Blog

“Spend Your Energy”

Posted on by korgrocker

“They found him on the other side of the lake and asked, “Rabbi, when did you get here?” Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, you want to be with me because I fed you, not because you understood the miraculous signs. But don’t be so concerned about perishable things like food. Spend your energy seeking the eternal life that the Son of Man can give you. For God the Father has given me the seal of his approval.””
John 6:25-27 NLT

The “crowd” finally caught up with Jesus on the “other side of the lake”. This would have been in the region around Capernaum, on the west side of the Sea of Galilee. Of course, by this time, numbers would have been much reduced because there wouldn’t have been enough boats to transport the five thousand men and their families across the lake, but we read in John 6:24 that they were “looking for Him”. But having found Him, the people were perplexed, because they couldn’t understand how He had got there so quickly. They knew that He wasn’t in the boat with the disciples, and there were no other boats available. But Jesus wasn’t one for a cosy chat, and He cut right across all the practical issues and questions to deliver a message about eternal life.

When He had been found by the people, Jesus immediately knew what they were after – more free food. Jesus used the phrase “I tell you the truth” to precede His analysis of the situation. This was a phrase He often used, and is worth taking note of as we read the Gospels and the words of Jesus. The old King James Version uses the phrase “verily, verily …”, something I’m sure we all remember. Jesus told His listeners, “you want to be with me because I fed you”. An understandable and accurate conclusion, but that wasn’t why He had come to Planet Earth. He had come to give the people eternal life. Something of much more value. 

Jesus told His listeners something that they probably weren’t so keen on. “Spend your energy seeking … eternal life”. To a people toiling to make a living from subsistence farming, such a message would have not gone down well. Because of the Fall, farming the ground was hard work. We read what God said to Adam in Genesis 3:17-18, “And to the man he said, “Since you listened to your wife and ate from the tree whose fruit I commanded you not to eat, the ground is cursed because of you. All your life you will struggle to scratch a living from it. It will grow thorns and thistles for you, though you will eat of its grains”. The curse was still on the ground when Jesus came to Palestine, and producing sufficient food to feed a family all year round wasn’t easy. Additionally, in years of famine, perhaps caused by unfavourable weather patterns, people starved. 

But the question for us pilgrims today is about where we spend our energy. I’m sure we could all produce a long list of pastimes that people follow, and none of them involve seeking eternal life. Of course, God knows that we need to earn a living. But regardless of where the source of what we need for our natural lives is, Jesus’ message is the same today as it was two thousand or so years ago. “Spend your energy seeking the eternal life that the Son of Man can give you”. Meditating on just this phrase will open a door to a wealth of possibilities, but the overriding question must be, “Is what I am doing of benefit to God’s Kingdom or the worldly kingdom around us”. Perhaps our priorities should follow a pattern of God, and our relationship with Him, first. Then our employment to provide for our physical needs, and the needs of our families. Next, devoting our spare time and energy in doing works to further God’s Kingdom, and, lastly, if we have any time left, spending it on recharging our own batteries. But we each must do what Jesus told His Jewish listeners on the Galilee shore, “[seek] the eternal life that the Son of Man can give you”.  How we do that can only be determined in prayer and our faith and relationship in and with God.

Dear God. Jesus came to show us the way to You. His message of life and hope still reverberates around the world today. Please open our ears to hear You more. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

More On The Crowd

Posted on by korgrocker

“The next day the crowd that had stayed on the far shore saw that the disciples had taken the only boat, and they realized Jesus had not gone with them. Several boats from Tiberias landed near the place where the Lord had blessed the bread and the people had eaten. So when the crowd saw that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there, they got into the boats and went across to Capernaum to look for him.”
John 6:22-24 NLT

The crowd were still hanging around the next day. They must have camped out all night, because John recorded that they “stayed on the far shore”. But with the new dawn, they realised that the only boat there had headed off with the disciples, and that Jesus hadn’t gone with them. Why did they stay there and not head back home? What about their work? Perhaps there was business they needed to attend to. But in their minds they had had an encounter with Jesus, and that was worth hanging around for. How many times have we wished that we could have stayed longer in a meeting, but knowing, reluctantly, that we have to get up for work the next day? When in the middle of an encounter with Jesus time seems to stand still and we want to camp in His presence. But the cynic observing the behaviour of the people staying overnight would say that they only waited around to get another free meal. 

So where was Jesus, they wondered? Then several boats arrived from Tiberias, a town on the west side of the Sea of Galilee but further south from Capernaum. John mentioned in his account that the boats landed at the shore where Jesus had fed the crowd, so perhaps he too was wondering if it was free food that was drawing people to this remote place. 

What was this crowd of people like? Well, there would have been old and young people. Men, women and children. Rich and poor (but probably mainly the poor). Amongst them would have been some religious leaders. All in all, a good cross section of the Jewish Galilean society. Why did they come to see Jesus? John 6:2 gives us a clue, “A huge crowd kept following him wherever he went, because they saw his miraculous signs as he healed the sick“. These people in the crowd were drawn by the supernatural events that were beyond any natural explanation. In those days, sick people generally died of their illness, unless it was a mild attack of something. There were no antibiotics capable of fighting infections. In fact, someone has researched life expectancy in those days, and come up with a figure of thirty five years. So to find a miracle healer who could heal a sick person was worth going to see, especially if you weren’t feeling very well. But it wasn’t just a sickness that Jesus healed. He also cast out demons. This is a contentious subject because we don’t generally talk about demon possession today. But if it was a problem in the Holy Land two thousand years ago, then it probably still is today. We just call a “demon” something else. Is it some form of mental illness? People often refer to dealing with their “demons”, referring to some form of oppression, or behaviour, perhaps with historical or family roots. Behavioural problems, challenging societal norms, can perhaps be due to some form of demonic influence. And certainly we can look at many practices (current gender ideologies?) that could be attributed to the devil and his minions.

Another consideration that we have with the “crowd” is that the great majority of them were not following God’s ways but instead marching along the broad way that leads to destruction. Matthew 7:13, “You can enter God’s Kingdom only through the narrow gate. The highway to hell is broad, and its gate is wide for the many who choose that way“. God in His grace gave them the opportunity to hear what Jesus was saying and teaching about the Kingdom of God. Nothing has changed today, however. Most of the people that we pilgrims know have also chosen to go with the flow, the broad way that Jesus warned about.

So we pilgrims, journeying along the narrow path, fighting our way against the tides of public and family pressures and opinions, must never give up. The society around us will persecute us, ostracise us, treat us as though we are different to them and therefore try and force us to turn back. But we stand firm. Jesus said in Matthew 24:13, “But the one who endures to the end will be saved”. Jesus taught the people in His day to focus on spiritual food that will lead to eternal life. So must we pilgrims, because there is no other way.

Father God. Thank You for Your grace and love, available without limit to anyone who comes to You. and thank You for Your Son Jesus, who so willingly came to earth to show us how much You care for us. We worship You today. Amen.

Jesus Walking on Water

Posted on by korgrocker

“But as darkness fell and Jesus still hadn’t come back, they got into the boat and headed across the lake toward Capernaum. Soon a gale swept down upon them, and the sea grew very rough. They had rowed three or four miles when suddenly they saw Jesus walking on the water toward the boat. They were terrified, but he called out to them, “Don’t be afraid. I am here!” Then they were eager to let him in the boat, and immediately they arrived at their destination!”
John 6:17-21 NLT

The scene opens with darkness falling, and a small boat with several men in it in the middle of the Sea of Galilee, struggling against the wind and waves. Having been in a small boat in very rough seas, I know that this can be terrifying, but these were mostly seasoned fishermen, so being in a Galilean storm would not have been an unknown experience to them. Matthew records what happened next, “About three o’clock in the morning Jesus came toward them, walking on the water” (Matthew 14:25). I personally don’t doubt for a minute that Jesus did walk on the water, but sometimes I wonder about the physics of this. Were His feet in contact with the water, or was He floating slightly above? Was He bobbing up and down with the waves? Did He get His feet wet? But when the disciples saw Him, the account in Matthew grips our imaginations – “When the disciples saw him walking on the water, they were terrified. In their fear, they cried out, “It’s a ghost!”” (Matthew 14:26). Well, we would be terrified as well wouldn’t we? It is not a common occurrence after all, and our minds would naturally flip into fear mode when something inexplicable in these circumstances happens. But the disciples were stuck in the boat, so flight, running away, was not an option. By the way, I think Jesus would have been walking in His own space on the water, with stormy mayhem around Him, but peace under His feet. 

What happened next was another example of the “fear nots” in the Bible. Jesus often had to calm the fears of His disciples, and this was one such occasion. Being around Jesus must have been an unpredictable and often unnerving experience, prompting His occasional loving responses – “Do not be afraid”.

The account of Jesus walking on the water of the Sea of Galilee is something that often catches people’s imaginations. It is a well known story, taught often in Sunday Schools, but it bears further scrutiny as to why Jesus chose to reach Capernaum that way. It was of course the most direct route, as the land-based route around the North side of the Sea was quite long.  He could have course asked another boat owner to ferry Him across the next day. But Jesus chose to do this for several reasons, one of them being that it was an important learning experience about faith for His disciples, and, consequently, for disciples ever since. 

What happened next wasn’t recorded by John, but Matthew wrote it up. “Then Peter called to him, “Lord, if it’s really you, tell me to come to you, walking on the water.” “Yes, come,” Jesus said. So Peter went over the side of the boat and walked on the water toward Jesus” (Matthew 14:28-29). How remarkable is that? Impetuous Peter with the courage (foolhardiness?) to step out of the boat onto the rough water. With his eyes firmly fixed on Jesus he managed a few steps, but then his natural mind took over and he started to sink into the water. Jesus’ response is well know – “Jesus immediately reached out and grabbed him. “You have so little faith,” Jesus said. “Why did you doubt me?” (Matthew 14:31). John never mentioned this episode, perhaps because he was ashamed that he didn’t have the courage to follow in Peter’s steps.

I suppose we pilgrims perhaps look at this episode in a detached way, acknowledging the miracle but accepting that we don’t have the faith to follow suit with something similar. But it graphically illustrates what is possible if we have faith. We know, of course that, ” … it is impossible to please God without faith” (Hebrews 11:6a). But faith to walk on water …? Jesus taught about taking small steps of faith, as we read in Luke 17:6 “The Lord answered, “If you had faith even as small as a mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, ‘May you be uprooted and be planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you!“” Faith starts as small as a mustard seed, but as we exercise that faith in doing God’s work, it will lead to bigger things.

Father God. We confess before You our poverty in faith. Please forgive us, we pray, and help us to grow more and more. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Crossing the Lake

Posted on by korgrocker

“That evening Jesus’ disciples went down to the shore to wait for him. But as darkness fell and Jesus still hadn’t come back, they got into the boat and headed across the lake toward Capernaum.”
John 6:16-17 NLT
“Immediately after this, Jesus insisted that his disciples get back into the boat and cross to the other side of the lake, while he sent the people home. After sending them home, he went up into the hills by himself to pray. Night fell while he was there alone.”
Matthew 14:22-23 NLT

There are slight differences between Matthew’s and John’s account of what happened after the miraculous feeding of five thousand men and their families. John gave us the facts, and Matthew put in a few extra details. But such differences bring the Gospels to life, because they typically provide genuine witness statements. In a court of law, different people, witnesses, will provide different perspectives of an event, building a picture for the court’s benefit.

But the next part of Jesus’ ministry was over on the Western side of the Sea (or Lake) of Galilee. He had accomplished all that His Heavenly Father had asked Him to do for the people East of the Northern part of the Sea. They had heard His message, seen miraculous signs, but it was now up to them. It is the Holy Spirit who brings a change in people’s lives, and He was soon to come to the world, after Jesus had departed on the Day of Ascension. Speaking of the Holy Spirit, Jesus said, “And when he comes, he will convict the world of its sin, and of God’s righteousness, and of the coming judgment. The world’s sin is that it refuses to believe in me” (John 16:8-9). Those people would have made the journey back to their homes, stomachs full, minds buzzing with all they had seen and heard. Spiritually elated, they returned home to find the same hard and difficult way of life that they had had before. As we pilgrims know, after every Sunday there is always a Monday morning.

As the disciples started the journey back to Capernaum in an open boat with oars, there was nothing unusual there that they hadn’t done many times before. They were probably wondering why Jesus wasn’t going with them, but perhaps assumed He had some other business to attend to and would join them in a week or two. Jesus did have some very important business on His agenda – spending time with His Heavenly Father in prayer. And it wasn’t a short prayer at all because “night fell” while He was up in the hills on His own. In a small way I can relate to praying with a natural environment all around me. In the countryside around my home in the West of Fife, it is sometimes very quiet and deserted, especially early in the morning. God’s wonderful creation is all around and, somehow, it provides an altar before God better than any church building. I find myself worshipping God with Him all around me, bringing answers to prayer, comfort and assurance when needed, and a confirmation that in this new day, God is still on His throne. 

Jesus instructed His disciples to cross the lake. There was work to do on the other side. But I’m reminded that we pilgrims have work to do as well. Are we still on the Eastern part of our Seas, or have we heard the voice of God telling us to “cross the lake”? Life, as I have come to experience, is full of different “seasons” in God’s plan for us. I know people who are still in a church when God has told them to move on to another. We must always ask ourselves the question, in prayer, where God wants us to be, and what he wants us to do. And listening ears will hear answers that might frighten or surprise us. But with God behind a new season, excitement in the Spirit is guaranteed.

Father God. You have many plans for Your people. Please quicken our ears to hear Your voice so that we are always walking in Your will. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Jesus the King

Posted on by korgrocker

“When the people saw him do this miraculous sign, they exclaimed, “Surely, he is the Prophet we have been expecting!” When Jesus saw that they were ready to force him to be their king, he slipped away into the hills by himself.”
John 6:14-15 NLT

What connection did that great crowd of people make between receiving a free lunch and making Jesus their King? They must have extrapolated the “miraculous sign” of feeding them and concluded that Jesus had the extraordinary capabilities needed to resolve the Roman occupation problem for good and all. There is no doubt that Jesus could have called upon the necessary resources, had they been needed. Matthew 26:53, “Don’t you realise that I could ask my Father for thousands of angels to protect us, and he would send them instantly?” But the people could only see a nation of Israel without the hated Romans and provided with free food forever. A Utopian state that, up to now, they could only dream of. But as we pilgrims know, particularly here in the UK, a change of government does not often add up to a change for the better. It is true that a government under the rule and reign of Jesus would be a fair and just administration, but there is a warning such as Jesus gave to the church in Thyatira, as John wrote in Revelation 2:26-27, “To all who are victorious, who obey me to the very end, To them I will give authority over all the nations. They will rule the nations with an iron rod and smash them like clay pots”. And we have Psalm 45:6, “Your throne, O God, endures forever and ever. You rule with a sceptre of justice.” Perhaps the crowd on the Galilean shore failed to see that if Jesus appointed the government of their nation, there would be a requirement for righteousness. 

But Jesus wasn’t ready or willing to fit into the people’s mould for a King. Jesus was not their warrior King in His first coming, but He certainly was for His second. The Jews would remember the song of Moses in Exodus 15. “Then Moses and the people of Israel sang this song to the Lord: “I will sing to the Lord, for he has triumphed gloriously; he has hurled both horse and rider into the sea. The Lord is my strength and my song; he has given me victory. This is my God, and I will praise him— my father’s God, and I will exalt him! The Lord is a warrior; Yahweh is his name!“ (Exodus 15:1-3). In their minds, the people would imagine a King able to do again what He did to the Egyptian army. The Apostle John in his revelation wrote, “Then I saw heaven opened, and a white horse was standing there. Its rider was named Faithful and True, for he judges fairly and wages a righteous war. … From his mouth came a sharp sword to strike down the nations. He will rule them with an iron rod. He will release the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty, like juice flowing from a winepress. On his robe at his thigh was written this title: King of all kings and Lord of all Lords” (Revelation 19:11,15-16).

God’s plan for the salvation of mankind was not bounded by time. Romans 5:6, “When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners“. And at “just the right time” Jesus will come again, a second time, as the warrior King the Jews of His day were looking for.

Dear Lord Jesus. You, who came as a baby, born of a peasant girl in humble circumstances, will one day return to rule and reign in righteousness. The King of all kings and the Lord of all lords. We pilgrims look up and see in our spirits that white horse carrying our Lord and King. Come Lord Jesus! Amen.

Giving Thanks

Posted on by korgrocker

“Then Jesus took the loaves, gave thanks to God, and distributed them to the people. Afterward he did the same with the fish. And they all ate as much as they wanted. After everyone was full, Jesus told his disciples, “Now gather the leftovers, so that nothing is wasted.” So they picked up the pieces and filled twelve baskets with scraps left by the people who had eaten from the five barley loaves.”
John 6:11-13 NLT

Oh, to have been there that day. Watching Jesus as He miraculously took the loaves and “distributed them to the people”. The Gospel of Mark provides a little more information, “Jesus took the five loaves and two fish, looked up toward heaven, and blessed them. Then, breaking the loaves into pieces, he kept giving the bread to the disciples so they could distribute it to the people. He also divided the fish for everyone to share” (Mark 6:41). Mark said that Jesus “kept giving” but isn’t that just like Him. He never stopped giving all the time He was here on earth, and He provided the ultimate gift by giving His life at Calvary for the sins of mankind. We worship a giving God, but we pilgrims, know that.

There are of course the theologically illiterate factions who try and minimise or deny the amazing miracle that happened that day. Some say that this was no more than people sharing their packed lunches. Others say it was just a story, and it didn’t really happen. But this account of “Feeding the Five Thousand” has gripped the imaginations of countless people over the years. The story is included in the staple diet of Sunday Schools and Children’s’ Bibles, and it appears in each of the four Gospels. I have no doubts in my own mind that this episode really happened, and the Gospel writers had no doubts either. John was present when it happened, and his almost dispassionate account has a ring of authenticity about it, as though he expected it to happen anyway.

Notice that John recorded that the people ate as much as they wanted and there were leftovers. In fact, there were twelve baskets full of bits of bread and the odd fish head or tail. For many that day, it was probably the first time that they had had full stomachs for a while. God is never stingy in His provision. He always has more in His storehouse for those who wish to be filled. 

But we pilgrims must never be guilty of taking God’s provision for granted. It is not just about having a full stomach, good though that is. It is about thanking God for the basics of life. Thanking Him for the air we breathe, the water we drink, and, of course, the food we eat. We thank Him for the natural things we need for life. But we also thank Him for the relationship we have with Him. Thanking Him for His love, His kindness, His Holy Spirit, the forgiveness of our sins, the righteousness we have through Jesus, and all the other benefits that come our way because we are His children. Matthew 7:11, “So if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give good gifts to those who ask him”. 

Heavenly Father, we know that You never stop giving good gifts to Your children. And we know that there are even more available, just for the asking. How can we ever thank You enough? Amen.

Jesus’ Authority

Posted on by korgrocker

“Then Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, spoke up. “There’s a young boy here with five barley loaves and two fish. But what good is that with this huge crowd?” “Tell everyone to sit down,” Jesus said. So they all sat down on the grassy slopes. (The men alone numbered about 5,000.)”
John 6:8-10 NLT

There were many people in that crowd. John recorded that there were five thousand men, so we can perhaps multiply this number by as much as four to obtain an estimate of the number of men, women and children, present. These were all people mostly from the surrounding towns and villages, and they had all come to see Jesus, the miracle worker sent by God. We don’t know how far they had travelled, but it was sufficient for Jesus to be concerned about their return journeys. What were these people expecting from Jesus? Was it to be entertained? Perhaps they were attracted, as people are today, to something “magic” (although of course there is nothing remotely similar between a deception and Jesus’ miracles). Did the people genuinely want to hear more about God and His Kingdom? Were they sick and wanted to ask Jesus to heal them? Or were they just curious and had nothing else on that day? Probably all of the above, but regardless, here they were in Jesus’ presence, and as Andrew noted, they made up a “huge crowd”. In Mark 6:34, there is a similar account of what happened that day, and we read, “Jesus saw the huge crowd as he stepped from the boat, and he had compassion on them because they were like sheep without a shepherd. So he began teaching them many things” (Mark 6:34). 

The next thing that happened was that Jesus asked the disciples to do a bit of organising. “Then Jesus told the disciples to have the people sit down in groups on the green grass. So they sat down in groups of fifty or a hundred” (Mark 6:39-40). Just a small point, but it once again illustrates how Jesus planned carefully what He was about to do. There was no point in having a large crowd of people milling around. Children chasing each other and parents getting stressed wondering where they were. So, knowing where everyone was made sure that no-one was missed in the food distribution that was about to commence. But perhaps it was significant that the people obeyed what Jesus asked them to do. I have heard conference organisers describe the problem of getting people to do something together at a corporate event like herding cats. People tend to be independent and often uncooperative and can have a ”who is he telling me what to do” attitude. So to get everyone to sit down together in regimented groups was almost a miracle in itself. The Gospel writers don’t say what the expectations of all the people in the crowd were when they sat down, but they had probably come to realise that with Jesus around, miracles happen. 

That’s the issue though. With Jesus still around today through the Holy Spirit, what are our expectations? And because the Holy Spirit lives within us, surely we pilgrims can be personally involved with those expectations. Paul wrote to the Ephesians, “Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think” (Ephesians 3:20). A challenging verse, but, nevertheless, what are we hoping to accomplish in God today? The God who fed a bunch of slaves for forty years, or, through His Son, a huge crowd sitting on grassy slopes on the Eastern side of Lake Galilee, can also do amazing things through us, can’t He? But will we allow Him to? Hmmm…

Dear Father God. It is so humbling to know and experience Your wonder-working power in our lives. We pray for the opportunities to do Your works as we go about Your business here on earth. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Loaves and Fishes

Posted on by korgrocker

“Philip replied, “Even if we worked for months, we wouldn’t have enough money to feed them!” Then Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, spoke up. “There’s a young boy here with five barley loaves and two fish. But what good is that with this huge crowd?””
John 6:7-9 NLT

Andrew must have been listening in on the conversation that Jesus was having with Philip about bread, and feeding all these people, and he noticed in the crowd a small boy, whose mother had had the foresight to supply with a packed lunch, and he used that as an illustration of the problem of feeding a multitude of people. I have heard preachers use this verse in the context of bringing what we have to God for Him to use as He requires. And it is true that we hold all that we have in open hands, so that if our resources are useful for someone else then we can make them available. But perhaps in this encounter, an opportunity arose for a miracle of feeding many people. 

God has, of course, done such a thing before. We read in Exodus 16 how the Israelite slaves, now in the wilderness, were running out of food and they started to complain to Moses. God’s response was an amazing miracle, as we read in Exodus 16:4, “Then the Lord said to Moses, “Look, I’m going to rain down food from heaven for you. Each day the people can go out and pick up as much food as they need for that day. I will test them in this to see whether or not they will follow my instructions””. Manna was an extraordinary food. The “flaky substance as fine as frost” (Exodus 16:14) contained all the vitamins, minerals, proteins and carbohydrates needed for a healthy life. It was a perfect food, far surpassing anything found naturally and with it God fed the Israelites for forty years. Some people have calculated that there may have been as many as two million people. That’s a lot of meals!

But what prompted Andrew to tell Jesus about the boy with the five loaves and two fishes? Did he perhaps have a hint of faith that Jesus could do something with a little food to feed a multitude? This whole episode became a learning episode for the disciples. But it is also for us today, because it tells us much about Jesus. He cares for us. Plain and simple. Today, the world generates more food than is needed to feed the whole population, and all the time new farming methods are increasing yields and quality, but the problem is distribution. The Western nations have ended up with too much and what we call the third world too little. 

The account of the loaves and fishes is important in that it tells us that God is interested in every aspect of our life here on earth. We sometimes take food for granted and instead elevate our minds into lofty Heavenly places, or get involved in other earthly pursuits. Food only becomes important to us when we don’t have any. But perhaps we need to review our whole person, with all its needs, physical and spiritual, and bring them into line with God’s perspective. Perhaps a little less natural food, and a little more spiritual food would go some way to ensuring God’s people are properly balanced, body, soul and spirit.

Father God. Thank You that You are interested in every part of mankind. Please help us to lead spiritually and naturally healthy lives, to Your glory. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Feeding the Crowds

Posted on by korgrocker

“Jesus soon saw a huge crowd of people coming to look for him. Turning to Philip, he asked, “Where can we buy bread to feed all these people?” He was testing Philip, for he already knew what he was going to do. Philip replied, “Even if we worked for months, we wouldn’t have enough money to feed them!””
John 6:5-7 NLT

There are a few questions we can ask about this passage. Why would Jesus want to feed all these people? And why choose Philip out of the Twelve to discuss the catering with? Was Jesus teasing Philip, who perhaps was a bit gullible? Why didn’t the crowd of people plan ahead so that they wouldn’t go hungry? But regardless, we can shut our eyes and imagine all these people dressed in the Middle Eastern way, making their way across the landscape, whatever it consisted of, trying to find Jesus. Men and women, with children as well. Perhaps singing, talking, carrying some who were disabled or sick. They hadn’t left their homes and villages without a good reason. They were looking for Jesus.

But Jesus, compassionate as ever, wasn’t just concerned with teaching them about His Kingdom. He also attended to their physical conditions, healing the sick, casting out demons, and doing miraculous works that benefitted those who found Him. And His beneficence didn’t end there. He was going to send them home with full stomachs. That is how much our Heavenly Father cares for us. Jesus was a real life manifestation of the God we read about in Psalm 103:2-5. The Psalmist wrote, “Let all that I am praise the Lord; may I never forget the good things he does for me. He forgives all my sins and heals all my diseases. He redeems me from death and crowns me with love and tender mercies. He fills my life with good things. My youth is renewed like the eagle’s!” Jesus was interested in the whole person.

So, Jesus asked Philip how they could find enough food to feed all these people. Philip was overwhelmed with the scale of the task, imagining many months of work to generate sufficient money to pay the tab when it came. But do we pilgrims, like Philip, also sometimes look at a seemingly insurmountable problem, thinking of a natural solution and then imagining what it would take to bring it about? We think about the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East, active as I write, and wonder how they can ever be “fixed”. We can, closer to home, think about an unexpected bill that has just landed on our doorsteps. Or an announcement of redundancies. Perhaps we are a parent looking on at a sick child, riven by an apparently incurable condition, and wondering how and when the suffering will ever end. All situations that can bring about a heart-stopping despair, until we involve our wonderful compassionate God in the situation we are facing. He has the bread we need when hungry. The finances when we are desperate. The medicines when sick. All from His treasure chest of resources that know no limit. 

The Apostle Paul wrote to the Philippian church, “And this same God who takes care of me will supply all your needs from his glorious riches, which have been given to us in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:19). Of course, we take note that Paul was referring to “needs” rather than “wants”, but to the crowd making their way across the Galilean countryside, sufficient food to sustain them on their return journey was a necessity that Jesus was aware of.

When it comes to the “giants” that we are facing, the remedy pivots upon our faith and trust in our wonderful Heavenly Father. We pilgrims are men and women of faith tramping our way towards our ultimate “Promised Land”. And all the obstacles we encounter in our journey will bow the knee before God as we pray, in faith, for His provision. Paul wrote a helpful instruction to the Philippians, “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:6-7).

Father God. We are overwhelmed with Your compassion and provision. We are so thankful and worship You today. Amen.

Over the Sea

Posted on by korgrocker

“After this, Jesus crossed over to the far side of the Sea of Galilee, also known as the Sea of Tiberias. A huge crowd kept following him wherever he went, because they saw his miraculous signs as he healed the sick. Then Jesus climbed a hill and sat down with his disciples around him. (It was nearly time for the Jewish Passover celebration.)”
John 6:1-4 NLT

As written in the previous chapter in John’s Gospel, Jesus had been in Jerusalem for one of the Jewish Feasts, and while there He had healed a paralysed man lying next to the Pool of Bethesda. Jesus’ instructions to the healed man were recorded in John 5:8, “Jesus told him, “Stand up, pick up your mat, and walk!”” The Jewish leaders took exception at the healed man doing work on the Sabbath (they considered that carrying a mat was “work”) and this initiated a conversation between the hostile leaders and Jesus, where He explained His authority and mission. We now move on into John chapter 6, where we find that Jesus had travelled back northward to Galilee and then across the Sea of Galilee to a more remote region on the other side. He did this because, as we find out later, He probably wanted some peaceful quality time with His disciples. But the crowds kept following Him. They were huge crowds, John wrote, made up of people wanting to see the miracles of healing that Jesus was committing. 

Jesus had become a celebrated figure to the people in Galilee. Imagine the popular music stars of today, followed around by adoring fans and the newspaper photographers, never able to get any time on their own. Followed to their gigs. Followed to their hotels. Never a let up and never any privacy. But unlike the pop stars of today, Jesus never turned anyone away. Healing the sick was not the only reason why Jesus was in the Holy Land at that time. He knew His time on earth was not going to be very long, and He was desperate to train up the young men who were His disciples. So He climbed a hill with them, and we read that he “sat down with his disciples around him”. In those days Rabbi’s sat down to teach their disciples.

Matthew 4:23,25, “Jesus travelled throughout the region of Galilee, teaching in the synagogues and announcing the Good News about the Kingdom. And he healed every kind of disease and illness. … Large crowds followed him wherever he went—people from Galilee, the Ten Towns, Jerusalem, from all over Judea, and from east of the Jordan River”. This was perhaps Matthew’s account of what John was recording in his Gospel. But Matthew continued with, “One day as he saw the crowds gathering, Jesus went up on the mountainside and sat down. His disciples gathered around him, and he began to teach them” (Matthew 5:1-2). Helpfully, Matthew recorded what Jesus taught about and we can read the Beatitudes and Sermon on the Mount in Matthew chapters 5-7.

We pilgrims also have a mission here in our societies and nations. The Good News about Jesus and His love and saving grace, must be shared with those around us. And in the Great Commission we are told to make disciples. Not of us, or course, but of the wonderful Saviour, Jesus Christ. It is unlikely that huge crowds will be following us, but it is quite likely that distractions will try and pull us away from what we should be doing. Things like extra shifts at work, or lots of emails. Perhaps it is the golf course tugging us away from our mission. But whatever it is, we must be self disciplined just as Jesus was. But Jesus never stinted having quality time with His Father in Heaven and often He arose early to go out on His own to spend time in prayer. 

Do we pilgrims prioritise spending time in prayer and reading God’s Word in the Bible? For me it has to be early in the morning as otherwise the pressures of the day invade my personal space and it becomes too late. Jesus was in constant communication with His Father, and through that received guidance and spiritual sustenance for His mission. We pilgrims need to be constantly filled with the Holy Spirit who resources us for the day ahead and leads us into all truth. and as we listen to what He has to say, perhaps the day before us will become less of a hassle than we otherwise would have expected.

Dear Father God. We thank You for all Your resources and encouragement. We pray again today for more of the life-giving water of Your Spirit. In Jesus’ name. Amen.