2nd August 2026
Bring them to me
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 that they can go to the villages and buy themselves some food.’ Jesus replied, ‘They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat.’ ‘We have here only five loaves of bread and two fish,’ they answered. ‘Bring them here to me,’ he said.
Matthew 14:15–18 (NIVUK)
After hearing of John the Baptist’s death, Jesus withdrew to a solitary place (Matthew 14:1-13). Yet when the crowds followed him, he did not send them away but treated them with compassion and healed those who were ill (vv.13-14). This inevitably took time and as evening approached the disciples were keen to dismiss the crowd so they could go into the local villages and buy some food (v.15). When Jesus told the disciples, ‘…You give them something to eat’ (v.16), they immediately saw the impossibility of the task. Looking at the thousands in the crowd, they could only reply, ‘We have here only five loaves of bread and two fish’ (v.17). Their focus was on what they lacked and what they couldn’t do with such meagre resources.
Jesus’s response is both simple and profound: ‘Bring them here to me’ (v.18). Jesus as the eternal Son of God did not need the disciples’ resources to perform a miracle, yet in his grace he chose not to work independently of his disciples. Instead, he invited them to become participants in what he was already planning to do.
This is a beautiful picture of God’s grace. God’s mission begins with God himself: the Father is accomplishing his purpose through the Son in the power of the Holy Spirit. We are not called to initiate God’s work or to make his kingdom happen through our own strength, rather, we are graciously invited to share in the ministry that Jesus is already carrying out.
The disciples brought what little they had, not because it was sufficient, but because Jesus asked for it. Once those loaves and fish were placed in his hands, they became the means through which his abundant provision was revealed. The same is true for us today. We may feel that our gifts are small, our experience limited, or our strength inadequate, and left in our own hands, they are indeed insufficient. But Jesus never asks us to accomplish his work alone; he simply says, ‘bring them to me.’
Our calling is not to produce the miracle but to trust the miracle worker. Christ transforms ordinary offerings into extraordinary blessings, because the power belongs to him, not to us. This frees us from the burden of believing that Christian activity depends on our abilities. Instead, we participate with Jesus, knowing that he is the one who accomplishes his Father’s mission.
Whenever we feel overwhelmed by the needs around us, we can remember these words: ‘Bring them here to me’. Whether it is our talents, our time, our relationships, or even our weaknesses, everything placed into Christ’s hands can be used for his purposes. Our privilege is not to replace Christ’s work but to participate in it. That is the wonder of grace: the Lord who needs nothing from us lovingly chooses to include us in what he is doing, so that we may experience the joy of serving alongside him, and witnessing his abundant provision.
Prayer
Loving Father, thank you for inviting us to participate in the work you are accomplishing through your Son, Jesus Christ. Forgive us for the times we focus on our limitations instead of your limitless grace. Teach us to bring everything we have into the hands of Jesus, trusting that he is able to accomplish far more than we ever could, and may our lives point others to him, the true source of every blessing, and the Bread of Life. In Jesus’s name, Amen.
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Study by: Barry Robinson About the author: |
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Local congregation:
Grace Communion West Hampstead
Sidings Community Centre
150 Brassey Road
West Hampstead
London
NW6 2BA
Meeting time:
Sunday 12.30 pm
Local congregational contact:
Gordon Brown
gordon.brown@gracecom.church
Word of Life contact:
wordoflife@gracecom.church