Tag Archives: fish

An Impossible Problem

July 4, 2015Bible Studybread, fish, five thousand, gave thanks, remote placeLuella Campbell

AN IMPOSSIBLE PROBLEM

By this time it was late in the day, so His disciples came to Him. ‘This is a remote place,’ they said, ‘and it’s already very late. Send the people away so that they can go to the surrounding countryside and buy themselves something to eat.’ But He answered them, ‘You give them something to eat.’ They said to Him, ‘That would take more than half a year’s wages. Are we to go and spend that much on bread and give it to them to eat?’ (Mark 6: 35-37).

Listen to this exchange between Jesus and His disciples.

He had a huge, hungry crowd on His hands. The people were becoming restless. It was getting late; they were far from home, and the disciples wanted to get rid of them. They had no way of providing for them so they told Jesus, “Send them away.” In other words “Get them out of our sight so that they are no longer our responsibility.” That was the only way they knew how to handle the situation. Their perspective was purely human and practical.

But the disciple’s solution was as impractical as it was impossible. Mark had already mentioned that this was a remote place – far from anywhere. Where on earth would a few thousand people find food at this time of the day? Families in far-off villages and towns had probably already eaten and the preparation of fresh food would take hours. There were no refrigerators from which they could take food to prepare on the spur of the moment.

On the other hand, Jesus had two opportunities – to feed a few thousand hungry people God’s way and to teach His disciples what happens when God is brought into the equation. Problems usually seem much bigger when God is left out. So He said to them, “Don’t send them away. You feed them.” That put them on the spot! In those three words, Jesus was saying to them, “You can’t just send needy people away to become someone else’s responsibility. As long as they are here, they are your responsibility. What are you going to do about it?”

They scratched their heads and came back with their best answer. ”Must we spend all our money to feed them?” they asked. The only solution they could think of involved money. If they had enough money, they could buy their way out of this one. Isn’t that just how we think?

‘How many loaves do you have?’ He asked. ‘Go and see.’ When they found out, they said, ‘Five – and two fish.’ Then Jesus directed them to have all the people sit down in groups on the green grass. Taking the five loaves and two fish and looking up to heaven, He gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then He gave them to His disciples to distribute to the people. He also divided the two fish among them all (Mark 6: 38-41).

Where did they find the five loaves and two fish? In their own picnic basket? Some thoughtful mother packed a picnic lunch for her son. He had eaten some of it but there was a little left over – just enough to satisfy his hunger until he got home. How did he get there anyway? Did he go with a relative or friend? No one knows. All we know is that he was willing to surrender his supper to Jesus.

Five barley loaves and two fish! Enough for a child’s supper. But that didn’t faze Jesus. He was not a magician who could turn stones into bread. He was a mathematician who could multiply what He had. He didn’t turn bread and fish into roast chicken and vegetables but He did keep breaking the bread and dividing the fish and passing it on. That’s how it is with God. He takes what He is given and makes it go a long way.

The disciples’ job was easy after that. All they had to do was to pass the food around. To their utter amazement there was always more . . . and more . . . and more.

They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces of bread and fish. The number of the men who had eaten was five thousand (Mark 6: 42- 44).

Mopping up time was even more surprising. Five loaves and two fish fed five thousand men (of course the women and children didn’t count – or weren’t counted!), and there were twelve basketsful of leftovers to take home; “doggy bags” of food they could eat tomorrow! What did the disciples think of that?

Lessons learned – we hope. Number one: never turn needy people away. You may miss the opportunity to see a mighty miracle. Lesson two: don’t leave God out. He is the answer, not money. Give Him the little you have and see what He can do.

I love the third lesson, which was always so typical of Jesus. Look for every opportunity to put God’s glory on display. That’s what Jesus did, and the Father never failed Him.

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Check out my Blog site – www.learningtobeason.wordpress.com

Jesus, The Rabbi

May 20, 2015Bible Studyfish, follow me, Jesus, left, peopleLuella Campbell

JESUS, THE RABBI

As Jesus walked beside the Sea of Galilee, He saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. ‘Come, follow me,’ Jesus said, ‘and I will sent you out to fish for people.’ At once they left their nets and followed Him. When He had gone a little farther, He saw James, son of Zebedee and his brother John in a boat, preparing their nets. Without delay He called them and their left their father, Zebedee in the boat with the hired men and followed Him. (Mark 1: 16-20).

We often admire these men for acting so promptly when Jesus called them, don’t we? How could they just drop everything and go after a comparative stranger? And Zebedee didn’t protest either. He watched half of his workforce walk away without uttering a word. And they didn’t just take off half an hour to chat with Jesus. They were gone for good!

Of course we would wonder at this because we don’t understand the culture. Jesus was a rabbi. He was thirty years old, the age at which a rabbi would have completed his education and was ready to begin his itinerant teaching work. If he was recognised as having s’mikah – authority – he would choose young men to follow him to be his talmidim – disciples.

It was a great honour to be chosen to be a disciple. The rabbi’s simple invitation, “Follow me,” was an indication that he believed that they could become like him. These men would stick to him like glue, living with him day and night. They would watch him and listen to him and learn to copy him until they became replicas of their rabbi. He would teach them his yoke – his way of understanding and living Torah – God’s teaching in the five books of Moses, which they were faithfully to pass on to others who would follow them. They could not change or omit anything without being disqualified as a disciple.

Talmidim were usually chosen from among the young learner-rabbis. Those who did not make the grade after their elementary education went home to learn the family business. The select few went up the ladder of education, always aspiring to be among the very best who would one day also be recognised as being rabbis with s’mikah.

Strangely enough, Jesus chose men who had failed their entrance “exam” to “rabbi school” and were plying the family trade on the Sea of Galilee. They were not only dropouts from school, they were also in a sense religious dropouts as well. Because they dealt with dead fish, they were probably always considered “unclean”. They must have been startled out of their wits to hear the qualifying call, “Follow me,” especially from the mouth of the most popular rabbi of the day.

It’s no wonder they dropped everything and set off after Him without hesitation. Who would be so foolish as to pass up an opportunity like this? I can imagine how they shook their heads in wonderment and chatted excitedly together as they walked behind their rabbi, each one trying to get as close to Him as possible to pick up the dust thrown up by His sandals as He walked. They just could not believe that their lives could take such a radical turn in a moment.

They did not know that they were in for a rough ride. They were called to follow, not just another rabbi but, as they would find out soon enough, the Son of God. His authority did not come from the recognition of men but from God. He would say and do things that would appal them because they knew He was courting trouble with the religious authorities but it didn’t seem to bother Him.

He mystified them. He was ultra-kind to the down-and-outs. He had amazing powers – like no other rabbi in Israel. He healed sick people with a touch or a word. He made blind people see and deaf people hear. He even raised dead people to life again. And His preaching! He made outrageous claims and said outrageous things and yet, somehow, they believed Him. He spoke as though He knew what He was talking about.

As for the revered religious leaders, He made mincemeat of them with His words. He enraged them by uncovering their wicked hearts. He had no compunction about pulling them to pieces in public. He courted trouble without a qualm – almost as though He was egging them on to kill Him.

It’s just as well they had no idea what lay ahead for them. Would they have been so eager to follow Him had they had a glimpse into their future? This was an all-or-nothing call and they answered it without hesitation and without a backward glance.

Jesus still calls, “Follow me!” When men who masquerade as disciples call you to follow them, don’t go. If leaders try to bind you to themselves, don’t follow. There is only one who has the right to call and to whom we must respond – Jesus Christ, the Son of God.

Available on www.amazon.com or www.kalahari.com in paperback, e-book or kindle format, or order directly from the publisher at www.partridgepublishing.com.

Check out my blogsite at www.learningtobeason.wordpress.com

The Prophet’s Despair

May 4, 2015Bible Studydragnet, fish, luxury, no ruler, wicked foeLuella Campbell

THE PROPHET’S DESPAIR

You have made people like the fish in the sea, like the sea creatures that have no ruler. The wicked foe pulls all of them up with hooks, he catches them in his net, he gathers them up in his dragnet; and so he rejoices and is glad. Therefore he sacrifices to his net and burns incense to his dragnet, for by his net he lives in luxury and enjoys the choicest food. Is he to keep on emptying his net and destroying nations without mercy? (Hab. 1: 14-17).

Habakkuk must have listened with deepening despair to God’s answer to his dilemma. Instead of giving him hope, what God had to say brought more questions. If God was responsible for the coming invasion, using a nation as wicked and cruel as the Babylonians, what hope was there for his people? Their enemy seemed invincible. They swept across the globe without stopping, overrunning one nation after the other like a fisherman catching helpless shoals of fish in his nets.

There was no nation that could stand against the might of Babylon. The very name struck terror in their hearts – and, make no mistake – they were coming because God said they were coming. He had chosen them as His instrument of discipline for His people.

What was even worse, although God hated idolatry, and for Idolatry more than anything else He had a case against His people, the Babylonians worshipped the very instruments that brought them success as though it were their “nets” that had the power over the “fish”. In the end, they were idolaters of the worst kind because they worshipped themselves. After all, wasn’t it their military might and prowess that gave them the victory?

Pride was the bottom line. They were proud and confident in themselves. They didn’t need any gods and they certainly didn’t need God. Their gods were only a token of themselves. Remember Nebuchadnezzar – the greatest of the Babylonian emperors? His power and authority were absolute. What he said went. When Daniel’s three colleagues refused to bow to his image, he had them thrown into the fiery furnace. He simply eliminated everyone who failed to submit to him. He thought he had absolute power but he did not reckon on God.

Although Habakkuk could not understand God’s ways, he had to learn that even a despot like Nebuchadnezzar in the end, had to bow to God’s supreme authority. It may seem to the prophet that Babylon was unstoppable. It may seem that they were invincible, swallowing up nation after nation like fisherman catching hapless shoals of fish, worshipping their strength and skill, but God still held the whip and used it for His own ends.

When we look out at our world, we tend to see it through Habakkuk’s eyes. It seems that evil has the upper hand and that wicked people are invincible and unstoppable. Terrorism seems to rule a terrorists of the worst kind because they do it in the name of their religion.

Memories of September 11 still strike fear in the hearts of people. Who were they and where will they strike next? Even if the ringleaders have been taken out, there are always others waiting in the wings to take their places – another Osama bin Laden, a Hitler, a Stalin or a Mugabe coming up behind to crack the whip. When and where will it all end? Will there ever be peace in our world? Why does God seem so far away and so inactive in the face of human suffering? A dark, bleak picture with no light at the end of the tunnel.

How often don’t we feel like that when we are in the middle of our own crisis! Our circumstances seem to be in control and we feel like helpless pawns in the hands of the “Babylonians”. God’s so-called “answers” don’t even bring comfort and reassurance. Instead of getting us out, He tells us that He is behind it! How crazy is that? If that is so, then we can’t even go to God for help. He’s in bed with the enemy!

Every difficulty, every hardship, every crisis is a process. Habakkuk was in the middle of his but God had not finished with him yet. What kept him going? Firstly, his questions were not arrogant but honest. He did not accuse but he did express his misgivings. Secondly, he kept reassuring himself with what he knew about God. He looked for the stepping stones which were solid under his feet as he navigated the flood. Thirdly, he waited. He didn’t walk away in a huff before God was finished with him. He knew God well enough to give Him the benefit of the doubt.

I will stand at my watch and station myself on the ramparts; I will look to see what He will say to me, and what answer I am to give to this complaint (Hab. 2:1).

Available on www.amazon.com or www.kalahari.com in paperback, e-book or kindle format, or order directly from the publisher at www.partridgepublishing.com.

Check out my blogsite at www.learningtobeason.wordpress.com

Just Like Old Times!

June 15, 2014Bible Studybread, breakfast, come, fish, JesusLuella Campbell

JUST LIKE OLD TIMES!

“Jesus said to them, ‘Come and have breakfast.’ None of the disciples dared ask Him, ‘Who are you?’ They knew it was the Lord.

“Jesus came, took the bread and gave it to them, and did the same with the fish. This was now the third time Jesus appeared to His disciples after He was raised from the dead.” John 21:12-14

Jesus and His disciples on the beach; the ripples on the lake sparkling in the early morning sunlight; the boats on the shore nearby dripping water from their latest fishing trip; the nets full of writhing fish; it was all so familiar, just like old times. Was it possible that so much had happened in between?

Only one thing was radically different. Jesus had been dead and buried, and yet, here He was, serving breakfast to them as though nothing had happened. They knew it was Jesus, but they still longed to be sure. Nothing like this had ever happened before in the history of humankind. They were too afraid to ask Him if it was really He. What if their imagination was playing tricks on them and it wasn’t Jesus after all? Was it possible that they could all be fooled at the same time?

Then they heard the same familiar invitation, ‘Come and eat,’ and saw the same familiar gesture, breaking the piping hot flat loaves of bread and handing the pieces out to them, and they were reassured. Twice before in the past few days He had appeared out of nowhere. Closed doors did not deter Him. He even heard their whispered conversation in His absence.

Thomas, at least, had no more doubts about Him. He had had an in-your-face encounter with Him and an opportunity to finger the wounds of His recent horrifying death, not that he needed to push his finger into the wounds that still appeared raw and painful, the only visible remnants of His ordeal. He was convinced, once and for all and would never forget his faith-exploding meeting with Jesus.

Every time Jesus appeared to them, He had something meaningful to achieve. When He was no longer personally on earth, they would be so bound to Him in the confidence that He was alive that they would go to the ends of the earth, face the worst that their unbelieving fellow men could throw at them, endure suffering and even lay down their lives for Him because they had seen Him.

These men had not joined a movement or subscribed to a cause. They had not signed a decision card or answered an altar call. They had not “accepted Jesus as their personal Saviour” in order to go to heaven. They did not connect with Him because He could solve their problems, meet all their needs, keep them healthy and happy and make them rich.

They had spent three years in His company. They had watched Him die and seen Him alive. They were convinced that He was the Son of God, the Messiah. They had not yet understood the implications of His teaching and miracles, His life and death, His resurrection and appearances to them, but they remembered His words, ‘When the Holy Spirit comes, He will lead you into all truth,’ and they would go to the ends of the earth for Him. They would follow Him, no matter what.

They were standing in the threshold of something new and big and beyond their imagination but they did not yet know it. At that moment they were overjoyed to be with Jesus, content to know that He was alive, and to share a meal with Him like old times. He would give them instructions about the next step when the time came; of that they were sure. They knew Him well enough to be assured that He knew what He was doing even if they did not.

Why did He eat a meal with them? It was the Jewish was of saying, ‘Guys, I have forgiven you. There are no issues between you and me. We are reconciled and we can share this meal in harmony. I have put everything that has happened behind me. This is a new start.’ Can you imagine their relief and joy that their Master was alive, that He had forgiven them, that they were still very much His disciples and that He would lead them on from there.

Acknowledgement

Breakfast On The Beach

June 14, 2014Bible Studybeach, bread, fire, fish, JesusLuella Campbell

BREAKFAST ON THE BEACH

“As soon as Simon Peter heard him say, ‘It is the Lord,’ he wrapped his outer garment around him (for he had taken it off) and jumped into the water. The other disciples followed in the boat, towing the net full of fish, for they were not far from shore, about a hundred yards.” John 21:7b-8.

How predictable of Peter! He was the first to respond. Unlike Judas, who had slunk away in his remorse and committed suicide, Peter yearned for another chance. Another chance to do what? To prove to Jesus that he was no coward, after all? That he could and would make good on his promise to stick with Him through thick and thin?

But now everything had changed. They were no longer trudging all over Israel with an itinerant rabbi. He was alive, yes, but He was different. He came and went in a flash. It was impossible to follow Him as they did before He died. The only thing Peter knew at that moment was that Jesus was on the beach and he wanted to get to Him as quickly as he could.

Why did Peter grab his cloak? The others could have given it to him when they reached the shore. To be uncovered above the ankles was regarded as nakedness. He couldn’t work with the encumbrance of his cloak so he took it off in the company of his fellow disciples, but in the presence of his Master he needed to be appropriately dressed, wet or not!

Was this Peter’s first encounter with Jesus after His resurrection? No, it wasn’t. He had been with the other disciples in the upper room when Jesus appeared to them the first time. Why was this occasion so special? I think Jesus planned a leisurely breakfast on the beach around a fire to trigger something in Peter he would never forget.

“When they landed, they saw a fire of burning coals there with fish on it, and some bread. Jesus said to them, ‘Bring some of the fish you have just caught.’ So Simon climbed back into the boat and dragged the net ashore. It was full of large fish, 153, but even with so many the net was not torn.” John 21:9-11,

Can you picture the scene? Fish cooking slowly over a fire of hot coals. Jesus waiting for a few more fish from their catch. The other disciples sitting around the fire, warming their cold hands. Why was Jesus here? He never did anything without a reason. Every detail of this little scene had meaning.

For Peter, everything was happening at a maddeningly slow pace. Had Jesus showed up on the beach just to have a picnic breakfast with them? Why bread and fish? As he stood watching the fish cooking over the fire, many thoughts flooded his mind. Bread and fish triggered the memory of crowds of people sitting on the grass while he and the other disciples distributed pieces that miraculously multiplied in their hands. Who was this man who could do that?

He could hardly bear to look at the coals. The memory of his failure almost suffocated him. He would never forget the look in the eyes of his Master as He turned and looked at him; not “I told you so,” or “Why did you do it?” but “Oh Peter, my heart breaks for you.” Perhaps this was the meaning of the scene he could not escape. Did the Master want him to feel the terrible pain of his denial so that he would never step across that boundary again?

I have a sense that Jesus took him back to that moment — He could not be with Peter when it happened — so that He could walk with him through it again, not to condemn but to reinterpret it with him so that Peter could feel His forgiveness and never again be overwhelmed by guilt and shame. Peter had a job to do, and there was no sense in living in the past.

From Jesus’ perspective, Peter’s past had ceased to exist, washed clean by the blood He had shed on the cross. Only the His words could erase the guilt from Peter’s soul and set him free to live for his future and not from his past. The message he was to proclaim was one he had to experience so that he could preach it with passion.

Never again would the sound of a cock crowing or the sight of a fire of coals trigger the feelings of guilt and shame that had imprisoned him until that moment. Yes, Jesus had a reason for every detail of his little breakfast on the beach. He had a beloved brother who needed the reassurance that he was free from his emotional prison and recommissioned to do what he had been called to do. His failure had not disqualified him, only refined him so that he would know himself and his Master a little better.