Jesus taught in many places during his ministry, and when he did The Crowd was drawn in. No matter how long he taught or the number of people he healed The Crowd wanted more. And Jesus wanted to help them, however Jesus knew that after a long time of giving of yourself you need to take time to revitalize yourself.
At the beginning of Matthew 14 Jesus was told about the death of a close friend, John the Baptist. The Crowd either didn’t know or didn’t care that Jesus might be going through some stuff and sought him out anyway. And this is where we find him starting in Matthew 14:14, “When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them and healed their sick.” Even though Jesus was dealing with the loss of John he still makes time to show compassion.
There will be times in your life that you just feel done with everyone and everything, and it is in these times that you need to remember who you are called to be. You may need to dig deep but taking a moment for a deep breath and searching for that little spark can give you the push you need to do the right thing.
The disciples knew what Jesus was going through and tried to get him to send the people away. Matthew 14:15-18,
15 As evening approached, the disciples came to him and said, “This is a remote place, and it’s already getting late. Send the crowds away, so they can go to the villages and buy themselves some food.”
16 Jesus replied, “They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat.”
17 “We have here only five loaves of bread and two fish,” they answered.
18 “Bring them here to me,” he said.
The disciples were being great friends to Jesus and trying to get him some time away, but Jesus knew the crowd needed one last push of compassion. Jesus fed The Crowd, more than 5000 people, using only the meager supplies they had available. You may not be able to give extravagant gifts or tons of money. You are able to give your time. Jesus wants to use your time and your talents big or small.
God will put people in your path who will look to you for help. You just need to be available to answer the call through the power of Jesus Christ.