Expecting A Miracle – Matt 15
“And Jesus saith unto them, How many loaves have ye? And they said, Seven, and a few little fishes.” — Matthew 15:34
Once again, Jesus is teaching multitudes of people in a place where they don’t have easy access to food. After three days, the people are very hungry and Jesus has compassion on them. He tells his disciples that He does not want to send them away with anything to eat.
The disciples ask how they will have enough food to feed so many people, but when Jesus asks how many loaves they have, they are ready. They say, “Seven, and a few little fishes.”
Jesus then proceeded to repeat the miracle He performed earlier (Matt 15:13-21). He blessed the bread, broke them, gave them to his disciples, the disciples to the multitudes, and everyone ate and was filled and there were seven baskets of leftovers!
Here are a few lessons from this passage:
- Jesus is able to keep doing miracles. Just because He has done a miracle before does not mean that in way His power is lessened. Sometimes, we see miracles as one-off events and we don’t expect them on a regular basis.
- Jesus is concerned with us maturing in our faith and often puts us in similar impossible situations to see if we have learned anything from previous experiences.
- The disciples are more ready this time. When Jesus asks, they have already gotten seven loaves and a few fishes together. It’s like they are anticipating the performance of a miracle.
The first time the miracle happened, the disciples had no idea what to do, and yet the Lord worked to meet the people’s needs in an amazing way. The next time a great need arises, the disciples are equally unable to do anything, but they are more aware of Jesus’ power and ability.
The same is true for us. There are needs all around that we cannot meet, but we know the One who can. And we can go to Jesus for the resources to meet all of their needs! We are not able, but He is and He wants to use us as His channels of blessing!