You Give Them Something to Eat

Matthew 14:15 When it was evening, His disciples came to Him, saying, “This is a deserted place, and the hour is already late. Send the multitudes away, that they may go into the villages and buy themselves food.”

16 But Jesus said to them, “They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat.”

John 6:11 And Jesus took the loaves, and when He had given thanks He distributed them to the disciples, and the disciples to those sitting down; and likewise of the fish, as much as they wanted.

When the people crossed over the lake and found Him, Jesus knew they were hoping He would give them some more free food.

John 6:26 Jesus answered them and said, “Most assuredly, I say to you, you seek Me, not because you saw the signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled. 27 Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to everlasting life, which the Son of Man will give you, because God the Father has set His seal on Him.”

Jesus makes clear that food is a symbol for His own spiritual life. He explains it clearly with "not like the manna your fathers ate in the desert, and DIED..."

John 6:28 Then they said to Him, “What shall we do, that we may work the works of God?”

29 Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent.”

30 Therefore they said to Him, “What sign will You perform then, that we may see it and believe You? What work will You do? 31 Our fathers ate the manna in the desert; as it is written, ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’ ”

32 Then Jesus said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, Moses did not give you the bread from heaven, but My Father gives you the true bread from heaven. 33 For the bread of God is He who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”

34 Then they said to Him, “Lord, give us this bread always.”

35 And Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst."

This is also illustrated with John 6:68 But Simon Peter answered Him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life."

So in this same exact chapter, even though the narrative shifts to a different situation, the Lord is giving us a huge clue that it is *words* that are used to transmit life. So we see in James chapter 1 verse 26 "If anyone among you thinks he is religious, and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this one’s religion is useless." Words are important both in the positive sense and the negative sense.

Eph 4:29
Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers.

By handing the food to His disciples, who then distributed it to the crowd, Jesus was painting a picture for us to illustrate that we are meant to be His spiritual conduits to the lost. We can't just pray for people and expect them to go someplace else for spiritual life. We can't just hope that somebody tells them where they can get fed.

Jesus said "you give them something to eat."