It’s amazing to me that after reading the same account of the feeding of the 5,000 for 3-4 days, I still see things that I didn’t see before.
For instance, we know that the number 5,000 is woefully underestimated. If there were 5,000 men, there probably were almost as many women, and then children beside. We know there were children since the lunch Jesus used came from a child. This would probably be more accurately called the feeding of the 15,000. Of course, the number makes no difference at all, because the miracle is the same for a few as it is for many.
I found myself thinking about Jesus’ command to collect everything left over “so that none would be wasted”. This food was miraculous in origin, is that the reason it was collected? What did Jesus do with the leftovers? Were those 12 baskets for the disciples? I can’t help but think of all the food we waste here in the United States. I saw a news report last evening that said an apple farmer couldn’t sell about half his crop because the apples had small splits in the top from taking on too much water. They were perfectly good apples, but the grocery chain wouldn’t buy them. All those apples go to waste, unless the farmer can find someone else to purchase them. I read somewhere that about 40% of the food we grow eventually is wasted. Some is culled at the field, more when it arrives at the grocer, some expires on the shelf and is discarded, and we throw away some of what we purchase because we didn’t eat it, or it went bad before we prepared it. And don’t forget the amount we prepare and then discard because no one ate it. 40%. There’s probably a whole sermon packed away in the verse “so that none will be wasted” right?
For several days I have wondered how Jesus could cross the lake and end up on the same side. It seems like he crossed from south to north, not so much from west to east. The miracle of the loaves and Capernaum are both on the same side. Tiberias is also on the west side, about 5 miles south of where the miracle took place. The sea cuts back into the west from Tiberias so even though you are really traveling up the western coast, you are still well out to sea. That must be what they meant when they said “crossed”. And, it’s about 2 miles further north from where the miracle took place to Capernaum, where Jesus was speaking to the disciples about “eating his flesh and blood”. By the way, the Sea of Galilee is about 12 1/2 miles long and 7 miles wide at the widest point. That’s about twice the size of the land mass of the Erie Peninsula. From the edge of the Peninsula it’s twice as far to Canada as the Sea of Galilee is long. Two of the Sea of Galilee would fit between the Peninsula and Canada, end to end! The Sea of Galilee isn’t really that large.
From a high vantage point (anywhere on the western side) you can see the whole sea. It seems smaller in reality than what we imagine in the Bible.
In verse 20 John records Jesus coming aboard the boat saying “don’t be afraid I AM is here”. It’s translated in several different ways, but I think John was simply trying to convey that Jesus really was God, the great I AM.
Verse 60 comes up in my thoughts quite often, it seems. So much so, I have memorized it. Especially the phrase “this is a hard teaching, who can accept it?” Some of the teachings of Jesus certainly seem hard, right? Forgive people who are actively trying to slander or cheat you, don’t retaliate to defend yourself, give away a 10th (or more) of everything you have worked hard to earn, the list goes on… Yes, sometimes what Jesus asks of us seems difficult in the moment, but we must respond as the disciples did. “Lord, where else can we go? You have the words of eternal life”. It doesn’t matter if it’s hard or not, it’s simply the one and only way to enter into heaven. It’s the only way to enjoy the full purpose of what God created us to be. There isn’t any other way, there isn’t an alternative teaching. Jesus has the words and way, and we must do what He commands in order to receive His reward.
Hard? Yes, sometimes. Worth it? Absolutely. All the time.
I generally see Jesus allowing his many disciples to walk away from him, still full from eating miracle bread and yet doubting the one who made it happen. This must have been frustrating for Jesus. I know that I find it frustrating when someone decides to leave the church even though they have witnessed the Holy Spirit moving among us. The presence of God doesn’t seem to be enough to change their minds about leaving. And…Jesus let them go. That had to be hard. Today though, I see Jesus reasoning with the disciples. He tells them the words He has spoken to them are Spirit, implying that they should not be taken literally. It doesn’t seem to matter. They’ve made up their minds apparently. Sometimes “group think” is the cause for good people to make bad decisions. I really hope that the disciples who turned away found their way back to faith sometime later.
How tragic would it be to follow Christ, be counted as a disciple, witness the miracles and healings, and sit under the teaching of God himself and yet still decide not to follow? In a way, my heart is very sad for them.
Following Jesus,
PR