Luke 9:10-17 and John 6:1-15
I keep thinking about feeding the 5,000. What is Jesus’ message for us today? One U.S. farm today feeds 166 people annually (American Farm Bureau). So it would take 30 farmers to feed 5,000 for one year. Backing that off for one day – 30 farmers over 365 days means 1 farmer could feed 5,000 every 12 days, or every two hours of one farmer’s time could feed 5,000 for one day. That’s what Jesus did for an evening meal, using Holy Spirit power for His production and twelve men for His distribution system!
But back to that one farmer… In the 1930s that one farmer produced enough for only four people, basically just his family. Now that farmer is feeding 40 families! Our agricultural progress is a miracle in itself!
But I’m evading the question. What is Jesus’ message for us today? What do we do to feed those 5,000?
See also: May 17 / Luke 9:10-17; May 18 / John 6:1-15
I was struck by John’s saying what Jesus said to the crowd in His preaching, He spoke about the kingdom of God. Maybe the mustard seed parable, and that the kingdom was/is here. And probably about God’s character.
Going back to Mark’s discussion last night about sacred as both physical and spiritual, here was Jesus feeding the crowd physically and spiritually. Whether we start out helping to meet physical or spiritual needs, we need to address the other. It isn’t either-or. Jesus says yes both.
The crowd wanted to take Him by force as the Prophet, Messiah, as a physical king. I guess we/they can miss the part about what the kingdom of God is. Ouch!