oh come on, jesus, really?

February 18, 2010

oh come on, jesus, really?

Matthew 14:13-21

Jeremy Jaqua

Central Truth

If we believe that Jesus is God's Son, who was raised from the dead, then we must also trust that He is enough, have faith in His teachings, and be willing to put them into practice even when it seems completely illogical.

But Jesus said to them, "They do not need to go away; you give them something to eat!" They said to him, "We have here only five loaves and two fish." (Matthew 14:16-17)

Jesus Feeds the Five Thousand

13 Now when Jesus heard this, he withdrew from there in a boat to a desolate place by himself. But when the crowds heard it, they followed him on foot from the towns. 14 When he went ashore he saw a great crowd, and he had compassion on them and healed their sick. 15 Now when it was evening, the disciples came to him and said, “This is a desolate place, and the day is now over; send the crowds away to go into the villages and buy food for themselves.” 16 But Jesus said, “They need not go away; you give them something to eat.” 17 They said to him, “We have only five loaves here and two fish.” 18 And he said, “Bring them here to me.” 19 Then he ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass, and taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven and said a blessing. Then he broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds. 20 And they all ate and were satisfied. And they took up twelve baskets full of the broken pieces left over. 21 And those who ate were about five thousand men, besides women and children.

I have to be honest. It's really easy for me to look down on the disciples' lack of faith in this passage. I mean, seriously. You've been watching Jesus heal people all over the place (verse 14), you've heard some incredible teaching and seen things that could only be of God.

So, when Jesus tells the disciples that nobody needs to leave and that they should just feed everyone, the disciples' response should have been, "Oh, of course. We can just feed them." But the disciples doubted Jesus. Then, they felt the need to clarify the reality of the situation to Him by explaining that there just wasn't enough food. I would have just fed them like He said. Right?

I have to be honest again. WRONG! If I put myself in the disciples' shoes, I would have thought Jesus wasn't serious and just sent everyone on their way. Sometimes it's easy for me to think the disciples had it easy because they were with Jesus in the flesh. But they didn't have a very key element, the Resurrection! Everything Jesus said or did is totally validated by the truth that the grave is empty. Jesus ends up feeding the 5,000 Himself in this passage and thus validated even further who He was to the disciples and everyone there. But He first told the disciples to feed them. It is the other way around for me. Jesus has totally validated His words and actions through the resurrection, and now He calls me to live in light of that. If Jesus really was raised from the dead, then I must live a life that reflects the grandeur of this. Jesus calls me to a radical life. The resurrection is at the center of the Gospel and has enormous implications for how I live.

Lord, help me to know and trust in the great power of the resurrection of Your Son. Help me to live in response to it and faithfully pick up my five loaves and two fish, trusting in You to use them for Your glory and our good. Amen.

1. How would you have responded to Jesus' command to feed the 5,000 yourself?

2. How does the truth that the grave is empty affect the way your day-to-day life looks?

3. When was the last time you felt the Lord was calling you to something totally illogical? How did you respond?

4. Do you trust in God's ability to use your "five loaves and two fish" greatly for His kingdom? If not, why?

FAMILY DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

1. Why was the large crowd following Jesus?

2. Why are you following Jesus?

3. Where have you seen Jesus working in your life or in the lives of people around you?