First Week in Lent

Enough: Five Loaves and Two Fish Are Not Enough

Scripture: Read Matthew 14:13-21.

How many times do we ask the question, "How much is enough?" We may be packing clothes for a long vacation, saving for our retirement, or contributing to our church when we wonder what is enough. The question is often difficult to answer in part because the concept of "enough" is subjective, varying across persons and circumstances. Concern with how much was enough arose often as Jesus tried to teach his disciples. At times, the Twelve accepted Jesus' assessment of "enough"; but on some occasions, they made mistakes.

When Jesus sent the disciples out to preach and heal, he gave them specific instructions about what was enough to carry with them: "He ordered them to take nothing for their journey except a staff; no bread, no bag, no money in their belts; but to wear sandals and not to put on two tunics" (Mark 6:8-9). Certainly their provisions were stark! However, the Gospel writers recorded no complaint from the disciples in response.

How were they to survive the journey when they took so little of what they needed? Jesus instructed them to accept hospitality in the towns they visited. He wanted the disciples to travel lightly not only to facilitate their ease in moving from place to place, but also to instill in them the need for community and for dependence on God. In addition, those extending hospitality would have the benefit of participating in Jesus' ministry by caring for and being with the disciples. Perhaps had the disciples carried "enough" in the usual sense—enough money, bread, and clothing—they might have missed important lessons about humility, trust, and gratitude. Nevertheless, this experience did not prepare the disciples for the challenge Jesus gave them to provide enough food for a hungry crowd.

All four Gospels include the story of Jesus feeding five thousand men, along with uncounted women and children (Matthew 14:13-21; Mark 6:30-44; Luke 9:10-17; John 6:1-14). In Matthew (15:29-39) and Mark (8:1-10), a second feeding of about four thousand people is also reported. Thus the Gospels contain six quite similar accounts of large crowds being fed by Jesus. The unusual repetition alone makes the story significant among those told about him.

In the first story, Jesus had been teaching and healing throughout the day when the disciples came to him saying, "This is a deserted place, and the hour is now late; send the crowds away so that they may go into the villages and buy food for themselves" (Matthew 14:15). Probably the disciples assumed that the thousands gathered there were as hungry and tired as they were. Furthermore, they may have thought that Jesus had done enough for one day. The disciples' advice to Jesus may have conveyed a "let's-call-it-a-day" message.

Jesus agreed with the disciples' assessment that everyone needed to eat. He surprised them, however, when he told them his plan: "You give them something to eat" (14:16). We can imagine the tone with which the disciples replied as they looked out over the crowd. Perhaps they were incredulous or a bit frustrated as they responded, "We have nothing here but five loaves and two fish" (14:17). Alternatively, they may have replied sarcastically, "Are we to go and buy two hundred denarii worth of bread, and give it to them to eat?" (Mark 6:37). The disciples' estimate of the cost of feeding bread to the crowd was about two hundred times a typical daily wage of one denarii. We can understand their "you've-got-to-be-kidding" attitude!

Were the disciples referring to their own provisions when they reported about the loaves and fish? If so, they may have been reluctant to offer the food they had brought for themselves. Perhaps they thought, "Why should we give up our food, which we need? What good would our sacrifice do, anyway?" Nevertheless, they gave the bread and fish to Jesus. After making the crowd sit down, Jesus blessed, broke, and gave the food to the disciples, who gave it to the people. The food was enough. As Matthew records, all the people ate until they were satisfied; then, the disciples collected twelve baskets full of leftover bread and fish.

Perhaps the disciples' first mistake was that they wanted to send the crowd home. Although the disciples thought that the people had been there long enough and that Jesus had done enough for them, Jesus thought otherwise. He wanted the people to stay, to sit down, and to eat, perhaps in part for the value of the fellowship among them. With five thousand people spread out in the deserted place, only some in the crowd could witness each healing. Probably many could not hear all of the teaching throughout the day. Perhaps Jesus knew that the experience was not enough until the people sat down in the community of smaller groups where they could share the stories of those who were healed, and repeat and debate the teaching they had heard. Being "filled" required more than bread alone. The time of fellowship helped the people better understand, appreciate, and remember all they had experienced. Maybe new supportive relationships were begun among those who chose to follow Jesus.

The more obvious mistake of the disciples, however, was their assumption that what they had was not enough. Certainly a crowd of five thousand to feed would be overwhelming to anyone, particularly when the dinner party was unexpected! Little surprise, then, that the provisions the disciples had seemed pitiful in the face of what was needed. All they could suggest was buying food for everyone, a plan immediately dismissed as extravagant and unreasonable. The disciples had no vision or creativity in approaching the challenge they faced. Even so, the disciples could be seen as pragmatic and their advice to Jesus as appropriate. After all, Jesus cautioned about carefully calculating the costs of a large undertaking. He asked, "For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not first sit down and estimate the cost, to see whether he has enough to complete it?" (Luke 14:28). The disciples appeared to make a quick calculation of the cost of feeding the crowd and decided they could not do it.

Before condemning the disciples for their lack of faith, look more closely at how Jesus dealt with them. In response to the disciples' recommendation to send the crowd away, Jesus replied simply, "You give them something to eat" (Matthew 14:16). While we cannot know Jesus' tone, much less his intent, we can speculate that he spoke gently in a matter-of-fact voice, perhaps even lifting his eyebrows as if his statement were a question, or a sly suggestion. The disciples' quick response seemed to indicate that they thought Jesus' idea was the most ridiculous thing they had ever heard! With a reply that sounds calm to our ears, Jesus told the men to bring what...