The Essential Jesus (Part 12): The Miracles of JesusSample

Miracle Meal

PRAY: Honestly, God, sometimes I feel like I don't have the resources to solve the biggest problems in my life. Please open my eyes to your perspective on the challenges I face.

READ: Matthew 14:13-21

REFLECT: It must have been difficult at times to be a disciple of Jesus; he was constantly testing them. Sometimes he'd lead them into tough situations. Other times he'd ask them tough questions. But all the time, we get the sense that Jesus was trying to build their understanding and faith in him. He still does that with us today.

That's what's going on in this familiar miracle: the feeding of the five thousand. Jesus already knows he can feed the five thousand men plus women and children (v. 21). But before he does, he challenges the disciples to solve the problem on their own (v. 16). What's your first instinct when you face a big problem? Do you make a plan? Do you complain? Do you go into high-energy mode? Do you become paralyzed with worry?

In this case, the disciples' first instinct was to look at their own resources (v. 17), and their conclusion was they didn't have enough to solve the problem. Not even close. But what Jesus was probing is whether or not his disciples would look to him first to solve the problem. Note that he says, "Bring them here to me" (v. 18). In other words, "Remember who I am; look to me first in everything that happens." It was the very same principle he taught in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 6:33).

I've always been curious about how Jesus did this miracle; at the critical point, the text merely says, "They all ate and were satisfied" (v. 20). I once saw a play about the life of Jesus that included this miracle. In it, the empty-handed disciples huddled with Jesus in a rugby scrum and then suddenly burst out with armloads of Italian bread. I don't know how they did that either! The point is that we don't know how or when Jesus will intervene in our lives. All we need to know is that he can and has resources far greater than we can ever imagine (Psalm 50:10). And that was the point of this miraculous picnic.

APPLY: What is the single biggest problem you face now? What would it mean for you to "look to Jesus first" for a solution?

PRAY: Lord Jesus, life is filled with problems. I'm so thankful that you know my needs and want me to come to you.