Luke 9:12-17 12Now the day began to end, and after coming, the twelve said to him, “Send the crowd away in order that after going into the surrounding villages and countryside, they might rest and find provisions, for we are here in a desolate place. 13But he said to them, “You give them something to eat.” But they said, “We have no more than five loaves and two fish, unless after going we might buy food for all these people.” 14For there were about five thousand men. And he said to his disciples, “Have them sit down in groups of about fifty each.” 15And they did so and had them all sit down. 16And after taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he blessed them, broke them, and gave them to the disciples to set before the crowd. 17And they all ate and were filled up. And what was left over was picked up by them, twelve baskets of broken pieces.
The crowds were so enthralled with Jesus that they would not leave, even as the sun moved across the sky and signaled the day would soon end. We should give the apostles some credit for noticing that the day was almost over and the people were still there, getting tired and hungry. Sometimes when things are so exciting, we forget about food, which apparently was happening to these people. But one of the apostle’s stomach must have growled and alerted them to the great need that was developing. They had been hanging around Jesus enough by this point to develop a sense of compassion for the people and that they needed to be sent away to find a place to sleep and get some food. Luke once again notes the need for hospitality in his writing. The large group was in a place out in the wilderness where there were no resources to provide for their needs.
There are several surprises in this story. The first happens when Jesus puts the responsibility to solve the situation in the hands of the disciples. The surprise provided an opportunity for the disciples to grow in their faith. Luke’s version of this story leaves out some significant details found in the other three Gospel accounts. Luke does not point out so much the lack of faith by the disciples but more of how Jesus was the answer to the situation. Their response to Jesus is logical and based on human thinking. They had just enough of a few people. The loaves were likely the small round pita-type loaves that were commonly cooked at that time. The fish were probably dried for preservation and the kind most often caught in the Sea of Galilee. The only solution was to go and buy food. There is no mention here of how much it would cost, like what is found in the other accounts of this story. Luke’s point is not in the disciples’ struggle but in Jesus’ provision. Verse 14 gives the problem: there were too many people to feed with such a small amount. It is often pointed out that the note of five thousand men could represent family units, so the number of persons was much larger.
Jesus puts some responsibility on the disciples to organize the people into groups of fifty, which is a good size for a church. People can get to know one another in this size. It is also convenient for counting. Each disciple would have about nine or ten such groups to take care of, which would be manageable in a situation like this. Sitting down would be a sign of waiting and expectation. Jesus wanted the people to get comfortable and prepare for a picnic feast.
The situation dramatically changed when Jesus blessed the food. Jesus acknowledged that the source of food is God. He gave us an example of what we should do before our meals. The word for blessing (eulogēsen) can mean to give a “good word” about something. The blessing mentioned in verse 16 is an abbreviation of the full prayer of thanksgiving to God for food. A person is to “bless” or say a “good word” to God out of a thankful heart for the provision of food. Paul wrote to Timothy that “everything created by God is good, and nothing is rejected if received with thanksgiving; for it is sanctified through the word of God and prayer” (1 Timothy 4:4-5). Breaking bread for Jesus’ followers has powerful symbolism since the body of Jesus, the Bread of Life, was broken for us. The readers of this Gospel may recall this story of miraculous feeding later when the story of the Last Supper is given in 24:29-30. In this story, the breaking of bread was so that the food could be distributed to the one hundred groups of people.
Jesus’ blessing, breaking, and giving provided all the people needed for their nourishment. The second major surprise is the result of the miracle that everyone ate until they were full. The third surprise is the amount of leftovers. There was so much bread left over that each disciple had a basket for himself. This story cannot be explained by human logic. The key point of the story seems to be the mighty miracle-working power of Jesus. This story prepares for Jesus’ question in 9:20, “Who do you say that I am?” The reader, Theophilus (and everyone throughout time), has enough information from Luke’s orderly account to answer that question. The next question is what we will do with the answer we give.
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