We should learn to live lives of compassion, imitating our compassionate Savior. We should move out to meet practical needs around us, just as Jesus fed the hungry crowds. These are helpful things to learn from the story of Jesus feeding the 5,000. Now, there are deeper realities at play here. Jesus will use this event as a launching pad to talk about himself as the Bread of Life. 

Before I preach on Sunday’s, I pray. More often than not, I pray that the Spirit would give us eyes to see great and glorious truths in the Bible and then live in light of what we’ve seen. That is, I do not aim in my preaching to merely help our congregation gain intellectual weight. I’m not after a simple transfer of information. I want us to see amazing truths that change our lives.

At times, people hear sermons and they leave wondering what they should go “do” in order to apply what they’ve heard. That’s not necessarily a bad thing. Biblical preaching convicts, encourages, challenges, and calls us to action.

On Sunday, however, one of the things I wanted people to “do” is to go home and “do” nothing. Instead, I wanted them to sit down, think about Jesus feeding the 5,000, and be stunned.

Sometimes, we simply need to stand in awe of Jesus.

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