Feeding of the Five Thousand
10 When the apostles returned, they reported to Jesus all that they had done. He took them along and withdrew privately to a town called Bethsaida.
11 When the crowds found out, they followed him. He welcomed them, spoke to them about the kingdom of God, and healed those who needed healing.
12 Late in the day, the Twelve approached and said to him, “Send the crowd away, so that they can go into the surrounding villages and countryside to find food and lodging, because we are in a deserted place here.”
13 “You give them something to eat,” he told them.
“We have no more than five loaves and two fish,” they said, “unless we go and buy food for all these people.”
14 (For about five thousand men were there.)
Then he told his disciples, “Have them sit down in groups of about fifty each.”
15 They did what he said, and had them all sit down.
16 Then he took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, he blessed and broke them. He kept giving them to the disciples to set before the crowd.
17 Everyone ate and was filled. They picked up twelve baskets of leftover pieces.
Commentary
There is no desert or deserted place that cannot be made abundant and overflowing with blessings when Christ is present. Jesus and his disciples retreated to a quiet, remote locale. A very large crowd (in numbers that could fill an arena, 5000 men plus wives and children) followed them, seeking truth and healing. When Jesus looked up to Heaven and blessed the pitiful amount of food, a miracle of abundance brought the Father's kingdom to Earth to feed the many.
When we pray Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, on Earth as it is in Heaven, we are asking for the Father's blessings and rule to come down from Heaven and into this world. We, ourselves, cannot bring the Father's kingdom to the world. Only Jesus can bridge the gap between this world and our Heavenly Father.
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