“Then Jesus directed them to have the people sit in groups on the green grass. So, they sat down in groups of hundreds and fifties. Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, Jesus spoke a blessing and broke the loaves. Then He gave them to His disciples to set before the people. And He divided the two fish among them all. They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces of bread and fish. And there were five thousand men who had eaten the loaves” (Mark 6:39-44)

Beyond the miracle of feeding five thousand men (not counting the women and children) with only five loaves of bread and two fishes, there’s the wisdom of knowing and preparing how to administer the divine supply to the yearning crowd. Jesus demonstrated exemplary planning skills. The first thing was to make them at rest, telling them to be seated. He told His disciples, “Have them sit down in groups of about fifty each” (Luke 9:14).

Mark says some groups sat in “hundreds and fifties.” This decision was deliberate for many reasons. It managed the expectations of the people, it diffused possible tensions that can arrive from larger groups, it gave assurance to all present that they were been considered and it facilitated the work of the disciples who did the distribution. They also got baskets for the Word says the “disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces of bread and fish.” At the end of this task, the Word says: “They all ate and were satisfied.”

Surely “by wisdom a house is built, and by understanding it is established; by knowledge the rooms are filled with all precious and pleasant riches” (Proverbs 24:3-4).

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