Bring Them Here to Me

"Feeding the Multitudes,"
Bernardo Strozzi, c. 1600.

In my last post (June 10, 2013), I wrote about how Jesus gave his twelve disciples some “internship training,” sending them out two-by-two to “preach the Kingdom of God and heal the sick.” The next event recorded by the Gospel writers is when they come home and report to Jesus about their experiences. While I would love to know what they said to Jesus, the Bible doesn’t tell us. Apparently there are no major issues – at least according to the four Gospel writers.

The disciples are probably exhausted because the Gospel of Mark tells us that after Jesus hears their reports, he says to them, “Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest” (Mark 6:31). But in John’s Gospel, he notes that at this point Jesus is informed of the beheading of John the Baptist and, when Jesus is told about this execution by Herod Antipas, “he withdrew by boat privately to a solitary place” (John 14:13). But neither Jesus nor the disciples can get away for some R&R (rest and relaxation).

When the crowds find out that Jesus and his disciples are leaving the area in boats and heading for another place on the shore of the Sea of Galilee, they follow on foot. As their boats come near the shore, Jesus sees the crowds and has “compassion on them” (Matthew 14:14) – which seems to be Jesus’ default position. He cares deeply about people, especially those in need, even when he is grieving himself over the death of his cousin.

All four Gospel writers describe what happens next – it is the only miracle recorded by all four of them, except for the resurrection. I encourage you to read about this miracle in the Gospel of John (6:1-13) or the Gospel of Mark (6:31-46). Why is the feeding of the 5,000 – actually closer to 10-15,000 – recorded by all four writers? Perhaps because it shows that Jesus cares deeply about both spiritual and physical needs. And he not only cares about hungry people, he does something about it!

The Gospel of John gives us a few important details not covered in the other reports of this event. When Jesus sees the size of the crowd, estimated at 5,000 men (if women and children are also counted the crowd was probably much larger), Jesus realizes that his desire for a retreat just turned into a large convention. The size of the crowd is important to note because the population of the nearest cities was only 2-3,000 people each, so this crowd came from some distance to be with Jesus.

Since it was getting late in the day and they were in an isolated area, Jesus speaks to his disciples about feeding the crowd. The disciples are surprisingly abrupt in their response to Jesus. They do not begin with an appropriate reference to him as “Lord,” as they often did, but simply tell him what he should do – “Send the crowds away” (Matthew 14:15).

Jesus’ patience with his disciples is as remarkable as his care for all these people. “Bring them here to me,” (Matthew 14:18) is Jesus’ response, and he instructs them to ask the people to sit down on the grass and organize themselves into groups of hundreds and fifties. Then, with the assistance of his disciple Andrew who finds a young boy with five loaves and two fish, he takes the boy’s food, offers a prayer of thanksgiving and divides up the loaves and fish. The Gospels record that everyone is fed and there are twelve baskets of bread and fish left over!

This last detail is interesting. Not only are all of these people fed by Jesus, the twelve disciples also each get their own picnic basket of food so their needs are lovingly met as well. What an amazing Lord!

But the story is not over yet, at least according to the Gospel of John – which is why it is helpful to read different Gospel records of the same event, since the writers often add insights not mentioned by the others. The Apostle John tells us that when the people see this miraculous feeding of the crowd, they want to “make him king by force” (6:14-15). Jesus, knowing their intentions, leaves them and goes off to be alone on a nearby mountain – finally!

So What?

• What strikes me about this story is the disciples’ response to the pressing problem of how to feed so many people, who are in such an isolated place. These are smart guys – they know they have a real problem, so they respond like I am inclined to respond in similar situations – “Send them away!” I can identify with these disciples. “We are tired, we have just finished demanding ‘internships,’ we don’t need this right now.” But what is Jesus’ response? “Bring them here to me.” There is a powerful lesson in this.

• The way in which Jesus meets both spiritual and physical needs is another important lesson from this story. He does not just pass out tracts or Gospel brochures to these hungry and sick people – he heals them and feeds them, thereby teaching all of us in the church to respond similarly. He also tells them about the Kingdom of God and how their spiritual needs can be met. Why do we often separate these two powerful responses to pressing human needs?

• The demonstration of Jesus’ power is also remarkable in this story. On the one hand, his power is evident as he takes five loaves and two fish and makes them into enough food to feed everyone; on the other, his power is also clear when he simply walks away from their efforts to make him king. This is not God’s plan and their desire make him a “celebrity,” a political force in Galilee, is not going to detract him. This is another “teaching moment” for his disciples – and for us.

You’ve Got a Job to Do

"The Sending of the Twelve,"
Duccio DiBuoninsegnaca, 14th c.

After spending about a year with Jesus, the disciples are given a new challenge by their teacher. Jesus gathers his twelve disciples together and tells them to do the type of preaching, teaching and healing that they have seen him do. Now it is their turn. The most detailed record of this new phase in Jesus’ ministry is found in the Gospel of Matthew (10:1-11:1), with shorter versions in Mark (6:7-13) and Luke (9:1-6).

The context for this “internship training” for Jesus’ disciples is his sense that he’ll soon be going to Jerusalem for his final visit and he wants to prepare his followers for what is to come. This is the third tour of Galilee by Jesus. On his first foray into Galilee, Jesus traveled with the four fishermen who he called to follow him; on his second journey through Galilee, he was accompanied by all twelve disciples. This time Jesus will travel to Galilee by himself after he sends out his disciples two-by-two.

Jesus’ charge to them is simple and straight-forward: preach the Kingdom of God and heal the sick. Sending them out two-by-two is striking to me, since he leaves them and goes out on his own. Why two-by-two? We don’t know for sure, but I suspect that Jesus knew they would encounter stiff resistance or possibly hostile opposition, so having a partner would provide mutual support during this time of training. It may also have been to bolster their credibility by having the testimony of more than one witness, a key factor in the Jewish legal context.

After Jesus’ death and resurrection, most of the missionary activity that resulted in the expansion of Christianity worldwide in the Roman Empire took place with teams of apostles and disciples, rarely with one person on his own. This is an important insight for us to remember in our own lives as disciples of Jesus.

In Matthew’s Gospel, we find the only detailed record of what Jesus said to his disciples before he sent them out and there are some hard teachings that are difficult for us to understand. For example, Jesus tells them, “All men will hate you because of me, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved” (10:22). And similarly, “Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but the sword” (10:34).

How do we square these statements with the Old Testament prophecies that Jesus is the promised Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6) and the New Testament birth announcement that he brings “peace on earth” (Luke 2:14). As we have argued since we started this Shalom blog, God’s gift of shalom to his people includes peace with God, peace with ourselves, peace with others and peace with the natural world. Jesus indeed came to bring peace between his followers and God and peace between all people, regardless of race, gender or social status, but he knew that Satan would resist his efforts and cause animosity to arise. It is a struggle between light and darkness and this struggle sometimes occurs even within a family. Jesus wants them to know what to expect. Satan will put up a battle, but God’s plan will not be defeated. Temporary setbacks, yes, but defeat, never!

So What?

• As you read through Jesus’ instructions to his disciples in Matthew’s Gospel, did you notice that Jesus warns them that they will meet resistance from those who prefer to keep living as if there is no God. I think it is so interesting that Jesus does not tell his disciples to argue with those who disagree with them. Their job is to be a witness – just tell their story of how God has come into their lives and made a difference. If people didn’t want to hear about this, they were to shake the dust off their feet and move on.

• Jesus’ instructions to his disciples are helpful for us as well. While we may not have the same special healing powers that the disciples were given in Galilee, we are charged with the task of being his witnesses. What is important for us to understand is that God has chosen to use us as his witnesses, but he is not willing to use force to get people to follow him. He doesn’t come to impose peace on earth by force. God gives men and women the freedom to chose to follow him or not. No one is forcibly brought into the Kingdom of God – it is a voluntary decision to receive God’s gifts of grace and salvation.

• The two-by-two partnerships are also helpful reminders that no one is a “lone ranger” in God’s Kingdom. Working with partners is God’s choice for us, a choice that offers needed accountability and encouragement, when we stumble.