There’s an event in the Bible you might be familiar with—when Jesus fed the 5000. Here’s what happened. Jesus’s twelve disciples had just returned from a trip through Galilee. They had been preaching and healing people. Their healing of people would have drawn huge crowds. So these guys had been on this preaching tour for a while, and when they got back to Jesus they were tired. Really tired. They needed a break—some rest and time away from all the people. Now, Galilee was pretty small, only about 25 miles by 50 miles. In this small area, there were 204 villages. Very crowded. No quiet place to get away and be refreshed. So, Jesus took them across the Sea of Galilee to find a quiet place away from the crush of people. But, of course, lots of people followed. Who wouldn’t? These guys were healing the sick, the lame, the blind. The people were desperate for more.
Well, the crowd got big. 5000 men, plus women and children. So, maybe there were as many as 20,000 people there, maybe more. That’s twice the size of Fort Atkinson. Jesus taught. He healed. The day was starting to wind down. Remember, this is a place Jesus had sought out because it was quiet and away from towns. So as it got later in the day, the disciples got to thinking about how the people would be hungry. The people had walked a long way, and now they’d been there all day. So, the disciples told Jesus to send the crowds away. He should stop teaching and healing, and give people a chance to get food. Time to wrap things up.
Jesus said, “You give them something to eat.” What??? With what? Jesus must have been out of His mind! They were in the middle of nowhere facing 20,000 hungry people. There was no place to buy food out there. And never mind they didn’t have the money to buy food for so many people. Even if they had been able to buy food, nobody would have gotten more than a crumb. This was impossible! But not for Jesus, the Son of God. There were 5 loaves—crackers actually—and 2 fish. That’s it: 5 crackers and 2 pickled fish. Jesus thanked God, and began to give food to the disciples for them to give out to the people. The food kept coming. And coming. Until everyone had eaten their fill. The people ate as much as they wanted. When they were done eating, the disciples gathered up the leftovers. From 5 crackers, there were 12 baskets of leftovers. Imagine all of Fort Atkinson being fed with just 5 crackers and 2 fish. And they didn’t get just a nibble or a snack, but a satisfying, filling meal. And there were even leftovers! Jesus worked an incredible miracle.
What’s stunning is that a few hours later, most of the people who Jesus had just fed ditched Him. Why? Because Jesus told them the truth. He said that He is the source of life. He told them that believing in Him, Jesus Christ, the Son of God, was—and is—the way to eternal life. But they didn’t like that truth. So they ditched Him. You know, in the Bible, we have all these stories of the miracles Jesus did. We have the words of Jesus—we can hear and read what He taught. And then, we are just like those who Jesus fed. We turn away and say, “Nah.” Or, “Yeah, but not right now. Someday.” Believe the truth of Jesus’s words and the evidence of His miracles. I pray you believe in Him. Today.
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