Jesus Feeds the 5000

As a family, read Matthew 14:13-21 together.  Afterwards, share the following discussion.

What happened?

The disciples brought the sad news to Jesus that His cousin, John the Baptist, had been killed by King Herod. Jesus asked Peter to get a boat so He and the disciples could get to a quiet place away from the crowds.  It wasn’t long before the people found where He had gone.  Rather than getting upset that His plans were disrupted, Jesus had compassion when He saw the people coming. Knowing that they were like sheep with no shepherd, He began to teach them.

Late in the day, the disciples asked Jesus to send the crowd away so they could buy food and eat.  Jesus said, “You give them something to eat.”  Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, spoke up, “There is a boy here with his lunch.  He has five small loaves of bread and two fish, but what is that among so many?”  The boy gave his little lunch to Jesus.  The people were told to sit on the grass in groups of fifty. Jesus told the disciples to find some baskets, and then He blessed the food.  He broke the loaves of bread into pieces and did the same with the fish.  The baskets were filled, and as the disciples passed the bread and fish, it multiplied until five thousand men were fed.  That doesn’t even count the women and children who also ate, and twelve baskets of food were left over!

Why is this important to us today?

This really happened! Four different men wrote the account of this miracle in the Bible.  Do you realize that Jesus has the same power today as He did when He fed over five thousand people with one boy’s lunch? Think about that.  Although it was very small, Jesus made it huge! In the same way, if we obey Jesus in small things, He will use those little things to make a huge difference in our lives and in the world around us. The disciples learned that Jesus could do anything.  He is God and He loves people. Even when He was sad and wanted some time alone, Jesus still cared for the people who crowded around Him. Jesus cares for you too, just as He did for the people who followed Him that day.

Spend a few minutes talking about what you just read by answering these questions together:

1. What was the disciples’ solution to the huge crowd of people? Why do you think Jesus had a different solution?

2. Can you think of an example where God took some small act and did something big?

How can we better follow God this week?

Like Jesus, we sometimes get bad news or just have a bad day. When that happens, we tend to get selfish with our time and energy. Brainstorm ways that you, as a family and as individuals, can show God’s love and care for the people in your neighborhood, school, and church. Which of these things can you do this week? Which things will take more planning? As a family, commit to love people like Jesus does.  Ask for His help. Don’t forget that little is much if God blesses it.