It had been an exciting camp meeting! Hundreds of families, men, women, and children, from all over the country around Lake Galilee had heard that the Prophet of Nazareth was coming to share the love of God with them. All their sick were brought and laid at his feet…the blind, the lame, the mute, the maimed, and those with many other kinds of dreadful diseases. And with a tender heart of compassion, Jesus healed them all! On this occasion Jesus had been teaching the people for three long days near Lake Galilee. Jesus could see they were weary and hungry. He was afraid some were faint of heart by this time. They had been a very receptive and attentive group… hanging spellbound for hours and days on His every word! What a preacher! What a Savior!
It was nearing evening of the third day and Jesus asked his disciples to collect what food they could scrape together and feed them. The disciples started an intensive search and only came up with 7 little biscuits and a few little fish. That was all they could scrounge. Why that was not enough to feed one of two people! It would have been impossible to give just a small crumb to each one in this crowd of several thousand! It would empty the bread shelves of all the merchants in many towns and two or three boatloads of fish to feed such a mob! What were they to do?
Jesus said, “Have them all sit down in groups on the grass." Then He blessed the bread, broke it into hearty portions, handed it by the heaping baskets full to all of his apostles and the other disciples to distribute to each family until they were stuffed! Then Jesus said, “So that nothing is wasted, move among the people and pick up all the left-over scraps!” To the amazement of everyone there were 7 baskets full left over! What a day! All their bad diseases and sicknesses had been healed!. All had been fed three days lavish portions of spiritual food for their souls and now invited to the physical banquet table of the LORD and KING of their lives! They would never forget these three glorious days and these three great and grand blessings!
This is the twenty-second recorded miracle of Jesus.
Application
The feeding of the 5,000 had whet the physical and spiritual appetites of 5,000 near here a few days earlier….and now another feast had “filled their cup” to overflowing! The GOOD LORD does that same thing for all his people in every generation! He is the great Healer, the great Physician who heals all our diseases physically and spiritually day after day and year after year, and forgives all our sins! Praise God for His compassion and mercy to us every day of our lives! Did Jesus amaze you with such a miracle? How did He do that? Did He depend on His Father to honor Him in multiplying the bread and the fish on this occasion?
Will you share with your family and friends some of the blessings God has given you?
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Work a Jigsaw Puzzle
