Christian Living
‘If 5 loaves of whole bread fed 5,000+ persons (with 12 baskets of fragments) and 7 loaves of whole bread fed 4,000 persons (with 7 baskets of fragments), how many persons will one loaf of whole bread feed?’
The disciples of Jesus probably never solved this kind of mathematics before now. So really, what Jesus wanted was for his disciples to put aside their quibbles and remember (even if faintly), that He just finished performing a miracle of feeding 4,000 hungry people with 7 loaves of bread. So whether they forgot to purchase bread for their next journey or not, it is possible for fragments/leftover to surpass the whole.
“But Jesus, being aware of it, said to them, “Why do you reason because you have no bread? Do you not yet perceive nor understand? Is your heart still hardened? Having eyes, do you not see? And having ears, do you not hear? And do you not remember? When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many baskets full of fragments did you take up?” They said to Him, “Twelve.”
Mark 8:17-19 NKJV
How? How do fragments surpass the whole?
Let’s quickly look at the 2 scenarios where Jesus made this possible.
Scenario #1: Surplus Fragments in Matthew 14:13-21
John the Baptist had just been beheaded and buried…..not exactly a nice way for some one to die. Jesus needed a quiet place to Himself. So away He went by boat to a deserted place. But not this multitude, they will not let Him be. So follow Jesus they did, coming out by foot from all cities.
As soon as Jesus saw the crowd seeking after Him, His heart melted….filled with compassion. These people have walked a long way to meet Him to help fix their lives. Thank God Jesus Came! They must be hungry! Jesus healed the sick among them, but by evening, it was necessary that the multitude be fed. As it turned out, the only available food was 5 loaves of whole bread and 2 fish. Certainly not enough to feed 5,000 men (not counting women and children).
Jesus commanded the multitude to sit down on the ground, then He took the 5 loaves and 2 fish in His hand, looked up to Heaven, blessed them, broke them and gave them to the disciples to feed the multitude. By faith/not, the disciples followed the Lord’s instruction. But did they notice the multiplication process that took place as they fed the multitudes? Jesus tried to draw their attention to it. ‘Gather up the fragments’, He said. Alas! they had 12 baskets of leftovers.
Scenario #2: Surplus Fragments in Mark 8: 1-9
Another great multitude thronged around Jesus. They had been with Him for 3 days! Doing what someone may ask? Listening to His teachings, getting healed, etc. Have they stayed without food the entire 3 days? Or did they run out of supplies? One thing was sure; Jesus will not let them stay hungry another hour.
The disciples didn’t think bread alone was sufficient to satisfy the multitude considering their number and how long they’d stayed with Jesus. As it turned out again, the disciples only had 7 loaves of whole bread and a small fish. Who needs to eat first? Jesus? The disciples? The multitude? Looking at the 2 scenarios, Jesus’ concern was for the multitude.
Again, Jesus commanded the multitude to sit down on the ground, then He took the 7 loaves and fish, gave thanks, broke them and gave them to the disciples to feed the multitude with. Do you think the disciples noticed the multiplication process that occurred with the bread as they served it this time? The total number of leftover fragments were 7 baskets!
Demographics of the Hungry Multitude
What kind of people do you think constituted the multitude we just read about? The rich?, strong?, healthy? educated? We are not told. But we can make some inferences.
From Mathew 14, we have 5,000 males and an unnamed number of females and children, Mark 8 simply tells us 4,000 people were fed, but Matthew 15 points out that, this number accounts for only males.
I would think that the unnumbered crowd far outnumbered the counted male group (just think of a normal Church setting; women almost always outnumber men). So we have men and women of all ages and children.
Secondly, I believe there were probably more poor than rich people in that crowd.
Thirdly, I want to believe that most of these people had one health, emotional or spiritual need or the other. They were a crowd of needy persons.
Fourthly, this crowd needed to hear the Word.
What Can we Learn from the 2 incidents?
Jesus sees all our needs; thank God that in Him, we can have all of them met. He doesn’t just care that we receive spiritual food only, He’s also interested in supernaturally providing physical food for us. Halleluyah!
The compassion of Jesus never fails, never stops and we would never become faint if we stay with Him.
When you read Mark 8: 17-19, you hear the disappointment in Jesus’ tone. ‘Do you not yet perceive nor understand?’, Jesus asked the disciples. Even if you forgot the 5,000, you can’t possibly forget the 4,000!
“But Jesus, being aware of it, said to them, “Why do you reason because you have no bread? Do you not yet perceive nor understand? Is your heart still hardened? Having eyes, do you not see? And having ears, do you not hear? And do you not remember? When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many baskets full of fragments did you take up?” They said to Him, “Twelve.”
Mark 8:17-19 NKJV
Could Jesus be saying this to us today?
For me, the 3rd scenario I would have loved to see would be where the disciples do not have any loaf of bread at all. This time, they had 1 loaf, what if they didn’t have any loaf of bread at all, what would Jesus multiply?
When Do Fragments Surpass The Whole?
Recreate the scenarios above….. have the kind of crowd Jesus had, have some bread and fish, have faith in the multiplier effect of the blessing on the available ‘little’, then disperse it. Remember to gather the fragments. Count them.
Put the ‘little’ bread in your hands in Jesus’s hands, He makes fragments surpass the whole.
Did I hear you ask ‘how?’, ‘what would Jesus do with it?’ He needs you (and I) to take care of the lost.
Mathew 25: 34-40….
“Then the King will say to those on His right hand, ‘Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.’” Matthew 25:34-36. NKJVhttps://bible.com/bible/114/mat.25.34-36.NKJV
“Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.’“
Matthew 25:37-40 NKJV
1 2
