What the feeding of the 5000 really said about Jesus.
Lately I have been wondering what the Bible would say about Jesus if the parts that reference him directly were set aside. The idea is to determine the affect Jesus had on the people around him. I can honestly say that it’s been an interesting perspective.
We have all heard about how Jesus cared and loved the people enough to feed and care for them. That Jesus cared for his followers is not much of a surprise. That the Son of God was able to feed all those people with a few fish and some bread is not shocking either. In Exodus we read that God provided for an entire nation in a desert.
What is surprising?
Lets start with Matthew 14:13: (NIV) When Jesus heard what had happened, he withdrew by boat privately to a solitary place. Hearing of this, the crowds followed him on foot from the towns.
The first thing we learn is that Jesus went out of his way to be alone and the crowds were so desperate to be near Jesus that they went looking for the place he was hiding.
Mathew 15: As evening approached, the disciples came to him and said, “This is a remote place, and it’s already getting late. Send the crowds away, so they can go to the villages and buy themselves some food.”
The people were so enamored with Jesus that they were forgetting they needed to feed themselves and the disciples were worried that if they didn’t tell these people to go find food they would simply not eat.
The truly shocking thing was that it was every Jewish husband’s job to make sure his family was cared for and out of all of the people there none had managed to even remember his most basic duty to his family. Of all the women there none were asking about their children.
What does this tell us about Jesus? This crowd wanted Jesus so badly they forgot about everything except Jesus and yet they were not left hungry. This is a powerful lesson for us in modern times where everything else seems more important than spending time with God. Imagine what life would be like if we just let go of our day to day worries to spend time with God and learn for ourselves what had these people so enamored.
September 24th, 2008 at 5:47 pm
In the parallel passage in John, the crowd continued to follow Jesus to the opposite side of the lake after Jesus fed them. But this time the crowds motives were different. . .
John 6:26-27: Jesus answered, “I tell you the truth, you are looking for me, not because you saw miraculous signs but because you ate the loaves and had your fill. Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. On him God the Father has placed his seal of approval.”
It’s neat to see how God cares for us when we focus on him. But I guess there’s a subtle difference when we focus on God so that he will care for us–though God often honours our actions regardless of our motives. Let us remember to work for food that endures.
January 11th, 2009 at 1:07 am
My prayer: Father God, creator of the electron. You sent your son to save us; something we cannot do ourselves. From the scripture posted here, we see how people who seeked you, were focused upon You and your disciples became concerned but You already knew what was needed and provided so publicly in that the Father would be glorified as well as the Son. I thank you for this ministry and your provision. In Jesus’ name, I pray for your blessings upon “geeksforjesus.com” and those who support it. Let it be Your ministry. Amen & Amen!