John 6:1-21 v 15 “When Jesus saw they were ready to force Him to be their King, he slipped away into the hills by himself.”
Crowds were following Jesus because of the miracles He was performing. He climbed a hill with His disciples and sat down with his disciples around Him. Soon Jesus saw a crowd coming to look for Him. “Where can we buy food to feed all these people?” Phillip replied even if we worked for months, we wouldn’t have enough money to feed them!” Then Andrew said there is a boy wit five loaves and two fishes! Then Jesus took the loaves, gave thanks to God, and distributed them to the people. Afterward He did the same with the fish. After everyone was full, Jesus told the disciples to gather the leftovers, so that nothing is wasted. The people exclaimed” Surely, He is the Prophet we have been expecting!” When Jesus saw they were ready to force Him to be their King, he slipped away into the hills by himself.” The disciples waited for Jesus, but He didn’t return so they got n the boat and headed across the lake towards Capernaum. Soon a gale swept down upon them, and the sea grew very rough. Suddenly they saw Jesus waking on the water towards the boat. They were terrified. “Don’t be afraid, I am here!”. Then they were eager to let Him in the boat and suddenly they arrived at their destination.
Most are familiar with the story of the feeding of the five thousand and I was wondering what I could say today that is different. And then as usual something stood out to me, the actions of Jesus. He sat down with His disciples. They sat around Him. A circle is a safe space for discussion, everyone is equal, and He made sure His disciples had some of His time for discussion. He challenged them with a question. How do we feed these people? Practical answers were given, not possible! However, He gave thanks to God and fed everyone with five loaves ad two fish. He didn’t want anything wasted so he asked the disciples to pick up the leftovers. Then He slipped away by Himself. The disciples wanting to get back home safely and left Him. He came back to them walking on the water, and then they were home!
Jesus teaches us and questions us today. He shows us His power over the practical things in this world to provide for our basic needs, feeding us. Even after an event the leftovers are collected, experiences from our journey are incorporated into the rest of our lives. Even if He leaves us, or we leave Him He finds us using His supernatural power and returns us home safely.
Prayer: Almighty God who has powers beyond our understanding we thank you for the example of your Son Jesus. We ask that you take care of us in all we do in His name. Amen.
CrossWalk 