Have
you ever had to prepare a meal for a large group of people with little or no
advance notice? When
you prepared that meal, did you ever stop to wonder how you would do it,
especially if you realized that you did not have enough food and you did not
have the time or money to go to the grocery store? If that is the case, perhaps
you can sympathize with the disciples in the story of the feeding of the crowd,
which we heard from John’s Gospel a few minutes ago.
Jesus
had been teaching the crowd all day, and it was almost time for the evening
meal. The disciples wanted Jesus to dismiss the people so they could go and buy
food in the neighbouring towns and villages. Jesus had other ideas. He told the
disciples to feed the people.
We
see the reactions of two of the disciples to Jesus’ instruction. Philip saw the
need for a miracle and calculated the odds. He tried to prove that it could not
be done. How many times are we like Philip? How often do we fail to see what
God is doing because we are focused on our selfish desires and needs?
Andrew,
on the other hand, set out to try to solve the problem, and the solution he
found is the key to the first part of this story. He searched for food among
the people, but he found only one small boy with a small lunch that seemed
inadequate for the task at hand. We have to give credit to Andrew for at least
trying to find a solution to the problem.
Barley
was a staple part of the diet for the poor. The loaves were small, flat wafers.
The fish were the size of sardines. The meal was barely enough for one little
boy, let alone sufficient to satisfy the appetite of a grown man. When Jesus
accepted the boy’s gift, he blessed it, and in the blessing the small became
great. There was suddenly enough bread because Jesus saw the people and wanted
them to be fed, just like Jesus saw the fear in his disciples on the sea. He
loved the disciples and the crowd and gave both groups the peace of his
presence.
This
story shows the difference between two types of churches-missional and
maintenance. Missional churches welcome all situations and see the potential
while acknowledging the challenges these situations create. Maintenance
churches focus on creating committees that make decisions and not disciples.
Maintenance churches distance themselves from problems because they are too
busy having committee meetings. Maintenance churches are filled with tension
because the members don’t know what’s going to happen or how to respond. They
do just enough to get by. Missional churches look for things to do, even when
their members are already doing things. They believe that because God is in
what they are doing, God will provide everything that they will need.
Maintenance churches are paralyzed by the size and scope of the task before
them, but missional churches break the task down into manageable parts. They do
not try to do everything all at once because they know they can’t be everything
to everyone all of the time. Jesus accepts their limitations and only expects
them to work with what we have and with the next people they meet. Which type
of church would we prefer to be?
Jesus
can take anything we give him, no matter how big or how small, and multiply it
to be used to do his work in the world. My own ministry and spiritual life are
good examples. God has taken the talents and gifts I have (and have offered to
him) and used them to spread the good news and do his work both locally and
world-wide through the worship services I lead and the sermons I post on my
blog.
All
life and all good gifts come from God. Jesus comes to open our hearts and our
hands to those around us. We can do that only because he opens our eyes to his
own presence as the grace-and-peace-filled “I” in the middle of the storm.
When
Jesus sets an impossible task before us, he knows what he is going to do, but
he wants us to see how we will react. Will we react in fear, confusion or
faith? Jesus tested the disciples. He wanted them to fail so that he might
strengthen them. Jesus also tests us for the same reason. Failure gives us
strength. We and the disciples should have learned a lesson from this story. We
must never gauge the size of a challenge in terms of our capability. God calls
us to commit whatever we have, and he will use it for his glory. When we give
ourselves into God’s hands, we become instruments in his service. We can then
serve many people who are hungry physically and/or spiritually. When we come to
the end of our resources, God comes in with his resources. In Jesus, there is
more than enough for everyone.
The
miracle of giving is that it produces a ministry of giving. Money is a miracle
because it increases when we give it away, especially when we give it away to
God so he can use it to do his work in our world. Jesus gives us ample
resources, but we have to receive them before we can share them with others.
This story has to do with faith in Jesus rather than his compassion. It is also
about God’s ability to take too little and change it into more than enough.
Jesus
intended for his miracle to point people to God. That included his disciples
and everyone he met. The people realized that the food they had eaten was a
sign from God and that they might believe in Jesus, and they did. They realized
he was the long-promised Messiah, but he wasn’t the type of Messiah they were
looking for. They were following Jesus for the spectacle, not because of who he
was. They were enamoured with his words and what he might do for them. Coming
to God on the mountain was a fearful experience, yet it was full of expectation
at the same time. Why? Because God was seen at this time in history as a mighty
and exalted God.
Because
he could work miracles, many people wanted to make Jesus a king. They thought
that if he could feed them, he could free them from Roman rule. They wanted an
earthly king who would protect them and provide for them. Instead, Jesus was a
humble, servant king who would restore their relationship with God. They wanted
a Messiah who would provide for their physical
needs, but Jesus was the type of Messiah that would provide for their spiritual needs. He wanted their
undivided attention, just like he wanted the disciples’ undivided attention. Jesus got the disciples’ attention thanks to
the storm. He wanted them to make him their chief focus even when the storms of
life take over. He also wants us to pay attention to him, especially when we
face the storms of life.
A
colossal testing often follows a colossal success. The real proof of
discipleship is how closely a person follows Christ when his/her needs are not
met right away and the storms of life are raging. Jesus’ walking on the water
is a sign of his power over the living spirit of the sea-a living spirit that
is dangerous and unpredictable. By telling his disciples, “It is I; do not be
afraid,” Jesus identified himself as the Great I AM. He comes to all of his
followers in their storms and reminds them that he is the Great I AM. When
Jesus walked on the water and told his disciples not to be afraid, he showed
his power to rescue human inadequacy.
The
story focuses on how the disciples will respond to the tests Jesus gives them.
We are also being tested as we apply this story to our own lives. The test for
us is how we will do the work Jesus wants us to do, especially when the task
seems impossible. We must not concentrate on what we lack. We must concentrate
on what we have. Jesus gives us the resources we need, but if we want to get
them, we have to get rid of our earthly habits. We must starve judging and feed
on kindness. We must starve indifference and feed on compassion. We must starve
isolation and feed on community.
There
will come a time when we will face a test that we declare to be impossible.
When that happens, we need to take the following steps:
1.
Acknowledge our
inadequacy and the Lord’s omnipotence.
2.
Be certain the
challenge before us glorifies the Lord, obeys one of his commands from
Scripture, or helps to fulfill a spiritual mandate.
3.
Give the
challenge back to the Lord as a chance for him to accomplish it on our behalf
and receive glory for the victory.
4.
Do what we can,
supply what we have, put forward our effort, then let God multiply it at his
discretion.
The
two parts of this story are linked by Jesus’ doing something totally
unexpected, and it changes the lives of those around him. This story tells us
that there are things in life that will catch us off guard, but nothing will
catch God off guard. God sends the storms of life that we face. These storms
have been engineered to strengthen us, teach us something and cause us to grow
deeper in our faith. God knows what we are dealing with before it happens. He
also knows how we are going to get out of the situation. He still allows the
trial to happen because it will be for our benefit. When we face the storms of life, we must
remember the words of the hymn, “Will Your Anchor Hold?”
Will
your anchor hold in the storms of life,
When
the clouds unfold their wings of strife?
When the
strong tides lift and the cables strain,
Will
your anchor drift, or firm remain?
We have an anchor that
keeps the soul
Stedfast and sure while the billows roll,
Fastened to the Rock which cannot move,
Grounded firm and deep in the Savior’s love.
Our job is to involve Jesus in any problems we
are facing and to count on his presence and power. Jesus is present and ready
to help in any situation of need. All we have to do is come to him in faith.
Bibliography
1.
Jeremiah,
David: The Jeremiah Study Bible, NKJV (Brentwood,
TN: Worthy Publishing; 2013)
2.
Swindoll,
Charles R.: Swindoll’s New Testament
Insights on John (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan; 2010)
3.
Frederikson,
R.L. & Ogilvie, L.J.: The Preacher’s
Commentary Series, Vol. 27: John (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Inc.; 1985)
4.
Stanley,
C.F.: The Charles F. Stanley Life
Principles Bible, NKJV (Nashville, TN: Nelson Bibles, 2005)
