Dan Van Ommen: What's in your basket?
I'm sure many of us have images in our mind of our favorite Bible stories. One such story, recorded in the New Testament Gospels, is one of the most beloved in all of Scripture.
The story I'm referring to is known as: "The Feeding of the 5,000." Most everyone has at least heard of this story.
The significance of this event is also noted because it's the only miracle God inspired all four Gospel writers to include in their writings. I would invite you to read for yourself the narrative as written in Matthew 14:13-21; Mark 6:30-44; Luke 9:10-17; and John 6:1-15. In reading, you'll note the Gospel writers each present the event from their own unique perspective.
Allow me to review the story for you; then make some observations about the miracle by taking a closer look at some of the people involved.
A huge crowd of Pilgrims (over 5,000 women and children) were on their way to Jerusalem for the annual Passover celebration. They were also following Jesus to see what miracle he might perform.
These folks had been following Jesus for hours, maybe for days; they were tired and hungry. To minister to their needs, Jesus turned to Philip, one of his trusted disciples, and asked, "Where can we buy bread to feed all these people?" Philip replied, "It would take a fortune to pay for it." Another disciple, Andrew, spoke up and declared, "There's a lad here with five barley loaves and a couple of fish; but what good is that to feed this mob?"
Jesus ordered everyone to sit down. Then he took the loaves and gave thanks to his Heavenly Father; and distributed the bread to the hungry crowd. He did the same with the fish; until everyone had eaten. There were twelve baskets filled with leftovers.
Observation number one: Philip. Put yourself in the shoes of Philip, as he glances over the hill at thousands of hungry souls. To add to the challenge, Jesus asks Philip, "What are we going to do?" In other words, "What would you do, Philip?"
Of course, Jesus didn't ask the question because he didn't know what to do. In his writing, John reminds us that Jesus' questioning was part of his plan. Jesus was testing Philip. Possibly the common sense answer from Philip could have been, "I don't know, master, what do you think we should do?" But he doesn't react that way. Instead, he sought an answer. His faith, no matter how small, compelled him to action.
Looking at our own lives, do we measure what God can accomplish by the resources we have in hand? Many times, we refuse to step out in faith and fail to serve because we depend on our own calculations. We fail to realize our Lord is reaching into that basket and preparing to share a blessing with us. Just having the faith to, as the old hymn says, "trust and obey," may allow extraordinary things to occur.
Second observation. In the story, we're introduced to a young lad whose mother insisted he take a lunch as he went to see Jesus. We know the story, but what's so striking to me is this unnamed boy, with nothing but his small lunch, saw a miracle take place as he gave to Jesus.
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I've imagined what this young boy must've thought as he walked home from meeting the master. Maybe something like this: "If Jesus could do that with my lunch, what could he do with my life?"
The feeding of so many people was truly a miracle. And, by including it in his book four times, our Lord is saying, "You take care of the addition and I'll take care of the multiplication. You bring me what you have and I'll do a miracle with it."
What's in your basket?
— Dan Van Ommen is a Zeeland resident and a member of the Reformed Church in America. Contact him at dan.vanommen@gmail.com.
This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: Dan Van Ommen: What's in your basket?
