But Jesus said to them, “YOU give them something to eat!” . . . . Luke 9:13
Jesus was constantly teaching and training His disciples. Jesus’ every action, His every word, was for their learning . . . and ours! I have just realized that the feeding of the five thousand occurs on the same day that the disciples had returned from their missionary journey. With that context, what is the message we should be learning?
Jesus had called His disciples to Him and gave them power and authority over all demons and to heal diseases. He sent them out to proclaim the Kingdom of God and perform healing (Luke 9). We can infer from the parallel passage in Matthew that their journey took several months.
So many miracles and wonders were taking place that they were the talk of all Judea. Even Herod, the Roman ruler, had heard about it. Some thought that perhaps John the baptizer, whom Herod had beheaded, had risen from the dead! But it was Jesus and His disciples who were creating such a stir.
Finally, the disciples returned to Jesus excited to tell Him about all that God had done through them. Jesus wanted to escape the crowd to hear their testimonies. So, they retreated to the town of Bethsaida (which means “House of Fishing”). But the crowds followed Jesus. Instead of sending them away, Jesus welcomed them. And Jesus taught them and healed them.
The disciples had not even shared about their exciting missionary journey, yet. They were waiting for Jesus to finish with the crowds, but it was getting to be late afternoon. So, they suggest to Jesus that He send the crowd away so that they can find food on their way home.
Jesus replied, “YOU (emphatically!) have the food to feed them.” He had already given them power and authority. They had been using that power and authority for months - and making a great impact! Jesus was telling them that they already have the power and authority to feed the crowd. They had already been feeding the crowd spiritual food for months. So, the disciples were comfortable moving in that realm. Now, Jesus was revealing that their power and authority also extended to the physical realm. They had not experienced that yet. Jesus was revealing a new realm of authority and expanding their faith to see it.
Jesus has been doing the same thing in my life. I pray that my eyes are open to see everything He has for me! Amen!