WEEK FIVE

One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, saith unto him, There is a lad here, which hath five barley loaves, and two small fishes: but what are they among so many? And Jesus said, Make the men sit down. Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, in number about five thousand. And Jesus took the loaves; and when he had given thanks, he distributed to the disciples, and the disciples to them that were set down; and likewise of the fishes as much as they would. When they were filled, he said unto his disciples, Gather up the fragments that remain, that nothing be lost. Therefore they gathered them together, and filled twelve baskets with the fragments of the five barley loaves, which remained over and above unto them that had eaten. Then those men, when they had seen the miracle that Jesus did, said, This is of a truth that prophet that should come into the world.

We see in this passage that Andrew naturally doubted the effectiveness of such a meager supply in order to meet such a great demand. He says, “What are they for so many?” How in the world can such a small amount of food feed so many people? We might as well just let the boy eat his lunch and we will send everyone home. The problem is that Andrew, like many of us sometimes, look at problems like this one through the eyes of what we are able to do instead of through the eyes of what God can do. In performing this miracle, Jesus was demonstrating His power, but He was also specifically pointing to the fact that He was the bread that was going to be broken for all, and He was the final sacrifice to atone for our sins. God became a lowly man, in order to perform a great miracle, and we get to catch a glimpse of that in this story.

From the outside, Scripture says that there was not anything remarkable or unique about Jesus Christ, yet we know He is the most remarkable person in the universe! Christ perfectly obeyed the will of God when we could not. Now, because of Him, we are made right in the eyes of the Father. In light of our new position in Christ, we should be imitators of Christ. The best way to be an imitator of Christ is to live a life marked by obedience, even when, and often when, it doesn’t make sense or seem like it will work.

We must live in obedience, even when it does not make sense in our eyes. We understand that like Andrew, we can look at situations from a human perspective and only see the impossible, yet with God, all things are possible. One of the most difficult yet important ways in which we can be models of obedience is in our giving. By now, we have all seen the amount of money we are trying to raise in order to Advance the mission of God in our church. You may have even heard about some of the large contributions of other people. Then you look at yourself and what you have to offer and you may ask yourself, “What difference is that going to make?”

From a human perspective, not much, but God is able to multiply it beyond measure.

Oftentimes when we talk about giving we see it primarily as a financial issue, but as we have been emphasizing, it is not a financial issue, but a discipleship issue. To take this one step further; it is an obedience issue. We can easily fall into the trap of disobeying because something does not make sense in our human eyes. It is called, “Rational Disobedience.” In other words, it’s just plain disobedience. When we look at what we can give and the impact we can have, it may seem so inconsequential. Our five loaves and two fishes couldn’t possible meet the need that is presented before us. However, when we faithfully obey and give these to the Lord, He is able to multiply and use what we gave far beyond anything we could ever have thought. Imagine if Andrew had not brought the boy to Jesus? What if he would have simply dismissed him because his offering was just too small? 

What if you fail to trust the Lord and obey? What will you and the world miss out on when we fail to believe that God is able to multiply our efforts, if only we just obey?

We know that the feeding of the 5,000 was about much more than feeding hungry people. Like stated in the beginning, this miracle was a sign that pointed to the salvific person and work of Jesus Christ. Likewise, when we obey and give, it is about much more than a building, a dollar amount, or meeting a goal. When we accomplish this great endeavor, it is all about showing the riches of God’s grace and giving God the glory. We don’t stop Advancing once the funds are raised and the building is built. In fact, that is when we get to Advance all the more! When you obey and give, it not only contributes to the larger picture, but it is an act of obedience which causes you to tangibly live out the Gospel transformation in your life, and prayerfully, spread the message to more people.

• What was the spiritual significance of this miracle?
• In what ways is disobedience commonly rationalized?
• How can we become better at seeing situations like this through God’s eyes?
• How is giving actually a discipleship issue?
• What have you been neglecting to do because of your human perspective?