Imagine if 3 of your friends had written down stories about an experience that you shared together. If you were going to write your version, you might include a few which they had also included, but you’d probably want to be sure to “fill in the blanks” as well.

When John’s Gospel was written, it was most likely after Matthew, Mark, and Luke had already written their gospels. Their stories were already known. Maybe that is why John doesn’t include some of the same stories we find in the three earlier gospels.

But I am always interested when I realize that a story exists in all four of the gospels, because it gives us a good opportunity to examine what details each one includes.

One such story is the “Feeding of the Multitudes” which is sometimes referred to as the “Feeding of the 5,000.” This story not only exists in all four Gospels, but in Matthew and Mark the story happens twice.¹

The version I tend to remember is the one from John:

When he looked up and saw a large crowd coming toward him, Jesus said to Philip, “Where are we to buy bread for these people to eat?” He said this to test him, for he himself knew what he was going to do. Philip answered him, “Six months’ wages would not buy enough bread for each of them to get a little.” One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said to him, “There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish. But what are they among so many people?” Jesus said, “Make the people sit down.” Now there was a great deal of grass in the place; so they sat down, about five thousand in all. Then Jesus took the loaves, and when he had given thanks, he distributed them to those who were seated; so also the fish, as much as they wanted. When they were satisfied, he told his disciples, “Gather up the fragments left over, so that nothing may be lost.” So they gathered them up, and from the fragments of the five barley loaves, left by those who had eaten, they filled twelve baskets. (John 6:5-13)

There is so much going on here that you could write an entire book about this passage alone. But my question today is a simple one:

What is the miracle?

At first, it seems clear that the miracle is that Jesus somehow managed to turn the little bit of bread and fish into enough to feed all those people, so much so that there was more than enough, and a lot left over.

Several years ago, I heard a different interpretation of the story which cast the miracle in a different light. It suggested that the people who followed Jesus would probably have carried some food with them. Maybe not everyone, but a lot of them would have. When they sat down and saw the need, and saw the boy who was willing to share everything he had, and heard Jesus’ words, they decided that they would share what they had brought.

My immediate reaction was very negative. In fact, you may have heard me say in a sermon that “Getting people to ‘share’ isn’t a ‘miracle’ after about age 5.” I didn’t like this new interpretation at all. First of all, it wasn’t what I was used to, it wasn’t the way I had grown accustomed to understanding the story. Part of me thought that it took something away from Jesus to say that He wasn’t responsible for the miracle.

But the more I think about it, the more I wonder if I was wrong.

First of all, it’s probably safe to say that I underestimated how easily people find sharing. Yes, even grown-ups. Think about it. If you were there, in the countryside, following Jesus, and you had brought just a little bit of food with you, and suddenly you looked around and saw that there were a whole bunch of people who needed food, what would your first reaction be?

If we’re honest, we might say that our first instinct would be not to tell anyone. “Will I have enough for myself and my family?” “Why should I share with them? Just because they didn’t bring any food with them?” “They should have planned ahead like I did.” Those are completely natural thoughts. They involve basic survival and self-preservation which are foundational elements of life and security.

That also reminded me of the story of the manna that the Israelites received in the wilderness. They were called to go out and gather some each morning and collect only what they would need for that day:

This is what the Lord has commanded: ‘Gather as much of it as each of you needs, an omer to a person according to the number of persons, all providing for those in their own tents.’“ The Israelites did so, some gathering more, some less. But when they measured it with an omer, those who gathered much had nothing over, and those who gathered little had no shortage; they gathered as much as each of them needed. And Moses said to them, “Let no one leave any of it over until morning.” But they did not listen to Moses; some left part of it until morning, and it bred worms and became foul. (Exodus 16)

Here is this miracle which God has performed and promises to keep providing for them: but the first instinct of some of the Israelites is to doubt God. They don’t believe that there will be enough. They don’t believe that there will be more tomorrow. They want to hold on to what they have right now and store it up. They wanted a safety net, “just in case.”

Some of the people who sat down in the grass surrounding Jesus probably had the same fears. “If I give away what little I have, how do I know there will be enough for me later?”

Then, slowly, as they saw others around them sharing what they had, perhaps they too pulled out their hidden food and passed it around.

What does this have to do with us in 2009?

A lot of folks have seen their financial “safety net” dwindle or disappear over the past few months. At the same time, we’ve seen food prices increase, and while gas prices are currently a lot lower than they were, we all seem to realize that it’s not going to stay like that forever, or may even for long.

With that “safety net” threatened, we’ve heard a lot of talk about what’s right and what’s fair. There’s a lot of fear that some people are going to keep exploiting the system to their own advantage. Some are worried that others are going to get “hand outs” while people who have worked hard for what they’ve earned and saved aren’t going to have enough.

There’s an awful lot of “looking out for number one” going on around us.

I can understand that completely. We bought a house that we could afford and pay our mortgage every month, and we’ve tried to put away some money that we hope to be there to help pay for Ethan’s college bills and provide for our eventual retirement. Tracey and I have family members who have lost jobs and savings. This isn’t an abstract problem that I can sit back and objectively observe.

And eventually I have to ask myself a question: Where do I put my trust?

Perhaps there’s never been a more fitting time for our money to remind us that “In God We Trust” when we’ve realized that money isn’t always as dependable as we thought it was. That doesn’t mean going ahead blithely and carelessly or recklessly, but it means remembering what I really value and what I really trust.

Back to Jesus and the Bread & Fish

A pastor once told me about people he knew who made their giving to the church a priority every month. At the start of the month they wrote a check for their mortgage and a check for the church. He said that in 40 years of ministry he had never had someone come back to him and say that they had been left short at the end of the month.

“I don’t know whether writing that check first makes them better money managers or if God blesses their efforts,” he said. “Maybe both.”

Maybe both.

I remembered that story as I read the story of the feeding of the multitudes, and I thought to myself: “Maybe both.”

Maybe the story isn’t just about a miracle that Jesus performed and maybe it isn’t just about people sharing what they already had.

Maybe it’s both.

Perhaps some kind of combination happened, where Jesus took not only the few loaves and fish that the boy offered and multiplied them, but perhaps he also extended the same blessing to all those who had brought something and were willing to share.

Maybe it was Jesus working together with the people.

At the end of the story of the manna in the wilderness, we discover that there was enough. When the people were wandering in the wilderness, when they seemed to have been lost and could not find their way, God showed them the way. At the end of the story of Jesus and the loaves and fish, we discover that there was more than enough. When the situation seemed hopeless and there was no way they could feed all of those people, somehow, Jesus showed them the way.

Making “a way” out of “no way”: That’s the story of God’s faithfulness from Genesis to Exodus, to Matthew to John, to Revelation and even to us today.

That is the story that we are a part of, where we are expected to live and act not out of fear, uncertainty, and doubt, but out of faith, hope, and love.

May God add His blessing to all of our endeavors.

Amen.