Have you ever been really hungry?  I mean hungry to the point where you can’t think straight and you are actually experiencing real stomach pain.  During Jesus ministry there was a time when He was ministering to people and they had not eaten for quite some time.  It was a large crowd and Jesus wanted to feed them.  The disciples were tired and cranky and probably hungry as well but they wanted to send the people away because they didn’t have nearly enough food for such a large crowd.  Let’s look at the story together today from Matthew 14. 

13 When Jesus heard what had happened, he withdrew by boat privately to a solitary place. Hearing of this, the crowds followed him on foot from the towns. 14 When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them and healed their sick. 15 As evening approached, the disciples came to him and said, “This is a remote place, and it’s already getting late. Send the crowds away, so they can go to the villages and buy themselves some food.” 16 Jesus replied, “They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat.” 17 “We have here only five loaves of bread and two fish,” they answered. 18 “Bring them here to me,” he said. 19 And he directed the people to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then he gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the people. 20 They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over. 21 The number of those who ate was about five thousand men, besides women and children.

I love how this passage starts Jesus is going through a hard time.  He has just heard about John the Baptist’s death and He withdraws to be alone.  People follow Him and He has compassion on them.  Often when we are in the midst of our own struggles and pain we only think about ourselves.  Jesus does the opposite He heals and teaches and feeds the masses because His heart goes out to them.  This is such a great model for us all of how to love others.  Even when Jesus had a lot going on and was going through His own struggles He was focused on others.  I pray that God might grant all of us an others focused heart as well.  That we might share His love with the world no matter what struggles we are walking through ourselves.

In His Grip,
Pastor Dave