I’m 67 years old, I’ve been a Christian since I was 11, I’ve been reading the Bible since I was 8, and I’m still making discoveries in the Word.

Everyone knows the two miracles in Jesus’ ministry when, on two separate occasions, He fed over 5,000 people and over 4,000 people. In both cases, the menu was loaves and fishes, it was a miraculous multiplication of resources, every person present had all they could eat, and baskets filled with leftovers were gathered up.

On at least two occasions afterwards, the Lord called the attention of His disciples to those miracles in an attempt to make certain they had grasped the meaning and learned the lessons the miracles meant to convey.

In Matthew 16, Jesus directed the disciples’ attention to these miracles. As the disciples prepare to cross Galilee, the Lord overhears them arguing over who was supposed to bring bread. “Why are you worrying about bread? Do you not understand or can’t you remember the two miracles? In the feeding of the 5,000 with the 5 loaves, how many basketsful did you pick up? And the 7 loaves that fed the 4,000, how many baskets you picked up?” Then, further reinforcing that this is not about meeting their material needs, Jesus said, “How is it that you do not understand that I was not speaking to you about bread?”

And that’s all He said. Nothing more. No belaboring the point, as I would have done. No haranguing them, no repetition of the lessons of the loaves and the fishes, nothing. He had given them the tools and expected them to figure this out.

So, then–what is the lesson of the loaves and the fishes? To find the same answer as the disciples, we have to answer the Lord’s questions. In the first miracle, how many baskets of leftovers were picked up? Twelve. In the second, when 4,000 were fed, seven were picked up.

In the scriptures, the number twelve represents the people of God. Twelve tribes in the Old Testament, twelve apostles in the New. In Revelation, 24 elders stand around the throne, representing the saints of both the Old and New Testament days.

Seven means completeness or sufficiency. Seven days in a week, seven lamps on the menorah in the Temple, and so on.

Twelve baskets and 7 baskets: “Jesus Christ is sufficient for the people of God.”

That was the lesson, and what a great one it was. The Lord’s sufficiency for His people is found all through the Bible. We think of the Old Testament name for God, “YHVH YIREH,” commonly referred to as “Jehovah Jireh,” meaning “The Lord will See To It,” or “The Lord Who Provides.”

Think of the opening words of Psalm 23, “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.” Then, everyone’s favorite verses, Philippians 4:13 and 4:19.

So, the Lord said to the disciples, “Stop worrying about bread. Did you not learn that I am sufficient for your needs?”

He had performed the miracles and sent the lesson, but they had not given any thought to His intended meaning for them and were no better off than before.

Then, the other instance when Jesus refers to the lesson of the loaves. It’s found in Mark 6, and in this case, seems to have occurred in between the two miracles, that is, after the feeding of the 5,000 and before the 4,000.

Mark describes Jesus organizing the crowd on that wondrous day by having them sit in groups of 100s and 50s. He blessed the five loaves and two fish, then broke them and “kept giving them to the disciples to set before them….they all ate and were satisfied.” Mark records “there were 5,000 men who ate the loaves,” and “they picked up 12 full baskets of the broken pieces and also of the fish.”

Immediately afterwards, Jesus sends the disciples across the Galilee while He walks into the mountains to pray. Since this body of water lies at the bottom of a vast bowl, one can stand on a hillside and see the entire sea. So the Lord kept His eye on His men as they struggled against the wind in their little boat. Late that night, they were startled to see Jesus walking on the water and headed their way. They were understandably frightened and cried out.

Jesus said, “Take courage; it is I. Do not be afraid.” Then, He got into their boat and the wind stopped. Then Mark records, “They were utterly astonished, for they had not gained any insight from the incident of the loaves, for their heart was hardened.”

Nothing more. That’s all it says. No analysis, no repeating the insights they should have received from that miracle, nada. We’re left to figure out what it means.

This, incidentally, is one of the most amazing traits of Scripture and one of a thousand reasons we believe it to be from God: the economy of its language. What would have taken any one of us ten pages to write and describe, the Scripture writers describe in a few verses and move on.

Even so, it’s still so tempting for me to do what Matthew and Mark did not, elaborate on these two texts and run their “insights” into the ground. Hey, I’m a preacher; it’s what we do best.

But, I’ll pass. My point is simply that Jesus had every intention that His people would think about what He had just done, that with the Holy Spirit enlightening their minds, they would get the point, and that it would make them stronger and smarter and better for the future.

Worry over bread and fear of the unknown seemed to indicate otherwise.

Now, an application that is dear to my heart.

Recently, I spoke at the 175th anniversary of a church I pastored from 1974 to 1986. My children grew up in that lovely Mississippi town and our family has many close friends there. Also on the anniversary program was the pastor who succeeded me and logged 15 years as their leader. Interestingly, in our sermons to that congregation, we both looked back to the same incident in the life of that church.

Now, the background to this is that not long ago, this church voted to relocate. They will move away from the downtown location where the church has stood since its inception in 1832 to a large tract of land north of the city. To many of us, the downtown location is very special. Only six years after their founding, the young congregation built an edifice on that block which was described as the loveliest in the state. During the Civil War, the building served as a hospital, particularly after the battles of Shiloh and Corinth. In 1881, the Southern Baptist Convention met in that city and in that church building. Then, amazingly, in 1906, they tore it down.

The present sanctuary building was dedicated in 1908, meaning it’s coming up on its 100th birthday. The leadership of the church, we are told, is undecided on what will become of the present facility which is comprised of the large worship center and three educational buildings, erected in 1932, 1952, and 1981.

It will not surprise you to know that this transition is painful for a lot of folks. I’ll admit to being one of that number. I love that old building. The bell in the tower rang from the steeple of the old sanctuary. The pulpit also came from the 1838 building. There is history in every aisle, on every pew, in the windows, everywhere.

In 1976, when Texas Senator Lloyd Bentsen was running for the presidency, the church office received a call from the Secret Service. The senator and his wife would like to run by the church that afternoon, and they needed to check the security. We asked the obvious question: Why? It turns out that the Bentsens were married there in 1943. He was a student pilot at the Army Air Base a few miles north of town, and she rode a bus all the way from Texas to join him. As with many others during wartime, they sought out Pastor J. D. Franks to tie the knot.

My 13-year-old son Neil joined me that afternoon as we welcomed the Bentsens and showed them around the church. The senator told us he had a terrible toothache the day of his wedding and had gone outside and found a pebble, which he bit down on through the entire wedding to relieve the pain. I assured him there had been other weddings in that building in which the groom’s teeth were clenched.

As I say, lots of history there.

The present pastor and leadership have decided that relocating is God’s plan for that church, and it was their decision to make. The pastor is a dear friend and the lay leadership of the congregation is made up of some of the finest men and women on the planet. If they say they are doing this under the Lord’s leadership, then I believe them.

On the program, the pastor of the church from 1987 to 2002 told of the congregation’s decision to tear down the old sanctuary in the early part of the 20th century and to build the present one. He said, “We are told that they did not lose one church member over the decision.” He smiled and said, “But wouldn’t you have loved to have been in that business meeting!”

Not me. In my sermon that afternoon, I said, “I’ve been in that business meeting too many times and have the scars to prove it.” They laughed.

Both ministers wanted to convey the same point. That 1907-08 congregation had made a gut-wrenching decision, one that caused everyone a lot of pain and made the tears flow. On the day they demolished the old building, they rang the bell for the last time and people stood on the streets crying.

And yet, they did it. They tore down the old one, the one no longer sufficient for their needs, and they erected the structure that has served well for a century. It was painful, it was a lot of trouble, it was expensive, and it surely was the right thing to do.

In a historical antebellum Deep-South city, tearing down an old building is just about the greatest sacrilege. It’s worth noting that the chairman of the church’s building committee in 1907-08 was a Civil War general, Stephen D. Lee. He was also the founding president of Mississippi State University. I suppose, in a way, the one person on the planet who could convince the church to close the door on this part of their past and to make some bold decisions for the future was the individual most associated with the past. No one was more highly esteemed, then or now, in Columbus, Mississippi, than General Lee. Both my sons graduated from Stephen D. Lee High School.

In my message on that Sunday afternoon, I referred to the loaves and fishes in regard to our duty to learn the lessons from the great events of the past which God sends our way. For that church dealing with the excruciating transition they are now experiencing, the parallel is so obvious not even I could miss it.

I am well aware of the pain of this transition. What I have said to some members of the congregation in private, I say here publicly: the church has made the decision, so please support your pastor and help the church do this well.

The unity of the Body of Christ is far more important than any of us have ever realized. If that church is to represent Christ in the community, the members who comprise it will stand together and speak with one voice. They will follow their leadership and work hard to protect the unity. When tough decisions must be made, they will have their discussions and even disagree. But love will pervade everything they do, and once unlove rears its head, they will rebuke it. Nothing they ever do in the community is of greater importance than to love one another.

I am invited to speak to congregations far and near. Lately, I find myself saying to them over and over one big lesson which my own “miracle of the loaves and fishes” has taught me: “Church, choose good leaders, then support them.”

That means many things. It means you get out of the way and let the leaders do their job. When you agree with them, you cheer them on. When you disagree, you ask questions and get answers. Then, if you and the leadership are still at odds on the issue, you give in and support the decision of the leadership. At this point, you cheer them on. You encourage others to do so, too, for not everyone has the maturity you are displaying about this. Some actually think that if they disagree with their leadership and cannot agree, they must be true to their convictions and undermine the program. Nothing is farther from the truth.

I’m aiming this message at the members of my own denomination, since that’s the only one I have any familiarity with. But I’ll tell you, there do not seem to be one Baptist in ten who understand the biblical concept of submission. Over and over, Scripture calls on God’s people to submit to one another. Ephesians 5:21 and Philippians 2:3 for starters.

The concept of submission implies that you are going to have disagreements with others, and that someone is going to have to give in. Let it be you.

That’s it, friend. That is precisely what the Bible is calling on God’s children to do toward one another. We are not to insist on getting our way.

Someone says, “I never give in when I think I’m right.” I respond, “So, when do you give in–when you think you’re wrong?” That makes no sense.

The only time you get any credit for giving in is when you believe you are in the right.

I recall an ancient story of a one-lane bridge and two cars meeting in the middle. The first guy leans out his window and yells, “I never back up for fools!” The second one throws his car into reverse and says, “I always do.”

Wonderful old lesson which God sends time and again.

You’d think we’d have learned it by now.