“And when He had taken the five loaves and the two fish, He looked up to heaven, blessed and broke the loaves, and gave them to His disciples to set before them; and the two fish He divided among them all.”
Mark 6:41
We share the bread of heaven
On two occasions, the Lord fed a large crowd by multiplying the little food brought by the disciples. Jesus performed this miracle to show the people that He was sent by God to bring them salvation. The multiplication of the loaves is mentioned in all four gospels, but the account differs in some respects. It is therefore wise to focus on the main message and not on the details.
Jesus’s mission.
Through this miracle, the Lord shows that He is a prophet, greater than Elijah, who saved the widow of Zarephath from famine (1 Kings 17:8-16) or Elisha, who fed many people with a few loaves (2 Kings 4:42-44). God knows the needs of His people and provides for them.
He is not just a preacher, He helps. Christ does not just tell us what to do, He acts. He has done more for our salvation than we have!
In the desert, God saved the lives of His people by providing them with manna. Jesus Christ came to save us from spiritual death. He brings us the bread of heaven, which is essential to have eternal life.
Jesus purposely uses the image of food. We do not live by what we ingest, but by what we digest. It is not enough to listen to God’s word, we must “digest” it. It only has a salvific effect if we apply it to ourselves and put it into practice. It is not enough to receive the consecrated wafer. Holy Communion only has its full effect if we celebrate it in remembrance of Christ—let us remember what Christ has done, is doing and wants to do for us and let us draw the consequences!
Jesus gave food to the men (5,000 the first time, 4,000 the second time), but also to the women and children, who were so little considered that they were not even bothered to be counted. Christ forgets no one, He offers His salvation in abundance.
The disciple’s mission.
The second lesson to be learned from the multiplication of the loaves concerns the disciple’s mission. Jesus did not act alone, He called upon them to feed the crowd. Jesus Christ did not call His disciples only to give them eternal life, but also to serve Him. We have been chosen by Christ to proclaim the gospel, serve Christ and help save others (2 Pet 1:10-11).
The Lord asked the disciples to share the food they had for themselves. When God wants to help people, He often starts by asking us to share what we have with others … Let us note that the disciples were not harmed in any way by sharing their food—they were satiated like the others!
Jesus did not make new bread to feed the crowd, He multiplied the bread the disciples had. He does not need to invent a new gospel to help our contemporaries. His message to them is the same as the one He gave us for our salvation!
Before distributing it, the disciples had to give their bread to the Lord. He performed the miracle. The Lord asks us to speak about the gospel and our experiences, but our testimony would be useless without the activity of the Holy Spirit. Only the Holy Spirit can touch the hearts of humankind for their salvation!
The disciples had to show great faith. They only had a few pieces of bread to distribute to thousands of people. Only in time did they realize that there was enough food for everyone. Sometimes we feel helpless when we think of the great mission God has given us and the few resources we have. Let us trust God. Let us just do what He asks us to do. He will take care of the rest!
The Apostles had worked hard and were tired (Mk 6:31). And it was precisely at that moment that Jesus asked them to make a considerable effort. They were only a handful to distribute food to thousands of people. Only love for God and their neighbor could make this happen!
In Mark 6:39 and Luke 9:14, it says that Jesus asked the crowd to form groups to receive food. Without focusing too much on this detail, we can see in it an indication of Christ’s salvific activity: it is in His Church that He offers us salvation. Let us persevere in the fellowship of God’s children, for it is there that Christ distributes the bread of heaven to us!
Jesus Christ gives us the bread of eternal life. The effectiveness of the word and Holy Communion depend on our willingness to change. We serve Christ by proclaiming the gospel. We do this in faith, out of love for Him and our neighbor.