Friday | Week 5

For good reason, this is one of the most famous of Jesus’ miracles. Feeding 5000 people reminds us that Jesus can multiply what is very small and use it to impact and bless people in unimaginable ways. A sack lunch in Jesus’ hands turned out to be at the core of a great miracle. (It’s interesting to note that the two disciples who are mentioned both indicated that the situation was impossible.) So, the application challenge becomes: what are we willing to turn over to Jesus? Many of us will not necessarily do big things (feed 5000 people), but we will likely be asked to turn over our lunch for Jesus to use. Things such as our time, our skills, talents, our TV schedule, etc. can be used in very powerful ways. Are we willing to place what we have in the hands of Jesus—no matter how big or how small?

A second application can be found in John 6:2 and 6:14-15. Verse 2 says, “A great crowd of people followed him because they saw the miracles he had performed by healing the sick.” After they saw the feeding of the 5000, they wanted to make him a king. But we also know many ultimately left him. So, the question becomes, why did they follow Jesus in the first place? 

Apparently, they were more concerned about what Jesus could provide, than about simply knowing him. That also becomes a question for us to ask ourselves: “Why we are following Jesus?” Without question, following Jesus brings about many good things in our lives. There is purpose, incredible hope, love, potential for true peace, and a whole different level of friendship.

However, these are secondary. The first thing is simply knowing Jesus and being part of God’s kingdom. If we put first things first (loving and knowing Jesus simply for the sake of knowing Him), these things will be added unto us. If we put second things first, we are liable to lose these things.

So, the application challenge is straightforward: to follow Jesus simply for the privilege of knowing Him. We face many crossroad decisions on any given day. As we face these crossroads, start asking, “Which choice will help me know Jesus better?” It might not always be clear, but that’s a great place to start!