And the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces of bread and fish — the twelve basketfuls of leftovers exceed the original provision (five loaves, two fish) by an enormous factor. The number twelve is likely significant: twelve baskets for the twelve disciples, or twelve tribes, or both. The leftovers are not waste but the abundance that remains after everyone has eaten their fill. In the scarcity logic of the disciples, there was not enough to feed one person's meal to five thousand; in the kingdom's abundance logic, the feeding of five thousand produces twelve basketfuls of surplus.

COMMUNITY REFLECTIONS

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