13 Now when Jesus heard this, he withdrew from there in a boat to a desolate place by himself. But when the crowds heard it, they followed him on foot from the towns. 14 When he went ashore he saw a great crowd, and he had compassion on them and healed their sick. 15 Now when it was evening, the disciples came to him and said, “This is a desolate place, and the day is now over; send the crowds away to go into the villages and buy food for themselves.” 16 But Jesus said, “They need not go away; you give them something to eat.” 17 They said to him, “We have only five loaves here and two fish.” 18 And he said, “Bring them here to me.” 19 Then he ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass, and taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven and said a blessing. Then he broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds. 20 And they all ate and were satisfied. And they took up twelve baskets full of the broken pieces left over. 21 And those who ate were about five thousand men, besides women and children.
The feeding of the 5,000 is generally focused on God's provision for his people. Sometimes they will use it to point to Jesus' divinity. Some people may point to the short sightedness of the people. These people were so wrapped up in the words Jesus was speaking that they did recognize it was so late. It is only the disciples who truly become concerned about the time of day, and the need for food. Jesus and the people are trusting in the LORD for their provision.
If you tell someone there is food, they will generally show up. This seems to be a rule most organizations follow today. The disciples did not have this in mind. Or maybe the disciples only planned for a small group they could feed with five loaves and two fish (highly unlikely since John's Gospel recalls they didn't even bring this).
If you tell someone about Jesus, they won't care about how much they have to eat. Man does not live on bread alone, but every word from the mouth of God. You should not worry about bread to eat or clothing to wear, look to the birds of the air and the lilies of the field. Trust in the LORD to provide.
We know what Jesus did for the 5,000 and the 4,000. We even know that there has never been a potluck without leftovers. Yet, why do the disciples still worry about having bread? We are sinful people who focus on ourselves. We easily forget to trust in the Lord.
He provides you with everything for this body and life. He provides you with the perfect and eternal sacrifice for your sins. He even provides you with the faith, hope, and love. All of this only out of his holy goodness and fatherly love.
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