Bring Them Here To Me

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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. When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them and healed their sick.

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.”

Jesus replied, “They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat.”

“We have here only five loaves of bread and two fish,” they answered.

“Bring them here to me,” he said. 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. They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over. The number of those who ate was about five thousand men, besides women and children.

Today’s Gospel begins “When Jesus heard what had happened, he withdrew by boat privately to a solitary place.” What did just happen? Jesus had learned that John the Baptist had been beheaded. John’s preaching had got him into trouble with King Herod. John confronted the King with an ugly truth, his marriage to his wife Herodias was illegal under God’s law. Herod lamented John’s judgement. Herodias vowed to silence John (preferably permanently). She seized an opportunity created by her daughter (Herod’s step-daughter). Herod threw a party. The girl had enchanted Herod and his guests with her dancing ability. Herod was so moved that he vowed to give her a gift, she named, up to half his kingdom. Herodias pounced on this opportunity. She coached the girl to ask Herod for John the Baptist’s head on a platter. She made the murderous request. Herod had made the vow in front of many important and influential guests. Although he did not want to, he ordered John beheaded and presented to the damsel as requested. 

Jesus immediately grieved John’s death. John was important to Jesus. He was after all God’s witness that declared Jesus the Messiah. John had prepared the people to receive the Messiah by a baptism for the remission of sins. The circumstances of John’s death pointed to Jesus own. A Roman governor would soon reluctantly condemn Jesus to death on the cross because of the treachery of the High Priest and his minions. Jesus needed to be alone. So they left privately, by boat, so that he could get away from the crowd. But the crowd eventually found Jesus.

In the middle of Jesus’ grief, the Son of God, looked up at the crowd he tried to escape and had compassion on them. He embraced them and healed their sick. He showed himself as the Good Shepherd who cared for his sheep. 

Then the Gospel account shifts to the disciples. Compassion seemed to have welled up in them. The sun was low in the western sky. The people had been traveling and were hungry. They urged Jesus to send them away so that they could get food and shelter. 

Jesus fired back. “They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat.” (Matthew 14:16). 

Imagine their reaction. How could twelve ordinary disciples feed thousands? They immediately calculate their resources. Their answer: “We have here only five loaves of bread and two fish.” (Matthew 14:16).

Insufficient resources for the task in the disciples’ eyes, and insufficient in our eyes. 

How often do we do the same? We measure our effectiveness in ministry by our strength. We measure the size of our ministry by our budget. We measure the effectiveness of our witness by our abilities.

Yet, paltry amounts are sufficient when entrusted to God. This is how God often works throughout Scripture. Let me explain. 

God called Moses to lead the children of Israel into the promised land. He objected strenuously to this calling. He tried to convince God that he was ill equipped for this task. Moses asked God: “What if they do not believe me or listen to me and say, ‘The Lord did not appear to you’?” Then the Lord said to him, “What is that in your hand?” “A staff,” he replied. The Lord said, “Throw it on the ground.” God showed him what He could do through that staff, turning it into a snake and back again. Moses used that staff to perform many miracles. He struck the Nile with the staff and the water turned to blood. 

David was called by God to slay the Philistine giant Goliath. King Saul gave him armor and a sword. David could not wear them. David took five smooth stones and a shepherd’s sling and faced the giant. One of the stones found its mark and the giant went down. Scripture declares: “So David triumphed over the Philistine with a sling and a stone; without a sword in his hand he struck down the Philistine and killed him.”

The Prophet Elijah found himself on the run in the middle of a famine. He went to a gentile town named Zarephath. There he met a widow and her only son. She had scraped the bottom of her flour jar. She found only a small amount of flour. She had resolved to bake the bread, eat and then die. Elijah said: “This is what the Lord says, bake the bread and feed me, the boy and yourself. The flour jar will not be empty for as long as the famine lasts.” The Lord blessed the flour jar and flour was found in it every day, just as the Lord had promised. 

God delights in accomplishing great things through humble means so that the glory belongs to Him alone.

Jesus asked his disciples to calculate what they possessed. He simply called them to” "Bring them here to me." This sentence lies at the center of the Gospel account. Jesus does not demand abundance before He acts. He asks the disciples to place their little into His hands.

Matthew records that Jesus looked toward heaven, blessed the bread, broke it, and gave it to the disciples. The pattern sounds familiar, even Eucharistic. Jesus took the food and he blessed what was in his hands. He broke the loaves and fish, put the pieces in baskets and then he gave them to the people to eat.

Then a miracle occurred. The loaves and the fish multiplied. Every time a person grabbed a piece of fish or a chunk of bread, more appeared. The multiplication of the bread and the fish was divinely regulated. Each person ate until they were satisfied and there were exactly twelve basketfuls left. One basket for each of the disciples. Wow! Jesus showed himself to be a creator. He made bread from nothing! It was like the Manna in the wilderness that miraculously appeared six days out of each week, right on time, like clockwork. The preincarnate Son of God who satisfied Israel’s hunger with Manna, stood incarnate before God’s people and fed them miraculously again.

Every miracle points toward the greater miracle of salvation. Ultimately this miracle points beyond bread to Christ himself. Jesus is the true Bread from heaven. His body would be broken so that the world might receive life. This miracle pointed to the future. Jesus promised that in heaven all will be satisfied by food provided by the Triune God.

The hunger of those in the crowd that day points to the deepest hunger we all share. We hunger not for bread but for forgiveness, reconciliation with God, reconciliation with those we have hurt, those who have hurt us, and eternal life. This miracle declares that only Christ satisfies that hunger.

The Book of Acts reveals the account of the Philippian jailor. A violent earthquake opened the door every jailcell in this warden’s prison. All the inmates could have fled, however, two inmates, the Apostle Paul and his companion Silas, stopped the escape. The warden thought all the prisoners had escaped. A mass escape would not be tolerated by his superiors and he was ready to fall on his sword. Paul stopped him. “Do not harm yourself, for we are all here,”Paul cried out in a loud voice. 

Paul’s words of comfort and assurance caused the jailor’s emotions to swing from suicidal despair to humble thankfulness. He wanted to know more about Paul and Silas. He asked himself: “Why would they act in the way they had?” 

He cried out to Paul “ Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” And they said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.” And they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house. And he took them the same hour of the night and washed their wounds; and he was baptized at once, he and all his family.

Jesus had fed the jailor with the words of the Gospel Jesus had given Paul. These words satisfied that man’s spiritual hunger. 

When he and his family were baptized, Jesus joined them to his death and resurrection and filled them with the Holy Spirit. He made them a part of his body. They, like all sinners, were covered in dirt and wounds, the effect of sin on their lives. Jesus washed their spiritually dirty bodies and healed their spiritual wounds. Jesus had inspired the jailor to do the same to Paul and Silas. He had their bodies washed, their wounds bandaged and their hunger satisfied. What a beautiful scene. From mortal enemies to friends, all through the agency and aegis of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. 

The account of the Philippian Jailor teaches us that where the kingdom of God is revealed it is characterized by abundance. Forgiveness was abundant. Grace was abundant. Mercy was abundant. Hope was abundant. Where Christ is present, there is always enough.

The Church continues to face situations that appear impossible. The needs seem overwhelming. Resources often seem limited. But the question Jesus asks us remains the same: "What do you have?"

Christ still asks his people to bring what they possess: our time; our gifts; our prayers; our compassion; our offerings and our witness. None of these seem impressive alone. Yet when surrendered to Christ, they become instruments through which He blesses others. The miracle is never about the greatness of our gifts. It is always about the greatness of the one who gave them to us.

The feeding of the five thousand is ultimately not about bread. It is about Jesus. He is revealed as the compassionate Shepherd who feeds his flock. He is the one who Moses pointed to, the one who provides bread in the wilderness. He is the Bread of Life who satisfies every spiritual hunger.

This miracle teaches us that whenever we look at ourselves, we see limitations. The disciples began by saying, "We have only five loaves and two fish." Jesus gave them hope and a miracle by obeying his words "Bring them here to me."

His invitation is the same to us today. So, bring him your weakness. Bring him your fears. Bring him your small faith. Bring him your limited resources. Place them into his hands. For the Lord who fed five thousand still provides for his people. He still blesses what is entrusted to him. And he still satisfies all who come to him in faith.

Today we stand before Jesus hungry. Hungry for forgiveness, for reconciliation with God and those we have hurt and who have hurt us, for relief from the doubts that gnaw at us, for healing and wholeness, and for the faith to live today and walk into tomorrow. How can these hungers be satisfied? 

I hear Jesus say: “What do you have?” 

“Some bread and some trays of wine and juice.” I respond. 

“Bring it here to me,” I hear my Saviour command.”

He will bless it, consecrate it and give it to us to eat and drink. When we obey, we will be forgiven, reconciled, healed and promised eternal life. We will be satisfied and equipped to endure all that that lays before us because he comes to us in the bread and the wine and stays and abides with us. 

Amen. 

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