Luke 9:17 And they did eat, and were all filled: and there was taken up of fragments that remained to them twelve baskets
Communism is based on the premise that there are a limited number of resources, unless you are a member of the Politburo, in which case some people are more equal than others. Christianity, on the other hand, is based on the fact there are unlimited resources. I am not talking about financial system versus a financial system. I am talking about the way we think. Oftentimes, even as believers in Christ we live based on a limited, finite economy, a zero-sum game that if I give, then they won’t have to, or if I get, then they can’t. I act like it is survival of the fittest so I have to make things happen. Some people believe in gaining by getting and some people believe in gaining by giving.
My grandmother was a survivor of the Great Depression. She was very frugal and wise with her resources. As a child, Grandma had a five-gallon bucket of “toys” that were scraps of wood from Grandpa’s wood shop, little wooden spools where she had stored thread, and even tops from aerosol cans. She was very careful with what she had because it was a limited economy.
One thing you learn in Luke 9 from the feeding of the five thousand is that the Lord gives through givers.You find this basic proposition in dozens of stories throughout the Bible because they are all trying to tell us the same thing, that the Lord gives not through takers but through givers. Are you living in a finite economy or are you living in light of the Lord of heaven? You don’t even know what there is to go around unless you know the Lord Jesus.
Luke 9:12 says, “And when the day began to wear away, then came the twelve, and said unto him, Send the multitude away, that they may go into the towns and the country round about, and lodge, and get victuals: for we are here in a desert place.” It was the wrong place at the wrong time. The only way the people were going to get food was if they went to the grocery store in town. They said this with God incarnate standing physically in their presence. Jesus said, “Give them to eat.” What you learn is that the Lord gives through givers.
First, Jesus knew their prospects. The day had begun to wear away and they were in a desert place. The Lord knew that. He knew what their prospects were.
Second, the Lord tested their faith. In verse 13 He said, “Give ye them to eat. And they said, We have no more but five loaves and two fishes; except we should go and buy meat for this people.” This is crazy, but they didn’t seem to know that the Lord was up to providing the food. Later on, they panicked because in a boat with Jesus there were thirteen people and only one loaf of bread. They were afraid it wasn’t enough to go around even though they had seen Jesus feed multitudes of people.
He was testing their faith. He didn’t say, “Guys, here is some money. Go out and get something to eat. You must be hungry.” No, He said, “You see all these people? Give them something to eat.” Sometimes you feel like the Lord is asking you to give when you have nothing to give. Does God ever ask the impossible? God asks of you the impossible all the time, but He never asks of you anything that is impossible to Him. That is why you have to figure Him into your economy. He tested their faith. He said, “Give.”
Third, He made the fish. In verse 14 it says, “For they were about five thousand men.” How many fish were there? There were two fishes. How many people? There were five thousand men plus families. So, what kind of equation is that? It is not too good, except that they weren’t looking beyond the surface. In Genesis 1:21 God says, “And God created great whales, and every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind.” If you read John 1, Colossians 1, and Hebrews 1, you are reminded that Jesus was there on the day of Creation. The disciples were literally talking to the one who created all the fish. So, how many people were there? Five thousand plus. How many fish in the sea? No one knows. It is unnumerable. We sometimes think, “How many fish can I catch?” and we don’t think about how many fish He can make. Jesus made the fish.
Finally, Jesus multiplied the resources. Luke 9:16 says, “Then he took the five loaves and the two fishes, and looking up to heaven, he blessed them, and brake, and gave to the disciples to set before the multitude.” The disciples first of all gave what they had. So, before you give to anyone else you have to give to the Lord. You can’t give as you should to others if you don’t first of all give yourself to the Lord. That is what these men did. They took the five loaves and two fishes and gave them to Christ. Jesus blessed them, broke them, and gave them away again. Verse 17 says, “And they did eat, and were all filled: and there was taken up the fragments that remained to them twelve baskets.” They had more left over than they had to begin with. He gave; He filled. There was quite a bit remaining.
So, who ate this great provision? The answer is five thousand people plus and the twelve disciples. The Lord doesn’t want to give to you so much as He wants to give through you. As you are a giver, that is exactly what He will do, and as He gives through you, He will provide for you. So, Jesus knew their prospects, tested their faith, made the fish, and multiplied their resources. The Lord gives through givers.