eFollowingJesusFeb22 - Loaves and fishes (Matthew 14:14-21)

   How do you view miracle stories?  Inexplicable divine intervention? or explainable rationally (remembering the stories come from pre-scientific times)? or symbolic metaphors of spiritual truth?

   Can't there be some intersection of these three?  Something startling happened - which is why Jesus drew awestruck mobs.  We might evaluate what happened differently today - but whatever really happened it had symbolic importance or nobody would have bothered reporting it.

   Matthew's version is understated compared to John, where Jesus waxes eloquently about himself as "the bread of life, the true bread come down from heaven" (John 6:35-41).  For John and Matthew, this miracle is a foretaste of how we are fed spiritually in the Lord's supper.

   What is striking here is Jesus' reply to the disciples.  The crowds are hungry?  "Then you give them something to eat!"  Doesn't Jesus say the same to us?  People in our world are hungry.  Give them something to eat!  Even if we think we have limited resources ("Lord, we only have so much."), we can give something.  Even the smallest gifts multiply by grace.

   Lord, You are our bread; we will give the hungry something to eat.

James

james@mpumc.org

Notice in the next chapter, Matthew 15:29-39, Jesus will repeat this miracle, feeding 4000.  To see photos of where this story is set, click here.

Sunday's sermon on Matthew 12:1-14 (the Sabbath controversy) may be heard by clicking here.

Here is the full text of Matthew 14:14-21 -   14: As he went ashore he saw a great throng; and he had compassion on them, and healed their sick. 15: When it was evening, the disciples came to him and said, "This is a lonely place, and the day is now over; send the crowds away to go into the villages and buy food for themselves." 16: Jesus said, "They need not go away; you give them something to eat." 17: They said to him, "We have only five loaves here and two fish." 18: And he said, "Bring them here to me." 19: Then he ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass; and taking the five loaves and the two fish he looked up to heaven, and blessed, and broke and gave the loaves to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds. 20: And they all ate and were satisfied. And they took up twelve baskets full of the broken pieces left over. 21: And those who ate were about five thousand men, besides women and children.

The full eFollowingJesus series (thus far!) may be found on our web site.