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Jesus, what a brilliant political move! The crowds had gathered around him and his teaching. So he seized the moment and met their immediate needs by feeding all of them miraculously. Then he followed that up with a terrible political move. He chased them away with hard teaching. First, Jesus seemed to pander to the crowds then he seemed to thin the crowds. Which is it?
Consider the lesson for the disciples. The feeding of the five thousand was one of the few miracles recorded in all four gospels. Surely, these events were close to their memory in those overwhelming days after Pentecost when 3000 people were baptized. As they felt the responsibility of leading so many, they must have remembered their Lord’s ability to meet all of the needs o f his followers, without compromising. When the crowd had a genuine need for food, he provided. When the people needed to be challenged, he said the hard things that tested their commitment.
He told them, “I am the bread of life.” To find your satisfaction in God and to trust Him first for all of your earthly needs is at the heart of persevering faith. He called the crowds to follow him, not simply for the benefits, but because he is the Son of Man, the one whose words are Spirit and Life. The crowds thought that they needed a little food or a little entertainment from a miracle. What they really needed was Him.
Often temptation and suffering test our faith in this way. Is it only for the benefits that we follow Christ? This test sets apart the disciples from the crowd. The disciples had gone “all in.” When the crowds left Jesus, Peter spoke for the disciples saying, “Lord, to whom shall we go?” The disciples had no other place (person) to go. Where do you think the crowds went?
Notes: Jesus declares the first of several “I AM” statements. Look for more “I AM” statements in later chapters.
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2 comments:
Just wondering if anyone else took note of this - After Jesus walked on the water and his disciples "were willing to take him into the boat", IMMEDIATELY the boat reached the shore. Isn't this interesting - When we are willing to take Jesus into our "boat", we are given the peace and direction through our storms, and we reach the eternal shore!
God's overwhelming grace stands out so clearly here in the words of Christ.
"...And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that I shall lose none of all that He has given Me, but raise them up at the last day." The dependence on the law and something rational and tangible is what the crowd wants, but Christ is offering irrational scandalous Grace.
Ya gotta love a God like that!
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