Luke 9:12

The Bible says in Luke 9:12-17, “And when the day began to wear away, then came the twelve, and said unto him, Send the multitude away, that they may go into the towns and country round about, and lodge, and get victuals: for we are here in a desert place. But he said unto them, Give you them to eat. And they said, We have no more but five loaves and two fishes; except we should go and buy meat for all this people. For they were about five thousand men. And he said to his disciples, Make them sit down by fifties in a company. And they did so, and made them all sit down. Then he took the five loaves and the two fishes, and looking up to heaven, he blessed them, and broke, and gave to the disciples to set before the multitude. And they did eat, and were all filled: and there was taken up of fragments that remained to them twelve baskets.”

In this passage of scripture when Jesus fed the five thousand, one of the things that we are shown is a great contrast between how man thinks compared to how God thinks. We see this immediately when the disciples said to Jesus in Luke 9:12, “Send the multitudes away.” Jesus welcomed the multitudes and received them. That’s what Luke 9:11 says when the multitudes first came to Jesus out in that deserted place. He received them. Those who are not filled with God’s Spirit will not be concerned for the souls of mankind. God is always concerned. God has time for everyone and He has room for everyone. If we were more concerned for the souls of those around us, we would find ways of better taking advantage of the opportunities that are presented to us. We get into too much of a routine sometimes. What if someone needed to talk to us about spiritual things when we had other plans of a more practical nature, would we have time for them?

Another contrast that is seen between man and God in this passage is that man is too often limited by the human view of things, but God of course has no such limitations. The apostles saw the great crowd, the lateness of the hour, the deserted place in which they all were, and the small amount of food that they had. And the apostles concluded: we must send them away because we cannot possibly help them. The natural man sees the obstacles, but the spiritual man sees the possibilities. The natural man says, “I might fail.” The spiritual man who is in tune with God says, “With God all things are possible, and with faith you can remove mountains.” The natural man says, “I cannot.” The spiritual man says along with the apostle Paul, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” The natural man says, “I am small and poor and do not have the resources necessary to accomplish what is needed.” The spiritual man says, “The great, eternal God who is the Creator and Sustainer of all things can do it because He has no limitations.”

And so Jesus broke the bread and blessed it, and they all were fed. What a contrast between the natural man and the man of faith! You can use this contrast to evaluate your own spirituality and the condition of your own faith. We all have obstacles and difficulties that we face by the providence of God. In a few more verses Jesus will call these our “cross.” Do we see the obstacles because of our lack of faith, or do we see the possibilities because of our faith in God? The word “cannot” and the word “impossible” should not be in the vocabulary of the believer, and they will not be in the vocabulary of the person who is walking in faith.

Jesus fed the great multitude because He wanted them to be able to stay longer in His presence. What was Jesus teaching these people about that He evidently thought to be so important that he wanted them all to stay longer so that He could teach them more? Luke 9:11 says that he “spake unto them of the Kingdom of God.” Undoubtedly Jesus was telling them of the greatness and wonder and majesty of His kingdom. He was telling them about a place where there would be no war and no death, no disease and no sorrow, no sin and no selfishness, no hunger and no poverty. In feeding the great multitude so miraculously, no doubt it was demonstrated to all that He truly has the power to fulfill His promises. Jesus does have the power to bring the Kingdom of God to the earth.

In feeding the multitude we must also notice that Jesus supplied the fish and the bread to feed them all. He was the source. It happened because Jesus was there and caused it to happen. Even so notice that according to Luke 9:16 Jesus gave the food to the disciples, who then gave it to the multitude. That’s the very same method that God often uses to minister His gospel and teach His Word in the world. If anyone’s heart is touched, it’s only touched because God does it. If anyone’s soul is saved, it’s only saved by Jesus. It’s the work of the Spirit and not the work of man. Yet, God uses man. Jesus said to Peter, “If you love me, feed my sheep.” Jesus has said the same thing to many of His followers over the centuries. By the mercy and grace of God, He has allowed us to be laborers together with Him. The minister and the prophet are individuals who go to Christ to get a message, a loaf of bread and a fish spiritually speaking, and they bring that spiritual nourishment and they pass it out to others. It came from Christ, and He deserves all the praise.

Not only does the spiritual nourishment come from Christ, He is the spiritual nourishment. He is the life. Christ is the bread of God. Notice that Luke 9:16 says that “he took the five loaves and the two fishes, and looking up to heaven, he blessed them, and brake.” His body was broken on the cross so that we could be forgiven of our sins. His body was broken so that eternal life could be offered to everyone in the world. We who are the servants of Christ, we offer Christ to the world as the spiritual nourishment to satisfy their starving souls. The real communion is spiritual communion. You take in Christ, not by food and drink, but by receiving Him spiritually into your heart. “As many as received Him to them gave he power to become the sons of God.”

An interesting and important detail about believing in Christ is given in the next few verses. Luke 9:18-20 says, “And it came to pass as he was alone praying, his disciples were with him: and he asked them, saying, Whom say the people that I am? They answering said, John the Baptist; but some say Elijah; and others say that one of the old prophets is risen again. He said unto them, But whom say ye that I am? Peter answering said, The Christ of God.” The question that Jesus asked is a question that is essential to salvation. Who is Jesus Christ?

Of the three answers that the people came up with on that day, it’s very noticeable that these people had knowledge of the scriptures. But knowing the scriptures is not enough. If you do not know the Author of the scriptures, you will not be able to interpret them correctly. “The natural man does not understand the things of the Spirit of God.”

If you know the answer to this question, and know it in your heart, then you have eternal life. In a similar incident in Matthew, Jesus said to Peter, “Flesh and blood has not revealed this unto you, but my Father who is in heaven.” One of the mistakes that is made in our day when people ask the question, “Who is Jesus of Nazareth,” is that sometimes you will hear theological liberals talk about the historical Jesus. They will talk only about the human side of Jesus. Jesus was human, but He was also God. The Son of God means “God the Son.” If you know Christ as your Savior, then when you identify Christ you will identify Him as God as well as man. Peter identified Jesus with God. Peter did not say, “You are Jesus the carpenter from Nazareth,” and leave it at that. Peter said, “You are the Christ of God.” In First John 4:2 the Bible says, “Hereby know you the Spirit of God: Every Spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God.”

No one can say that Jesus is the Christ, the Messiah, the Son of God and believe it in their heart unless God has revealed it to them. ‘Whosoever confesses with his mouth the Lord Jesus and believes in his heart that God has raised him from the dead shall be saved.” One of the ways of witnessing to people on an individual basis is to do the same thing that Jesus did. Ask them, “Who do you say that Jesus is?” You will get them to start thinking about this most essential issue, and you will find out a lot about where they are spiritually. If you are going to use Jesus as an example of what to say when witnessing to others, make sure you use Him as an example of what to do before you say it also. Before Jesus asked Peter this great question, the Bible says in Luke 9:18 that Jesus “was alone praying.” We must be led by God and empowered by God in our witnessing if our words are to have any effect. We need the leadership of the Spirit in witnessing as much as other endeavors in the Christian life.

In Luke 9:21-22 the Bible says speaking of Jesus, “And he immediately charged them, and commanded them to tell no man that thing, saying, The Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be slain, and be raised the third day.” It almost seems a strange thing for Jesus to have said to the disciples. Why did Jesus tell them to tell no man that He was “the Christ of God?” Didn’t Jesus want the truth spread? Was it not at that time just as it is today a very important thing to witness of the truth, and to speak it publicly to as many people in as many places as possible? Of course, it was. Then why did Jesus tell them to tell no man that He was “the Christ of God?” There are probably several reasons.

For one thing no one will believe the truth unless God touches their heart. No one will be saved by the motivation of man. “Unless the Lord build the house, they labor in vain who build it.” There is a time to go and a time to speak, but that time must come from God. If you are willing to go, then you will know. If you go because you wish to go and are unable or unwilling to wait upon God, then you will go without God’s power or His leading. “As many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are the sons of God.”

The most effective witness in the world is the Christian who is the best at understanding the leading of the Spirit as far as when to go and when to stay, when to speak and when to be quiet. When Jesus told the disciples to tell no man that He was “the Christ of God,” Jesus meant at that particular time to tell no man. The day would come when they would be sent out and Jesus would tell them just as He tells us today, “Go you into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.”

The main reason that Jesus came into the world was to die for the sins of the world. He tried to prepare the disciples for His death. He tried to warn them. He told them clearly many times just as He did here in Luke 9:22. He came to die. He did not come to broadcast His own name. He did not come to be praised and honored. He came to be rejected, cast out, and beaten down. He was meek and lowly of Spirit. He did not grasp for the things that men so often grasp for. He did not seek fame. He did not speak of Himself. Maybe Christ told the disciples to tell no man that He “was the Christ,” in order to remind them very clearly of what He was all about. The Savior of the world, the Son of God, was also the best man that ever lived. He did not seek fame or glory even though He was the very one and the only one who deserves it. Perhaps He was teaching the disciples what kind of men He wanted them to be. What a great Savior and leader was Jesus Christ! If you do not know Jesus as Savior, you can give your heart to Him now while there is still time.

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