Five thousand men, women and children were hungry.  They had been listening to Jesus all day and He told His trainee apostles to feed the people.  They failed the test, even with Jesus' instruction and authority (Luke 9:13).  So, then Jesus stepped in, making sure that the disciples were not just passive observers.  This miracle was more to teach them than to satisfy a hungry crowd.  Jesus ordered the disciples to sit the people down in manageable groups, and they did what they were told, accepting Jesus’ authority over them – the first essential step in faith (Luke 7:8-9).  

With the people sitting, ready for the meal, Jesus simply lifted the five loaves and two fish in thanksgiving to Father God.  Then as He broke the food into pieces, more pieces appeared until there was enough to feed the five thousand, and one whole basketful of surplus food for each disciple.  Jesus performed the miracle but the Twelve accepted His authority, and worked under Jesus’ command in seating the crowd, distributing the food and collecting what was left over.  Everybody had been involved and everybody was satisfied because the disciples trusted Jesus (Acts 3:16).

How much they must have learned that day.  The trainee apostles had failed the first test of obedience, but Jesus did not dismiss them and do everything Himself:  He still wanted them to learn by accepting His authority and doing what He said.  Their fragile faith had been rebuilt during that afternoon.  Jesus did not want them to be overcome by defeat, and so He led them to work with Him again (John 21:15-17).  Some might say that they had never seen a 'feeding miracle' so how could they be expected to do one?  But that is the whole point about God's powerful acts; they come from His authority and not ours. As someone has said, ‘God does not want our ability but our availability’!

God is very merciful; He does not give up on us when we fail Him (Psalm 32:1-11).  He may rebuke but He also encourages us to the limit of our faith, so that we might grow in faith and learn to trust Him more.  He does not only choose 'A grade students'.  He works with us as we are, giving us another opportunity after we fail, and encouraging us to work with Him in little things.  In this narrative, by the end of the day the disciples were not disadvantaged at all; in fact, they had more food than they could eat.  What graciousness!  How kind Jesus is to those who fail Him and disappoint themselves.  If you have recently been a failure and now think that the Lord cannot possibly want you to be with Him and work for Him, think again.  He does not discard failures; He remakes them so that they can succeed with Him next time ... if they are willing to be available.