John 6:1-15

“Notice what you notice.” John’s account of the feeding of the 5,000… It is not clear in John’s gospel just what the time frame is. He begins the reading (and the chapter) with “After these things…”. John also begins chapters 5 and 7 in the same way, an indefinite expression. John seems to be less chronologically focused than the Synoptics, especially Luke and Mark. The immediate precedent in chapter 5 had Jesus in Jerusalem healing the man at the pool of Bethesda. So we go with the Synoptics and put Jesus back in Galilee.

As in Matthew and Mark, Jesus sets off in a boat to the other side of the Sea of Galilee (v. 1). We already saw that Luke has Him in Bethsaida. John offers a bit of additional evidence of this placement when Jesus asks Philip directly, Where are we to buy bread, so that these people may eat? (v. 5b). Directing the question to Philip was reasonable, since Philip was from Bethsaida. Even more compelling is the fact that, following Philip’s insufficient response, Andrew answers Jesus’ question, There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish… (v. 9a). Andrew was also from Bethsaida (see John 1:44). Had he met the boy that he knew from home while he was mingling with the crowd? Intriguing.

John offers a (seemingly) out-of-context statement in verse 4: Now the Passover, the feast of the Jews, was at hand. Pastor David once said that there are no wasted words in Scripture. So I wonder, what’s the point of this sentence? Why mention Passover here? Is it to reflect back to the Exodus so that, by association, we are then looking forward to the provision of manna in the wilderness and drawing a parallel to Jesus feeding of the 5,000? Many writers (and preachers) have drawn this connection between the two events.

John further emphasizes this connection in verse 14: When the people saw the sign that he had done, they said, “This is indeed the Prophet who is to come into the world!” The Jews had been long expecting a “prophet like Moses”: The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from among your countrymen, you shall listen to Him. (Deuteronomy 18:15; see also Dt 18:18) So the people see this parallel, this feeding of the people in this “desolate place” and are ready to anoint Jesus as their king. But Jesus wouldn’t have it. Clearly, His time had not yet come.

Slava Bohu!

Luke 9:10-17

“Notice what you notice.” Luke’s account of the feeding of the 5,000… There are a couple of items different in Luke compared to Matthew and Mark. First, there is no mention in Luke of Jesus and His disciples getting into a boat to get away. They merely withdrew apart to a town called Bethsaida (v. 10b). Second, Luke mentions their location as Bethsaida.

Third, to me the most compelling difference is in verse 12: Now the day began to wear away, and the twelve came and said to him, “Send the crowd away to go into the surrounding villages and countryside to find lodging and get provisions, for we are here in a desolate place.” Matthew and Mark also have evening approaching, but only Luke suggests that the crowd needs to go away and “find lodging”. That is, they need to go away for the night and not come back! This makes me wonder what happened to the crowd after they all ate and were satisfied (v. 17). If it’s evening and they are in a “desolate place”, do they just camp out for the night? Or do they eat and then disperse to “find lodging”? But the crowd that was fed numbered 5,000 (men) – the nearby towns of Bethsaida and Capernaum probably had populations only on the order of two to three thousand. In addition there were probably smaller nearby villages. It’s asking quite a bit to have these locals open their homes to so many outsiders. Naturally, many in the crowd were probably locals themselves, but still…??

But the point is larger than this one miracle. For more than a month we have seen Jesus being surrounded by crowds in Capernaum and in other towns and villages in Galilee. Where did they all come from and where did they go in the evening? And where are the crowds in our churches? Aren’t we preaching the same message that Jesus taught? Do today’s people need to see the healings and other miracles before they believe? Or maybe the greatest miracles today are those that have happened in each of our individual lives? What brings us to the Gospel? Why do we believe? And what do we do now that we have found faith? Maybe we have found “lodging” and are already too comfortable? Lord, make us hungry again!!

Slava Bohu!

Mark 6:30-44

“Notice what you notice.” Mark’s account of the feeding of the 5,000… Mark reports on the same prior activities as Matthew – the disciples being sent out and the beheading of John the Baptist. But Mark does not mention John’s disciples coming to tell Jesus the news. Instead, today’s reading in Mark begins with the apostles reporting on their mission, all that they had done and taught (v. 30). Then this report prompts Jesus to take His disciples away to a secluded place (v. 31). And, as in Matthew they take off in a boat and the crowd follows along the shore. So when they arrive at “the secluded place”, it is not very secluded!!

What else is new here? For there were many coming and going, and {the apostles} did not even have time to eat. (v. 31b) The disciples had just returned from their mission and were gathering together (presumably) at or near Peter’s house. But with crowds coming and going (and likely pressing upon and making requests of Jesus) the disciples did not take time to eat, but instead gathered a bit of food for their dinner and took off with Jesus in a boat. They had no idea that in a few hours they would be expected to share their dinner with 4,987 (or more) people!! And yes, I’m reading between the lines here, but the fact that they did not even have time to eat created the opportunity for the greatest food multiplication miracle the world has ever seen.

So the next time that you are so busy with dozens of details that you don’t even have time to eat, give thanks!

Slava Bohu!

Matthew 14:13-21

“Notice what you notice.” Matthew’s account of the feeding of the 5,000… We can guess that Jesus is still in Galilee. Most recently we have read the accounts of the beheading of John the Baptist; before that was Jesus sending out His disciples and He Himself going into cities in Galilee (Matthew 11:1). And since Herod was tetrarch of Galilee, we can presume that John’s disciples came to Jesus in Galilee.

So in Matthew Jesus hears the news from John’s disciples about John’s beheading. Possibly to mourn by Himself, he gets into a boat and puts out to sea, to go off somewhere by Himself. But the fervor of the crowds for Jesus was so strong that they walked along the shore, wanting to keep up. Luke’s gospel has Jesus putting in at Bethsaida as His destination, only a few miles up the coast from Capernaum. I’m assuming that Capernaum was Jesus’ departure point, since he went by boat and Capernaum was home base for Peter’s fishing business. Matthew writes that when He went ashore He saw a large crowd, and felt compassion for them and healed their sick (v. 14).

But another thought came to me, in that they had traveled only a few miles by boat. As they put out to sea, while they could still see the coastline Jesus could see the people following along on the shore wanting to be with Him. So, moved with compassion and in spite of His desire to grieve over John, He had His disciples put in at the nearest location, thereby accounting for such a short trip. And in spite of the “desolate place”, the crowds would have still been close enough to nearby villages to buy food.

We’ll have three more days of the “Feeding of the 5,000”, since this miracle is reported in all four Gospels, so we’ll have more to say in the next few days.

Slava Bohu!

Luke 3:19-20, 9:7-9

“Notice what you notice.” Luke’s account of the death of John the Baptist… Luke has very little to say about John’s death, only that Herod acknowledged having beheaded him, but with no more details. There is one sentence that has always struck me – the whole of our reading from chapter 3: But Herod the tetrarch, being rebuked by him concerning Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife, and for all the evils which Herod had done, also added this, above all, that he shut John up in prison. (Luke 3:19-20, NKJV) I can just picture Luke writing this sentence, almost in astonishment – that in spite of and in addition to all the evils that Herod had already done, he even added more to them by arresting John!! A literary quirk, but intriguing to me…!

In that same sentence Luke’s wording creates the same confusion in me that I had reported yesterday. The confusing phrase is …being rebuked by him concerning Herodias; I have always interpreted the word “concerning” as “in connection with”, whereas yesterday I read it translated as “for the sake of”. Read yesterday’s post if you want that spelled out more clearly.

So Luke does not report explicitly on the events surrounding John’s death, only that Herod had beheaded John and wanted to see Jesus. (Luke 9:9) Herod finally gets his wish a year or two later when Jesus is sent to him by Pilate. Here is the prelude to that meeting: When Pilate heard this, he asked whether the man was a Galilean. And when he learned that He belonged to Herod’s jurisdiction, he sent Him over to Herod, who was himself in Jerusalem at that time. When Herod saw Jesus, he was very glad, for he had long desired to see Him, because he had heard about Him, and he was hoping to see some sign done by Him. (Luke 23:6-8) So Herod had his wish partially fulfilled, but his meeting with Jesus left him disappointed. Appropriate!

Slava Bohu!

Mark 6:14-29

“Notice what you notice.” Mark’s account of the death of John the Baptist…

Today I find myself wondering about Herodias, about her vendetta against John the Baptist. Earlier verses have John telling Herod, It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife (v. 18) and of Herod’s fear that Jesus was John’s “ghost” come back to life. What’s different for me today is in the following verse: For Herod himself had sent and had John arrested and bound in prison on account of Herodias, the wife of his brother Philip, because he had married her. (v. 17, NASB) My confusion stemmed from the words “on account of” (same translation in the NRSV); I had always interpreted that phrase as “in connection with”. But today I saw that the NKJV, RSV, and ESV all translate that phrase as “for the sake of”. To me, “for the sake of” has the implication of Herod responding to a request from Herodias. So I wondered at Herodias being the instigator even of John’s imprisonment, not just his death.

So today, having read a different interpretation, “for the sake of”, I saw more clearly a few verses that made me wonder more at Herodias as the mover, the one more playing the lead in this adulterous affair. The first is in verse 19, And Herodias had a grudge against him and wanted to put him to death. It’s a verse I’ve read many times before, but now with a different emphasis behind it. The next verse now also makes more sense to me in the light of this new understanding, …for Herod feared John, knowing that he was a righteous and holy man, and he kept him safe. When he heard him, he was greatly perplexed, and yet he heard him gladly. (v. 20) Herod kept John “safe”; in fact, it seems that John’s imprisonment served to keep Herod entertained.

Naturally Herodias’ vendetta comes home full force in the rest of the story when her daughter does exactly as Herodias had directed her and John is put to death.

I had to let this reading sit with me for a while before I more clearly understood what it was that had been confusing for me. And it took multiple reads of these same verses in multiple translations before I could unravel what I was thinking. That’s part of the beauty of having only a few verses a day to read. Mary Ann Duddy up in heaven must be smiling!!

Slava Bohu!

Matthew 14:1-12

“Notice what you notice.” The death of John the Baptist… There is a lot of reflecting someone could do about all the elements of this story. John speaking out and challenging Herod… The whole issue of Herod’s and Herodias’ relationship… Herod having the authority to imprison John, presumably without trial… Herod’s ability to have John beheaded – an awesome power to be able to command that and it be done as commanded… So many elements…!

But what struck me was the last sentence in this reading: And his disciples came and took the body and buried it, and they went and told Jesus. (v. 12) It is not surprising that John’s disciples would take his body and have him buried; they must have been a devoted lot. But then, with their leader gone, what did they do? They went to Jesus. I could easily wonder that John could still have his own disciples after he had recognized and baptized Jesus and proclaimed Him to be “the One” (John 1:27). Why would John still have followers at all? Why would he not send them off to find Jesus? And did John continue preaching his baptism of repentance after baptizing Jesus? Yes, questions here also…

But the one bottom line is that John’s disciples went to find Jesus. No better place to go…!! And I’m guessing that since they had been following John, they would now become disciples of Jesus, a good outcome for them. Now flash forward a year or two – Jesus Himself is crucified. His disciples had nowhere to go, no one to turn to. They huddled together in a mass, fearful as to what would become of them. They didn’t have the option of going to Jesus that John’s disciples had; instead Jesus came to them! Just as He had comforted John’s disciples, He now did the same for His own disciples.

Jesus also covers our disappointments, our griefs. He has promised His Holy Spirit as our Comforter (Helper, Advocate, Counselor) so that we are not alone (John 14:16, ff). Whatever the world throws at us, Jesus offers us Himself. We are not alone…!

Slava Bohu!

Matthew 10:32-11:1

“Notice what you notice.” Today we again continue Matthew’s account of Jesus’ instructions to His disciples. And again, Jesus has some harsh words for them – not harsh toward them, but harsh toward the world and their enemies. This is especially true of the paragraph beginning with Jesus saying, Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. (v. 34) In many other occasions Jesus has preached peace, as in Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. (John 14:27) My guess is that His “peace” is within/between His followers and that the “sword” is between His followers and the world/devil.

Jesus closes out His instructions with some comfort for His disciples that very likely continues to speak to us today: Whoever receives you receives me…, The one who receives a prophet…, the one who receives a righteous person…, And whoever gives one of these little ones even a cup of cold water… (vv. 40-42), with each of these “targets” ending with a positive blessing. Maybe that’s a word for our missionaries today or those of us who support missionaries. Or it could be that we ARE His missionaries and the blessings fall on those who receive us. But that’s only true if we are, in fact, sharing Him with the world around us. Blessings are there if we act!

Slava Bohu!

Matthew 10:16-31

“Notice what you notice.” Two days ago we interrupted Matthew’s very long account of Jesus’ sending out the twelve apostles so that we could read the more parallel passages in Mark and Luke. Today we continue Matthew’s account of Jesus’ instructions to His disciples. Although we might have imagined our own version of a “pep talk” that Jesus might have delivered, His actual words do not offer much encouragement except in two places: (1) But the one who endures to the end will be saved. (v. 22b) and (2) Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows. (v. 31) Around those two verses Jesus cautions His disciples that they will face many tests in the world when they speak of Him. In fact, as I read the first half of today’s reading the apostle Paul came to mind. He was delivered over to the courts and flogged; dragged before governors and kings to bear witness before them and the Gentiles; hated by all for Jesus’ name’s sake; and persecuted in one town and forced to flee to the next. Jesus’ words came true in Paul’s life; I suspect that many of those twelve disciples came to many of the same outcomes.

The other item that came to mind today was in verse 27: What I tell you in the dark, say in the light, and what you hear whispered, proclaim on the housetops. Carol and I and two of our children lived in Nitra, Slovakia during the academic year 2004-2005. There we became familiar with Ján Cardinal Korec, a Catholic Cardinal who also lived in Nitra. He had written a book, Night of the Barbarians, (1996) in which he described the 1950 Communist takeover of all the churches and religious schools and institutions in Czechoslovakia and the ensuing repression of faith throughout the country. Korec was studying for the priesthood during this time and had already written a number of theological articles while studying and was already well known for his writing. As a result he was immediately secretly ordained a priest. One year later he was ordained a bishop, at that time the youngest Catholic bishop in the world. In his book Korec described his continuing to secretly teach and ordain young men to the priesthood. What I remember vividly is his talking about whispering into a megaphone into these young men’s ears so that his words (and theirs) could not be heard by the Communist authorities. (See Jesus’ quote at the beginning of this paragraph.) His activities were eventually uncovered and he spent eight years in jail (1960-1968). His time in jail was the shortest chapter in his book. Please forgive my Wikipedia source for the preceding information: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J%C3%A1n_Chryzostom_Korec

Slava Bohu!

Luke 9:1-6

“Notice what you notice.” Today is Luke’s account of Jesus sending out the twelve apostles – also much shorter than Matthew’s. My Study Bible points to this reading as beginning a new phase in Jesus’ Galilean ministry. In the first phase He travels Galilee with Peter, Andrew, James, and John (see Mark 1:1-20, 29, 35-38). In the second phase He takes all twelve apostles along with Him (Luke 8:1, ff.). Now in this third phase He sends them out two-by-two while He ministers alone (Mt.11:1).

One phrase stands out for me in Luke’s account: And He…gave them power and authority over all demons and to cure diseases (v. 1). In Mark, He…gave them authority over the unclean spirits (Mk. 6:7), while in Matthew He simply says, Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, cast out demons. (Mt. 10:8) Luke’s clarification is in his use of two words together, “power and authority”.

Sometimes it’s hard to separate those two concepts. A police officer has power to enforce the law, but does not have authority outside her jurisdiction. Likewise, this same police officer has authority to enforce the law when she is not in uniform, but if she is in “plain clothes” her power may be substantially diminished. In Luke, Jesus has given the twelve both the power and the authority. The demons cannot challenge the twelve on the basis of the authority on which they are acting and they are certainly powerless to stop them!

As to this “authority”, two incidents come to mind. The first is in Mark 11:27b-28, And as He was walking in the temple, the chief priests and the scribes and the elders came to Him, and they said to Him, “By what authority are you doing these things, or who gave you this authority to do them?” Clearly the Jewish leaders were concerned about authority, not wanting their own authority diminished.

The second incident, I offer you in full, from Acts 19:11-16, And God was doing extraordinary miracles by the hands of Paul, so that even handkerchiefs or aprons that had touched his skin were carried away to the sick, and their diseases left them and the evil spirits came out of them. Then some of the itinerant Jewish exorcists undertook to invoke the name of the Lord Jesus over those who had evil spirits, saying, “I adjure you by the Jesus whom Paul proclaims.” Seven sons of a Jewish high priest named Sceva were doing this. But the evil spirit answered them, “Jesus I know, and Paul I recognize, but who are you?” And the man in whom was the evil spirit leaped on them, mastered all of them and overpowered them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded. Authority is important!

Do we not have that same power and authority today? “I believe Lord, help my unbelief!” (Mk. 9:24)

Slava Bohu!