You Touched My Food!

Jesus took the five loaves and two fish, looked up toward heaven, and blessed them. Then, breaking the loaves into pieces, he kept giving the bread and fish to the disciples so they could distribute it to the people. They all ate as much as they wanted, and afterward, the disciples picked up twelve baskets of leftovers! [Luke 9.16-17]

Why didn't Jesus simply speak to the loaves and fish and then He and everyone just watch them multiply?

I think the reason was because Jesus wanted to physically touch every piece of food that every person ate. And, according to Luke's account of this miracle, that is precisely what Jesus did.

For as great a miracle as feeding the 5000 was, it is easy to miss this detail that Jesus actually touched each and every piece of bread and fish.

Of course, Jesus could have multiplied the food without touching it, but I believe there is an underlying story of compassion and concern for each and every individual found in Jesus' handling of each and every piece of food. Every single person in the crowd could know that Jesus Himself touched the very food they consumed!

No person in the crowd could say, "Jesus touched my food but not yours..." On the contrary, every person could look Jesus in the eye and say, "You touched my food!"

Furthermore, the fact that there were 12 baskets of food left over signifies to me that Jesus would "touch" the entire world through the evangelism of His 12 disciples. so, in essence, because I was saved ultimately through the evangelism of those first disciples, I too can say, "You touched my food!"

Father, I am grateful that Jesus touched the food that day when he fed the 5000. Up until today, I have only seen this story as a miracle of multiplication - but today, I see it as a story of individualized compassion. Thank you!