When the apostles returned, they reported to Jesus what they had done. Then he took them with him and they withdrew by themselves to a town called Bethsaida, but the crowds learned about it and followed him. He welcomed them and spoke to them about the kingdom of God, and healed those who needed healing.
Late in the afternoon the Twelve came to him and said, "Send the crowd away so they can go to the surrounding villages and countryside and find food and lodging, because we are in a remote place here."
He replied, "You give them something to eat."
They answered, "We have only five loaves of bread and two fish—unless we go and buy food for all this crowd."
(About five thousand men were there.)
But he said to his disciples, "Have them sit down in groups of about fifty each."
The disciples did so, and everyone sat down. Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke them. Then he gave them to the disciples to set before the people.
They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over.
Luke 9v10-17
The disciples have just returned from an amazing mission - they've gone in the name of Jesus to proclaim forgiveness of sins to those who will repent as well as healing all the sick that would come for help. What a beautiful experience - what a thrill to have God's power flow through you to bring wholeness to the lives of very oppressed and broken people. And it's on the heels of this event, as the disciples are reporting the awesome way God used them - in this moment he gives them an opportunity to be used of God again, on a much bigger scale. And they flail.
Jesus tries to get away with his twelve apostles and other disciples, but the crowds gather and follow - for obvious reasons. They won't go away, so Jesus turns around and forgives the penitent and heals the wounded. Exactly the kind of stuff the disciples had been doing in the prior days. As the day wears on, Jesus asks his twelve apostles to feed everyone. In a moment of unbelief and complete disconnect, they blink back at Jesus and act incredulous. Where would we get the food? How could we pull of this impossible feat?
I'm sure Jesus blinks back at them. They just got done healing lepers and cripples and demoniacs and the mute and the blind and the bleeding...in the power of the Spirit of God. But to feed thousands of people...is this a miracle on a different scale such that God is now impotent?
Being the teacher that he is, Jesus instructs the disciples (not the Twelve? maybe he had them sit down on the grass and watch...) to divide the people up into groups of fifty. Jesus takes the now famous five loaves and two fishes, looks to heaven, gives thanks, and then breaks them up into pieces. Somehow there are twelve baskets available for Jesus to put his bread and fish into. The disciples use these baskets to dispense the food. And there are twelve baskets left over full of fish and bread. One for each of the unbelieving, blinking, apostles.
The abundant leftovers brings to mind the challenge God posts through the prophet Malachi: bring me the tithe and I will provide more than enough. Obey me, trust me, hear what I say and do it - and I will do my part. It will be worth it. The Twelve - on the heels of being used by God to usher in his kingdom through forgiveness and healing stumbled when it came to trusting God with feeding people. The each got a basket for themselves...and the story Luke didn't record was what the Apostles maybe did with those twelve baskets. Maybe they went to the surrounding villages - the ones they thought could provide food for the masses...maybe Peter and his gang went to those same villages and gave them the extra leftovers. Maybe the Twelve had a heart after all...maybe they learned their lesson. Not that they wouldn't need to learn many more.
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