Daily Devotional For Friday, October 9, 2026

Good morning Southside! I am following the One Year Chronological Bible reading suggestion and any Bible verses you see highlighted in bold (ex. John 3:16), means it is a link to that verse. All you have to do is click on the reference and it will take you to the verse online. Our daily devotional for today comes from the words of Jesus found in Matthew 14:13-21. This is one of the most famous miracles Jesus did – feeding the 5,000 men, not counting the women and children. Hunger is something we in America rarely experience. The stats around the world are staggering: 

• 673 million people (8,2% of the world’s population) experience chronic hunger globally. 
• 2.3 billion people face moderate or severe food insecurity, meaning they lack regular access to safe and nutritious food. 
• 2.6-2.8 billion people cannot afford a healthy diet globally. In America, we throw away so much food and it is appalling. 

In America we are so used to having food everywhere we go that we rarely ever think about hunger in terms of survival. When Jesus got news that Herod had killed John the Baptizer, He left to go to a solitary place. This was long in coming since Israel had failed to repent under John the Baptizer’s preaching. They had refused to repent under John’s preaching and they had failed to celebrate under Jesus’ teaching. The people would not mourn John’s death nor dance for Jesus’ good news. 

In Matthew 12, the religious leaders accused Jesus of blasphemy and began to plot His death. In Matthew 13, Jesus began to speak in parables and He returned to His hometown, where people wondered where He got so much wisdom and power. And then they remembered Jesus’ parents and siblings and then turned on Him. By the time we get to Matthew 14, Herod has killed John the Baptizer, who was Jesus’ cousin, ally and forerunner. So, Jesus pulled His disciples to a solitary place to train them.

There are only two miracles recorded in all four Gospels: the feeding of the 5,000 and the Resurrection. Seeing how hungry the people were who were following Him, He told His disciples to go buy some bread. 

• So, the disciples’ first response is panic. They are shocked because none of them, if they pulled all their funds, had enough money to do that. The disciples just wanted to send the hungry people away to deal with their hunger, but not Jesus. 
• The second response of the disciples was frantic activism. They took matters into their own hands and attempted to solve the problem by learning how much collective food was among the crowd. 

It is Andrew who saved the day. He found a young boy whose mother had given him 5 loaves and 2 fish. These loaves were nothing more than 5 little breadcakes and the fish were nothing more than 2 little sardine sized fish. It was more of a snack than a meal. So, Jesus took it, blessed it and to the shock of His disciples fed over 5,000 men, not counting the women and children. Some scholars estimate the crowd to be between 20,000–24,000 people. All on 5 bread cakes and 2 sardine-size fish. Jesus fed the crowd to where they were full. Not only that, as the disciples distributed the food and then later collected what was not eaten, there were 12 – yes, 12 baskets full – one for each disciple. This was Matthew’s way of saying, “This was the hand of God.” There was no other explanation for it. 

The disciples learned a valuable lesson: a little in the hands of God will go a long way even leaving leftovers. In John 6:15 the crowds had a different reaction. Perceiving Jesus was the Messiah they attempted to force Him to be their king. So, Jesus withdrew from them to keep this from happening. The Gospels are clear that Jesus felt compassion for the people and that is why He fed them and the lesson He wanted His disciples to learn. New Testament scholar Douglas S. O’Donnell writes this:

“Do you know what I’m getting at? This is a visible, tangible, verifiable, edible attestation of Jesus’ identity. This is no cheat, no imposter, no false prophet. This miracle screams, “This is God in the flesh!” Who else can this be? You see, the power shows the person; the authority (over the elements of this world) reveals His identity. If you miss that in this miracle, you miss its meaning” (Source: Douglas S. O’Donnell, Preach The Word, “Matthew: All Authority in Heaven and on Earth,” p. 407).

Jesus revealed here that He was the same Creator of the universe. God started with nothing and created something. God in human flesh here started with little and did a lot. The same God who created this universe out of nothing is now multiplying bread and fish to feed hungry and possibly “hangry” people, including His disciples.

Reflection Assignment: When you find your back against the wall, do you panic? Do you resort to activism by taking matters into your own hands or do you just go directly to God? What are you “hungry” for God to do? Are you waiting on the Lord or working behind the scenes to get what you want? Are you content just to get what you want or let God give you more? Why or why not? 

Scripture To Meditate On: John 6:35, “Jesus replied, ‘I am the Bread of Life. Whoever comes to Me will never be hungry again. Whoever believes in Me will never be thirsty” (NLT).

Prayer To Pray: “Dear Lord, I really need to learn to wait on You rather than think that I can control to get what I want in life. Jesus, I want to fully believe in Your identity, authority and power to do even more than I can imagine. I love You Lord. In Jesus’ name, Amen!”

I love you Southside! – Pastor Kelly