Trust and Remain

Author: Joseph

Date: October 18, 2020

Yeshua fed 5,000 people with three loaves and two fish and at the end of their eating there were twelve baskets remaining – more than what they began with. Yeshua performed many miracles and people knew that the power of God was with Him. Then what made this particular miracle significant? What was the purpose of recalling this miracle in the Bible? Was it just to show that Yeshua could multiply food and do miraculous works? No. This miracle retelling has a purpose that can easily be glanced over if we only read to look for the miracle.

There were far more than 5,000 people who had come to Yeshua, as this number only accounted for the men (Matthew 14:21). The place where Yeshua was teaching was desolate, meaning there was no market nearby nor any resources for the crowd to get their food from unless they left and went into the villages (Matthew 14:15). Yeshua’s disciples reasoned that the crowd should disperse as the day was getting late and there was a large mass of people with no resources nearby. Certainly if the crowd was much smaller, they may have considered sharing their scarce resources, but the numbers made it impossible for them. The place where Yeshua was teaching was desolate, so they could not simply dismiss this need of the people and they had to make a decision: to send the people away or have them stay and go hungry.

Yeshua felt compassion for this crowd, which is why He chose to heal the sick among them and remain to teach them. He wouldn’t make the same crowd that eagerly sought Him go hungry when He had just healed many of them. Neither would He send them away from His presence when they had eagerly stayed to hear His teaching. Instead, Yeshua chose to provide for their needs since they remained with Him. No one would have to leave His presence or seek someone else for provision. He wanted to show them that He alone would provide for their need, even in a desolate place with what seemed to be an impossibly small amount of food (five loaves and two fish).

"No one would have to leave His presence or seek someone else for provision."

When the disciples asked Yeshua to send the crowd away, He said to them, “They do not need to go away; you give them something to eat!” (Matthew 14:16). Was Yeshua uttering a command that was impossible to fulfill? No. He was commanding them to act in faith because He, Yeshua, would do the work for them and fulfill His intent. The disciples said they had only a little to give, but Yeshua responded, “Bring them here to Me” (Matthew 14:18). Again, Yeshua would be the One to fulfill His word. His disciples only needed to faithfully obey. For the disciples and for the reader, another lesson is made clear: God will fulfill His intent, we only need to faithfully obey, even when the circumstances seem impossible.

Whether you can relate to the crowd or the disciples, the overall teaching from this miracle is reliance on God no matter how impossible your circumstances seem. He will provide for you and He will fulfill what He says according to His will.

Like the crowd that followed Yeshua, are you in a desolate place and find yourself in need? Remember that they chose to stay with Yeshua and their faithfulness was rewarded.

Just as the disciples felt incapable, do you feel like you lack the resources to fulfill God’s will in your life? Remember that they chose to obey even with resources that seemed insignificant.

Matthew 14:13 - 21

Scripture quotations taken from the New American Standard Bible (NASB). Copyright by The Lockman Foundation (www.lockman.org).