Tag Archives: bread

An Impossible Problem

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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.

Scripture taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

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Just Like Old Times!

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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

THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

 

 

Breakfast On The Beach

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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.

Acknowledgement

THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

 

Jesus Grieves

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JESUS GRIEVES 

“After He had said this, Jesus was troubled in spirit and testified, ‘Very truly I tell you, one of you is going to betray me.’ His disciples stared at one another, at a loss to know which one of them He meant. One of them, the disciple whom Jesus loved, was reclining next to Him. Simon Peter motioned to this disciple and said, ‘Ask Him which one he means.’ Leaning back against Jesus, he asked Him, ‘Lord, who is it?’

“Jesus answered, ‘It is the one to whom I give this piece of bread when I have dipped it in the dish.’ Then, dipping the piece of bread, He gave it to Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot…'” John 13:21-26 NIV.

Why was Jesus troubled in spirit? Was He thinking about all the suffering He was about to endure because of Judas’ treachery? I hardly think so because it did not fit with His disposition.

He was supremely un-preoccupied with Himself. It was either His Father and the kingdom of God or people in need that took His attention. Even on the occasion when He had taken His disciples to a deserted place so that He could spend time with them away from the people who were always clamouring for His attention, He was not annoyed when they arrived en mass to spoil their day. Instead, His heart went out to them in compassion because they were like sheep without a shepherd.

On His way to the cross, the women en route were wailing because of Him. In the midst of His weakness and pain He turned to them and said, “Don’t weep for me. Weep for yourselves and for your children.’ He was more concerned about the suffering that was coming upon them when the Romans destroyed Jerusalem than He was for Himself.

As formidable as the next few hours were going to be, Jesus was grieved because of what Judas was bringing upon himself by his choice to sell Him out for a few pieces of silver. Psalm 7:11 (KJV) says, “God judgeth the righteous and God is angry with the wicked every day.”

Why is God angry? There are several reasons why He is angry; the wicked have disregarded and trampled His glory under foot; they have ignored His laws and set up their own rules; they have worshipped themselves as gods; but most of all they have wasted their potential to become what God created them to be — sons of the Most High God.

God is love. His passionate love for everything He has created is the outflow of who He is. He created the universe to be the home of the creatures He had made in His own image and placed them on the earth, a tiny planet spinning in the vastness of space in a cosmos held together by His powerful word so that He could lavish His love on us. To live as we like without any regard for the God whose goodness towards us, is the worst possible insult we can throw at Him.

Judas could have enjoyed all the bounty of God’s love, revealed to Him in Jesus whom he had followed for three and half years, had he only submitted his heart to Him instead of choosing his own way. But Judas judged himself by choosing his way. His “reward” was pathetically miniscule and short-lived because he judged himself unworthy of God’s love and forgiveness. And Jesus grieved because He knew what could have been.

I think Jesus was disturbed because of Judas’ fall for the devil’s deception. Satan lured him with the reward of a few pieces of glittering silver or the hope of a place in an earthly government under Jesus, free from Roman oppression. But what was that compared with a conscience free from guilt and a place of authority in God’s eternal kingdom?

How He must grieve over us when we exchange the vast treasure of what He has promised us if we follow Him for the miserable trinkets of the world that are as transient as this life. Yes, we choose our own reward, be it a place in God’s eternal kingdom with Christ on His throne, or an eternity of loss and regret because we refused to believe the truth and fell for the devil’s deception because we thought we knew better.

The Ultimate Reward

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THE ULTIMATE REWARD 

“‘I am not referring to all of you; I know those I have chosen. But this is to fulfill this passage of Scripture: ‘He who shared my bread has turned against me.’

“I am telling you now before it happens so that, when it does happen you will believe that I am who I am. Very truly I tell you, whoever accepts anyone I send accepts me; and whoever accepts me accepts the one who sent me.'” John 13:18-20 NIV.

Amazing, isn’t it, how often the experience of Jesus paralleled that of His ancestor, David! He often quoted David’s words, or the gospel writers quoted David to show how accurately Jesus fulfilled Messianic prophecy. Jesus even cried out in the anguish of His abandonment on the cross, “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?”

Psalm 41 is one of the psalms which David possibly wrote at some time during the years of his flight from Saul’s murderous jealousy; or perhaps in his reign after a time of serious illness he describes how God sustained him in his weakness and vulnerability in spite of his enemies’ wish that he would die. Even the one closest to him had turned against him and he felt keenly the pain of betrayal.

In a time of intimate fellowship and a tender moment with His disciples before He left them. Jesus was face-to-face with His betrayer. He wanted him to know that He knew what he was about to do. It was a silent plea for Judas to think again. He was also warning the other eleven of what was soon to happen so that they would realize who He was when it happened.

He knew that His lesson on humility and loving service would be lost on Judas who was already so hardened against Jesus and his fellow disciples that the words of Jesus fell on the hard soil of his heart, just like the parable He had told about the sower and the seed. There were important things Jesus needed to tell His disciples before He left them but they would be wasted on the traitor. He hinted at the fact that Judas was no longer included in the company of His followers.

One thing Judas needed to hear, even if it was for the last time, that there is an inseparable union between a disciple, his Master and the Father. The mission Judas was about to embark on was not one on which he was sent by his erstwhile Master. By his own choice that connection had been broken and Judas was on his own, and would have to face the music of his actions alone.

On the other hand, those who went at the bidding of their Master, showed that they enjoyed the oneness with the Master and the Father which Jesus had already proved by His obedience to the Father’s will. To accept and submit to Jesus’ authority was to submit to the authority of the Father. Now Jesus takes it a step further, to accept the one whom Jesus sends is the same as accepting Him, and to accept Him is to accept the one who sent Him.

This puts the follower of Jesus in a very secure position. Although the Father required of Jesus obedience that went as far as giving Himself as a sacrifice on the cross for the sins of the world, Jesus knew that it would not end there. He was destined for a position in the universe higher than any other. In the same way, although He may call His followers to deprivation and suffering in this life, He has guaranteed us eternal life because He rose from the dead and will never die again.

How tragic that Judas was willing to forfeit all of this for a reason only he knew. Was he trying to force Jesus to make a move against the Romans and fufill his and their dreams for a kingdom free from Roman oppression? Was he only motivated by greed and the bag of silver the religious hierarchy had offered him for handing Jesus over to them?

Whatever his reason, it could never match the grandeur of the future prepared for those who faithfully follow the Messiah. There may be trials to endure but, as the apostle Paul said, “For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. ” 2 Corinthians 4:17, 18 NIV.