TOPIC:
JESUS FEEDS THE HUNGRY MULTITUDE
BIBLE TEXT:
Matthew 15:29-39; Mark 8:1-10
KEY VERSE:
Your Father knows what you need before you ask Him (Matthew6:8, NIV).
TARGET:
To help the child know that Jesus supplies not only our spiritual needs but also our physical needs.
OBJECTIVES:
During and after the lesson, each child will show that he or she understands the lesson by:
- Describing how Jesus gave food to a crowd of hungry people.
- Expressing his or her trust in God to supply his or her needs by praying with other members of the class.
OUTLINE:
- Jesus Has a Busy Day - Matthew 158:29-31
- The People Are Hungry - Matthew 158:32-39
- Jesus Feeds the Multitude - Matthew 8:1-10
INTRODUCTION:
Have you ever found yourself in a situation where you were hungry and there was no food to eat? Try to recall how you felt then. Also try to recall how the food you later ate came.
When Jesus lived here, He experienced hunger because He came as a man. He really knows what it means to be hungry. Hunger is a natural thing God put in man. That was why Jesus, the great Provider, miraculously provided food for a large crowd of people who came once upon a time to hear Him teach about God.
And for us today, He has promised to supply all our needs including food, according to His riches in glory. He is the same God today as He was then.
LESSON COMMENTARY:
1. Jesus Has a Busy Day:
While walking beside the Sea of Galilee, Jesus went up a hill and sat down. A great crowd of people gathered around Him. In fact, the crowd grew quite large, so much that they were 4,000 men, not counting women and children. The crowd came to hear Jesus teach about God and to be healed of their sicknesses. There were the lame, the blind, the deaf and the dumb. Jesus healed all these people and this surprised the crowd. They praised God for what they saw.
The people remained with Jesus three whole days just hearing Him and seeing His miracles. And for those three days they did not eat any food. How do you feel when you stay without food for a long time? How do you think the crowd felt now that it was time for them to go home?
2. The People Are Hungry:
The crowd did not feel hungry when they were listening to Jesus. Jesus was feeding them spiritually. But, at the end of these three days with Christ, they really became hungry. And they were in a desert place where there was no food to buy. Jesus knew they needed food. Nobody told Him. He knew what it was to be hungry. Remember that Jesus cares not only for the important things that happen to us, but also for the little things that happen day by day.
Our memory verse says that Jesus “Knows what things we have need of”. At the end of that teaching session, Jesus knew that the need of the crowd was food. He loved them so much and did not want to send them away hungry. If He did, some may faint on the way and many of them may have come a long way. He wanted to give them food to eat. He mentioned this problem to His disciples saying that He had pity on the people and wanted them to eat before going home.
“Ha! This man has come again” they thought. They were shocked beyond words. “Where can we get enough bread in this remote place to feed such a crowd?” They asked. To them the idea of feeding those people was simply impossible. But did they not remember that there was a time they had such a problem and Jesus had miraculously fed the 5,000 people at the time with a little boy’s lunch? But though they may have remembered yet they were worried about how this very crowd would be fed. We can see that the disciples still doubted what Jesus can do. They had forgotten all the wonderful things He had been doing. But Jesus knew what to do.
3. Jesus Feeds the Multitude:
“How much bread do you have?” Jesus asked His disciples. They told Him that they had seven loaves of bread and a few small fish. But that wasn’t enough to feed such a large crowd. Jesus told the crowd to sit on the ground. The crowd did so. They may have sat in rows or in groups. The important thing is that they were orderly. May be the women and children sat by themselves because in those days, the women and children were not counted. These people who sat down on the grass were 4,000 men, many women and children.
Jesus then took the bread in His hands and thanked God for it. He broke the bread into pieces and gave them to His disciples. The disciples gave the bread to the people. Jesus also took the fish and did as He did for the bread. The amazing thing that happened is that when Jesus began to break the bread into pieces, it continued to multiply. They never ran out of food. The disciples continued giving out the bread to the people and never complained that it had finished. Everybody ate to his or her fill and bread still remained. When the disciples gathered together the remaining food, they filled seven baskets. This was indeed a miracle. God can do all things including giving us food.
APPLICATION:
Joe’s tummy made a noise and he knew exactly what that noise meant. He was hungry. He immediately stopped playing football with his friends and rushed home. At the door he shouted, “Mum, I’m hungry. Is the food ready?” But when he entered the room, he knew that something was wrong. His brother and sister were already in the room with their mother. “What is wrong, Mother?” Joe asked. “Why are you not cooking?”
“There is no food to cook. I couldn’t sell anything in the market today,’ Mrs Eze said. Mrs Eze however, told her children that God will surely give them food to eat that night. She told them to kneel down and ask God to provide food for them. All of them prayed one by one. They were still on their knees when a knock came on the door. Mrs Eze got up and opened the door. Standing right before her was Mrs Baba with a basket. She handed this basket to Mrs Eze and left. The basket contained food already prepared for Mrs Eze and her children. God had answered their prayer and very fast too.
QUESTIONS:
How many men were in the crowd with Jesus? ______ Men.
(A) 400
(B) 8,000
(C) 4,000
(D) 5,000.What two different types of needs did they bring to Jesus?
(A) Physical and Social needs.
(B) Emotional and Spiritual needs.
(C) Financial and Physical needs.
(D) Physical and Spiritual needs.Who told Jesus that the people were hungry?
(A) The disciples.
(B) The Pharisees.
(C) The crowd.
(D) Nobody. Jesus knows everyone’s needs.How was the crowd fed?
(A) With 7 loaves and 2 fishes.
(B) 7 loaves and a few small fish.
(C) 5 loaves and 2 fish.
(D) 7 loaves and 5 fish.
DAILY BIBLE READING
Mon: God Can Feed a Nation - Deut 8:3-10
Tue: God Fed a Man - 1 kings 17:4-16
Wed: God Fed a Nation - 2 Kings 7:1-18
Thu: Hunger and Thirst after Righteousness - Matt 5:6
Fri: Jesus the Bread of Life - John 6:35
Sat: Desire to Be Fed - 1 Peter 2:2.
DISCLAIMER
This lesson is the exclusive publication and publication of the Sunday School Department of the General Council Assemblies of God Nigeria.
It is published in a hard copy in 2024 June ending as to start teaching from it on July 7th, 2024. There is no individual author in any platform or social media sites who can claim ownership except the Sunday School Department of the General Council Assemblies of God Nigeria.
