Feeding the 5,000
Matthew 14: 14-21 And when He went ashore, He saw a great multitude, and felt compassion for them, and healed their sick. And when it was evening, the disciples came to Him, saying, “The place is desolate, and the time is already past; so send the multitudes away, that they may go into the villages and buy food for themselves.” But Jesus said to them, “They do not need to go away; you give them something to eat!” And they said to Him, “We have here only fives loaves and two fish.” And He said, “Bring them here to Me.” And ordering the multitudes to recline on the grass, He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up toward heaven, He blessed the food, and breaking the loaves He gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave to the multitudes, and they all ate, and were satisfied. And they picked up what was left over of the broken pieces, twelve full baskets. And there were about 5,000 men who ate, aside from women and children.
On this day, He was so busy teaching them and healing their sick that many hours passed and it was dinnertime. The people were hungry and thirsty, but they’d followed Jesus to a place outside of town where there was no food. When the disciples tell Jesus it’s time to send the people away, He doesn’t want to stop. Instead He does another miracle. He takes just five loaves of bread and two fishes and starts breaking off pieces to feed the people. Instead of running out, the disciples give out food to over 5,000 people. And not just a bite here and there, but enough so they weren’t hungry anymore. In the end, the disciples have twelve baskets of food left over, all from just a handful of ingredients to start.
Activity: Bake homemade fish sticks!
1. Take any white fish fillet and cut into strips
2. Pour about a cup of milk in a shallow dish. In a separate dish, pour about a cup of breadcrumbs.
2. Dunk fish strip in milk to thoroughly coat it.
3. Lay strip in breadcrumbs and flip, coating each side.
4. Place on baking sheet
5. Bake at 350 degrees F for 10 minutes or until cooked through depending on thickness. (center will be opaque and fish will easily flake apart with a fork. )
