Luke 9:12-17 contains one of Jesus’ most famous miracles. This story appears in all four gospels and marks a pivotal point in Jesus’ ministry as He transitions from His Galilean ministry toward Jerusalem.
In the gospel of Luke, three critical meals mark different stages of Jesus’ ministry, each described with similar phrasing: this feeding of the 5,000, the Last Supper, and the post-resurrection Emmaus dinner. Each features Jesus blessing and breaking bread, highlighting the significance of these moments.
The crowd had just experienced divine healing and heard about God’s kingdom of grace. They were content in Jesus’ presence, experiencing true transformation. But as evening approached, the disciples grew concerned.
Now the day began to wear away, and the twelve came and said to Him, “Send the crowd away to go into the surrounding villages and countryside to find lodging and get provisions, for we are here in a desolate place.” But He said to them, “You give them something to eat.” They said, “We have no more than five loaves and two fish—unless we are to go and buy food for all these people.” For there were about five thousand men. And He said to His disciples, “Have them sit down in groups of about fifty each.” And they did so, and had them all sit down. And taking the five loaves and the two fish, He looked up to heaven and said a blessing over them. Then He broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples to set before the crowd. And they all ate and were satisfied. And what was left over was picked up, twelve baskets of broken pieces.
Faithless Disciples and the Unfixable Problem
When the day began to wear away, the disciples urged Jesus to send the crowd away to find food and lodging. These disciples, who had just been preaching the gospel and performing miracles in Jesus’ name, suddenly forgot who was standing before them. Their gaze shifted from what Jesus came to do to what they thought they had to do.
The disciples weren’t wrong to notice the crowd’s hunger. But they jumped straight to logistics. Counting loaves, calculating mouths, checking hotel vacancies. They were quickly overwhelmed by their inadequacy. “We have no more than five loaves and two fish,” they said. They traded faith for a spreadsheet and trust for triage.
This is performancism: the belief that your identity is fully tied to what you do. When you see yourself this way, you live and die on the success and failure of your own performance. You can’t admit weaknesses. You become too critical and judgmental, seeing people only as cheerleaders, threats, or insignificant.
The parts of your life you cannot control are precisely the parts that need Jesus’ miraculous grace the most. We’re not asked to ensure our children turn out perfectly or to maintain flawless health. We cannot make ourselves holy no matter how hard we try. The burden of responsibility for righteousness isn’t on us in Christ.
A Good News Savior and a Super Abundant Solution
Jesus responded to the disciples’ problem by no less than a miracle. “Have them sit in groups,” He instructed. Taking those five loaves and two fish, He blessed them, broke them, and distributed them to the disciples to give to the crowd.
The text says they “all ate and were satisfied.” When Jesus is your righteousness, your holiness, your everything—you need nothing else. You don’t have to fix things or be strong to be enough in God’s economy. He provides it all.
Not only were they satisfied, but they collected twelve baskets of leftovers. Jesus proclaimed a new kingdom marked by faith in God’s provision rather than our efforts or religiosity.
Jesus’ grace is super abundant. Like manna from heaven, God provides enough grace for every day. His “enoughness” is always more than enough. Jesus doesn’t send us away to fend for ourselves. His grace feeds our faithless hearts with abundant love and patience.
You are not what you do. You are not the sum of your performance, successes, or failures. You are what Jesus has done for you. His cross has already put to death the worst problem you’ll face, and His resurrection assures that everything broken will be mended.
Like the crowd, Jesus calls us to simply sit at His feet and hear the good news. Sometimes the best thing we can do is let Him do all the work and bear the responsibility of fixing every problem.
This article is a recap of a sermon preached by Pastor Hunter Sipe at Good Shepherd Bible Church on Sunday, March 30, 2025 entitled An Unfixable Problem, A Superabundant Savior. This sermon continues our expositional series on Luke’s gospel entitled Luke: Good News for the Rest of Us. This sermon and others are available for listening on the Good Shepherd Bible Church Sermon Podcast.
Good Shepherd Bible Church is an Acts 29 church located in Pataskala, OH serving the eastern Columbus area.
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