Which miraculous moment in Matthew 15 captures your attention the most? Is it the unsettling thought of the Gentile crowd being hungry for 3 days? Perhaps it is how Jesus manages to feed 4000 hungry men alongside women and children with 7 small loaves and a few fish? Maybe you feel uneasy reading about another doubting disaster from the disciples towards their master Jesus who was more than able to feed them?
I found these words capturing above all else: “I have compassion on the crowd…” Jesus in his humanness saw their 3 days of aching hunger and wanted to provide food. Surpassing this, Jesus in his divine nature saw their spiritual hunger and their need for something much deeper than bread or fish.
Just like the 4000 Gentiles, we have a longing deep within us that cries out to be filled by something. Matthew shares this miracle with us and tells us the crowd “were satisfied”.
I wonder at the beginning of this new year, are you satisfied? What is your heart longing for more of? Does your heart long for more of the One who created the very longings within you and who has the power to satisfy them beyond what anything else ever could?
Jesus fed many people in Matthew 15. Jesus himself, the Bread of Life, feeds us, nourishes and satisfies us to the very deepest part of our beings.
“In Little High Kirk Kids we learned that a lady touched Jesus’ cloak in the Bible and that made her not sick anymore.” James, age 4.
How to pray for our children this month:
- Pray that the children begin to learn that they have a “longing” and “desire” for something.
- Ask God that through these miracles in the Gospels, they would begin to see Jesus as more than a character but as the One who will make them complete!
by Amy Turner
Associate for Childrens’ Ministries
