Luke 9:16 “Then He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, He blessed and broke them, and gave them to the disciples to set before the multitude.”
Our verse tells of what Jesus did in response to His disciples realizing they had a situation, a crisis on their hands, as 5000 people had come to hear Jesus teach as well as experience the healing only He could provide. Notice the context. Luke 9:12 says, “When the day began to wear away, the twelve came and said to Him, ‘Send the multitude away, that they may go into the surrounding towns and country, and lodge and get provisions; for we are in a deserted place here.”
Realizing there were no fast food places close by, the disciples had one solution, and that is for these people to be sent home. “SEND THE MULTITUDE AWAY.”
Yet Jesus does not think that is the best solution. In Luke 9:13, we read, “But He said to them, ‘You give them something to eat.”
Imagine hearing that after you shared your solution of sending the multitude away.
Going back to the drawing board, they find they had NO MORE than five loaves and two fish. So they report back in saying, “We have no more than five loaves and two fish, unless we go and buy food for all these people.” Continuing to the beginning of verse 14, we read “For there were about five thousand men.”
For the disciples, the feeding of the 5000 was a clear, impossible task. They are overwhelmed with limited resources, and I think we would agree that 5 loaves and two fish are very limited resources.
Yet upon hearing this report, Jesus goes into action. He tells the disciples to tell “Make them sit down in groups of fifty.”
Please don’t miss verse 15. “And they did so, and made them all sit down.” What do you see here? You see obedience. You see faith.
And with that, we come to our verse, Luke 9:16. “Then He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, He blessed and broke them, and gave them to the disciples to set before the multitude.”
Inquiring minds now want to know what happened. Notice the incredible results. Instead of being sent away we read, “So they all ate and were filled, and twelve baskets of the leftover fragments were taken up by them.” Luke 9:17
What appeared to be impossible for the disciples was not impossible for Jesus. Having only 5 loaves of bread and two fish, Jesus fed the 5000. Be reminded that what we think is impossible most likely is impossible, but it is not impossible when Jesus is involved!
It is worth noting that before He broke them, He looked to heaven and blessed them – He said grace. Do you say GRACE before you eat your meals, regardless of where you are eating them?
Let Luke 9:16 remind you that nothing is impossible with Jesus.
Also, let the example of Jesus in Luke 9:16 remind us to say thank you to God before eating.
Continue Strong,
And remember to DATE the Word