The feeding of the 5000 is one of the best-known stories of Jesus. Jesus has been teaching and healing the sick in the lonely hill country of Galilee. Even out in the sticks, he is drawing massive crowds.
Jesus presents the problem of feeding the crowd to his disciples. Philip notes that six months wages wouldn’t buy enough to feed them even if there was a food truck nearby (which there wasn’t). Andrew worked the crowd and returned with a boy who brought a sack lunch of 5 barley loaves and 2 fish. We know how the story goes. Jesus took the bread, gave thanks, and everyone is fed.
What happens after supper caught my eye: “When they were satisfied, he told his disciples, “Gather up the fragments left over, so that nothing may be lost.” (John 6:12)
Take a moment and think about that simple phrase: “when they were satisfied…” Jesus does not give this crowd some minimal ration; they were satisfied. They had enough. They weren’t lacking. Their need was met fully. That’s the promise of Christ – that our emptiness will be filled. That our hunger will be satisfied.
(Something to think about: If you’re not satisfied, have you been feasting at Christ’s table?)
But the story doesn’t end there.
They save the leftovers.
When Jesus satisfies his disciples, he is not through being generous or abundant. There are fragments left over and these are not to be wasted. In fact, the leftovers may be more important than the original meal.
This is one of the only stories of Jesus that appears in all four Gospels, and as you might expect, each Gospel writer tells the story in a slightly different way. One thing they all agree on is how much is left over after everyone has been fed: 12 baskets full.
Twelve is a deeply significant number because it is the number of tribes in the nation of Israel. Having 12 baskets of leftovers tells us that after everyone was satisfied, there was still enough for all of the tribes of Israel, which is to say, all the people of God.
As we contemplate the gift of God to the world in the birth of the Messiah, we are reminded over and over of the abundance of God. God’s gift to us is enough for us and for all. God doesn’t send any of God’s children away without satisfying our hunger.
Prayer: Provident God, you fill us to over-flowing. Set our anxious hearts at ease. Remind us that with you there is always more than enough. Amen.