There is a beautiful story told in Matthew 14.  The chapter opens with the beheading of John the Baptist.  To have him executed was a senseless and emotionally-driven decision, and it demonstrated just how expendable Jesus' followers, preachers of the truth, are in the eyes of the world.  The man who had been called the greatest by Jesus, had been killed so that a king could avoid embarrassment.  The one who prepared the way for the Lord had been executed, and Jesus knew that He would not be far behind. You are welcome to disagree with me, but I believe that the Son of Man was upset by John's execution and that, as we saw in the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus was distressed by what He knew He had to do.  I believe this because of what He did:  "Now when Jesus heard about John, He withdrew from there in a boat to a secluded place by Himself" (Matthew 14:13a).  This verse gives us a very real understanding of the weight of our sorrows that Jesus carried (Isaiah 53:4).  He willingly put Himself into a living nightmare, because God so loved the world. No sooner did He leave for a secluded place, than people began to follow Him (Matthew 14:13b).  Now, most of us would probably become aggravated and wanted to separate ourselves from those needy people who just wouldn't leave us alone.  But not Jesus.

"When He went ashore, He saw a large crowd, and felt compassion for them and healed their sick" (Matthew 14:14).  In that moment of deepest sorrow, Jesus felt compassion - "for them."  That evening when the "hour [was] late," the people were hungry,and the disciples urged Jesus to send the people away.  Instead Jesus told His disciples, "you give them something to eat" (Matthew 14:16b), foreshadowing the work of evangelism and discipleship that they (and we) would be called to do.  The account records that only five loaves of bread and two fish were available to feed the crowd, upward of 5,000 souls.  Jesus gave thanks, broke the bread and fed each individual in the crowd.  Verse 20 tells us that "they all ate and were satisfied."

Jesus broke His body for every last one of us, once and for all.  And all who eat are satisfied.  The reach of His sacrifice is not limited.  No soul in that crowd went home neglected or hungry.  The Bread is enough for my vilest sin.  His broken body fulfilled the righteous requirement of the law completely for every man, every woman, and every child who will trust Him.