Wednesday, April 6, 2022

          In chapter nine of his gospel, Luke recorded Jesus’ feeding of the five thousand.  The actual number was likely even higher because Luke 9:14 recorded that the number five thousand represented the number of counted men.  When we add in women and children, the final total could have easily grown to thousands more.  The people Jesus fed that day could have filled the Kannapolis Cannon Ballers Stadium several times.  It was a big group.  And they were hungry!  Jesus multiplied five loaves of bread and two fish to make enough food that allowed everyone to eat until they were satisfied with twelve basketfuls of food leftover (Luke 9:17). 
            A number of powerful truths and lessons jump out for us to see in this story.  We learn about the sufficiency of Jesus and His power.  We learn that there is no such thing as too little when Jesus is present.  We learn how He multiplies and blesses whatever we may bring to Him in faith.  We learn that Jesus is neither bound nor confounded by challenging circumstances.  He can always bring about His purposes and will.  We even find a glimpse of the Last Supper symbolized and foreshadowed for us to see.  Remember the Last Supper was Jesus’ way of sharing a final meal with His disciples and allowing that meal to represent symbolically what would soon happen at the cross.  Today, as we take the Lord’s Supper in American churches, we remember that the body of Christ was crushed and broken for us and the blood of Christ was shed for us. 
            This coming Sunday is Palm Sunday where we begin the final week of Jesus’ life.  His Last Supper was a critical moment in that final week.  Just as Jesus’ feeding of the five thousand teaches us about His sufficiency for all things we face or encounter, His Last Supper teaches us about His sufficiency for our salvation and forgiveness.  He settled forever the cost of our sin debt with no assistance from us and with nothing added to His cross by our efforts or ingenuity.  As we approach Holy Week, we need to keep in mind one single word—sufficiency.  The cross is sufficient.  Grace is sufficient.  Christ is sufficient.  The gospel is sufficient.  The empty tomb is sufficient.  With God, all things are always as they should be and always sufficient.
            Today, think of the story of the five thousand and what was handed to Jesus.  He was asked to make a sufficient meal out of only five loaves of bread and two fish.  We might think that such a meager amount of food is a pittance at best.  But it became sufficient.  What would you entrust to the Lord and His hands today?  What would you place in His sufficient hands to keep, to multiply, to bless?  It could be a struggle you are facing.  It could be your home.  It could be a young child or a grownup child for whom you have worries and concerns.  It could be an uncertain health situation or a faith struggle.  His hands are sufficient.  His answers and ways are perfect.  His timing is always spot-on.  Long ago, a hungry crowd and some anxious disciples all looked to Jesus to provide and to be sufficient for them.  And He was.  Today, we can look to Him as well.  And He will be sufficient for us!  Have a great Wednesday!