Jesus Feeds the Five Thousand on the HillsideBible World
6:39Mark 6:39
And he commanded them to make all sit down by companies upon the green grass.
Jesus directed His disciples to have the whole multitude sit down in orderly companies in ranks by hundreds and by fifties on the green grass at the feeding of the five thousand. The grassy place gave the weary people who had stood for hours a comfortable place to rest, and kept the great crowd from trampling one another. The seating kept order so that all could be served in an orderly way and could witness the miracle as the food was distributed from the small store. It teaches full dependence on God when means appear unavailable, for Christ's divine power made the five loaves and two fishes sufficient to fill the multitude with twelve baskets gathered afterward. It calls those who sit down with Christ to trust Him and share what they have, for small offerings given in faith are blessed and multiplied until they meet great need and leave surplus.
Setting of the Command
This command belongs to the feeding of the five thousand, given when Christ told the disciples themselves to feed the multitude, an event recorded also in Matthew, Luke and John. The place was a desert, retired spot away from the cities, a pleasant place with green grass and a grassy plot where the people sat on the ground. About five thousand men besides women and children had gathered there, more than ten thousand in all, drawn by His teaching and coming without invitation or command.
They had followed Him on foot, listening to His instruction while He taught and healed all day. As evening approached and the day grew late they were weary, hungry and faint, far from home, having stood for hours absorbed in His teaching with risk of trampling one another in the large crowd. They had used up the food they had after being with Him three days.
The miracle occurred near the Passover, when there was nothing to feed them except five barley loaves and two small fishes. The disciples urged sending the people away into the country and villages to buy bread because they had nothing to eat. The same miracle of multiplying a meager supply was done three times in different localities so that people in different parts might learn its lessons, like the earlier multiplication of food for one hundred men. On this occasion twelve baskets of fragments were gathered, while on another feeding seven baskets were gathered.
News of the crowd being fed on the shore the preceding day brought many people back to the place where they had last seen Jesus.
Purpose of the Seating
He gave the order through the disciples that the whole multitude should sit down on the green grass in orderly companies, in ranks by hundreds and by fifties in long lines. The marshaling was fully accomplished, with five thousand men besides women and children all seated in order in His presence, wondering what would be done. They obeyed the command to sit in obedience to order.
The green grass made a suitable, comfortable place for the weary people to rest before He fed them. They had been standing for hours absorbed in His teaching, and in so large a crowd they risked trampling one another. In having them sit He cared for their physical rest as well as their spiritual needs.
The seating preserved order so the people could be served in an orderly way as the food was distributed from the small store. It was arranged so that all might witness the miracle He was about to do. The companies of fifty and one hundred let order be maintained while everyone looked on.
After they sat a hymn was sung. The seating prepared them to receive the multiplied bread from His hand through the disciples, with scanty provision growing under His blessing into constant fresh supply until all had sufficiency with surplus gathered.
Course of the Miracle
When only five barley loaves and two small fishes were on hand, He had them brought to Him, looked up to heaven, gave thanks, asked the blessing, blessed and broke the loaves and divided the two fishes among them all. The inquiry for food and the bringing of the meager store came after the great crowd of about five thousand men besides women and children had listened all day and evening drew on, and after the suggestion to send them into the country and villages to buy bread because they had nothing to eat. He first commanded the whole multitude to sit down in orderly companies on the green grass, on a grassy spot of beautiful ground, in ranks by hundreds and by fifties, and the marshaling was fully accomplished with all seated in order wondering what would be done. The same multiplying of a meager supply was done three times in different localities so that people in different parts might learn its lessons.
He placed the broken pieces in the disciples' hands to set before the people and to distribute to the multitudes, breaking the food into small pieces and giving it through them until all had enough. He kept supplying them as they carried the food to the hungry, and the gift increased as they distributed it until all ate and were filled and satisfied. After they sat a hymn was sung, and then the distribution went forward from His hand through theirs.
He did this as one who went from place to place with His disciples, attentive to all who came needing help, acting as sanctuary, helper, and great leading Physician to the crowds that followed Him. As evening came He Himself pointed out that they were weary and needed rest and food. When all were satisfied He had the fragments gathered so nothing was lost, with twelve baskets full gathered on this occasion and seven baskets full on another feeding. That careful attention to what was left over teaches order and economy even amid great work, that what is given is to be freely imparted to the needy and not wasted, gambled away, or taken from others by conniving, and that every work manifested in helpfulness and message is to be held as a credit.
What the Miracle Reveals
The seating on the green grass belongs to a miracle that displays divine power joined to compassion, care and love for people as the very work of His mission. He taught the hungry crowd and then provided for them, being one with them in their need of food. That union is so close that it prompts the thought that had He been present with hungry listeners He would have fed them by divine power. Those who seek the way of salvation are therefore not to be left hungry, weary or discouraged, but practical help should make it easier for them to hear the word of life and come to Him.
He who fed the five thousand possessed that divine power even while He chose to live and work as a human being. When He worked to support His family He held the same power, yet He did not use it to lessen His own daily burdens or toil. His example thereby shows that useful labor is honorable.
The multiplication of the loaves is the same creative power at work in the daily multiplication of seed and in the feeding of people from the earth's harvest. The simple meal met a genuine need, and it teaches that God provides for people and continually sustains life, so that even ordinary harvests depend on His power.
In the wilderness, with five thousand men besides women and children who had come without invitation or command to listen to His instruction, evening approached while they were hungry and far from home. Food was not nigh at hand and apparently He had no means at His command, yet He knew that after listening so long they would feel hungry and faint. The providence of God had placed the Son of God, bearing human nature, where He was, and He depended on His heavenly Father for the means to relieve the necessity. The miracle is therefore a lesson for all time to depend wholly on God in fullest confidence when food and other means appear unavailable. After exercising wisdom and judgment in every action and following the best knowledge possessed, without plunging into difficulties by careless movements, those brought into strait places and compassed with difficulties and trying circumstances are not to give up in discouragement, for God with infinite resources at His command will deliver them and keep every soul brought into perplexity through trying to keep the way of the Lord.
His power made the small provision sufficient, as in the earlier multiplication of food for one hundred men, showing what He can do with little to feed a multitude. Seeing that the hungry multitude must have something to eat when there were only a few loaves and fishes, He had them seated on a grassy spot of beautiful ground, broke the food into small pieces, and gave it through His disciples until all had enough. The command to feed the people rested on the same power that supplied food for the multitude beside the sea. Then the fragments were gathered so nothing was lost, twelve baskets full on this occasion and seven baskets full on another feeding, and the whole calls for more faith in Him. That same power to provide remains, and He can also give tact, skill, understanding and knowledge to those who work in line with Him to help provide food in different places today.
Call to Trusting Service
The feeding teaches trust in Christ and calls for more faith, for what looks like a meager supply can become enough to satisfy all and still leave something to share with others. What Christ could do with little to feed a multitude, with only a few loaves and fishes divided until all had enough and twelve baskets gathered on this occasion and seven on another, He still calls His people to believe He will do.
God blesses and increases small, cheerfully given, unselfish offerings until they are sufficient for His work. The small gifts of His stewards, offered in faith and used faithfully, can meet great needs, and gifts given with thanksgiving and prayer for soul-saving work will be multiplied and blessed as the food handed to the disciples was multiplied and blessed by the Lord. If the best use is made of the means at hand, God will enable His people to feed the multitudes who are starving for the bread of life. The scattered, meager supply placed in missionary work is multiplied by God as it is imparted to others, so that all may eat and be filled. Advance in the work is not to be measured by the means at hand, for that shows very limited faith; faith is to lay hold upon God and expect success, and whether means are large or small His human agents are to plan and work in faith, go forward, and diffuse the gospel over the whole earth in sincerity.
Sitting down in companies means partakers of the divine nature coming out from worldly influences and empty festivities to sit down with Christ in heart communion, trusting God instead of unbelieving worry. When people dedicate themselves to the Lord God of heaven He gives His Holy Spirit so they can communicate supply to those in necessity. It means needy souls receiving the bread of life, the word of life which is eating and drinking the flesh and blood of Christ, from their own shepherds, praying over it, practicing it, and digesting it so souls grow in faith and intelligent knowledge and the entrance of the word gives light. Workers are to bring needy souls to Christ and trust Him to provide rather than worry over apparent shortages.
It forbids conferences sending to Battle Creek for someone to hold meetings and revive and feed them, and forbids long councils, new methods, and entertainments to draw people to church or Sabbath-school. Workers are called instead to come to Jesus in humble faith and prayer, take His easy yoke, and receive what He bestows. The scene teaches compassion and sharing: pass on what you have and consider those who lack the truth. Those seeking the way of salvation should not be left hungry, weary, or discouraged, but practical help should make it easier for them to hear the word of life and come to Christ.
Economy and Simple Living
The feeding of the five thousand holds a lesson with special application to times when placed in trying circumstances and compelled to practise close economy. Christ's command to organize the people in companies preceded the meal, and after working the miracle and satisfying the hunger of the multitude He was careful that the food that remained should not be wasted. His command to gather every leftover showed that blessings are not to be wasted, whether they are material or spiritual.
Those in charge of institutions are to bear this lesson in mind, acting wisely and refusing to expend one dollar that can be saved by frugality and thrift. They are to safeguard the interests of the enterprise with which they are connected by putting the Bible principles of economy and thrift into daily practice. He noticed the weary, hungry, fainting multitude that had followed Him, asked for food to give them, had the five loaves and few fishes brought, commanded all to sit down in companies, five thousand men besides women and children, then asked the blessing on the food and multiplied it as He passed it through the disciples into the hands of the people until their hunger was satisfied with as much left, and then required the fragments to be gathered so nothing was lost. What God gives is to be freely imparted to the needy and not wasted, gambled away, or taken from others by conniving.
Jesus feeding five thousand by miracle and then having the fragments gathered so that nothing would be lost teaches an important lesson of economy. The miracle does not remove the duty to avoid waste and debt. All must owe no one anything, labor for small wages as well as large, live within means, and be faithful stewards of strength to place their families above want and dependence.
The account is an example of providing a simple meal without elaborate food preparation or a variety of dishes. Christ seating the multitude on the ground and directing the crowd to sit in groups on the grass supplies methods to study for practical food work. When there was nothing to feed the five thousand except a few loaves and fishes He commanded the crowd to sit down, and after they sat a hymn was sung and then He blessed and broke the bread and the fishes, placed the pieces in the disciples' hands, and kept supplying them as they carried food to the hungry until all were satisfied, an action that teaches far-reaching principles and holds a lesson for Christ's followers in all time.
Jesus directed His disciples to have the whole multitude sit down in orderly companies in ranks by hundreds and by fifties on the green grass at the feeding of the five thousand. The grassy place gave the weary people who had stood for hours a comfortable place to rest, and kept the great crowd from trampling one another. The seating kept order so that all could be served in an orderly way and could witness the miracle as the food was distributed from the small store. It teaches full dependence on God when means appear unavailable, for Christ's divine power made the five loaves and two fishes sufficient to fill the multitude with twelve baskets gathered afterward. It calls those who sit down with Christ to trust Him and share what they have, for small offerings given in faith are blessed and multiplied until they meet great need and leave surplus.
Setting of the Command
This command belongs to the feeding of the five thousand, given when Christ told the disciples themselves to feed the multitude, an event recorded also in Matthew, Luke and John. The place was a desert, retired spot away from the cities, a pleasant place with green grass and a grassy plot where the people sat on the ground. About five thousand men besides women and children had gathered there, more than ten thousand in all, drawn by His teaching and coming without invitation or command.
They had followed Him on foot, listening to His instruction while He taught and healed all day. As evening approached and the day grew late they were weary, hungry and faint, far from home, having stood for hours absorbed in His teaching with risk of trampling one another in the large crowd. They had used up the food they had after being with Him three days.
The miracle occurred near the Passover, when there was nothing to feed them except five barley loaves and two small fishes. The disciples urged sending the people away into the country and villages to buy bread because they had nothing to eat. The same miracle of multiplying a meager supply was done three times in different localities so that people in different parts might learn its lessons, like the earlier multiplication of food for one hundred men. On this occasion twelve baskets of fragments were gathered, while on another feeding seven baskets were gathered.
News of the crowd being fed on the shore the preceding day brought many people back to the place where they had last seen Jesus.
Purpose of the Seating
He gave the order through the disciples that the whole multitude should sit down on the green grass in orderly companies, in ranks by hundreds and by fifties in long lines. The marshaling was fully accomplished, with five thousand men besides women and children all seated in order in His presence, wondering what would be done. They obeyed the command to sit in obedience to order.
The green grass made a suitable, comfortable place for the weary people to rest before He fed them. They had been standing for hours absorbed in His teaching, and in so large a crowd they risked trampling one another. In having them sit He cared for their physical rest as well as their spiritual needs.
The seating preserved order so the people could be served in an orderly way as the food was distributed from the small store. It was arranged so that all might witness the miracle He was about to do. The companies of fifty and one hundred let order be maintained while everyone looked on.
After they sat a hymn was sung. The seating prepared them to receive the multiplied bread from His hand through the disciples, with scanty provision growing under His blessing into constant fresh supply until all had sufficiency with surplus gathered.
Course of the Miracle
When only five barley loaves and two small fishes were on hand, He had them brought to Him, looked up to heaven, gave thanks, asked the blessing, blessed and broke the loaves and divided the two fishes among them all. The inquiry for food and the bringing of the meager store came after the great crowd of about five thousand men besides women and children had listened all day and evening drew on, and after the suggestion to send them into the country and villages to buy bread because they had nothing to eat. He first commanded the whole multitude to sit down in orderly companies on the green grass, on a grassy spot of beautiful ground, in ranks by hundreds and by fifties, and the marshaling was fully accomplished with all seated in order wondering what would be done. The same multiplying of a meager supply was done three times in different localities so that people in different parts might learn its lessons.
He placed the broken pieces in the disciples' hands to set before the people and to distribute to the multitudes, breaking the food into small pieces and giving it through them until all had enough. He kept supplying them as they carried the food to the hungry, and the gift increased as they distributed it until all ate and were filled and satisfied. After they sat a hymn was sung, and then the distribution went forward from His hand through theirs.
He did this as one who went from place to place with His disciples, attentive to all who came needing help, acting as sanctuary, helper, and great leading Physician to the crowds that followed Him. As evening came He Himself pointed out that they were weary and needed rest and food. When all were satisfied He had the fragments gathered so nothing was lost, with twelve baskets full gathered on this occasion and seven baskets full on another feeding. That careful attention to what was left over teaches order and economy even amid great work, that what is given is to be freely imparted to the needy and not wasted, gambled away, or taken from others by conniving, and that every work manifested in helpfulness and message is to be held as a credit.
What the Miracle Reveals
The seating on the green grass belongs to a miracle that displays divine power joined to compassion, care and love for people as the very work of His mission. He taught the hungry crowd and then provided for them, being one with them in their need of food. That union is so close that it prompts the thought that had He been present with hungry listeners He would have fed them by divine power. Those who seek the way of salvation are therefore not to be left hungry, weary or discouraged, but practical help should make it easier for them to hear the word of life and come to Him.
He who fed the five thousand possessed that divine power even while He chose to live and work as a human being. When He worked to support His family He held the same power, yet He did not use it to lessen His own daily burdens or toil. His example thereby shows that useful labor is honorable.
The multiplication of the loaves is the same creative power at work in the daily multiplication of seed and in the feeding of people from the earth's harvest. The simple meal met a genuine need, and it teaches that God provides for people and continually sustains life, so that even ordinary harvests depend on His power.
In the wilderness, with five thousand men besides women and children who had come without invitation or command to listen to His instruction, evening approached while they were hungry and far from home. Food was not nigh at hand and apparently He had no means at His command, yet He knew that after listening so long they would feel hungry and faint. The providence of God had placed the Son of God, bearing human nature, where He was, and He depended on His heavenly Father for the means to relieve the necessity. The miracle is therefore a lesson for all time to depend wholly on God in fullest confidence when food and other means appear unavailable. After exercising wisdom and judgment in every action and following the best knowledge possessed, without plunging into difficulties by careless movements, those brought into strait places and compassed with difficulties and trying circumstances are not to give up in discouragement, for God with infinite resources at His command will deliver them and keep every soul brought into perplexity through trying to keep the way of the Lord.
His power made the small provision sufficient, as in the earlier multiplication of food for one hundred men, showing what He can do with little to feed a multitude. Seeing that the hungry multitude must have something to eat when there were only a few loaves and fishes, He had them seated on a grassy spot of beautiful ground, broke the food into small pieces, and gave it through His disciples until all had enough. The command to feed the people rested on the same power that supplied food for the multitude beside the sea. Then the fragments were gathered so nothing was lost, twelve baskets full on this occasion and seven baskets full on another feeding, and the whole calls for more faith in Him. That same power to provide remains, and He can also give tact, skill, understanding and knowledge to those who work in line with Him to help provide food in different places today.
Call to Trusting Service
The feeding teaches trust in Christ and calls for more faith, for what looks like a meager supply can become enough to satisfy all and still leave something to share with others. What Christ could do with little to feed a multitude, with only a few loaves and fishes divided until all had enough and twelve baskets gathered on this occasion and seven on another, He still calls His people to believe He will do.
God blesses and increases small, cheerfully given, unselfish offerings until they are sufficient for His work. The small gifts of His stewards, offered in faith and used faithfully, can meet great needs, and gifts given with thanksgiving and prayer for soul-saving work will be multiplied and blessed as the food handed to the disciples was multiplied and blessed by the Lord. If the best use is made of the means at hand, God will enable His people to feed the multitudes who are starving for the bread of life. The scattered, meager supply placed in missionary work is multiplied by God as it is imparted to others, so that all may eat and be filled. Advance in the work is not to be measured by the means at hand, for that shows very limited faith; faith is to lay hold upon God and expect success, and whether means are large or small His human agents are to plan and work in faith, go forward, and diffuse the gospel over the whole earth in sincerity.
Sitting down in companies means partakers of the divine nature coming out from worldly influences and empty festivities to sit down with Christ in heart communion, trusting God instead of unbelieving worry. When people dedicate themselves to the Lord God of heaven He gives His Holy Spirit so they can communicate supply to those in necessity. It means needy souls receiving the bread of life, the word of life which is eating and drinking the flesh and blood of Christ, from their own shepherds, praying over it, practicing it, and digesting it so souls grow in faith and intelligent knowledge and the entrance of the word gives light. Workers are to bring needy souls to Christ and trust Him to provide rather than worry over apparent shortages.
It forbids conferences sending to Battle Creek for someone to hold meetings and revive and feed them, and forbids long councils, new methods, and entertainments to draw people to church or Sabbath-school. Workers are called instead to come to Jesus in humble faith and prayer, take His easy yoke, and receive what He bestows. The scene teaches compassion and sharing: pass on what you have and consider those who lack the truth. Those seeking the way of salvation should not be left hungry, weary, or discouraged, but practical help should make it easier for them to hear the word of life and come to Christ.
Economy and Simple Living
The feeding of the five thousand holds a lesson with special application to times when placed in trying circumstances and compelled to practise close economy. Christ's command to organize the people in companies preceded the meal, and after working the miracle and satisfying the hunger of the multitude He was careful that the food that remained should not be wasted. His command to gather every leftover showed that blessings are not to be wasted, whether they are material or spiritual.
Those in charge of institutions are to bear this lesson in mind, acting wisely and refusing to expend one dollar that can be saved by frugality and thrift. They are to safeguard the interests of the enterprise with which they are connected by putting the Bible principles of economy and thrift into daily practice. He noticed the weary, hungry, fainting multitude that had followed Him, asked for food to give them, had the five loaves and few fishes brought, commanded all to sit down in companies, five thousand men besides women and children, then asked the blessing on the food and multiplied it as He passed it through the disciples into the hands of the people until their hunger was satisfied with as much left, and then required the fragments to be gathered so nothing was lost. What God gives is to be freely imparted to the needy and not wasted, gambled away, or taken from others by conniving.
Jesus feeding five thousand by miracle and then having the fragments gathered so that nothing would be lost teaches an important lesson of economy. The miracle does not remove the duty to avoid waste and debt. All must owe no one anything, labor for small wages as well as large, live within means, and be faithful stewards of strength to place their families above want and dependence.
The account is an example of providing a simple meal without elaborate food preparation or a variety of dishes. Christ seating the multitude on the ground and directing the crowd to sit in groups on the grass supplies methods to study for practical food work. When there was nothing to feed the five thousand except a few loaves and fishes He commanded the crowd to sit down, and after they sat a hymn was sung and then He blessed and broke the bread and the fishes, placed the pieces in the disciples' hands, and kept supplying them as they carried food to the hungry until all were satisfied, an action that teaches far-reaching principles and holds a lesson for Christ's followers in all time.