Page 2 of 2So, why all the leftover food? There has been much discussion about this through the centuries. Great biblical minds have paralleled these 12 baskets to the 12 disciples and to the 12 tribes of Israel, and these may very well be true. I take a different approach, though. Outside of Amarillo, Texas, is a restaurant that offers a free 72 ounce steak with all the fixings to the person who can eat it all in one hour. Many attempt this feat; few succeed. But one man ate it all. Then, to the amazement of the onlookers, he ordered a dessert and ate it too. He obviously didn't need any more calories; he was just saying to everyone there, "Yeah, I'm the man. I came, I saw, I conquered." And he ended his artery-clogging statement with a dessert exclamation point. Perhaps Jesus was just ending his statement in the same (although healthier) manner, with an exclamation point: "I came, I saw, I fed you all. Oh, and we had enough left over that it will boggle the minds of theologians for centuries."
Jesus' Desire for Us
Here's the point. Jesus did not multiply the food until after the disciples obeyed. He could have begun multiplying the food without the disciples being on board to show them that he could. What a shock that would have been! They would have seen what was happening and jumped in to help distribute the food. It would have been a great illustration in charity. However, Jesus was certainly a master teacher, and he forced a decision on their part. Are you going to trust and obey me or not? Once they determined to follow him obediently, only then did he bless them. That's when he showed his power. This is a much stronger lesson, isn't it? And you know, he still works this way today. God wants to show us his power, just as he wanted to bless the disciples that day. Yet he withholds that blessing until we first show our obedience to him. Whether it's sustenance, as in this Galilean picnic, finances, relationships, or whatever, God wants to bless you. Yet, first he wants to be obeyed. It's a simple formula: we obey and his blessings follow, not the other way around. Don't misunderstand this lesson. There is nothing indicating that every time we obey, we will be blessed with things. God is not a shortcut to getting rich, or fat for that matter. The lesson is about the sequence, Step A then Step B.
This is a difficult lesson. Like you, I want things on my time table, usually Right Now. God knows I believe in him. But even Satan's band of rebels believes in God. No, God wants me to obey him, sight unseen, even when it doesn't make any sense. Especially when it doesn't make any sense. That is where the lesson is really learned.
Is God telling you to do something? Has he given you directions for something that you don't understand or don't want to do? Trust him and obey him. You can be sure that his blessing will follow, even if it is simply the blessing of knowing that you were obedient to God and the privilege of seeing his power on your behalf.
Even after this lesson was taught and the blessing given, God wasn't finished yet. At this point, the disciples hadn't comprehended that Jesus was God. Sure, Jesus calmed the storm (Matt. 8) and cast demons into pigs (Luke 8), but not until that night in the boat, seeing Jesus defy gravity and walk on water after feeding the five thousand, did they understand that he really was the Son of God (Matt. 14:33).
His plans included an even bigger lesson, one that would move them from thoughts of Wow, this is amazing to Surely you are God! That's when true worship began. It's the same today.
Dennis is a 15-year youth ministry veteran. He has led groups and directed camps from 20 to 2,500.
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