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Feeding of Five Thousand
Feeding of Five Thousand
Following Jesus is always an experience to learn from. One of the things we must learn just as the early disciples had to learn is to not underestimate the gifts of the Savior. The first underestimation by the disciples is while they are being battered by the storm. When evening came, he was there alone, but by this time the boat, battered by the waves, was far from the land, for the wind was against them. And early in the morning he came walking toward them on the sea. But when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified, saying, “It is a ghost!” And they cried out in fear. But immediately Jesus spoke to them and said, “Take heart, it is I; do not be afraid.”
The Holy Bible: New Revised Standard Version. (1989). (Mt 14:23–27). Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers.
I started with the scene in the boat because this is a place we can recognize. This is the Spirit. The Spirit is often times terrifying, uncontrollable, and hard to deal with. Is it possible that Jesus needs the disciples to deal with the storm?
So, we are back to the boat being the center of our attention. Jesus tells the disciples to get in and go. As followers of the Lord we tend to want to stay where we are unless the Savior goes with us. So, ask yourself, as I hope you are already doing, why did He ask them to go on? Do you have the feeling that you might need to learn something? Watch out, right? At this point you are probably asking yourself, why did he start with the boat? The simple answer is that my attention has been drawn to this boat. My prayers are centered around the boat. I see you, in the boat, and I seek to join you in that boat.
So, lets venture backwards a bit and discuss the feeding. Now when Jesus heard this, he withdrew from there in a boat to a deserted place by himself.
The Holy Bible: New Revised Standard Version. (1989). (Mt 14:13). Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers.
To me, a boat is symbolic for the mission. People used boats to get from one place to another. They saved time. Boats were capable of supplying fisherman with a job, with food for the multitudes. I find it very interesting that Jesus takes a boat to a deserted place to feed a multitude of people, and yet those who were considered His disciples saw no means for feeding the people. When it was evening, the disciples came to him and said, “This is a deserted place, and the hour is now late; send the crowds away so that they may go into the villages and buy food for themselves.” Jesus said to them, “They need not go away; you give them something to eat.”
The Holy Bible: New Revised Standard Version. (1989). (Mt 14:15–16). Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers. Do you see the symbolism with the boat? When we are in the boat we seem to have what we need, but when we go to the shore, we fall short, The boat is a place of security. The disciples were mostly fisherman who knew how to work, but Jesus is teaching them how to believe in things unseen. As the church we want to, at times, send people away because we do not have the resources to feed them, but the Master does. “They need not go away; you give them something to eat.”
The Holy Bible: New Revised Standard Version. (1989). (Mt 14:16). Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers.
What do we take home from today’s lesson? Boats can be a way of life. Boats can be a mode of basic transportation. More importantly, Jesus is the source of resources. Do not plan for the day around what resources you have. The disciples did that and underestimated what was possible. Symbolically, the boat is a vessel propelled by the Spirit. It can be a place where we have little, if any control.