Author: Bill Hall

 Luke 9:17 “So they all ate and were filled, and twelve baskets of the leftover fragments were taken up by them.”

   I have seen many attempts to make something of the number of baskets taken up here. To be sure Jesus could control how much food was distributed. And Luke did not have to record this detail. But, whether we try to see metaphorical significance or not, I think we can be certain of a few things here.

   First, the leftovers show clearly that enough food was distributed. If people had barely enough to to eat and some were still hungry, no leftovers would be there to be had. Second, the leftovers show that the food was normal. Jesus didn’t fill everyone’s stomachs somehow with just two loaves and fish. The original supply was indeed multiplied. Third, the disciples did quite a bit of work to distribute, and then to gather leftovers, for this meal. In spite of the miracle there was work to be done. This is very important as it reminds us all that God is not in the genie business. He doesn’t snap His fingers and make all the work go away so that we can take it easy. Even in our eternal future state we must expect to work, though work without the presence of sin will be a great pleasure.

Heavenly Father, thank You for supplying not only what we know we need, but also many things that we don’t know we need. Just recently You have supplied things for me that I had no idea I needed. But, as always, these were good things that I did need very much. You are wise! Thank You for not only meeting our physical needs. You bless every part of us, mental, emotional, spiritual, and social. God You are more precious to me than anything I could every imagine. You are so wonderful! In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

 Luke 9:16 “Then He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, He blessed and broke them, and gave them to the disciples to set before the multitude.”

   Often due to our incredulity we fail to think about the practical side of the miracles of Christ. We claim to believe, but then we just don’t think about the details because we confuse miracle with magic. Magic is fake, a phony sham. Miracle is a real manifestation of the supernatural power that created this world to begin with. It is thus altogether different from anything else we have ever encountered. And yet, it fits in our experience better than we might think.

   To illustrate this, allow me to point out something that we commonly overlook. The performance of this miracle likely took quite a bit of time. There is no reason from reading the text to assume that Jesus ‘sped up’ the process. So, assuming Jesus broke off each piece, it could have easily taken well over two and a half hours to distribute to the disciples. And then of course it would take time for the disciples to distribute to the people.

   We have gotten the idea that baskets of food just ‘appeared’ out of nowhere. And of course Jesus could indeed make that happen with ease. But then I think we miss the whole point of the miracle don’t we? The supply of this food came straight from the Hands of the Master to the people. Oh what a picture of the love of God for us! Let us never forget that all we receive is from His hands.

Heavenly Father, Your provision is amazing! When we stop and think about the amount of food you provide for us, just that is something to be so thankful for. You give us things that we don’t even realize we have. You bless us in ways that we will never think of. Father, You are Providence and You are so wonderful! May we live to praise You, for You are so worthy! In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

 Luke 9:15 “And they did so, and made them all sit down.”

   The disciples facilitated the division into the groups of fifty. In every large ministry effort there is involved a certain amount of logistics.

Heavenly Father, we will order our souls to serve You as we should. So often the logistics of our daily lives are the most important element that we miss. We will praise You with our logistics, and not just with our mouths. We will prepare our hearts to sing Your praises. Early we will seek You, and try to find You with all of our hearts. Thank You for being the worthy pursuit of our lives. In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

 Luke 9:14 “For there were about five thousand men. Then He said to His disciples, “Make them sit down in groups of fifty.”

   So with five thousand men present there were surely some children and women present as well. But, there may not have been many. The journey to this area was long and it was a deserted place. So many of the families may have remained home. In any case, just the five thousand was a huge crowd to say the least.

   In groups of fifty there were 100 groups scattered around the area once they were seated. That figure serves to put into perspective just how many people we are talking about here. The miracle about to be performed would be no more or less remarkable if there were 500 or 500,000. But, the number does remind us of the feeding of the congregation of Israel in the wilderness with manna.

Heavenly Father, thank You for Your leading. Father we do not often understand every thing You bring into our lives. Sometimes we don’t understand the ways in which You lead us. But, we also know from experience, faith, and truth that we can indeed trust all that we receive from Your hand. Thank You for being faithful always. When things that we have relied upon fall away, we are the more reminded that we should be relying only upon You. In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

 Luke 9:13 “But He said to them, “You give them something to eat.” And they said, “We have no more than five loaves and two fish, unless we go and buy food for all these people.”

   Jesus heard His disciples demand, but He took it up a notch. He challenged their faith. They needed to be reminded of Who they were with. He gives them an impossible task. Immediately they are incredulous. They begin to try to solve this logistical problem in their own strength, just as they had already done when they told Him to send the people away.

   It was good that the disciples understood the logistics of the situation. It was good that they wanted the needs of the people to be met. It wasn’t good that they had forgotten the most important resource that anyone has to draw upon. They had overlooked the Creator. They had forgotten that He Who has the vast stores of heaven and earth at His disposal was right there with them.

   We must never lose sight of the Lord. Yes we should be wise about how we approach logistical nightmares. But, in doing so we should always look first to our greatest resource, Almighty God.

Heavenly Father, You are the One Who supplies our every need. We cannot forget that we are completely and totally dependent upon You. Everything we have ever had has come from Your hand. Thank You for caring for us! You are full of grace, mercy, truth, love, power, and glory! In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

 Luke 9:12 “When the day began to wear away, the twelve came and said to Him, “Send the multitude away, that they may go into the surrounding towns and country, and lodge and get provisions; for we are in a deserted place here.”

   I’m sure others must wonder the same thing I do when I read this. Were the disciples of Christ in the habit of telling Him what to do? It does seem rather strange the way they worded their suggestion. It sounds like a command. We know the disciples had a pretty high opinion of themselves, and they had just come back from a whirlwind of a ministry where they healed people and cast out demons.

   Possibly they were feeling as we often do after a string of successes. We think that God is lucky to have us and that we know exactly what ought to be done. I suspect this was the case. But, if so, as always Jesus responded to the situation perfectly. As we will see in the next verse, rather than caving to their childish impression of themselves, He called them to a deeper faith.

Heavenly Father, thank You for giving us truth in our lives. You constantly call us beyond ourselves to a life that is deeper and fuller. Thank You for not allowing us to be content with our flesh in its desires. We must be challenged so that we may truly live. I love You! In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

 Luke 9:11 “But when the multitudes knew it, they followed Him; and He received them and spoke to them about the kingdom of God, and healed those who had need of healing.”

   The ministry of the truth is the primary work. We must never forget that. It is tempting to make it secondary or coincidental to our ministry to people’s needs. But, it must never be so. Why? Because regardless of our perception, it fulfills the greatest need.

   Heavenly Father, You have given us so much in the Word from You. Thank You for giving us a body of truth from which to draw. You know us better than we know ourselves. You know what we really need, and what we truly desire if we were true to ourselves. I love You! In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Luke 9:10

 Luke 9:9 “Herod said, ‘John I have beheaded, but who is this of whom I hear such things?’ So he sought to see Him.”

   Wouldn’t it be altogether bad for the kingdom of darkness for king Herod to be so interested in Christ? Doesn’t this preoccupation of Herod bring glory to Jesus? Why does the old serpent so often use fakes, phonies and frauds rather than directly opposing the working of Christ?

   Here we understand the nature of the enemy. Though fantastically intelligent and fabulously powerful, the old devil is by his bond to sin not much higher than the beasts. He is caught in a pattern of self-destruction that is morbid beyond belief. Though he knows his doom is sure, he runs headlong into it as if it was the most wonderful thing he could hope for.

   As I have studied the gospels over the last many years I have learned in greater depth two things. First, I have learned much more about the nature of Christ. Second, I have learned more of the nature of the enemy destined for damnation. Jesus will be glorified in any case. No matter what happens, it is all in His plan. The evil guy, on the other hand, will spite his own face. Every attempt to bring glory to himself will only contribute to his shame.

   Herod’s preoccupation with Christ was energized by that wicked one. He is indeed the author of confusion. He tries his hardest to confuse humanity. But, it is this very propensity for deception that shows how limited and incapable he is. And nobody understands him better than Jesus. Jesus over and over has defeated this disgusting foe.

Heavenly Father, we will sing Your praise for ever and ever! You are worthy of the best of all and everything. Your power is complete. You are the One Who Exists. You will never cease. Without You, all would fall apart and come to nothingness. It is only by You that the universe is held together. Thank You for Who You are, that is the most wonderful thing about You! In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Luke 9:8