Have you ever gone to someone with a problem, expecting them to fix it, only to have them unexpectedly hand it back to you? This is what Jesus does to His disciples in Luke 9.
Imagine the scene. Jesus and the disciples are intending to get away for a breather, but crowds of people continue to join themselves to Jesus. And Jesus always welcomes them! He continues to teach about the Kingdom of God and heal all those who are sick.
However, the disciples can see an impending problem. All these people need to be looked after. Their solution is for Jesus to send them away. However, the disciples were focused on physical need. But Jesus saw the deeper need of the people. And He would never send multitudes of needy people away empty-handed.
So Jesus says to his disciples, “You give them something to eat” (verse 13). Imagine how incredulous they must have felt! Five loaves and two fish is never going to feed 5000 people. That was an absolute fact – according to the natural laws of this world. Comparing the available food with the number of people present, the disciples see only lack. But what does Jesus see?
Jesus takes the small amount the disciples have. He blesses God the Father, the ultimate Source and Provider. Then He breaks the loaves and fish, and gives it back to the disciples to set before the people.
Abundance beyond the natural realm
There are several valuable principles here. Firstly, sometimes we need to be reminded of the abundance of the Kingdom of God – and how far beyond the natural realm God’s realm really is. The writer of Proverbs says, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not depend on your own understanding” (Proverbs 3:5, NLT). Stepping from the perspective of the natural realm to the perspective of the Kingdom of God is certainly a step of faith! But it’s also a step into Jesus. It’s learning how to live in Him. The disciples were still on the journey of realising what this meant.
Multiplication comes from breaking
Secondly, many of us know that when we give our abilities, our future, our resources, even our lives, to Jesus, He gladly takes what we have. But then we find He proceeds to break it up into little pieces! And that’s not what we expect. For instance, we might give a musical talent to God and then find we’re left sitting in the back corner, not being used as we expected. Or we give our career to God and then lose our job, or find that things become extremely difficult at work. And we wonder what on earth happened.
It usually doesn’t occur to us that the breaking process is actually the process that will bring about multiplication. When Jesus gave the loaves and fish back to the disciples, they did not get back whole loaves and fish. They got back small pieces of bread and fish. It didn’t look the same as it was when it was first in their hands. But it now had the ability to feed a multitude of hungry people.
The privilege of partnership
Notice that Jesus was not the one who distributed these pieces to the multitude. It was the disciples who had the privilege of distributing the food, and then hearing the grateful thanks from those who were hungry. And it was the disciples who also had the pleasure of collecting the over-abundance at the end, that would go on to feed many more.
The multitude would not have been fed without the five loaves and two fish. But the fives loaves and two fish would not have fed the multitude if they had not been broken in Jesus’ hands.
So if some of the things you have committed to God are in the process of being broken by Him, then be encouraged. At the right time, you will see the multiplication.
Look for the Kingdom of God solution
In the meantime, here’s a third principle we can remember. When we come up against a problem, always look for the Kingdom of God solution. A Kingdom of God solution will always be welcoming and bring healing, just like Jesus. It will never send people away to find their own provision from another place. But the Kingdom of God solution will inevitably require a stretch of faith on our part. And remember: five loaves and two fish does feed 5000!
