Bread and Water

Good morning!

Today's texts are John 6:1-24 and Matthew 14:1-33.  Reading both of these passages together provide rich detail and illustrate the complementary nature of the Scriptures.

It appears in John 6 that about a year has passed since Jesus began his earthly ministry.  This miracle of "feeding the 5000" (also recorded in the other 3 gospels - - - Matthew 14, Mark 6, Luke 9) took place in the springtime, as John notes that the hillside was grassy and that Passover was near. According to the Matthew passage, Jesus had just been told of the murder of John the Baptist.  As a result He and the disciples had left Judea and rowed an isolated place on the other side of the Sea of Galilee.

For about year Jesus had been traveling around preaching, teaching and doing miracles.  Wherever He went, a large crowd followed Him; and, this time was no exception.  Humans seem to have an insatiable desire for the sensational. John states that the crowd followed Jesus to watch him perform miracles, not at this time out of a desire for godliness or to worship someone they thought was their Messiah.  This crowd included many who needed a healing miracle.  Matthew tells us that Jesus had compassion on them, and healed them until dinner time approached.

It is not clear how Jesus performed this miracle of providing food to all those people, although it is clear that this was His intention despite His question to Philip.  We are told that Jesus gave thanks and then began with the disciples to distribute the bread and fish.  One point that John does not record, but Matthew does - - - the men present numbered about 5000.  There were youths and also women present.  This makes the total number well over 5000 people.

All you bread-connoisseurs out there:  can you imagine how delicious that bread must have been?! Fresh bread from the hand of God!
The people were so astounded at this miracle they THEN recognized Him as Messiah, or at least enough of them did that they tried to seize Him and crown Him as their king.

Jesus sent the disciples ahead in a boat, to head toward Capernaum, while He stayed behind to disperse the crowds.  This is odd to me because in other instances, His reaction to a crowd about to be overcome by "undue adulation" was to "slip away".  The disciples went ahead and started for the other shore, and Jesus (Matt. 14:24) went up into the mountain by Himself, to pray.

When He had finished His communion with His Father, He went to find the disciples who, by this time, were 3-4 miles out on the very troubled lake, trying to keep from surrendering to the storm.  He supernaturally moved from the mountain to the lake's surface, walking across the top of the water. Then, Matthew records Peter asking to walk to Jesus on the top of the waves, and Jesus invites him to do so.  Peter does this until his faith wavers, and he begins to sink.  Finally, once Jesus (and Peter) are in the boat, the disciples in amazement affirm that He is indeed God; and suddenly, the boat is at its destination (John 6:21).

The thing that strikes me about this is how God the Father gives the Son just the amount of supernatural power He needs at the time; nothing is wasted or spent on frivolous display.  He will do the same for us.  He will provide exactly what we need at the time we need it, if we will only ask.  I did not say He would grant all our requests, grant requests in the way we wish, or give us anything we want. There is a difference.

Do you find it odd that Jesus prayed to the Father?  If He was God, why did He need to pray? Although Jesus was God, wrapped in flesh, I believe that various aspects of His power were veiled during His earthly ministry, that He chose to limit Himself and subject Himself to the restrictions of humankind during His time here.  Therefore, like us, He needed to pray, to seek the Father, to commune with Him, to be dependent upon Father, as we are designed to do.  To pray, "not my will, but Yours be done" (Luke 22:42).

Next stop:  Capernaum!

Good morning, Lord.  Thank you for this beautiful day and for promising to provide all our needs in it.  Teach us to pray, to seek Your face in everything, to "pray without ceasing".  Thank you for providing just what we need, when we need it, and through Your provision teaching us to trust in You for all things.  In Jesus name, amen.