Matthew 14:13-21
¹³Now when Jesus heard about John, He withdrew from there in a boat to a secluded place by Himself; and when the people heard of this, they followed Him on foot from the cities.
¹⁴When He went ashore, He saw a large crowd, and felt compassion for them and healed their sick.
¹⁵When it was evening, the disciples came to Him and said, “This place is desolate and the hour is already late; so send the crowds away, that they may go into the villages and buy food for themselves.”
¹⁶But Jesus said to them, “They do not need to go away; you give them something to eat!”
¹⁷They said to Him, “We have here only five loaves and two fish.”
¹⁸And He said, “Bring them here to Me.”
¹⁹Ordering the people to sit down on the grass, He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up toward heaven, He blessed the food, and breaking the loaves He gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds , ²⁰and they all ate and were satisfied. They picked up what was left over of the broken pieces, twelve full baskets.
²¹There were about five thousand men who ate, besides women and children.
Devotional
After the death of John the Baptist (Matthew 14:12, a relative of Him) Jesus seeks solitude. In the silence He seeks the closeness of His heavenly Father in order to bear this loss. But also to see His own way more clearly. For He knows that His way, much more and deeper than John’s, will involve suffering and death (Matthew 16:21). In the silence, Jesus wants to confirm His trust in His Father.
We see that being alone with God leads to a new communion with people when Jesus returns ashore. He does not drive away those who have followed Him, as disturbers of the peace. No, He has much to do with them (Matthew 14:14). Because Jesus first gave Himself to His Father, there is also room in his heart for others.
Jesus’ compassion is direct and concrete.
He heals the sick who come to Him, but He also ensures that healthy people do not starve. His heart goes out to each of them. His disciples, however, are more frugal in their compassion. At some point they want Jesus to send the people away to buy food elsewhere (Matthew 14:15).
But Jesus tells them to feed them (Matthew 14:16).
He wants to teach His disciples His compassion and mercy.
And then the small possibilities of Jesus’ disciples become apparent.
They have only five loaves of bread and two fishes.
But when they give those small gifts to their Lord, He can do something great with them: multiply them.
When Jesus gives thanks to his Father for the small things, an abundance grows that satisfies the many thousands (Matthew 14:20,21; The number twelve (Matthew 14:20) is related to the twelve tribes of Israel: Jesus’ gift does not satisfy only these people, she is also enough for all the people). With this bread Jesus also gives Himself, for He is the Bread that gives life, that was broken and that nourishes all who will eat (John 6:35, 48-51). His compassion is his self-surrender.
This compassion from Jesus will also grow in our hearts if we focus first on God rather than on the people around us with their many needs. But from this surrender to God there is an enormous space in our hearts and act for others. Discover it!
Question
- In what way do you give your little gifts to Jesus?
Prayer Suggestion
- Thank God for His infinite love for us in the Christ.
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