Jesus Fed the Crowd

Sunday August 23, 2020

Hi-there parents! Welcome back! Or if you're new here, welcome! The following blog is here to be a tool for you to help your kids grow in their faith while Children's Church is not meeting. Please feel free to use as much of it as you choose. You know your kids and are the best possible teacher for them. God has given you the power of the Holy Spirit to enable you to do more than you think possible (Eph 3:20).  This week’s lesson is one of the more familiar stories and can be found in all four gospels. Matthew 14, Mark 6, Luke 9 and John 6. 

Jesus’ disciples had been working hard, teaching people and healing them. Jesus called them to go away with Him to a desolate place so they could rest. By now, Jesus’ popularity was so great that finding a place to be alone was difficult. When Jesus and His disciples crossed the Sea of Galilee, the crowd of people were already waiting for them on the other side.

Jesus saw the crowds, but He wasn’t frustrated or angry. He didn’t tell them to go away. Instead, He had compassion on them because they were lost—like sheep without a shepherd. Jesus is the Good Shepherd who seeks and saves the lost. (See Luke 19:10; John 10:14.)

The miracle Jesus performed that evening—feeding 5,000 men plus women and children—is the only miracle during Jesus’ earthly ministry that is recorded in all four Gospels. The same God who provided manna for the Israelites in the wilderness multiplied loaves and fish to satisfy the crowd.

But Jesus’ didn’t intend to only meet people’s physical needs. He came to satisfy their spiritual needs as well. In John 6:35, Jesus said, “I am the bread of life.” He said that no one who comes to Him will ever be hungry, and no one who believes in Him will ever be thirsty again.

Jesus is the bread that came down from heaven. (See John 6:41.) God provided His Son as the perfect sacrifice to take away our sins. At the first Lord’s Supper, Jesus broke bread—a symbol of His death on the cross. (See Matt. 26:26.)

As you teach kids this Bible story, help them know that God can and will provide for our needs. Kids can trust Him for their “daily bread.” (See Matt. 6:11.) God met our greatest need in giving us salvation through Jesus. Will He not graciously give us all things? (Rom. 8:32)

As we begin to explore this week’s lesson, don't forget the verse from Deuteronomy about teaching your children the scriptures. Deuteronomy 6:9 says: "You shall teach them diligently to your children and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise." Maybe you don't have time to sit and have an hour of Bible time all at once, or maybe your children are to young to sit for that long. Take the key points and ask God to give you opportunities to speak them into the hearts of your children throughout the week. Let the Bible become a part of your day to day. Be blessed this week my friends!  

Each week we will include songs, activity pages, the bible lesson video, memory verses and possibly a craft or 2. We pray this will help you find ways to engage your kids spiritually. It is written in script form from the K-2nd grade lesson so you can read directly from it or change it up to suit your children. Take a few moments to print the activity pages as well as the additional activities and review the lesson so you can make adjustments as needed. I have included the Bible and Discussion questions along with a breakdown of the Gospel in the Older Kids Activities pages and loads of activities and crafts on the Preschool Extra Activity Pages. Once you are ready, go ahead and start with these songs if you'd like or pick some of your favorite worship songs and then jump right in! Have fun! And remember, this does not need to be done in one sitting! Feel free to break it up over the course of the week. Please contact me if you have any questions or suggestions. I'd love to hear from you!  

So, let's get started. I like to begin each week with Blessings and Bummers. Tell me, what have you seen the Lord doing in your lives during this time at home? What have your greatest blessings been? How about your biggest bummers? 

 Parents share your blessings and bummers and encourage the kids to do the same. 

  Let's go to the Lord in prayer. Father God, Thank you. Thank you for providing for our needs. You are so good to us even though we don't deserve it! Thank you for continuing to bless us Lord. Thank you for being patient with us. Thank you for our friends as well as our families. Help us to appreciate all you do for us and to look to you in all that we do. In Jesus name, Amen. (please add to or customize prayer time to fit your family)

  Praise the Lord for hearing our prayers! Prompt kids to talk about how they behave when they are really hungry. Do they get cranky when they are hungry?

Say • We all need food to live. When we don’t have food, we often begin to feel crabby and upset. Today we will learn about a time many people were growing very hungry. That sounds like a recipe for disaster! But we’ll learn how Jesus provided for them.

Optional Session Starter Activity (Pick one of two options, or do both, this is your party ) (In optional pages attached below) 

  As we get to the story, let’s take another look at the big picture question. 

Our big picture question is all about Jesus’ miracles. Why did Jesus perform miracles? Jesus performed miracles to glorify God, to show He is the Son of God, and to care for people. A miracle is something amazing done with God’s power that would normally be impossible. Jesus’ miracles showed love by healing and saving people. His miracles glorified God by proving His power and goodness. They also showed that Jesus is the Son of God because no one else could have done what He did. Let’s learn about another miracle now.

Jesus traveled all over Israel. He healed people, taught about God, and performed many other miracles. Last week, we learned that Jesus calmed a storm to show the disciples He is God. This week, we will learn about a time Jesus cared for people by providing a big meal for a lot of hungry bellies. Our story is called “Jesus Fed a Crowd.” Click the link below to watch.

Sometimes I think about how frustrated the disciples probably felt at the start of this story. They were tired, hungry, and trying to get a break from the crowd of people who all followed Jesus. When they saw the huge crowd waiting for Jesus on the other side of the Sea of Galilee, they probably had a lot of anger bubbling up inside them. I know I would have.

But how did Jesus respond? The Bible tells us that He saw them and felt compassion. He knew that the crowd was filled with people who were like lost sheep. Jesus is the Good Shepherd, and He wanted to take care of the people. 

Now think back to the disciples again. As it got later and later, they finally had a chance to get away from the crowd by sending them to go get food. If I had been one of the disciples when Jesus told me to give them food, I might have lost my temper. If being tired, hungry, and surrounded by strangers weren’t irritating enough, now Jesus was asking the disciples to do something that was essentially impossible. But it was only impossible for them. Nothing is impossible for God.

Jesus didn’t say, “Don’t worry, I’m going to do a miracle to feed everyone.” Instead, He helped His disciples take on the challenge a little bit at a time. First, they found what little food was available. Then, they helped get the whole crowd seated. Next, they passed out the food bit by bit. It’s possible they kept expecting the food to run out after each person. But by the end, they had gathered more in leftovers than they had to begin with! Jesus miraculously fed a crowd with five loaves and two fish.

Christ connection

• In a way, this can help us see what following Jesus can be like. We won’t usually know ahead of time what God’s plan for us is. Sometimes we might feel frustrated or overwhelmed. But we can trust Jesus each step of the way. His plans are perfect. He will help us push through and obey.

By feeding the five thousand, Jesus provided for the physical needs of the crowd. The next day, Jesus called Himself the bread of life. (John 6:35) Only Jesus is able to satisfy our souls forever by providing forgiveness, peace with God, and eternal life.

Bible Time! 

Distribute a Bible to each kid. Help kids find one of the accounts of Jesus’ feeding five thousand. (Matthew 14; Mark 6; Luke 9; or John 6) Discuss the four gospels. Remind the kids that each gospel tells the story of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection, each from a slightly different perspective. Remind kids that all four are perfectly true.

 Ask the following questions. Lead the group to discuss:

Why had Jesus and His disciples crossed over the Sea of Galilee? (to be alone, Matt. 14:13)

What did the disciples want to do with the hungry crowd of people? (send them away to buy their own food, Matt. 14:15)

How many baskets full of leftovers did the disciples gather? (12, Matt. 14:20)

What does this story show about Jesus? Guide kids to think about the compassion Jesus shows. Jesus wants to meet the needs of people. He met their physical needs by healing them and feeding them, but also meets spiritual needs. Jesus taught about God before dying on the cross and rising again. Jesus’ work made the way for us to be forgiven and have eternal life with God.

Why did Jesus call himself the bread of life? Guide kids to think about the role of bread in Old Testament stories. Remind them about the manna God provided and the significance of the unleavened bread at Passover. Help them see that, just as bread represents a basic necessity—food—Jesus is necessary to have spiritual life with God.

How can we learn to trust Jesus more? Guide kids to discuss ways we can grow in faith, such as studying the Bible, gathering together as a church, praying, and even fasting. Help kids understand what those disciplines are and how we do them.

Say • Jesus miraculously fed a crowd with five loaves and two fish. Jesus met the physical needs of the crowd by satisfying their hunger. He will meet all our spiritual needs. He satisfies our soul, provides forgiveness, and promises eternal life.

Write each word or phrase of the key passage on a separate index card. Mix up the cards and distribute them among the kids. Challenge the kids to see how quickly they can arrange the cards in the correct order. 

Say • Psalms is a collection of songs written by many different people over many years. God’s work is amazing, and He does many miracles. Jesus is God the Son, and He did many miracles too, including dying for our sins and rising again. Why did Jesus perform miracles? Jesus performed miracles to glorify God, to show He is the Son of God, and to care for people.

 Let's pray:  Lord Jesus You are the Messiah, the Savior, and the Son of God. You are good. You provide all we need. You satisfy our souls by giving us Your Son, to save us from our sin. Help us live generously, as You have been so generous to us. We love You. Amen.

 Thanks for joining us! See you next week!

 Thank you to Lifeway's Gospel Project for providing this material and allowing us to publish it.

Optional Session Starter Activities