Luke 9 is largely about the final stages of the training of the Twelve before Jesus moves from Galilee to Jerusalem. Part of their training comes in the story of the feeding of the five thousand. Eugene LaVerdiere’s treatment of this incident in Dining in the Kingdom of God highlights a number of features of this incident in Luke.

First, this incident occurs shortly after the disciples have returned from their missionary journey. They have relied on the hospitality of others, and now Jesus is demonstrating hospitality to the people gathered in Bethsaida to hear Him teach. The connection is clear: The disciples have become recipients of hospitality, and they have learned to learn to rely on God’s provision. But being recipients of hospitality is not enough; they must become givers of hospitality. They have been guests (as Jesus has been); now they must learn to be hosts.

Second, they fail badly to act as proper hosts: Jesus “welcomes” the people to Him (v 11), a term that is associated with hospitality. But the disciples, when it is evening, want to send the people away to find lodging (v 12), another term associated with hospitality. They have been recipients have hospitality; they have received freely, but they have not learned to give freely.

Third, Jesus has all the people “recline,” the posture for a banquet. By serving as host, even with insufficient and inadequate food, Jesus is teaching something to His disciples. They are reluctant hosts, believing that there are not sufficient resources. But this shows they haven’t learned the lessons of their missionary journey. They have had sufficient resources as guests, why not as hosts? They need to rely on God as much for their giving as for their receiving. The sufficiency is not of us but of God: God will provide for our needs and God will also provide us with the resources to meet other people’s needs.

Fourth, this incident is surrounded by questions about Jesus’ identity. Herod wonders who Jesus is, and Jesus asks the same question after the meal (v. 18). At least the twelve have learned this much from the meal, that Jesus is the Christ. In another sense, they have still to learn who Jesus is, and what being the Christ means. As at the Lord’s Supper, Jesus uses the meal to begin talking about His coming death. The meal shows forth His death. So, when the disciples clearly confess that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, Jesus discloses to them the character of His ministry. If the Twelve are going to be disciples of this Christ, they must be willing to do the same. This message, that the Twelve must be willing to give themselves if they are going to be Jesus’ followers, is already implicit in the meal: For the apostles take up “twelve” baskets of broken bread. They are the “Twelve” baskets, who must be broken, as their master is, for the sake of the world.