John…on Love

We were delayed greatly by a tragic situation at a graduation event for inner city, at risk kids we had taught that semester. We had a guest speaker who was okay with staying, delaying his speech to them. We knew the needs of our kids and we were not going to cancel, we were going to wait until all the graduates could be there. The reason for the delay was a shooting in the front yard of the home of one of the kids as they were being picked up for the event. Since the carload of kids witnessed this crime, they had to stay while police interviewed them.

These kids arrive, we get the ceremony going. I look into their eyes to see if they are going to be able to go through with this and they were. They wanted to be there, to experience something good in their lives. Here’s the disappointment of this event to me. The political speaker carried on with his prepared speech, knowing the cause of the delay. He took ALL his time allotted and more, even though we had less time because of the delay. He did not consider the immediate real needs of those kids.

But Jesus does. He knows what we need before we know what we need. We get all caught up in doing life and forget what is really needed under our noses. We become selfish and proceed with our selfish agendas. Not so with Jesus, the Son of God.

We are now at the beginning of John, chapter six. Jesus has become a very popular person by this time. People are walking for miles to hear him teach, heal and restore them. Some come to see another miracle, to see if He really is who others have claimed him to be. Still others just want him to be King, saving them from the oppression of the Romans.

He suddenly stops his teaching to meet their basic need…physical hunger. Our compassionate Christ stops His “seeking and saving the lost” sermon to merely feed them. In the process, His followers’ faith is stretched. A little boy’s lunch (by the way, the only one who thought be bring a sack lunch to the event?) is used so that God’s Glory might be seen once again through Jesus, our Lord.

“Make the people sit down.”, Jesus tells his helpers. If they sit down they will see what Jesus is about to do. First, he prays, giving thanks. Then they eat. And eat. And eat. Bucketfuls of leftovers are gathered afterwards.

The people realize that God was at work in what Jesus had just done. He met their Spiritual needs. He met their physical needs. God’s glory was seen in the process.

Jesus avoids the crowd’s reaction to this miracle and wanting to make him King, because it is not time and this was not the purpose. He slips away, by himself, avoiding the clamor and enthusiasm. At the moment, the people served a meal only claim Him to be another Prophet sent from God. They will soon realize that Jesus will be the Savior, Redeemer of their souls. They will hunger no more.

John 6, The Message
Bread and Fish for All
6 1-4 After this, Jesus went across the Sea of Galilee (some call it Tiberias). A huge crowd followed him, attracted by the miracles they had seen him do among the sick. When he got to the other side, he climbed a hill and sat down, surrounded by his disciples. It was nearly time for the Feast of Passover, kept annually by the Jews.

5-6 When Jesus looked out and saw that a large crowd had arrived, he said to Philip, “Where can we buy bread to feed these people?” He said this to stretch Philip’s faith. He already knew what he was going to do.

7 Philip answered, “Two hundred silver pieces wouldn’t be enough to buy bread for each person to get a piece.”

8-9 One of the disciples—it was Andrew, brother to Simon Peter—said, “There’s a little boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish. But that’s a drop in the bucket for a crowd like this.”

10-11 Jesus said, “Make the people sit down.” There was a nice carpet of green grass in this place. They sat down, about five thousand of them. Then Jesus took the bread and, having given thanks, gave it to those who were seated. He did the same with the fish. All ate as much as they wanted.

12-13 When the people had eaten their fill, he said to his disciples, “Gather the leftovers so nothing is wasted.” They went to work and filled twelve large baskets with leftovers from the five barley loaves.

14-15 The people realized that God was at work among them in what Jesus had just done. They said, “This is the Prophet for sure, God’s Prophet right here in Galilee!” Jesus saw that in their enthusiasm, they were about to grab him and make him king, so he slipped off and went back up the mountain to be by himself.

Jesus stops his sermon to feed the people, proving that He knows exactly what we need at just the right time. Are you hungry? Have you been fed by God’s Word today? Do we realize that Jesus is not only our Savior and must be Lord of our lives? He not just a prophet. He is healer, provider, and problem solver, yes, but JESUS MUST BE LORD of our lives!

Dear Heavenly Father, When you take us deeper, we realize we must realign our agendas to focus on your will and purpose in every detail of our lives. We also repent of those times when we go ahead of you, thinking we don’t need you. Thank you for teaching us more and more. Go with us, this day. In Jesus Name, Amen. I believe.