The small multiplied

When evening arrived, his disciples came to him saying, “This is an isolated place and the hour is already late. Send the crowds away so that they can go into the villages and buy food for themselves.”

16 But he replied, “They don’t need to go. You give them something to eat.”

17 They said to him, “We have here only five loaves and two fish.”

18 “Bring them here to me,” he replied.

19 Then he instructed the crowds to sit down on the grass. He took the five loaves and two fish, and looking up to heaven he gave thanks and broke the loaves. He gave them to the disciples, who in turn gave them to the crowds.

20 They all ate and were satisfied, and they picked up the broken pieces left over, twelve baskets full.

21 Not counting women and children, there were about five thousand men who ate. Matt 14:15-21

This is a very familiar scene for us with the 5000 listening to the words of Jesus in an isolated place. They are camped around God in a sense and don’t realise that they are going to be invaded by a Kingdom reality of provision because of a gift of a small meal.

The scene takes me back to the children of Israel in the wilderness, also camped around God with a real physical and also a spiritual need.  They complain to Moses that he had brought then out to a forsaken place where they had nothing to eat.  God sends them manna from heaven to feed their physical need, yet His heart, yearned for them to worship Him and Him alone, listen, trust and obey Him.

Here thousands of years later, the people are still hungry and Jesus, the Bread of Heaven, the Creator of all things, is standing before them teaching.  His compassion rises with the grumbling stomachs of men, women and children. He asks His disciples to feed them and throws them into a bit of a panic.  They look around and find a boy willing to give up His small meal, and with doubt in their hearts the bring this offering to Jesus. Jesus thanks our Father for it, begins to break it and pass it to His disciples to hand out to the crowd, and the multiplied bread and fish satisfy everyone with the leftovers of 12 baskets. Significant I think, as it should have reminded them of the 12 tribes of Israel and how God is their Provider.

Jesus could have fed the crowd by creating manna from heaven just like He did in the Old Testament scene. He is Sovereign - yet He doesn’t. 

I tell you the solemn truth, the person who believes in me will perform the miraculous deeds that I am doing, and will perform greater deeds than these, because I am going to the Father. Jn 14:12

I realised afresh that Jesus invites us, His own, to be a Kingdom solution to an earthly need.  He calls us to be co-workers with Him in building and establishing His Kingdom to come on earth. When we give, whether of time or finances, we will see His Kingdom expand on earth and His goodness released.  It has to start with our willingness, even as this amazing miracle had to start with a young boy offering his small meal to Jesus.  What we give to God, with purity of heart and correct motives, to see Him glorified and His Kingdom come and to meet the need He puts in front of us, we become that Kingdom solution.

I believe that the command to tithe and bring offerings sets our hearts on an eternal Kingdom and eternal souls but also breaks off of us the attachments of the temporal realm, especially finances.

Whatever God asks us to give for His purpose on earth will ultimately bring blessing to those we are ministering to, and glory and overflowing thanksgiving to Him. God is never into our loss but always our gain.  This is because “of the increase of His government there shall be no end”. God is into multiplication not subtraction.  And every time we obey, His Kingdom increases in our hearts and we are less and less likely to listen to the voices of fear and lack.

God’s Kingdom vision for His church is that, in our generosity, we have wider and wider influence into our community to meet real needs and touch hearts with our obedience, and our giving supports that vision as his co-workers.  It also helps us to become more like Jesus who came to serve and not be served.  It builds our trust in Him when we see that He still meets our needs and will also bring the increase in our harvest.