Today I want to talk about a subject that interests every single one of us, every single day of our lives—eating. Eating is important to us because it’s much more than fuel for the body. Food means things to us.

Have you ever heard the term “comfort food”? Comfort food is a simple, traditional food that does more than fill you up—it brings to mind pleasant memories and nostalgic feelings, it comforts you. For some people, macaroni and cheese is a comfort food. Chicken and dumplings is a comfort food. Biscuits and gravy does it for some of you. And of course there’s the classic peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

Now I have a lot of comfort foods. Barbecue, fried seafood, and Krispy Kreme doughnuts readily come to mind. But there’s one comfort food that says “home” like nothing else—pinto beans and cornbread. It’s a simple, cheap, nutritious meal. I enjoy beans and cornbread not merely for the taste and the texture. It’s because this simple meal sustained me through some lean times. Beans and cornbread brought life. But this simple fare also brings comfort. When I eat this food, it says “Home. Family. The South.”

The Bible is full of food and eating. It starts in Genesis with God telling Adam and Eve—“I give you every green plant for food, the fruit from every tree of the garden is yours to eat. But, there is one tree whose fruit you may not eat.” The discussion of food in the Bible ends in Revelation with the wedding feast of the Lamb. And all in between, the Bible is full of food and eating…manna in the desert, living in a land flowing with milk and honey. Trouble is described as the bread of adversity. Blessings are described as bread from heaven.

What was the great sacrament of God’s people in the Old Testament? A meal—the Passover feast commemorating the night Israel was delivered. What is the great sacrament of the New Testament church? A meal. Communion is a re-enacting of Jesus’ last supper with disciples. And what did Jesus talk about at that last supper? A future banquet with all of us in his Father’s kingdom.

And now we come to this passage—the feeding of the 5,000. What does this sign mean? What does it tell us? Some things are obvious. Jesus provides in abundance. He orders all the leftovers to be collected, even though he could produce more of this food without problem. But this act of conservation tells us that Jesus is not willing that anything should be lost.

But beneath the obvious applications, there is something else that just may be pointing us to our deepest need. I’ll give you a hint. It’s found in John 6:4. The Passover was at hand. It also has something to do with the manner in which this meal was served. It points to the way a banquet is served rather than how simple food might be dished out.

Hopefully I have whetted your appetite to savor something in this “sign,” the feeding of the 5,000 that you likely have never seen before.