Some time after this, Jesus crossed to the far shore of the Sea of Galilee (that is, the Sea of Tiberias), and a great crowd of people followed him because they saw the signs he had performed by healing the sick. Then Jesus went up on a mountainside and sat down with his disciples. The Jewish Passover Festival was near. When Jesus looked up and saw a great crowd coming toward him, he said to Philip, “Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat?” He asked this only to test him, for he already had in mind what he was going to do. Philip answered him, “It would take more than half a year’s wages to buy enough bread for each one to have a bite!” Another of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, spoke up, “Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far will they go among so many?”
A little bit of time had passed since Jesus was in Jerusalem, and he and his disciples had traveled 60-70 miles to the Sea of Galilee. This miracle appears in all four gospels and it allows us to see (by referencing through the four gospels) why these people followed Jesus. After his baptism by John the Baptist, and the temptation of Jesus, which happened in the desert between Jerusalem and the Dead Sea (or the Salt Sea), we find many stories throughout the four gospels about Jesus’ miracles. Matthew 4:23-24 summarizes this time of ministry this way: “Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom, and healing every kind of disease and sickness among the people. News about him spread all over Syria [just north of the Sea of Galilee], and people brought to him all who were ill with various diseases, those suffering severe pain, the demon possessed, those having seizures, and the paralyzed, and he healed them.” On your own time you can scan through each gospel and get a small sampling of these miracles. The point is, Jesus was HEALING people frequently, for a long period of time. No one had ever or has ever (in recorded history) seen such an incredible display of dominion and power over this life! He breathed life literally into all he was around; either physically, spiritually, or both. And this sets the stage for The Feeding of the 5,000. No wonder so many followed him. His daily miracles were compelling, and it was surreal and mind-blowing for the people.
And so we find that Jesus is always teaching and investing in his disciples. He tests Phillip here. He wants to see if he truly gets the fact that he is God — that he is all-powerful. Phillip’s mind jumps to the sheer impossibility of it all — “eight months wages would not buy enough bread”. This is a typical human response. Many respond this way to this day. I do sometimes. Then Andrew gets resourceful, and finds what they do have to work with — five loaves and two fishes. By the way, it wasn’t just 5,000 people — that was just the men. It was likely 10,000 to 15,000 people in total, including the women and children. So this begs the question of us: Do I truly believe Jesus is all-powerful, that he is the Son of God? Or will I get caught up in the impossibility of it all? Andrew set for me a good model here to follow, he found what supplies they had and offered them up.
In life today, some decisions, situations, and challenges seem out of my reach to solve or fix. I can either throw up my hands and give up, or I can offer up to Jesus what I have and see what he will make of my meager offerings! It is all a matter of how big of a God I perceive is with me and how powerful I believe Jesus is to save. Perspective is key! So today, I can look at the challenges before me, call out in earnest prayer to God, and see him work mightily in my midst on a daily and weekly basis. I just have to believe and actively look to join him in his work. Life, TRUE LIFE, is found in Jesus Christ!
