Jesus Feeds the Five Thousand
It is super good to be with you here this week. For those of you who might be guests with us, my name is Brad. I hesitate to introduce myself because many of us have been hanging out for a long, long time. But of late, if you have been coming to The Well, we have been very intentional about welcome cards, first-time guests, and second-time guests. We have reminded people of that over and over because what we realize is there are actually a lot of people who check out our church and are just watching anonymously—which is great.
So if you are here, hiding in the shadows with your arms folded, going, “I don’t know, but I’ll check it out. I heard the church is great, but the pastor is shady”—perfect. You are going to love it here. Just keep coming, checking things out, and bringing your Bible. But when you are ready, we would love to help get you connected to some of the other people who are here. All that being said, I want to introduce myself so you know who I am and what you are getting into this week.
Welcome to the Tension
If you have your Bibles, we are in Matthew chapter 14. We are continuing in our series through Matthew. What we have done is eaten the book a couple of chapters at a time and introduced some mini-series along the way. This one happens to be called Made Ready. What we find is Jesus beginning to shift gears a little bit, intentionally and purposefully training and equipping those who are following Him to get in the game of ministry—to get in the game of His kingdom and be about what He is calling us to be about.
If you were with us last week, Mike, who is on our teaching team, did a bang-up job talking about the soap opera that is the first part of chapter 14. If you have ever read through that, you saw Herod Antipas, who was as immoral as the day is long. He puts on a big beer bash, keg stands, the whole deal. His stepdaughter comes out and dances before him and all his drunk buddies, and it pleases him. There is just all kinds of insinuation that this is not a healthy place to be. In his drunkenness, Herod says, “I’ll give you anything you want.” So this girl, conspiring with her mom, asks for the head of John the Baptist on a platter. How dirty is that? Sure enough, in order not to lose face in front of his buddies because he got double-dog dared into this thing, he ends up taking John’s head.
Matthew 14:1-12 (NASB)
At that time Herod the tetrarch heard the news about Jesus, and said to his servants, ‘This is John the Baptist; he has risen from the dead, and that is why miraculous powers are at work in him.’ For when Herod had John arrested, he bound him and put him in prison because of Herodias, the wife of his brother Philip. For John had been saying to him, ‘It is not lawful for you to have her.’ Although Herod wanted to put him to death, he feared the crowd, because they regarded John as a prophet. But when Herod’s birthday came, the daughter of Herodias danced before [them] and pleased Herod, so [much] that he promised with an oath to give her whatever she asked. Having been prompted by her mother, she said, ‘Give me here on a platter the head of John the Baptist.’ Although he was grieved, the king commanded [it] to be given because of his oaths, and because of his dinner guests. He sent and had John beheaded in the prison. And his head was brought on a platter and given to the girl, and she brought it to her mother. His disciples came and took away the body and buried it; and they went and reported to Jesus.
What you find in verse 13 is that Jesus is grieved by that. As you heard the message last week, I hope you were grieved by that as well. Though we certainly do not live in Roman times and we do not have a ruler quite like that in authority, we do live in a culture that would rather not subject itself to the Word of God.
John came in and was basically calling this leader into account: “Dude, what you’re doing ain’t right. That’s jacked up. You can’t live like that. That’s not what God would want.” As soon as you start bringing up the idea of what God wants—whether in Roman culture or in our culture today—suddenly you are labeled a bigot, judgmental, or non-inclusive.
We started this church with a desire to walk a very awkward tension of grace and truth. We named it The Well based on the story in John chapter 4, where Jesus reaches out to the Samaritan woman of less-than-reputable character and shows her incredible grace. He values her, speaks life to her, and shows her the dignity she deserves as a woman created in the image of God. Yet He also speaks truth to her about the multiple men she had been shacking up with and the one she was living with who was not her husband.
John 4:1-26 (NASB)
Therefore when the Lord knew that the Pharisees had heard that Jesus was making and baptizing more disciples than John (although Jesus Himself was not baptizing, but His disciples were), He left Judea and went away again into Galilee. And He had to pass through Samaria. So He came to a city of Samaria called Sychar, near the parcel of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph; and Jacob’s well was there. So Jesus, being wearied from His journey, was sitting thus by the well. It was about the sixth hour. There came a woman of Samaria to draw water. Jesus said to her, ‘Give Me a drink.’ For His disciples had gone away into the city to buy food. Therefore the Samaritan woman said to Him, ‘How is it that You, being a Jew, ask me for a drink since I am a Samaritan woman?’ (For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.) Jesus answered and said to her, ’If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, ‘Give Me a drink,’ you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water.’ She said to Him, ’Sir, You have nothing to draw with and the well is deep; where then do You get that living water? ‘You are not greater than our father Jacob, are You, who gave us the well, and drank of it himself and his sons and his cattle?’ Jesus answered and said to her, ‘Everyone who drinks of this water will thirst again; but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him shall never thirst; but the water that I will give him will become in him a well of water springing up to eternal life.’ The woman said to Him, ‘Sir, give me this water, so I will not be thirsty nor come all the way here to draw.’ He said to her, ‘Go, call your husband and come here.’ The woman answered and said, ‘I have no husband.’ Jesus said to her, ’You have correctly said, ‘I have no husband’; for you have had five husbands, and the one whom you now have is not your husband; this you have said truly.’ The woman said to Him, ’Sir, I perceive that You are a prophet. ‘Our fathers worshiped in this mountain, and you [people] say that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship.’ Jesus said to her, ’Woman, believe Me, an hour is coming when neither in this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. ’You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. ’But an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers. ‘God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.’ The woman said to Him, ‘I know that Messiah is coming (He who is called Christ); when that One comes, He will declare all things to us.’ Jesus said to her, ‘I who speak to you am [He].’
That grace and truth dynamic is really difficult. It is very hard to walk with those two in tension. Most people, and even most churches, tend to skew toward one or the other. I heard Chris Schultz, one of our executive pastors, say something this week that was so good. Speaking about grace and truth, he said, “Grace without truth is reckless.”
Think about that: if I just show grace and there is no truth involved, is that really the most loving thing to do? If I really love you, is the most loving thing to just show you grace while you make decisions that end up being catastrophic in your life? Grace without truth is reckless. And yet, truth without grace is useless. If you are dropping truth with no sense of grace and no sense of love, we have just become religious legalists lacking compassion.
Discipleship is a messy process because we are not always awesome and we are not always awful. We live somewhere in between. The need for grace to walk with one another in love, encourage one another, pray for one another, and carry one another is always present. Yet the need for truth is equally present to say, “Brother, I love you enough to speak up.” Scripture tells us that if any among us strays from the truth and someone turns him back, he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save his soul from death and cover a multitude of sins.
James 5:19-20 (NASB)
My brethren, if any among you strays from the truth and one turns him back, let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins.
So yes, we are going to show grace, and yes, we are going to call each and every one of us to a more intimate and obedient life with Jesus Christ. Welcome to the tension that is The Well. We are a “come just as you are” church; we are just asking you, by the grace of God, not to stay where you are, because God has a plan to change your life.
The Compassion of Christ
I mention all of that because Jesus, having experienced the grief of verses 1 through 12, is deeply moved by what happened. Emotionally, He is weary. I often imagine—and I think it is hard for us to wrap our minds around—what it was like for Jesus, who was perfectly holy, made like us in all things yet without sin, to interact with people in this fallen world. I don’t know about you, but I can feel judgmental at times, and I am definitely not holy. What was it like for Jesus to put up with the stench of sin?
Hearing the news about John, Jesus tries to get away to a quiet place.
Matthew 14:13 (NASB)
Now 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.
When it says He withdrew by Himself, the other gospel accounts show the disciples were with Him. He gets away from the crowd, essentially saying, “Guys, we’ve got to get out of here. Let’s go someplace quiet where we can be alone.”
Then comes the historic feeding of the five thousand. Jesus performed many miracles, but this is the only miracle recorded in all four gospels. It is as if Jesus is making a significant statement: the lesson from this text is so vital that all four gospel writers, writing to different audiences for different purposes, were led to include it.
Matthew 14:14-21 (NASB)
When He went ashore, He saw a large crowd, and felt compassion for them and healed their sick. When 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.’ But Jesus said to them, ‘They do not need to go away; you give them [something] to eat!’ They said to Him, ‘We have here only five loaves and two fish.’ And He said, ‘Bring them here to Me.’ Ordering 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, 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.
In verse 14, Jesus comes ashore. Luke records that this was near the city of Bethsaida, in the northeastern Galilean region. The crowds have assembled, and verse 14 says He felt compassion for them. That word for compassion is a profound Greek term describing an emotion felt deep in the gut. Jesus feels something for them that moves far beyond mere pity—it is pity with action. He is so moved in His spirit that He immediately begins to heal their sick. Instead of getting some rest, He goes straight to work.
The Impossible Math of Ministry
In verse 15, evening approaches, likely around three in the afternoon—not sunset yet, but getting late. The disciples look around and say, “This place is desolate and the hour is already late. Send the crowds away that they may go into the villages and buy food for themselves.”
Maybe they had good intentions. Just one verse earlier, Jesus was grieving the loss of His cousin and wanted a solo retreat, and suddenly thousands of people showed up. Jesus was fatigued, so the disciples might have been trying to protect Him so He could get some rest. But the disciples were also looking at the logistics. They were in a desolate area, miles from small surrounding villages. Verse 21 tells us there were five thousand men, which most scholars agree means there were easily 15,000 to 20,000 people present when you include women and children.
Imagine a tiny village with maybe a thousand residents suddenly having twenty thousand people show up at the local drive-through. There was simply no way those villages could handle that demand. The disciples are thinking practically: “It’s getting late, kids missed their naps, people are getting hangry, this is getting weird. Send them away.”
Jesus has another thought in mind.
Matthew 14:16 (NASB)
But Jesus said to them, ‘They do not need to go away; you give them [something] to eat!’
Jesus says, “They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat.”
What do you think the disciples are thinking in that moment? You have twenty thousand people, the sun is going down, everyone is hungry, and Jesus says, You feed them. Their immediate response in verse 17 is, “We have only five loaves and two fish.” In other words: “That’s cute, Jesus, but that’s not going to work.”
In that moment, the disciples are expressing their insecurity. Who are we? What do we have? What are our resources? The reality is, they have almost nothing. In Mark’s account, they respond practically: “Shall we go and buy two hundred denarii worth of bread and give them something to eat?” A denarius was a day’s wage, so they were talking about eight months’ worth of income just to give everyone a bite.
Mark 6:37 (NASB)
But He answered them, ‘You give them [something] to eat!’ And they said to Him, ‘Shall we go and spend two hundred denarii on bread and give them [something] to eat?’
Since they do not have that kind of money, they look at what is on hand. John’s gospel tells us that Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, found a young boy with five barley loaves and two fish.
John 6:8-9 (NASB)
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?’
The Greek word refers to a young lad. They basically took the sack lunch of a second grader and said, “Look, we’ve got some Cheez-Its and a juice box. What good is this going to do?” It is almost comical. How is a single snack pack going to feed twenty thousand hangry people? They keep trying to prove their point: We don’t have enough money. We don’t have enough food. We don’t have enough talent. We are not enough.
Jesus invites them into something entirely different. In verse 18, He says, “Bring them here to Me.”
Theologian A. T. Robertson noted that the disciples, like us today, were quick with reasons for their inability to perform the task imposed by Jesus. We are full of excuses. Jesus says, “You give them something to eat,” and we say, “I don’t have enough money, I don’t have enough Bible knowledge, I’m not spiritual enough, you don’t know what I posted on social media last year—I’m not the person God can use.”
An All-You-Can-Eat Miracle
In verse 19, Jesus orders the people to sit down on the grass. Luke chapter 9 tells us He directed the disciples to have the people sit in groups of fifty.
Luke 9:14 (NASB)
(For there were about five thousand men.) And He said to His disciples, ‘Have them sit down [to eat] in groups of about fifty each.’
Picture this: twenty thousand people on a hillside, and twelve disciples trying to organize them into groups of fifty without a PA system. “Everybody listen up! Groups of fifty! Matthew, go over to that side; Luke, take that side.” It took significant time, and the sun was setting. The people were only getting hungrier.
Then Jesus takes the five loaves and two fish, looks up to heaven, blesses the food, breaks the loaves, and gives them to the disciples—and the disciples give them to the crowds.
Who are the crowds interacting with? The disciples. Jesus is in the back while the disciples are running back and forth with baskets to twenty thousand hungry people. It is like being at a wedding reception where they call tables up for dinner one by one. Group four goes, and group eight is sitting there thinking, Come on, are we ever going to eat?
Jesus’ prayer is deeply Jewish. He holds the bread, offers the traditional blessing to the Father, breaks it, and distributes it. It echoes Moses in the wilderness and Elijah providing food in 2 Kings.
2 Kings 4:42-44 (NASB)
Now a man came from Baal-shalishah, and brought the man of God bread of the first fruits, twenty loaves of barley and fresh ears of grain in his sack. And he said, ‘Give [them] to the people that they may eat.’ His attendant said, ‘What, will I set this before a hundred men?’ But he said, ’Give [them] to the people that they may eat, for thus says the LORD, ‘They shall eat and have [some] left over.’’ So he set [it] before them, and they ate and had [some] left over, according to the word of the LORD.
Mark 6:41 notes that Jesus kept giving the loaves and fish to the disciples to set before the people. This was not a fast-food meal; it took hours of continuous, awkward, faith-stretching distribution. Food was provided, and provided, and provided.
Mark 6:41 (NASB)
And He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up toward heaven, He blessed [the food] and broke the loaves and He kept giving [them] to the disciples to set before them; and He divided up the two fish among them all.
Notice verse 20: “They all ate and were satisfied.” John 6:11 adds that He distributed “as much as they wanted.”
John 6:11 (NASB)
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.
This was not just a tiny, symbolic bite of bread; this was an all-you-can-eat feast for twenty thousand people. If there was a kid asking for seconds and thirds, the disciples kept handing out bread and fish until everyone was completely full.
Then, in verse 20, they gathered up twelve full baskets of leftover broken pieces. Not only was this a miraculous feeding, and not only was it all-you-can-eat, but it was an all-you-can-eat miracle with leftovers! That is just like our Lord, who is able to do exceedingly, abundantly above all we ask or think.
Exposing Our Insufficiency, Revealing His Sufficiency
Why is this text here? One of the central reasons is that Jesus does something He had not done up to this point in Matthew’s gospel. Previously, Jesus performed miracles directly. Here, He intentionally involves His disciples. He exposes their personal insufficiency.
When Jesus commanded them, “You give them something to eat,” their immediate thought was, Who am I? I don’t have enough. He exposes their total lack of resources so that they might see the absolute sufficiency of Jesus Christ.
This is the very starting point of what it means to be and make a disciple. If you think you have what it takes in yourself, you do not yet understand the gospel. The gospel begins with the reality that we are woefully insufficient. In our own strength, we cannot do anything to save ourselves or please God. The moment you recognize you are not enough, you are ready to discover that He is more than enough. When we bring what is not enough to Him who is more than enough, kingdom ministry begins.
Who were these disciples? In the rearview mirror of church history, we look at them as giants of the faith—apostles, martyrs, preachers who turned the world upside down. But in Matthew 14, they are not there yet. They were ordinary blue-collar workers from obscure towns, high school dropouts in the rabbinic system, doubters, skeptics, and weak men. Yet God chose to use them.
Paul writes about this exact dynamic in 2 Corinthians:
2 Corinthians 3:5-6 (NASB)
Not that we are adequate in ourselves to consider anything as [coming] from ourselves, but our adequacy is from God, who also made us adequate [as] servants of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.
God does not look for the self-qualified; He looks for the humble. He does not need our strength; He works through our weakness. If we will acknowledge our inability and bring our little sack lunch to Jesus, He can do incredible things through what little we have. But if you take your meager lunch and try to feed the crowd on your own power, you will fail every time.
When we come to Christ, we do not bring much. Let’s be honest: there are more talented preachers, more gifted leaders, more generous givers, and more disciplined people in the world than us. But we do not need to be them; we just need to be us. When we bring our very best—whatever small portion that is—and place it in the Lord’s hands, He multiplies it.
Paul learned this lesson through his own thorn in the flesh:
2 Corinthians 12:9 (NASB)
And He has said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.’ Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me.
Talent and self-reliance often get in the way of being used by God because pride precedes a fall. It is usually the person who thinks they have it all figured out who gets blindsided. But when we come in humility and brokenness, saying, “God, I have nothing to offer in my own strength; fill me with Your Spirit so that I might decrease and You might increase,” God moves powerfully.
Who is this Jesus who increases in our lives? Scripture tells us that in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being. That Word became flesh and dwelt among us, full of grace and truth.
[SCRIPTURE: John 1:1-3, 14]
Paul reminds us that He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation, and in Him all things hold together.
Colossians 1:15-17 (NASB)
He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by Him all things were created, [both] in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities– all things have been created through Him and for Him. He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.
If you are in Christ, God has declared that you are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works that He prepared beforehand for you to walk in.
Ephesians 2:10 (NASB)
For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.
Your background, your story, and all the drama of your past can be redeemed by Christ and used for His glory. When you hear that, do you pump the brakes and think, Me? His workmanship? I’m barely holding on to sobriety. I’m struggling with sin. I’m a hot mess?
God uses people who are messy. You come just as you are, and by His grace, He doesn’t leave you as you are. All you are is a sack lunch. The world tells you to make a name for yourself and prove how awesome you are. In the kingdom of God, we admit we are not awesome, and we boast in our weakness so that Christ receives all the glory.
Three Imperative Commands
There are three imperative commands in this passage that frame the narrative.
First, in verse 15, the disciples say to Jesus, “Send the crowds away.” It is an imperative command—they are essentially trying to boss Jesus around because of their fear and logistical panic. When we lean on our own logic instead of trusting Christ, we stop living by faith.
Second, in verse 16, Jesus responds with an imperative command: “You give them something to eat.” It is not a suggestion. It is a direct call to step out in obedience regardless of fear, inadequacy, or discomfort, and to trust His provision.
Third, in verse 18, Jesus commands, “Bring them here to Me.” Whatever little you have, bring it to Jesus.
From that point on, the disciples are simply delivery boys. When people asked Peter, “Where are you getting all this food?” Peter could only say, “It’s from Jesus! You know me—I don’t have this kind of bread. I’m just a beggar telling other beggars where to find the bread.”
Get in the Game
My invitation to you as we close is simple: get in the game.
If you have trusted in Jesus Christ, you are His workmanship. Christianity is not a spectator sport. Imagine how tragic this story would be if Jesus said, “You give them something to eat,” and the disciples crossed their arms and said, “No, I’m not feeling it. That makes me uncomfortable. I’ll just sit here and watch.”
Too many people in the church are just watching from the sidelines. You say, “I’m not talented enough.” We know. “I don’t feel equipped.” Great—let us help train you. “I feel uncomfortable.” We will walk with you through that discomfort. From a grace and truth standpoint, if we only extend grace and never call you into kingdom ministry, that is reckless. We want you in the game because God did not save you to be a bored Christian. He saved you to live on the edge of faith where you have to trust Him.
Every time the disciples handed out a basket and went back to Jesus, their faith grew. When the day was done, they went to sleep physically exhausted, saying, “God used us today. All we did was deliver the Bread of Life.”
It works the exact same way today. When you lead a life group, serve in a recovery ministry, mentor a couple, or serve your neighborhood, you take the bread from the Master, offer your small sack lunch, and watch Him feed people. You go to bed tired, but knowing your weakness allowed His strength to be made perfect.
We are simply beggars telling other beggars where to find the bread. Welcome to the kingdom of God.
Let’s pray.
Father, thank You that by Your grace You call us out of our slavery to sin and into newness of life. Lord, forgive us for the times we have been content to sit as spectators while others carry the burden of ministry. We bring our insecurity, our fear, our shame, and our inadequacy and lay them at the feet of Jesus. You are our adequacy. Would You take our small, ordinary lives—our five loaves and two fish—and multiply them for Your glory? Use this church family to boldly distribute the Bread of Life to a hungry world. In Jesus’ name, Amen.