Don’t despise it. Bring it here to him.

2. **Whom are you tempted to send away?** That difficult neighbor, that struggling child, that needy person in the congregation? Jesus says, “They do not need to go away.” Compassion does not outsource.

3.

**Do you believe he is still the same?** The same Jesus who fed 5,000 is here. He still takes, blesses, breaks, and gives. And when he does, a little becomes much.

In the wilderness, Israel asked, “Can God spread a table in the desert?” In this remote place, Jesus answered: Yes. He can.

And he still does.