Luke 9:12, commentary and pictures

As the day wore toward evening in a remote desert place far from towns where food and lodging could be found, the twelve urged Jesus to send the hungry multitude away to provide for themselves. About five thousand men besides women and children had stayed with Him all day, hungry and faint, and though His rest was broken He pitied them as sheep without a shepherd, teaching and healing them, and would not send them away fasting lest they faint by the way. Instead He had them sit in companies on the grass, blessed the only supply at hand of five barley loaves and two small fishes, and had the disciples distribute it until all were satisfied and twelve baskets of fragments were gathered. The increase of the food draws aside the veil from nature to reveal His creative power constantly feeding millions from earth's harvests, giving evidence that He is the world's Redeemer with omnipotent beneficence whom the people rightly recognized as the promised Messiah. The verse therefore teaches dependence on God in strait places after following His direction, for His command Give ye them to eat is both command and promise; His workers are to receive from Him and impart to needy seekers with compassion rather than sending them away faint, and to gather the fragments in faithful economy so that nothing is wasted.

Time, Place, and Crowd

The day was wearing away toward evening at the close of a full day in which a vast crowd had been taught and healed. The disciples felt the lateness of the hour and the practical pressure of hunger, lodging, and failing light upon people who had been without food all day. Their concern grew as evening approached because the crowd was in a deserted place without nearby supply.

That place was a desert, remote and secluded beyond the towns and surrounding countryside, where food and lodging could not readily be obtained. Food was not nigh at hand and no apparent means of provision was in sight. About five thousand men besides women and children were present, including weary mothers and children who had followed through the day and were hungry and faint as the sun was setting.

Jesus had withdrawn with His disciples to a secluded place for peaceful rest, expecting to be undisturbed there. The multitude missed Him and followed the direction He had gone, many going by land and others following by boat across the water. With Passover at hand, bands of pilgrims on their way to Jerusalem joined to see Him until they were assembled and waiting on the shore before He arrived, while He landed unobserved and spent a little time apart with the disciples.

Though His rest was interrupted, He saw the people as sheep without a shepherd and was moved with compassion. He gave them the help their spiritual need required by teaching them the way of salvation. That help was what the priests and rulers had not given, but which the people received from Him. They stayed with Him away from the cities in a retired grassy place until their own food was used up, weary and hungry, described as being with Him three days.

The feeding took place on a barren shore on the preceding day. After being fed, the multitude left Jesus there, knowing no boat had been left by which He could depart, and He watched their departure with compassionate eyes. News of the miracle spread far and near, so that on the following morning the people returned early in large numbers by land and water to the spot where they had last seen Him.

Request and Meager Supply

As night drew near the twelve urged Jesus to send the multitude away into the surrounding towns and country to find lodging and get food, because they were in a desert place with no supply for so many. Their counsel arose as the day was wearing away and evening approached, when eager listeners who had stayed through the day to hear truth would otherwise have to seek provision for themselves. Jesus rejected that course and would not send them away, but met their hunger with compassion by His divine power.

All that could be found at hand was five barley loaves and two small fishes with a lad, which was nothing among so many. Philip judged that two hundred pennyworth of bread would not give each even a little, and Andrew could point to no more than that small store. The question of where food for so great a company could be found was raised as evening drew on, when five thousand men besides women and children had listened all day and some were fainting. Jesus Himself asked what food was on hand and how much they had, bringing to light those five loaves and few small fishes.

He would not send the people away unrefreshed to return home hungry or to faint by the way. Though He asked about obtaining bread, He already knew how He would provide, and He asked to test the faith of the disciples. The disciples saw only the difficulty of caring for so large a multitude in a deserted place without nearby food, yet Jesus did not want them to go home fasting.

He was one with them in their need of food and would not suffer them to return fasting to their homes. He who for their sake had fasted forty days in the wilderness would not allow the multitude to suffer for lack of food. He who had refused to work a miracle to satisfy His own hunger in the wilderness depended on His heavenly Father for means to relieve their necessity, providence having placed Him there with them.

Miracle of Satisfying Thousands

Instead of dismissing the crowd to find lodging and food, He kept them with Him and had them seated in companies on the grassy ground. A hymn was sung, and He took the five barley loaves and few small fishes, pronounced blessing upon them, broke the bread and divided the fishes, and placed them in the hands of the disciples to carry to the people. He first asked what food was on hand, and when the small store was brought He commanded the multitude to sit down so He could break and distribute through the disciples.

The supply did not diminish in the giving but increased as the disciples distributed it, and as they emptied their hands they returned to Him for more and kept imparting what they received. In this way all five thousand men besides women and children ate until their hunger was fully satisfied, with food still remaining in His hands as He kept giving. The disciples themselves also ate from what He provided, and the provision illustrates how gifts given in faith and used to meet the needs of others are multiplied by God.

When all were filled twelve baskets of fragments remained over from the five loaves and two fishes. He then commanded that the fragments be gathered up so that nothing would be lost and no gift capable of benefiting others would be squandered. What seemed a meager store thus became enough for the eater and something to share beyond those who had eaten.

Divine Power and Identity

The feeding that follows the request to send the crowd away draws aside the veil from nature and reveals the creative energy constantly exercised for human good. The same One who multiplied the loaves multiplies the seed cast into the ground, and by that daily miracle millions are fed from earth's harvest fields. Men are called to cooperate with Him in caring for the grain and preparing the loaf. That cooperation makes them lose sight of the divine agency, crediting His working to natural causes or to human instrumentality. Too often they pervert His gifts to selfish uses until they become a curse instead of a blessing, and God seeks to quicken dull senses to discern His merciful kindness so His gifts become the blessing He intended.

The One who fed the multitude in lowliness and poverty where provision was scanty is the same One who had worked the same wonder for one hundred men in Old Testament times. He is the same One who supplied His people in the wilderness with bread and with clear flowing streams, the Coming One who declared Before Abraham was, I AM, and who is greater than Moses. His grace upon the small portion makes it all-sufficient, His hand can multiply it a hundredfold, and from His resources He can spread a table in the wilderness for more than a million people, increasing scanty provision by His touch until it is sufficient for all. By feeding them there instead of sending them away Jesus gave evidence that He is the world's Redeemer possessing omnipotent power and beneficence. The people recognized the abundance as evidence of His divine power and concluded that He is the promised Messiah and Deliverer.

Their response led them to plan to make Him king by force, a purpose He rejected because it would obstruct His work of mercy and teaching. The account showed His love for people and was part of His mission. It belongs to the larger teaching that preaching and healing belong together, and that each person must take up the cross and follow Christ.

Faith in Strait Places

The multitude of five thousand men besides women and children were in the wilderness far from home as night was close at hand, having come without invitation or command to hear instruction, and after listening so long they were hungry and faint, many without means to purchase food. Jesus was one with them in their need of food and would not suffer them to return fasting to their homes, He who for their sake had fasted forty days in the wilderness. Though food was not nigh at hand and apparently He had no means at His command, the providence of God had placed Him there and He depended on His Heavenly Father for the means to relieve the necessity. Dependence upon God when brought into strait places after following His directions is the teaching here; in every emergency help is to be sought from Him who has infinite resources at His command, and He will deliver and keep every soul brought into perplexity through trying to keep the way of the Lord.

When difficulties arise despite following the best knowledge and using the means God provides, with food not readily available and no apparent means, people should seek God's wisdom, depend on Him, and not give up in discouragement. The disciples saw how great the need was and how small the means in their hands, so that their hearts sank and their faith failed and they wanted the multitude sent away to provide for themselves. The same condition comes when the need is great and the means are small, bringing hesitation and unwillingness to give all that is had for fear of spending and being spent for others. Against that fear stands the command Give ye them to eat, which is both a command and a promise, and behind it is the same power that fed the multitude beside the sea.

Disciples receive from Christ what they are to give to people in need, and as they distribute the gift it increases. Those who labor together with God carry out Christ's purposes. The five loaves and two fishes distributed to the tired, hungry five thousand increased as they were given out, and the disciples themselves also ate from what was provided. God can bless the means people give and enable them to feed those who hunger for the bread of life, multiplying gifts given in faith and used to meet the needs of others. The work is not to be stopped and measured by the means at hand, for to do so shows very limited faith. Whether means are large or small, the duty is to plan and work in faith and go forward to diffuse the gospel over the whole earth, for the scattered meager supply placed into missionary work will be multiplied by God as it is imparted until all eat and are filled.

What seems like a meager supply can become enough for oneself and something to share with others. The feeding from five loaves and two fishes satisfied the crowd and left twelve baskets of fragments, showing He can provide abundantly even when the available means appear far too small. It is an object lesson that encourages faith and giving to meet urgent needs, for what seems insufficient can become more than enough in the Lord's hands. Those who work with Him can seek and receive the tact, skill, and understanding needed for their work.

Compassionate Ministry to Seekers

As evening approached and the day wore away, the disciples saw the crowd's practical need for food and lodging and urged sending them to the nearby towns and country because they were in a remote desert place. That crowd had followed throughout the day, including weary mothers and children, staying through the day to hear truth and refusing to leave until hungry and fainting in the desert. Concern for teaching them all day did not make Him indifferent to their physical needs, for He Himself noticed their weariness and hunger and determined to feed them rather than send them away. He met that need with compassion by His divine power, taking five loaves and a few fishes, having the people sit down in companies, blessing and multiplying the food and giving it through the disciples to five thousand men besides women and children until hunger was satisfied and food still remained in His hands as He kept imparting it. After all were satisfied He required gathering the fragments so nothing would be lost, which means God gives means to be imparted to the needy and not wasted, gambled away, or taken from others by scheming, and He can still provide for His people by imparting knowledge that enables them to find food in different places, for His benevolence continues.

The verse teaches the compassion and interest to be felt for fellow men who are seeking to know the way of salvation. Those anxious to hear the word of life must be given opportunity, and when weary and hungry they must not be neglected or sent away faint, weary, and discouraged. It is Christian duty to do all that is possible by brethren to help such people, to study the best ways of helping them, to never make the way to Christ wearisome and objectionable, and to remove everything that would obstruct the path.

Dedicated workers receive the Holy Spirit so they can communicate supply to those in necessity instead of sending them away. Christ remains attentive to those who come to Him for help as their sanctuary, helper, and great leading Physician, leading the crowd to a grassy plot to be seated, asking what food is on hand, taking the five loaves and few small fishes, giving them to the disciples to distribute, and supplying enough for five thousand besides women and children, with some fainting yet none sent away. The lesson is to care for those who lack, including those who have not received the truth, and to give and work so the truth can reach people everywhere, the five loaves and two small fish being passed around to feed them as an example of sharing what is had.

God can bless the means people give and enable them to feed those who hunger for the bread of life. Jesus' blessing multiplied a scanty provision of five loaves and two small fish until it supplied the need of five thousand men besides women and children in a deserted place, showing that God can likewise bless unselfish gifts and increase limited resources to support His work. His example in feeding the multitude provides lessons for carrying out food work, including using simple, inexpensive methods. Instead of sending them away He bade the people sit down, a hymn was sung, He broke the bread with blessing upon it and placed pieces of the fishes in the hands of His disciples, and as they put them in the hands of the hungry ones they came back to get more, kept imparting what they received until all were satisfied. His workers learn from this to build sanitariums plain and simple with no extravagance in anything, yet with room to take care of people and impress them, while every action of like character is to make an impression on human minds that is never lost, so that all who are healed and see His miracles keep the impression of truth in their minds.

Economy and Faithful Stewardship

The request in Luke 9:12 arose as the day was ending in a remote place where the hungry multitude needed food and lodging, yet instead of sending them away Christ fed them and required that what remained be gathered so nothing would be wasted. That gathering shows God's gifts are not to be wasted, and careful use of food and money is part of faithful stewardship, with nothing that can benefit others to be squandered. The lesson illustrates the value of economy and thrift, especially in trying circumstances.

The surplus bread was shared with people beyond those who had eaten, illustrating that those who receive spiritual blessings should pass on the bread of life and what they have learned of God. The command to gather the fragments and let nothing be lost means more than saving little pieces of food. Every action of like character is to make an impression on human minds that is never lost, so that all who are healed and see His miracles keep the impression of truth in their minds. All the works of Christ manifested in the present day by message or by any helpfulness are to be held as a credit. His workers learn from this to build sanitariums plain and simple with no extravagance in anything, yet with room to take care of people and impress them.

God gives means to be imparted to the needy, and after all were satisfied He required the gathering of the fragments so nothing was lost. That means is not to be wasted, gambled away, or taken from others by scheming.