Most of us will never feed a crowd of twenty thousand people. But every one of us gets invited to be part of something that big.

Jesus once stood on a hillside with a hungry multitude before Him and twelve tired men beside Him. Then He said something that must have sounded crazy.

But Jesus said unto them, They need not depart; give ye them to eat. Matthew 14:16

I’ve read that verse for over fifty years. It still stops me. Jesus looked at men who had almost nothing and told them to meet a need far bigger than they were. He still does that today.

He Saw, He Felt, He Did Something

The story starts with Jesus, not the disciples.

And Jesus went forth, and saw a great multitude, and was moved with compassion toward them, and he healed their sick. Matthew 14:14

Watch the order. He saw them. He felt for them. Then He did something about it. That’s the Father’s heart in three moves.

The crowd was hurting. Sick people lay on the grass. Mothers held hungry children. Matthew counts five thousand men, besides women and children. Add the families, and you may be looking at twenty thousand people.

When I first landed in Peru, I felt what those disciples must have felt. A whole country lay before me. Behind it stood a whole continent. Millions of people, and I was one young missionary with a Bible and a lot to learn.

Today the need is even bigger. Billions of people have still never heard the name of Jesus in a way they understand. The numbers can make you want to look away.

It’s easy to slip into a quiet little attitude: I’ll take care of me and mine. Nobody says it out loud. We just live that way. But Jesus never looked at a hurting crowd and thought about His own comfort.

The Math Doesn’t Work

The disciples did what most of us would do. They ran the numbers.

This is a desert place, and the time is now past; send the multitude away, that they may go into the villages, and buy themselves victuals. Matthew 14:15

Look at what they faced.

• No resources. It was a desert place. No market on the corner.
• No time. The day was gone. Night was coming.
• No money. All they could find was five loaves and two fishes.
• Not enough workers. Twelve men against a crowd the size of a small town.

Every reason they gave was true. That’s what makes it so honest. They weren’t lazy or hard-hearted. They simply looked at the need, then looked at themselves.

That’s the trouble with looking at yourself. You’ll always come up short. You were never meant to be the answer.

An Unbelievable Command

Then Jesus told them to feed the crowd. Feed thousands with a boy’s lunch.

Think about how that felt. Just getting twenty thousand people organized would be a nightmare. There was no sound system. Nobody had a microphone. Twelve men had to walk through that crowd and get everybody seated in groups.

Jesus was asking them to do something they could not do. He was asking them to step outside of themselves and trust Him.

But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. Hebrews 11:6

Don’t hear that verse as a threat. Hear it as an invitation. The Father isn’t waiting for you to work up enough faith to earn His smile. You already have His smile in Christ. He delights when His children simply trust Him.

And your faith doesn’t have to be big.

If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you. Matthew 17:20

A mustard seed is tiny. Jesus never asked for giant faith. He asked for real faith, even weak faith, the kind that acts on what it knows to do. When He touched two blind men, He said,

“According to your faith be it unto you” (Matthew 9:29).

In His own hometown, Matthew tells us,

“he did not many mighty works there because of their unbelief” (Matthew 13:58).

The power was always His. Faith just opens the door and lets Him in.

How Ordinary People Do Something Great

So how do you and I get involved in something bigger than we are? The rest of the story shows us.

Quit Making Excuses

The disciples had a list of good reasons. Most of us do too. I’m too old. I’m too young. I don’t have the money. I don’t know enough. I’m not a preacher.

Every one of those may be true. None of them matter as much as you think, because Jesus never asked you to be enough. He asked you to bring Him what you have.

Want What He Wants

Jesus wanted His disciples to see what He could do. He wanted the crowd fed. He didn’t want anyone sent away hungry. Another time, with another crowd, He said it plainly.

I have compassion on the multitude, because they continue with me now three days, and have nothing to eat: and I will not send them away fasting, lest they faint in the way. Matthew 15:32

That’s His heart for the nations right now. He doesn’t want them sent away. Ask Him to let you feel what He feels. Don’t run off and forget the people He loves. Compassion like His doesn’t come from trying harder. It grows when you spend time close to Him.

Give Him What You Have

He said, Bring them hither to me. Matthew 14:18

Five loaves and two fishes didn’t look like much. In His hands, they were more than enough. Your gifts, your prayers, your money, your time, and maybe even your life overseas may look small to you. Hand them to Jesus anyway. Small things become big things in His hands.

Step Out and Obey

Jesus told the people to sit down. He blessed the bread and broke it. Then He handed it to the disciples, and they handed it to the crowd (Matthew 14:19).

Notice that the miracle happened in their hands as they walked. They didn’t see the full baskets first. They obeyed, and the bread kept coming.

Watch What He Does

And they did all eat, and were filled: and they took up of the fragments that remained twelve baskets full.

Matthew 14:20

Everyone ate. Everyone was full. And there was more left over than they started with. Twelve baskets, one for every doubting disciple.

I’ve watched this happen again and again. Churches have been planted in places where nobody thought a church could survive. Young men who could barely preach have become pastors who trained other pastors. None of it came from us. We just handed Him our loaves.

Where You Fit In

You don’t have to move overseas tomorrow to be part of this. Here are a few places to start.

• Pray by name. Pick one missionary or one unreached people group and pray for them every day this week.
• Give something. Put a little toward a missionary’s work. It’s the loaves and fishes. Let Him multiply it.
• Get to know a missionary. Send an email. Ask how you can pray. You’ll be surprised how much it means.
• Ask Him the big question. Tell Jesus you’re willing to go if He sends you. Then rest and let Him lead.
• Talk about it. Bring the nations up at your dinner table. Let your kids hear that God loves the whole world.

Bigger Than You, Never Without Him

The disciples didn’t feed that crowd. Jesus did. They just got to be there. They carried the bread, saw the faces, and picked up the baskets.

That’s what He offers you. Not a burden to carry alone, but a place beside Him while He does what only He can do. You get to watch the Father love the world, and you get to help hand out the bread.

You were made for something greater than yourself. Not because you’re great, but because He is. Bring Him your five loaves. He’s already moved with compassion, and He has never once run out.

If this stirred something in you, I’d love to have you along. Every week I write about the grace that follows the God who loves the whole world and us. Subscribe to Followed by Mercy, and the next one will land right in your inbox. And if you know someone who needs a nudge toward the nations, pass this along.

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