The apostles have just come back from their first mission as empty-handed mission workers. Luke doesn’t report how it went (9:10). If it was anything like their second mission (10:17), the apostles were surprised by what God’s power and authority enabled them to do.

Now they’ve got a new challenge, 5000+ hungry people, and they are empty-handed and out of ideas for how to care for this crowd. Except for something that feels completely inadequate.
But Jesus invites them to his table (the same word for “sit down” [v.14-15] is used throughout Luke for “recline at table”). And he provides for all of them – they are satisfied, and twelve baskets are filled with what is “over and above,” what “abounds.”

We often feel empty-handed and empty-minded (out of ideas), but God takes the little we can muster and makes it more than enough — true to his generosity. And — surprise, surprise — he involves us in his multiplying work!