“But the crowds were aware of this and followed Him; and welcoming them, He began speaking to them about the kingdom of God and curing those who had need of healing.” Luke 9:11.
Then He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, He blessed them, and broke them, and kept giving them to the disciples to set before the people. And they all ate and were satisfied; and the broken pieces which they had left over were picked up, twelve baskets full.” Luke 9:12-17
Today your LORD (יהוה) God (אלהים) says:
Today as we continue learning how to bring Kingdom benefits to your life now upon the earth by considering the miracles done at the hands of Jesus, and in and through His Name you are to do the works He did and greater, we are going to look at the next miracle of Jesus in the gospel according to Matthew. And the revelation in this miracle is so important that you will find insights on this miracle in all four gospels. It is the miracle of the multiplication of the five loaves and two fish to feed a crowd of well over five thousand.
This miracle demonstrates provision, power, and providence. Provision supplies the need of the moment by faith. Power as dominion over the elements of creation (rule over the works of My hands). Providence whereby I provide guidance, provision, and the ordering of events for your benefit for your entire life.
The miracle of the multiplication of the five loaves and two fish takes place after Herod had John the Baptist beheaded and the apostles had just returned from going out as Jesus sent them to preach and heal. When He sent them out they were the twelve disciples, when they returned they had become apostles. So they gathered around Jesus and had much to report, share and discuss. Matthew 14:13; Mark 6:14-30, Luke 9:1-10. And Jesus said to them, “Come away by yourselves to a secluded place and rest a while.” (For there were many people coming and going, and they did not even have time to eat.) They went away in the boat to a secluded place by themselves.” Mark 6:31-32; Matthew 14:13; John 6:1. But Jesus could not escape notice. Mark 7:24.
Matthew tells you what happened next in this way, “When the people heard of this, they followed Him on foot from the cities. When He went ashore, He saw a large crowd, and felt compassion for them and healed their sick.” Matthew 14:13-14. Mark fills in some other details, “The people saw them going, and many recognized them and ran there together on foot from all the cities, and got there ahead of them. When Jesus went ashore, He saw a large crowd, and He felt compassion for them because they were like sheep without a shepherd; and He began to teach them many things.” Mark 6:33-34. Luke recounts more details, “But the crowds were aware of this and followed Him; and welcoming them, He began speaking to them about the kingdom of God and curing those who had need of healing.” Luke 9:11. And John fills out the event, “After these things Jesus went away to the other side of the Sea of Galilee (or Tiberias). A large crowd followed Him, because they saw the miracles which He was performing on those who were sick. Then Jesus went up on the mountain, and there He sat down with His disciples. Now the Passover, the feast of the Jews, was near.” John 6:1-4.
Everything in My Word is significant so pay attention to all the details and do not just gloss over them. You see here that Jesus and the disciples had much to ponder and discuss and were in need of rest and refreshment. They knew a secluded place to go so you know Jesus had stepped aside with them to teach, pray, and restore before, that is, to edify, exhort, and encourage them. They were not only followers, but He was also training them to carry on His mission and also to teach others in the work of the ministry when He would no longer be physically among them.
And John tells you that the feast of Passover was near, meaning that the crowds would be going to Jerusalem, for it was a mandatory pilgrim feast, and they would be talking about the miracle that was about to take place, further infuriating the Pharisees.
But Jesus and the apostles did not find themselves alone when they arrived at the other side, people saw Him leaving with the disciples and they gathered others and ran along the shore looking to where he was headed. Luke tells us that He came ashore at Bethsaida, which was the city from which Peter, Andrew, and Philip were from. John 1:44. And when He saw the crowds Jesus was not irritated and did not try to send them away, no one who comes will He ever cast away, instead He had compassion on them because they were like sheep without a shepherd; and He began to teach them many things and to heal them. And Luke tells you what He was teaching them about. Yes, you guessed it, what this series is about, the Kingdom of Heaven. And hearing My Word brings faith, so you know in conjunction with the Kingdom He taught about My Will to heal for he cured all those that had need of healing. Luke 9:11.
When My Word is truly preached, there is something wonderful that takes place in the hearts and souls of those who have ears to hear that satisfies their hunger and thirst for righteousness, peace and joy—for glory. And as they taste of My goodness, they want more, and time passes without them even noticing it or getting nervous to leave. This is what Moses experienced on Mt. Sinai in the presence of My glory, hearing My Word, so that he never even needed physical food or drink for forty days and hardly knew that time had passed.
And the crowd Jesus was teaching that day was hungry for My Word, so hungry that the minute they saw He was going across the lake they dropped everything and ran to hear Him and be near Him. There were no Pharisees in this crowd. And the miracles flowed in this atmosphere of faith. How you hear determines what results. The hearing of faith combined with My Word sets off explosions of miracles.
Jesus taught them all day until it was evening. Matthew 14:15. Mark writes similar to Matthew, “When it was already quite late, His disciples came to Him and said, “This place is desolate and it is already quite late; send them away so that they may go into the surrounding countryside and villages and buy themselves something to eat.” Mark 6:35-36. “But Jesus said to them, “They do not need to go away; you give them something to eat!” Matthew 14:16. And they said to Him, “Shall we go and spend two hundred denarii on bread and give them something to eat?” Mark 6: 37. And He said to them, “How many loaves do you have? Go look!” And when they found out, they said, “Five, and two fish.” Mark 6:38; Matthew 14:17; Luke 9:13. And He said, “Bring them here to Me.” Matthew 14:18. And He said to His disciples, “Have them sit down to eat in groups of about fifty each.” They did so, and had them all sit down.” Luke 9:14-15. They sat down in groups of hundreds and of fifties. Mark 6:40. This was quite a crowd to seat for there were five thousand men not counting the women and children. So it was greater than fifteen thousand, but I do not look at crowds, I look at each individual. I know your thoughts from afar, I know when you sit and when you stand, with all your ways I am familiar and before a word is on your tongue I know the whole of it. I have every hair on your head counted. And yet I created the universe and know every star and every galaxy and sustain everything by My Word of power. David just touched at the edge of this and he sang, “Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is too high, I cannot attain to it.” Psalm 139:6. I have so much to show you and share with you that it will take eternity for it to unfold.
But John gives you more details about the five loaves and two fish. Jesus said to Philip, “Where are we to buy bread, so that these may eat?” This He was saying to test him, for He Himself knew what He was intending to do. Philip answered Him, “Two hundred denarii worth of bread is not sufficient for them, for everyone to receive a little.” One of His disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said to Him, “There is a lad here who has five barley loaves and two fish, but what are these for so many people?” They all saw lack and wanted to give up. Not Jesus. Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.” Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, in number about five thousand.” John 6:5-10.
So Jesus had set the stage and the disciples were wondering what He was going to be able to do with five loaves and two fish and over five thousand people counting men, women and children. And all were hungry. They wondered but they knew enough to obey, anticipating that Jesus was going to do something wonderful. After all, they had seen many healed that day.
All eyes were on Jesus and it had gotten very quiet. Before all the people, without the least bit of fear or anxiety, remember Jesus only did the works I showed Him to do which is assurance of success, He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up toward heaven, He blessed it, and breaking the loaves He gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds, and they all ate and were satisfied. They picked up what was left over of the broken pieces, twelve full baskets. There were about five thousand men who ate, besides women and children.” Matthew 14:19-21. And Mark and Luke add an extra detail about the passing out of the bread and fish, “Then He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, He blessed them, and broke them, and kept giving them to the disciples to set before the people. And they all ate and were satisfied; and]the broken pieces which they had left over were picked up, twelve baskets full.” Luke 9:12-17; Mark 6:40-41. Here you see He kept giving them out until the people were satisfied, then they stopped. Does this remind you of Elisha and the widow with the debts of her husband? The oil ran and filled containers until she had no more containers and then it stopped.
And John fills in the rest about when the multiplication stopped, “Jesus then took the loaves, and having given thanks, He distributed to those who were seated; likewise also of the fish as much as they wanted. When they were filled, He said to His disciples, “Gather up the leftover fragments so that nothing will be lost.” So they gathered them up, and filled twelve baskets with fragments from the five barley loaves which were left over by those who had eaten. Therefore when the people saw the sign which He had performed, they said, “This is truly the Prophet who is to come into the world.” John 6:11-14.
Gather up the fragments so nothing will be lost. In your own life, there are fragments you need to gather up so that nothing is lost. Dreams, hopes, songs, relationships with family and friends, and other things that once were developing that you abandoned, see if it is time to gather those together again. And many of you feel your life is nothing but broken fragments, but gather these and let Me make them into the beautiful mosaic of your life. Remember that the beautiful designs of the kaleidoscope are made from fragments, broken fragments, that when held up to the light and rearranged make beautiful images of splendor. Jesus is the Light of the world so bring Him all the pieces of your life.
So what do you see and learn in this miracle? When there is a need, look and see what you have. Do not discount it because it is not enough to meet the need of the moment. Sow what you have into the miracle. That is what the lad did here. He gave Jesus his five loaves and two fish even though that was all he had and it may have meant him going hungry. The widow did the same with her bit of flour and oil when he asked it from her and it multiplied for over a year to feed Elijah and her entire household.
And then you lift up in thanksgiving what you have and bless it. That is what Jesus did with the bread and fish. He looked up to Heaven (lift your eyes to Me and do not just focus what is below, get My perspective, for nothing is impossible for Me), then He blessed what He had and thanked Me for it, but His eyes were on Me and not just what he actually had in his hand at that moment. And the Blessing of the LORD makes rich and adds no sorrowful toil with it. Proverbs 10:22.
He cast all the care of it on Me. He knew I knew of the hunger of the people, why they were out there, and I had compassion for them. He knew I filled needs where there was no other way to fill them. I had sent birds to Elijah to fly in bread and meat every morning and evening, then I sent him to a widow with a jar with a little flour in it and a jug with a little oil in it, and made it have more than enough for them to eat for over a year, and I had made the oil pour where there was only a tiny amount to fill as many containers as the woman had borrowed to pay off all her debts at Elisha’s direction. Jesus knew all that. And He knew Me. And He proved right. Hope does not disappoint when it is based on My Word and I have directed you to do what you are doing. Both Elijah, the widow, Elisha, and the widow of his time acted in obedience to My Word and they had miracles of provision. And so can you if you do the same.
And this miracle was a miracle of cloning and replication bringing exponential multiplication. Scientists today are fascinated by the way I have replication of DNA set up so that one cell produces two “daughter” cells with the same DNA strands. And cloning has fascinated them as well. But no one can make it flow like I can so that micro-organisms can reproduce themselves. Things without spirits this is workable but be careful in messing with human beings for it is I who form each of you in your mother’s womb and breath the spirit into you. Even Jesus had to be formed and born in that manner. Never do it with a human being, it can only end in demonic results.
But when I cloned and replicated the five loaves and two fish, I improved their composition into perfect fresh bread full of nutrients beyond the normal and the fish into perfect pure fish. Do you remember the Manna? That was heavenly bread that I rained down on the dewfall. It was not an earthly substance and has never been reproduced or known again. I can rearrange and change what is on earth or I can augment it from Heaven. Nothing is too wonderful for Me. I have all the supplies; I just call and speak them into being.
The bread satisfied the crowd completely. So much so in fact, they wanted to make Jesus king right then and there so they could have that bread always! But He slipped away to the mountain alone and the disciples got in the boat at His direction to go to the other side. And that will be the prelude to the next miracle when Jesus goes walking on the water to catch up with the boat.
And remember this miracle is one to show you provision, power, and providence. I provide for all your needs according to My riches in Christ Jesus in glory. Trust that. Seek the Kingdom first and all is added to you. That day the people were seeking the Kingdom and Jesus was teaching them about it. Selah.
I love you. Have no anxiety about anything, the Kingdom of Heaven is very near you. It is within you. Why don’t you come to see Me at the throne of grace more often? I already seated you there in Christ, don’t leave your place vacant.