As I’ve been studying Jesus’ works in the Gospels, I’ve been discovering new, deeper applications to daily living. I love the story of the feeding of the five thousand (see Matthew 14:15–21 and Mark 6:34–44), and have read it many times, as you probably have, too. I’ve thought of how the disciples must have felt when Jesus asked them to feed such a large crowd, and the wonder they must have experienced as he demonstrated God’s infinite power and ability to provide for man under all circumstances. But this time a couple of practical spiritual ideas came to mind that I hadn’t seen before.
When directed to give the multitude nourishment, the disciples replied that they had only five loaves and two fishes. I find it interesting that specific numbers are given. Of course, the total is seven which is a number signifying perfection or completeness throughout the Scriptures, but I’ve been thinking about the way it’s broken down in Matthew. It occurred to me that perhaps the “five loaves” could represent the five physical senses and the “two fishes” could represent the male and female. Taken together, this would give a complete, albeit mortal, sense of man—which is what the disciples still seemed to be perceiving at that point in their spiritual growth.
Jesus, however, saw the divine idea—spiritual man, “the ‘male and female’ of God’s creating” (Science and Health, p. 249). And following his gentle “bring them (limited views of substance) hither to me” he then took the material sense of man to the Christ, Truth, to be elevated, purified, and expanded far beyond what the physical senses could perceive. He had the disciples direct the hungry crowd to sit down. Could this not be a position—both physical and mental—of quiet receptivity and expectation? Their part was to be prepared to receive the good that divine Love was so graciously providing. Jesus looked to heaven (spiritual reality), blessed (recognized and acknowledged), and brake (revealed or explained) his true sense of God and man, and the results were provisions (tangible in the form of food) for all, with more left over than they began with—twelve baskets full (another number symbolic of inclusive completeness).
