Matthew 14:15-16 (NIV) 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 all know the famous story about Jesus feeding the five thousand, not counting the women and children that were there. We, of course, focus on the miraculous power of Jesus to do the impossible and marvel at how five loaves and two fish were able to feed thousands after they were put in Jesus’ hands. But there are a few aspects to the story that we also should pay close attention to, and we are going to focus in on one of them relating to the passage of scripture above.

The story began when people, who were amazed at the things that Jesus was saying and doing, followed Jesus to a remote place to see and hear more. It got late and the people had not eaten anything for all the time that they had spent traveling to where Jesus was and then listening to His teachings. The disciples wisely suggested that Jesus send everyone away so that they could go to the surrounding villages to buy food for themselves. Then Jesus hit them with what seemed like an unreasonable instruction. He requested that they give all those people something to eat. You can imagine what the disciples must have been thinking at this seemingly impossible request. But then Jesus stepped in to help them along with what He was planning to do. It was He who would be providing the miracle, but it was they who would be giving out the food that would be multiplied in Jesus’ hands.

Jesus asked the disciples to do what was impossible for them to do because He knew what was possible for Him to do. Jesus never asks us to do something depending on our ability to do it. His commands and requests are always based on what He is able to do. But He wanted to teach the disciples to start thinking differently about everything. He wanted them to focus not on what they lacked but on the plentiful supply that was available to them because He was with them. We, today, have that same bountiful supply available to us when we are with Jesus. Being with Jesus is not difficult. He made it quite simple. If you are with Jesus, He will be with you (John 15:4). That is His promise. When Jesus is with you, you not only have access to His unlimited supply for yourself, but also for the people around you. In today’s Christian culture, we have been conditioned to think that only pastors and leaders are to feed the people, but Jesus is telling you to feed them. You have the same resource that the disciples had when they walked with Jesus. Learn like the disciples did that you are a resource for the people in your world because you are with Jesus and He is with you. Use that resource to bless and help many for the glory of God.

Pastor Joey Vazquez