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After a time of
ministry in Jerusalem, Jesus came to
the region of Galilee. There a great crowd of people
followed
him because
they saw the miraculous signs.
Jesus had performed. After teaching the crowd,
Jesus turned to his disciple, Philip, and asked him,
“Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat?”
Several
times in his ministry, seeing a crowd, Jesus had chosen
to go up on a mountainside and sit with his disciples to
teach them in the hearing of the people. This time, he
had this interesting question for Philip! John, the
author of the fourth gospel, tells us that Jesus asked
this question only to test Philip. Of course, he had a
course of action in mind, but he wanted a peep into
Philip’s mind. Perhaps, Philip was quite perplexed at
this question. From his response we understand that he
was looking at the problem from a purely earthly
perspective. As he scanned the crowd, he might have said
to himself, “Looks like they are close to seven to eight
thousand people! That’s too many of them.” Then he would
have gone to the calculator mode in his mind and started
punching keys. The result of his calculation was pretty
mind boggling. “Lord, forget it. Even if we had money
equivalent to eight months’ wages of an unskilled
labourer or a soldier, we can’t buy enough grub for
everyone to have a quick bite.”
Calculations and statistics in plenty, but no solid
solution. His analysis of the situation – “Sorry! We
just can’t do this. Ah, don’t even think about it!”
Andrew was listening to all this. Probably he thought to
himself, “Well, the Master seems to be interested in
feeding the people. Just saying, ‘not possible’, is not
the right approach. May be inadequate, but we need to
come up with some solution”. That is when he saw a
little boy with his food packet. Somehow he managed to
persuade the boy to part with his lunch and proudly
presented it to Jesus. “Here is a boy with five small
barley loaves and two small fishes...” Then adding
sheepishly, “but how far will they go among so many?”
Perhaps Philip let out a big laugh, “How stupid! Looks
like Andrew thinks with his heart. How can you feed such
a multitude with just five small loaves? You can’t even
have a communion service.” They were both surprised by
what Jesus said next. While one was depending on his
mind’s analysis, the other was counting on his hear
t’s voice to ‘help the Lord.’ But both solutions did not
seem to leave any room for the Maker of heaven and
earth, who needed no material to create the world. Just
a word and everything was formed! They could have simply
said, “Lord, this is humanly impossible, for we have
neither money nor so much food. However, you can do it”.
Before Jesus multiplied the food, he had them sit down
in order, so that they would not rush and grab when they
see multiplied food. That could cause a huge stampede,
resulting in several people getting hurt. The next day’s
headlines would be: ‘Fed-hurt-healed five thousand’.
Then, as Philip and Andrew were still wondering, Jesus
took the bread, gave thanks, broke and began to
distribute. Not in limited quantity with a special
instruction to those who were entrusted to distribute
the food: “Sorry friends, we don’t have much supply, so
irrespective of your appetite, take just two pieces each
one of you”. No. He gave them as much as they wanted. He
did the same with the fish.
May be some of them had to be carried back home because
they ate so much! When the world provides, it is in
small measures; but when God provides, it is to our
satisfaction and more. He gives without measure! In 1
John 3:1 John says, “How great is the love the Father
has lavished on us, that we should be called children of
God!” Our God is an extravagant God. However the side of
Jesus is that he does not want his provision to be
wasted. He asked his disciples to gather the leftovers
and not to waste anything. This is an amazing
combination of generosity and economy! He gives us his
grace in abundance but expects us not to receive them in
vain.
Well, when people ate to their full and also realized
that they just witnessed a powerful miracle, they began
to say, “Surely this is the Prophet who is to come into
the world.” People get excited when they see the
sensational. Even Sachin Tendulkar becomes 'god' when he
entertains the crowd to their amazement. They said,
“Hey, come on! Let us make this man our King” The
underlying thought being, “if he can multiply five small
loaves of bread to go for over 5000 people, he can very
well make anything happen for us. If He becomes our
king, then our daily provision is taken care of. He
would be our walking-insurance!” Look at some of the
shrines and temples that claim miraculous happenings.
Crowds just throng to see the place and with their
frugal offerings and time-bound selfdenials hope that
they can get their miracle. But Jesus did not come for
public approval and support on way to stardom. He came
to do his Father’s will. So knowing people’s intent
well, he withdrew again to a mountain.
That evening the disciples and Jesus came over to
Capernaum. People, not finding Jesus or his disciples in
Bethsaida, and also learning that he has not gone to
Tiberius, went searching for him to Capernaum. When they
found him on the other side of the lake, they asked him,
“Rabbi, when did you get here?” Jesus was not to be
flattered by such fanfollowing. He looks beyond and
through our words into our motives. Without mincing
words Jesus tells them bluntly, “I tell you the truth,
you are looking for me, not because you saw the
miraculous signs but because you ate the loaves and had
your fill.” His first reply was to their camouflaged
materialism: “Do not work for food that spoils, but for
food that endures to eternal life”. Jesus censured the
people who followed him just for the physical and
temporal benefits and not for satisfying their spiritual
hunger. Even today people use religion to gain prestige,
selfish needs, comfort or even political mileage. But
those are selfcentred motives. A true believer
follows Jesus because he has come to grips with the fact
that Jesus is and has the truth and his way is the way
to life. In John chapter 4 we find a conversation
between Jesus and the Samaritan woman at the Bir Ya’kub
or the well of Jacob. She keeps thinking of the water in
the well when Jesus talks to her about the living water.
Like that woman, people are often not able to raise
their minds above the physical and temporary necessities
of life. The entire life is spent in the quest of that
which has no eternal value.
The question we need to ask ourselves is, why are we
following Christ? Are we looking for fulfilment of some
temporal, material need? Or is it for some sensational
experience? Or, the recognition that our spiritual
thirst and hunger can be met only in Christ Jesus? Jesus
is not against our working for a living, but he is
concerned that we might lose our precious soul after
having gained the whole world.
The second question: “What must we do to do the works
God requires?” To a Jewish questioner, obtaining eternal
life consisted in finding the right formula for
performing works to please God. In response, Jesus
directed them to the gift of God that could be obtained
by faith in him. Satisfying God does not come from the
work we do out of presumption, but from life that
reflects whom we believe. The first step is accepting
that Jesus is who he claims to be. All spiritual
development is built on this affirmation. Paul tells in
Eph. 2:8, “For it is by grace you have been saved,
through faith – and this not from yourselves, it is the
gift of God – not by works, so that no one can boast.”
We see tendencies in the world to please God through
good deeds.
On the way to Rohini, on Delhi's Outer Ring Road, there
is a temple on the road side. Several times I have seen
people rolling along the road in an effort to please
their deities by the exhibition of such devotion based
on self affliction – working their way to salvation. A
few years ago, a man in West Bengal cut off his tongue
to offer it to Kali. Year after year, so many pilgrims
take arduous trips to shrines and temples, and through
what they do, expect to please God. But Jesus tells us
that what we do does not matter unless we know whom we
believe. Faith is very important. It is God who has done
all that was necessary to be done to save us from
eternal damnation. The work expected from us is to
appropriate that finished work by faith. Jesus has done
for us what we could not do. So all that we are required
to do is believe what God has done and receive what he
has given (John 1:12).
The third question: “What miraculous signs then will you
give that we may see it and believe you? Our forefathers
ate the manna in the desert; as it is written; ‘He gave
them bread from heaven to eat”. This is like ‘going back
to square one’, or going in circles. Just the previous
day Jesus performed such a spectacular miracle by
multiplying bread and fish. They had not only seen it,
but also ate that bread and fish to their fill. After
the good feeling wore out on them, they were out again
searching for Jesus. And now they are asking what
miraculous sign will you show for us to believe. They
seem to have a very short memory. Those who run after
the spectacular are never satisfied. From one miracle
meeting to another, they live after the sensational. Yet
they never let Jesus have the all-important place in
their lives.
These people were evaluating Jesus by the ministry of
Moses, who, according to them, provided manna to their
forefathers in the wilderness. So often, it is the
miracle and the miracle workers that get highlighted.
They become centres of attention and topics of
discussion. They are compared with other ministers and
the miracles that happened in their meetings. A
superficial religiosity that is anchored in the
sensational wanders for want of fulfilment. Here, the
Jews were thinking, if Jesus could provide us with a
daily provision like Moses provided the Israelites with
manna in the wilderness, our lives would become so
comfortable and toil-free. It would be a life long
insurance and we can take life easy. They are only
concerned about their sustenance in the now, oblivious
of the fact that Jesus came to give them life beyond and
forever.
We too make the mistake of running after gifts,
neglecting the Giver. In reply Jesus told them that
Moses had not given them the real spiritual bread.
Though manna had food value, it was not the true means
of sustaining spiritual life. And then he told them that
he himself was the true spiritual bread given to them by
Father from heaven. Jesus claimed to be the only
permanent satisfaction for the human desire for life.
And attainment of this satisfaction hinges on belief.
When people realized that there is not going to be any
more free lunch, their language began to change. Those
who had addressed Jesus as a prophet began to debate
about his earthly roots to contradict his claims to a
heavenly origin. Grumbling turned to sharp arguments
(v.52); they began to express difficulty in accepting
this teaching (v. 60). Jesus made it very clear to them
that the flesh counts for nothing. The Spirit gives
life. “The words I have spoken to you are spirit and
life”, and the way to appropriate it is by believing and
accepting it. However, it is sad to note that from that
time on many of his disciples (not the chosen twelve)
turned back and no longer followed him (v. 66). They
wanted to follow Jesus on their terms. They had their
eyes on the here and now...but Jesus wanted them to
receive that which was forever.
Look at the deterioration in devotion of those who
follow Jesus for selfish ends. When things appeared to
be favourable, they called him a Prophet and Rabbi. They
even wanted to crown him as their King. But when they
did not see any promise in the desired direction, they
began to grumble, question, sharply disagree, turn back
and leave; so much that they later began to accuse him
that he was demon possessed (John 8:48-52) . Their
displeasure out of their disappointment was so deep that
they even wanted to take his life (John 7:1; 8:58-59).
Yet what is encouraging is the response of His designate
disciples: “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the
words of eternal life. We believe and know that you are
the Holy One of God.” They were saying that they
followed Jesus not for the temporal gains, but because
he fills their lives like no one else does, and this
following leads to eternal life.
If you are a mere follower, you need not have any deep
commitment toward Jesus. Just enjoy the sensational and
when the effect fades out jump to something else. But in
that case do not expect any deep commitment from Jesus
either. Though he performed miracles among the crowd and
spoke to them, he spent quality time with those who gave
their lives to him – transforming them and assuring
eternal life. Are you a mere follower or a true
disciple? Discover your motivation. Ask yourself, 'why
am I following JESUS?’
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