Luke 9,7-17

7 Now Herod the tetrarch heard about all that was happening, and he was perplexed, because it was said by some that John had been raised from the dead,
8 by some that Elijah had appeared, and by others that one of the prophets of old had risen.
9 Herod said, “John I beheaded, but who is this about whom I hear such things?” And he sought to see him.
10 On their return the apostles told him all that they had done. And he took them and withdrew apart to a town called Bethsaida.
11 When the crowds learned it, they followed him, and he welcomed them and spoke to them of the kingdom of God and cured those who had need of healing.
12 Now the day began to wear away, and the twelve came and said to him, “Send the crowd away to go into the surrounding villages and countryside to find lodging and get provisions, for we are here in a desolate place.”
13 But he said to them, “You give them something to eat.” They said, “We have no more than five loaves and two fish—unless we are to go and buy food for all these people.”
14 For there were about five thousand men. And he said to his disciples, “Have them sit down in groups of about fifty each.”
15 And they did so, and had them all sit down.
16 And taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven and said a blessing over them. Then he broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples to set before the crowd.
17 And they all ate and were satisfied. And what was left over was picked up, twelve baskets of broken pieces.

Hello everyone, I am kiki. Chinese name of our second phase of the program is “读经大讲堂”. The English name is “Bible study”.
We will adopt a relaxed also enjoyable learning mode to take you into a new learning world. Each time I will make a personal summary and analysis from the perspective of a learner, and then Sister Ingrid will help me conduct in-depth learning and problem discussions with everybody.
I hope that such an interesting and interactive process can bring new knowledge experience to you all. The following is my interview with sister on related issues. Today is the twenty-third lecture on the Gospel of Luke.
Everyone is welcome to leave a message in the comment area for discussion!

2.My summary of Luke twenty-third -time study:

Well, everybody! Firstly, here is my today’s personal study summary.
Herod, the ruler or local leader at that time, heard about all the miracles happening and was really confused.
Some people said Jesus was John the Baptist raised from the dead, others thought He was Elijah or another old prophet who had come back.
Herod said, “I already killed John… so who is this Jesus?” and he wanted to see Him.
Meanwhile, the apostles came back from their mission and told Jesus everything they had done.
Jesus took them to a quiet town called Bethsaida to rest, but the crowds found out and followed Him.
Instead of being annoyed, Jesus welcomed them, taught them about God’s kingdom, and healed the sick.
Later that day, the disciples told Jesus to send the people away to get food and a place to stay because they were in a lonely spot. But Jesus said, “You give them something to eat.”
The disciples were shocked because all they had were five loaves of bread and two fish, and the crowd had about 5,000 men (not even counting women and children).
Jesus told the disciples to organize everyone into groups of fifty and sit down. Then He took the bread and fish, looked up to heaven, blessed the food, broke it, and gave it to the disciples to pass out. Miraculously, everyone ate as much as they wanted—and there were twelve baskets of leftovers!
This shows that Jesus not only cared about teaching and healing, but also about people’s everyday needs, like food.
Now let Ingrid sister make a further summary.

Sister’s Comment on My Study Summary
In the first sentences of this text, we meet King Herod, who is asking himself who Jesus might be.

His whole attitude shows a man with a guilty conscience, because he had murdered John the Baptist.

This murder was the result of many other sins, as we read in other gospels:
First, he took his brother’s wife, Herodias, in marriage. Then he put John the Baptist in prison because John said that this was not right.

After this, he had a party with a lot of wine, and when the daughter of Herodias danced, he promised her anything she wanted.
Being influenced by her mother, she asked for the head of John the Baptist.
Now, the king was tortured by his guilty conscience and mental struggles. He thought that Jesus could be the risen John, which was impossible because they had lived at the same time. But his mind was too troubled to reason.

Then he thought that Jesus might be an incarnation of Elijah.
In the Old Testament, Elijah rebuked King Ahab for his sinful life and his idolatry.
So Herod was afraid that Jesus might speak publicly about his sin and shame.

Then the disciples came back from their mission. Jesus cared for them and led them to a place away from the crowds, because he wanted them to rest. After hearing the news that John had died and considering the work of the mission, it was clear that they needed a break.

But when the crowds found out where they were and followed them, Jesus did not send them away.

This is a characteristic of Jesus: He never sends away anyone who is seeking Him.
He taught them, and as the day grew late, it became clear that the people needed food. The disciples suggested sending them to the nearby villages.

But Jesus challenged them by saying, “Give them something to eat.”
Everyone knew that this was impossible—not to say ridiculous. Two fish and five loaves for so many people!

But they obeyed, and this is the first step we must take when Jesus wants to work a miracle in our lives: believe and obey.

The people sat down in groups, Jesus blessed the food, and what was “never enough” in the disciples’ hands became “more than sufficient” in the hands of Jesus.

So, whatever we have in our lives that seems insufficient, if we give it to Jesus, He will make it more than enough.

4. Q list part: base on Luke 23th items:

Okay. Base on above bible study content, now let me ask sister some related questions.
We hope the following questions can be helpful to our brothers and sisters who have just become Christians.

1.Why was Herod confused when he heard about Jesus?

He had a bad consciousness and was afraid, that all that sin that he done before will become public.

2.What different explanations did people give about who Jesus might be?

Somebody thought, he was a prophet, some, that he was Elijah

3.Why did Herod want to see Jesus?

He wanted to know the purpose of Jesus teaching. When you know that one person can destroy your fame and rebuke you in public, it is better to meet that person and ask, what he planned to do.

Later Herodes met Jesus, on the day, when Jesus was crucified. He expected a miracle from Jesus. But the Bible does not tell, what kind of miracle.

It might be possible that he wanted Jesus to help him with his mental problems.

4.Where did Jesus take His disciples after they returned from their mission?

He took them to Bethsaida, not far away from Jerusalem and we learn about three close friends of Jesus in Bethsaida, in other chapters of the bible.

5.How did Jesus treat the crowds when they followed Him?

He went on teaching them.

6.Why did the disciples want Jesus to send the people away?

It already was late and the disciples noticed, that the people are at a lonely place without food. We have to be aware, that there were children in the crowd who needed to eat.

7.What was the problem with feeding so many people?

The villages are not so nearby and the people can suffer of a very low blood-sugar when they have to walk there. And it is a good question if a small village has food for 5000 men plus women and children.

We don’t know if the people carried money in their bag, because when they heard, that Jesus comes, they left everything and ran after him.

For to keep it short: There was no solution in feeding so many people.

8.How many loaves of bread and fish did the disciples have?

They had two fishes and five loaves of bread.

9.What miracle happened when Jesus blessed the food?

In his hands it became more and more

10.How many baskets of leftovers were collected after everyone ate?

After all people had eaten, they collected 12 baskets of food.