Feed The Hungry

Matthew 14:13-21 (NASB)
¹³  Now when Jesus heard about John, He withdrew from there in a boat to a secluded place by Himself; and when the people heard of this, they followed Him on foot from the cities.
¹⁴  When He went ashore, He saw a large crowd, and felt compassion for them and healed their sick.
¹⁵  When it was evening, the disciples came to Him and said, "This place is desolate and the hour is already late; so send the crowds away, that they may go into the villages and buy food for themselves."
¹⁶  But Jesus said to them, "They do not need to go away; you give them something to eat!"
¹⁷  They *said to Him, "We have here only five loaves and two fish."
¹⁸  And He said, "Bring them here to Me."
¹⁹  Ordering the people to sit down on the grass, He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up toward heaven, He blessed the food, and breaking the loaves He gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds,
²⁰  and they all ate and were satisfied. They picked up what was left over of the broken pieces, twelve full baskets.
²¹  There were about five thousand men who ate, besides women and children.

1.     Looking Upon The Hungry With Compassion

Matthew 14:13-15 (NASB)
¹³  Now when Jesus heard about John, He withdrew from there in a boat to a secluded place by Himself; and when the people heard of this, they followed Him on foot from the cities.
¹⁴  When He went ashore, He saw a large crowd, and felt compassion for them and healed their sick.
¹⁵  When it was evening, the disciples came to Him and said, "This place is desolate and the hour is already late; so send the crowds away, that they may go into the villages and buy food for themselves."

Mark 6:31 (NASB)
³¹  And He *said to them, "Come away by yourselves to a secluded place and rest a while." (For there were many people coming and going, and they did not even have time to eat.)

Mark 6:34 (NASB)
³⁴  When Jesus went ashore, He saw a large crowd, and He felt compassion for them because they were like sheep without a shepherd; and He began to teach them many things.

2.     Accepting Your Responsibility To Help

Matthew 14:16-17 (NASB)
¹⁶  But Jesus said to them, "They do not need to go away; you give them something to eat!"
¹⁷  They *said to Him, "We have here only five loaves and two fish."

John 6:5-9 (NASB)
⁵  Therefore Jesus, lifting up His eyes and seeing that a large crowd was coming to Him, *said to Philip, "Where are we to buy bread, so that these may eat?"
⁶  This He was saying to test him, for He Himself knew what He was intending to do.
⁷  Philip answered Him, "Two hundred denarii worth of bread is not sufficient for them, for everyone to receive a little."
⁸  One of His disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, *said to Him,
⁹  "There is a lad here who has five barley loaves and two fish, but what are these for so many people?"

3.     Trusting The Lord In Obedience To Bless What You Have To Give

Matthew 14:18-21 (NASB)
¹⁸  And He said, "Bring them here to Me."
¹⁹  Ordering the people to sit down on the grass, He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up toward heaven, He blessed the food, and breaking the loaves He gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds,
²⁰  and they all ate and were satisfied. They picked up what was left over of the broken pieces, twelve full baskets.
²¹  There were about five thousand men who ate, besides women and children.

John 6:12 (NASB)
¹²  When they were filled, He *said to His disciples, "Gather up the leftover fragments so that nothing will be lost."