“And they did all
eat, and were filled: and they took up of the fragments that remained twelve
baskets full.” – Matthew 14:20
There
are so many wonderful lessons to be found in this story from the life and
ministry of our Lord, and I’m sure you’ve heard them expounded at one time or
another. For instance, when we read John’s account of this story in John 6:
5-13, we see the skepticism of Philip, who was sure there would never be a way
to feed 5,000 people with what little money they had on hand. Then there was Peter,
who was resourceful enough to find a little lad who had five loaves of bread
and two “small fish,” though this wouldn’t be much help either. And, oh, the
wonderful sermons I’ve heard about the unassuming little boy, who was willing
to share his lunch! I could go on, but not long ago, I read a sermon by one of
my favorites, George H. Morrison, who pointed out something else in the story
that I had not thought of. I immediately determined to share this blessed truth
with you.
As
you recall, when everyone had been fed, not just enough to ease their hunger,
but enough that they “were filled,” Jesus instructed the disciples to gather up
“the fragments that remained.” This turned out to be twelve baskets full of
leftovers. Now, the question is, did our Lord not know how much would be
required to feed this group? Of course, He did. But while you and I, shortsightedly,
see frugality in our Lord’s instructions, Morrison sees uncalculating love. As he puts it, “He took no nice and precise
measurements of what the hungry multitude required. He did not think of the
minimum of need; He thought of the maximum of love.”
This
was true of His whole ministry here on earth. People asked for healing and received
the forgiveness of sin along with it. When He gave the parable of the Prodigal
Son, He pictured for us a father who not only welcomed his wayward son back
home, but who was lavished upon him a new robe, shoes, and a ring, music, dancing,
and a steak dinner! All the son requested was forgiveness, but he was given
everything. And who could forget the high words of praise Jesus gave to the
woman who “wasted” all her precious ointment in an alabaster box on the Savior
she loved so dearly? (Mk. 14:3-9) Her act, He said, was not only a “good work
on me,” it was a memorial to her and her extravagant love.
Finally,
1 John 2:2 tells us plainly that Christ’s death on the Cross was the payment
not only for our sins, as believers, but “also for the sins of the whole
world.” I don’t question that. And from what I read of the love of God,
especially as manifested in the life of His Son, Jesus Christ, I’m not
especially surprised. Although they will not all accept it, there was enough
saving Grace in the death of Jesus Christ to save every guilty sinner who lived
or will ever live. It’s only efficient
for those who receive it by faith, but it’s sufficient
for the whole world. No lost man can ever say, “There was nothing provided for
me.”
You
and I can never match such extravagant love; but we can try. We can live our
lives as the woman who poured out her greatest treasure upon Jesus, and the
widow who gave all that she had to God. May we, like our Lord, forget about the
minimum of need, and focus on the maximum of love.
“If Jesus Christ be God and died for me, then no
sacrifice can be too great for me to make for Him.” – David Livingstone
(1813-1873)
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