13 Now when Jesus heard about John, He withdrew from there in a boat to a secluded place by Himself; and when the people heard of this, they followed Him on foot from the cities. 14 When He went ashore, He saw a large crowd, and felt compassion for them and healed their sick. 15 When it was evening, the disciples came to Him and said, “This place is desolate and the hour is already late; so send the crowds away, that they may go into the villages and buy food for themselves.” 16 But Jesus said to them, “They do not need to go away; you give them something to eat!” 17 They said to Him, “We have here only five loaves and two fish.” 18 And He said, “Bring them here to Me.” 19 Ordering the people to sit down on the grass, He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up toward heaven, He blessed the food, and breaking the loaves He gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds, 20 and they all ate and were satisfied. They picked up what was left over of the broken pieces, twelve full baskets. 21 There were about five thousand men who ate, besides women and children.

Often Jesus retreated to spend time alone, only to be found by the throngs of people who wanted more of Him. This time He was motivated by the news of John the Baptist’s death. Not that the Lord was afraid for His own life, but the time and circumstances were not propitious for Him to continue His ministry in that locale at that time.

While large crowds seeking out Jesus would seem a good thing, the apostle John records Jesus’ comments, “… you seek Me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled” (John 6:23). In other words, their concerns were for their own “felt” needs and not for the kingdom of God. Yet, despite the self-serving motivations, and despite their intrusion on His “personal time,” Jesus’ compassion trumped His need for solitude.

He could have called down manna from heaven or turned rocks into bread, but rather than work unilaterally He engaged His disciples in the process of meeting the need. As a Master discipler, instead of telling them the solution, He raised the problem to a different level, “You give them something to eat!” The disciples wanted Jesus to release the crowd to find their own food, but He wanted them to own the problem, so that they would appreciate the remedy.

In this story we discover profound lessons for discipleship. 1) Compassion should extend to all, not just those with pure motivation. 2) While personal time is necessary for spiritual vitality, it should never completely trump loving others. 3) As followers of Jesus, we can accomplish far more than we imagine or think, when we allow Him to work through what we have.

Lord, I am so glad You have compassion on me when I struggle with my own selfishness. Help me become more centered on You rather than just my needs.