How do you read this thing? Take a seat.

John 6:10-11

10 Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.” There was plenty of grass in that place, and they sat down (about five thousand men were there). 11 Jesus then took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed to those who were seated as much as they wanted. He did the same with the fish.

These two verses are from when Jesus feeds the 5,000. I randomly picked these verses out from John 6. They give us a lot of information, but as I have said before, you have to catch the details. In verse 10, do you wonder why would Jesus tell the people to sit down? It was a way of telling them they were going to be there for a little while and to rest. Remember: Jesus, the disciples, and the crowd had been walking for a while. It was a nice spot with lots of cushiony grass to sit on and there were a lot of people there.

Verse 10 continues on to say "about 5,000 men." In the culture of the time women and children were not considered worthy enough to be counted or considered. They had no privilege. 5,000 men plus numerous woman and children and the crowd could have counted to nearly 10,000 people.

Verse 11 tells how Jesus started the meal with a simple prayer of thanks for the food. It doesn't say he prayed for every concern of the day; he simply thanked God for the food. I know I am guilty of dragging out a prayer at meal time and praying for things that should be lifted up later in personal prayer time or when my family prays together. God knows the food is warm and if you keep rambling on it won't be for much longer. So give a short and to-the-point thanks for the food you have been blessed with.

Verse 11 also mentions "as much as they wanted"!?! There were only a few small pickled fish and some bagel sized loaves of bread, and Jesus lets them chow down all they want. Not as much as they needed, but as much as they wanted! If you finish reading in the scriptures there are a whole lotta leftovers too.

These two verses show you Jesus wants to give you your fill, he wants you to be satisfied with all there is to give you!