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Matthew 14:16-18

¹⁶Jesus replied, "They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat." ¹⁷"We have here only five loaves of bread and two fish," they answered. ¹⁸"Bring them here to me," he said.

Jesus and the disciples tried to escape the crowds to get some rest, but the crowds found them. Jesus healed all the sick that were brought to Him. He was concerned about their need to eat. Jesus is concerned about our daily necessities.

First, He challenged His disciples to feed them. He was pointing out man's inability. In the Gospel of John, Philip calculated what it would cost eight months wages to feed the crowd. There were 5000 men plus women and children. A little boy brought five loaves and two fish to the disciples. They expressed to Jesus how short their supply was. Then Jesus tells us how to deal with our inadequacy. "Bring them here to me," He said. What little we place in Jesus' hands can be multiplied by His divine power. It is good for us to recognize how inadequate we are and how all sufficient He is.

Not only did everyone have enough to eat, but there were twelve baskets full left over. There is an Old Testament precedent for this miracle in 2 Kings 4:42-44. This crowd was Jewish. There were originally twelve Jewish tribes. The twelve baskets could represent supply for all of Israel. The next time that Jesus performs this miracle there will be 4000 Gentiles with seven baskets full left over. Some scholars believe that those seven baskets represent the seven Gentile nations, or we could see it as the number of perfection, meeting the needs of the entire world (Mark 8:19-21). Jew or Gentile, Jesus is more than enough for all our needs.

Remember: Just bring what He has given you, and place it in His hands. He will multiply it to meet the need.