Jesus Feeds Five Thousand

One afternoon, Preston and I were delivering food to a low-income apartment complex. This is a regular stop for the InterFaith Food Shuttle.

(Excerpts in bold are taken from Matthew 14 when Jesus Feeds Five Thousand; non-bold are my own added comments)

...But the crowds heard where he was headed and followed by land from many villages. A vast crowd was there as he stepped from the boat, and he had compassion on them and healed their sick...

before we arrived at our location, Preston informed me that individuals from this apartment complex would swarm the truck as soon as they saw it. They would be waiting for us. And as we step from the truck, we are going to be surrounded by a vast crowd...in need of compassion and love

...Diciples came to Jesus and said, "...Send the crowds away so they can go to the villages and buy food for themselves." But Jesus replied, "That isn't necessary - you feed them."...

today, the hungry are often turned away unfed and unsatisfied. About 10 years ago Interfaith Food Shuttle came to the rescue. Jill, the founder, decided that it was not necessary for individuals to go hungry, so she took on the responsibility of feeding them

..."Impossible!" they exclaimed. "We have only five leaves of bread and two fish!"...

feeding the people of Raleigh may have seemed impossible, until wasted food and surplus was blessed by the presence of the Food Shuttle and hundreds of dedicated volunteers who came to its rescue

..."Bring them here," he said. He took the five loaves and two fish, looked up toward heaven, and asked God's blessing on the food. Breaking the loaves into pieces, he gave some of the bread and fish to each disciple, and the diciples gave them to the people...

Jill heard the call and followed. God blessed her efforts and compassion. Soon the ministry expanded to reach more people and the donated food multiplied before her eyes

...They all ate as much as they wanted, and they picked up twelve baskets of leftovers...

Preston and I took all the food out of the truck. Individuals meticulously searched through the goods and took as much as they wanted...there were leftovers

...About five thousand men had eaten from those five loaves, in addition to all the women and children!

Because of the InterFaith Food Shuttle, thousands of men were able to eat today, in addition to all the women and children!

stephanie