Scripture Reading: Matthew 14:14-21, Luke 5:4-11, John 21:1-11, John 2:1-11
Food is an unmistakable theme in the miracles of Jesus. There is no aspect of humanity that Jesus ignored, including our need for food.
Jesus ate. He drank. He attended dinner parties—lots of them. The beginning of His earthly ministry included the miracle of turning water into wine at a wedding reception (John 2:1-11). And before He ascended back into heaven, He cooked His disciples breakfast with fish He’d miraculously jammed into their nets (John 21:1-14). In today’s reading, we see that He also supernaturally fed tens of thousands of followers.
This helps me to see the practical side of Jesus more clearly. Sure, His supernatural nature is awesome, and we’re keenly aware of our need to see His hand in the “big stuff.” But we tend to whizz right past the fact that He sees and responds to both our extraordinary and our ordinary needs.
In Matthew 14, we find one of Christ’s most famous miracles, what’s known as the “Feeding of the Five Thousand.” But this was actually a miracle on a much grander scale. Scripture says five thousand men were present “besides women and children” (v.21), meaning there were likely closer to 15,000 people gathered around Jesus—and He fed every single one of them until they were full (v.20).
These were people shot through with grief and sorrow. John the Baptist, one of their spiritual heroes, had just been brutally beheaded (Matthew 14:1-12). At the news of His dear cousin’s murder, Jesus retreated to a desolate place to mourn, but the grieving crowds followed Him, desperate for hope in the midst of hurt, for light in the darkness.
As their Maker, Jesus knew the crowd’s deepest needs were spiritual, yet He did not race past their immediate physical needs. In verse 14 we catch a glimpse of a thread that weaves throughout the miracles of Jesus: “When he went ashore he saw a great crowd, and he had compassion on them.”
Compassion motivated Jesus to feed the crowds. He satisfied their physical hunger so they could see that He alone is capable of satisfying their spiritual hunger.
In Mark 8:1-10 we see that another crowd tracked Jesus down and remained with Him to hear Him teach for three days—without food. If He sent them home, some would faint on the way (v.3). Again, He responded with compassion, meeting their physical needs so they could digest the spiritual truths He desired to teach them. He gave them bread and fish so that they could “taste and see that the Lord is good” (Psalm 34:8).
Perhaps food is just a tether keeping us close to the truth that we are not our own sustainers. Is it possible that God hard-wired our physical needs into our DNA to teach us of our bigger, constant need for Him? What if every meal were a parable teaching us that Jesus is the Bread of Life (John 6:35), the True Bread from Heaven (John 6:32), the Grain of Wheat (John 12:24), and the Living Water (John 4:10-11).
Jesus’ miracles are never about the miracle itself. They’re about Jesus. He doesn’t intervene in our lives primarily for our comfort, but for His glory, that we would turn to Him. Every last one of our needs points to and is met in Him.
Erin Davis is an author, blogger, and speaker who loves to see women of all ages run to the deep well of God’s Word. When she’s not writing, you can find Erin chasing chickens and children on her small farm in the Midwest.
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85 thoughts on "Miracles of Food and Drink"
This reading makes me think of the different responses to being fed. When the people see that Jesus has provided for their need to eat, they look to make Him king by force. Their need has been met, and they look for someone who can continually feed them.
When Peter sees the miraculous catch of fish, he is led to repentance, and leaves everything behind to walk in Jesus’ footsteps. To follow His character.
What an important reminder of how God’s provision should lead us to knowledge and faith in who He is, acknowledgement of our sin and His glory, and leading a life of following His footsteps.
Yes! I love that! Thank you so much for sharing!
Amen. It’s always about HIM!
This , this right here is convicting —> What if every meal were a parable teaching us that Jesus is the Bread of Life (John 6:35), the True Bread from Heaven (John 6:32), the Grain of Wheat (John 12:24), and the Living Water (John 4:10-11).
http://www.in-due-time.com
can anyone help me break down the third question in the study book? i’m having a hard time digging into this piece of scripture.
I had a hard time with this as well. My Study Bible explained it beautifully “The miracle showed His power over nature and revealed the way He would go about ministry- helping others, speaking with authority, and being in personal touch with people.”
I wrote it was because of his mother’s faith that he turned water into wine. “Do whatever he tells you…” such a Mom thing to say, but it’s also an example of perfect faith. She needed help and went straight to Jesus undoubtedly. As for why he was reluctant, I wrote that it was not part of God’s plan (my hour has not yet come…), but God still used it to glorify Him for the purpose of this retelling. Hope this helps!
I wrote: 1) to bless the wedding; Jesus is always so practical too. He never has this attitude that hey, I am above these…cuz I am all about the spiritual. 2) to reveal his glory and power of Nature; this is the beginning of his ministry; kind of “set the tone,” for more to come, 3) to perform this miracle so his disciples can believe in him(v.11) 4) to set limits with Mary, his mother, at the very beginning of his ministry. Jesus is obedient to the Father’s will/plan (my hour has not yet come), which is the big picture, and he kindly reminds his mother of that too. Moms sometimes want to meet the immediate needs, but forget the “big picture” is “may Your will be done.” Mary, being always the pondering sweet and obedient Mary, submits herself, again.
I also needed help with these questions. Thank you for these answers, it cleared things up for me. I appreciate it!
I am probably coming at this from the wrong main point so forgive me. I have never really figured out my ministry that God created me for. Today it struck me that I have maybe overlooked the ministry of feeding people well. I can’t say I love to cook but it is better than going out to eat in my opinion. I never know what is in that food. I figure it is something negative most of the time though because my diabetic son’s blood sugar goes crazy after restaurant food–even Carb free food. There is the verse a out our body being the Temple of God. I hear people say often they don’t have time or don’t like to cook or something else for reasons they don’t cook. So I may have allowed myself to miss the importance of healthy eating and cooking and blessing others in that way as a ministry that is important to God. Feed my sheep may include physical and spiritual food. He did provide us with some pretty healthy food for nourishing our bodies and there is a counterfeit option of food too. Satan loves to tempt us with a counterfeit version of life. But like I said this may not be the direction this lesson was going.
Thanks for this Sheila. God has recently put on my heart an interest in studying nutrition and health, and for someone like me who accepted the call to mission work many years ago, I’m struggling to reconcile what many see as a ‘secular’ or ‘alternative’ interest with something I can do for God’s glory. Your words helped me see that yes, Jesus did place value and importance on the nourishing of our physical bodies, and this in turn can lead to true nourishment – of our souls!
Yes! I think sometimes the holiest thing we can do is to bring a meal to someone who needs it.
I agree! 1 Corinthians 6:19 tells us that our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit. I believe that we should nourish our bodies to the best of our abilities for spiritual reasons as well as physical. In my experience it’s harder to serve when your health is compromised.
“feeding people well” your said, is such a beautiful thing to do. I take great pleasure in the kitchen preparing food for my family and feel the most energized doing that. I am so glad for you, Sheila, that today’s reading led you to discover this “calling” God has for you. The smallest things we do, to the least of our brothers and sisters…(besides, who says feeding people well is small matter! this is a lost art for our generation) Jesus says, is love for Him.
Sheila,
It may be a good thing there is a screen between us, because I’d like to grab you by the shoulders and shake you I’m so excited by what you wrote. (A happy, excited shake!). I have a message that’s been simmering in my heart for years about the ministry of pancakes. . . or veggies, or spaghetti. It doesn’t matter what’s on the plate. What matters is that Jesus modeled for us ministering to others with food. I love when He served His disciples breakfast after the resurrection (John 21). What a profound and tender moment. I think the ministry of food is under promoted in the Church. What if hot cinnamon rolls are just what someone needs to find hope for the day? What if we care for the fatherless and the widow by inviting them to eat dinner with us. The possibilities are endless. So, friend…start whipping up some ministry. Maybe call your church office and see who needs some TLC this week, or make a meal for some unchurched neighbors nearby. I am going to take a moment to ask the Lord to give you a clear vision and many opportunities to build His Kingdom with the gift of food.
Rooting for You!
Erin Davis
Compassion motivated Jesus to feed the crowds. He satisfied their physical hunger so they could see that He alone is capable of satisfying their spiritual hunger. Yes, feeding is a ministry. Showing God’s love through preparing good food for someone can be an encouragement or even a door to that hard heart (neighbor, friend, family) to soften them with our outpouring of love through meals, so that they will then listen to our Gospel. And see our Gospel of love through unselfishly sharing good food and the time it took to prepare it. Sitting around a table and sharing food promotes fellowship and relationship, especially with our family, something that is quickly being lost in the average American family.
What struck me in today’s reading was the first miracle that was performed shortly after John the Baptist’s beheading. Jesus was grieving still, yet He had compassion on the multitude. Jesus showed up even in His darkest hours. As painful as it must have been, His eyes were not turned inwards but instead outwards. How many times do we turn away others needs and deny love and compassion because we are in a dark valley? The beauty isn’t in our suffering, it’s in our turning outwards and allowing our grief to be a bridge that leads us to others despite our suffering. The true beauty happens when we choose to give life despite the valley of despair and death we may walk through.
Yes, indeed! A beautiful reminder to keep our face turned out, instead of easily turning it in on ourselves.
Wow! So needed to read that this morning. So many times I walk around thinking life is too tough, I think more about myself and the struggles I’m dealing with. When we look at Christ we see that he has compassion and gave no matter what. Lord, thank you for showing me that it’s not about me, it’s not about my current problems, help me to focus on showing your love to others even in my darkest moments. Let me shine your light on others!
Today’s reading struck me, there was so much in this my heart needed. Not only the SRT teaching today, but your words opened up something in me and were just what I needed to hear, as I’ve had 3 big surgeries in the past 6 weeks and am facing 2 more in the next few months. I’ve felt so deeply down and closed off this past week and I prayed that God would help me with this, help open my eyes, my heart, my soul. I’ve been pushing people away, sulking in my pain and suffering and that is so far from who I am, it’s even shocking me. “My Morning Song”, your words were inspired and were exactly what I needed! Thank you for this Spirit inspired comment. I added your words to my notes! *Hugs!
Praying for you in this time, Kat. Thank you for stopping by this morning!
– Stormye
Amen!
Jesus’s miracles around food is one of the parts of the Bible that my kids struggle with the most. Before we adopted them, they starved for years, living in shelters in towns near us. They were surrounded by riches but were so impoverished. They wanted food so badly but it rarely came. They have such a hard time believing in Jesus because he says he will provide for all our needs, but yet they were left hungry and with no help for so long. It breaks my heart, and leaves me wishing I had an explanation. They are so happy to be with us now and joyful that they have all their needs provided for, but their past haunts them. I just keep praying that Jesus will comfort them and bring them peace, and will ease their troubled hearts.
I’m so sorry. I’m praying for wisdom for you in this. It is a struggle for me to understand poverty in light of Jesus teachings as well. I recently read the Story of God commentary on the Sermon on the Mount and found it helpful– the author looked at Jesus saying God would meet all of the peoples’ need and explained that this was a crowd of his followers in normal economic situations and Jesus was calling them to let go of anxiety. They were not living in an extreme situation like poverty and they weren’t children with out resources. The author emphasized that this promise from Jesus wasn’t a blanket statement but a specific instruction to a specific group of people at a specific time. Not sure if that helps you. I’ve also been listening to NT Wright and he talks about Jesus bring the kingdom to earth and how as Christians we should join in with him, working to eliminate poverty and food scarcity in our own communities. This is our way of participating in God’s will being done on earth as it is in heaven.
I’m still sorting through all of this into mind but I found it helpful, maybe you will too.
I love all those thoughts. I have been thinking a lot about NT Wright, too, and one of my prayers for my girls is that out of their experience, they might be compelled to work for others who are going through what they went through, and thereby find meaning and a “working together for good”.
Praying for your sweet ones, Amy.
Wow. That has to be so hard for your mama’s heart. I pray you can find the words to say to comfort your kiddos and point out how much Jesus loves them.
Thank you! It can be so hard to find the words in the moments when the kids ask such hard questions. Sometimes I feel like the right thing to do is just to weep with them. Other times I want to guide them, but these questions are so…existential. It makes my heart hurt that children have to ask questions like that at all.
You touched on it a little bit, but I would remind your girls of 2 Corinthians 1:3-7. Sometimes we go through trials and afflictions for the sole purpose of helping others who are suffering in the same way. Jesus came to Earth as fully God and fully man to be tested and tried and suffer, as we would suffer, so as to comfort us in our troubles. Your girls have been through something that few people reading this can understand, but their unique experience is a daily trial for many in impoverished countries. They have a story to tell and the ability to comfort those (in a way most of us never could) who are living the life that they once lived. I would encourage them to use their testimony to reach others who find themselves in the same circumstances. Hope this helps☺️
Perhaps you can help them come to peace with the question, rather than trying to give them the answer. What I mean is, perhaps they can put this on a list of questions that they would like to ask Jesus when they are someday sitting at his feet, being taught by him. For now, maybe you can simply tell them “I don’t know the answer, so for today, let’s pray that God will someday show us why. And let’s also thank God for bringing us together. I love you so very much.” May He grant you his peace.
Praying for your sweet little one and for you, Amy. Asking the Lord to give you the words to say and to open their minds to His ways, even when they seem incomprehensible to us. So grateful for you and thankful that the Lord has placed you as mama in their lives to love and minister to them well.
– Stormye
I love the idea that maybe we are built to need food as a reminder that we always need him. Although the huge miracles we read about today are so amazing, I am also led to think about the daily miracles of plants popping up each spring that will feed and sustain us. I love reading about superfoods and whole food being better than processed food. It’s because God created that food specifically for our human bodies! How awesome! It can’t get better than that. I eat my fair share of processed foods, and I don’t think that will really ever change completely. But I would love to eat all natural, not just for health benefits, but as a reminder that I should be wholly reliant on what he gives me, rather than the convenient filler that the world provides. Thank you, Lord, for meeting out physical and spiritual needs!
Love this thought!
“But I would love to eat all natural, not just for health benefits, but as a reminder that I should be wholly reliant on what he gives me, rather than the convenient filler that the world provides. ” Thanks for a great reminder, Caitie! I love that.
Convenient filler. That phrase just blessed my life in a mega way. Thanks Caitie. Convenient fillers can be people too.
Wonderfully put! My husband and I are constantly thanking Jesus for our meals and asking him to sustain us to promote his glory!
How funny you say a convenient filler; this is exactly what fast food, bagged food and boxed food is!
Caitie, thank you so much for this! What a beautiful way of phrasing this, that all we need to sustain us has already been provided by God. You have blessed me this morning with your words.
I love that I am learning more about Jesus’ character. He is loving, kind and compassionate. One thing that has stuck with me after going through Isaiah and the readings during Holy Week is the verse right after Judas betrays Jesus with the kiss. He asked Judas “Friend, why have you come?” Knowing what is about to happen to Him, and the fact that Judas just betrayed Him, He still calls him friend.
I would have been so angry. I would have been screaming at him if that had happened to me. But Jesus, out of love for us, willingly accepted everything that happened to Him. It just blows my mind. He is amazing.
Amen!
Me,too! That was the biggest take away for me this Easter! Jesus loved Judas to the very end! Judas rejected Christ’s forgiveness but, Jesus still offered and died for him. We are to love like Jesus and let the Holy Spirit convict us in our sin. May God bless us to live as loved and share His love with others!