They were satisfied

John 6:1-21 from the daily reading in the One Year Bible

After these things Jesus went away to the other side of the Sea of Galilee (or Tiberias). ² A large crowd followed Him, because they saw the signs which He was performing on those who were sick. ³ Then Jesus went up on the mountain, and there He sat down with His disciples. ⁴ Now the Passover, the feast of the Jews, was near. ⁵ Therefore Jesus, lifting up His eyes and seeing that a large crowd was coming to Him, said to Philip, “Where are we to buy bread, so that these may eat?” ⁶ This He was saying to test him, for He Himself knew what He was intending to do. ⁷ Philip answered Him, “Two hundred denarii worth of bread is not sufficient for them, for everyone to receive a little.” ⁸ One of His disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said to Him, ⁹ “There is a lad here who has five barley loaves and two fish, but what are these for so many people?” ¹⁰ Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.” Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, in number about five thousand. ¹¹ Jesus then took the loaves, and having given thanks, He distributed to those who were seated; likewise also of the fish as much as they wanted. ¹² When they were filled, He said to His disciples, “Gather up the leftover fragments so that nothing will be lost.” ¹³ So they gathered them up, and filled twelve baskets with fragments from the five barley loaves which were left over by those who had eaten. ¹⁴ Therefore when the people saw the sign which He had performed, they said, “This is truly the Prophet who is to come into the world.”

¹⁵ So Jesus, perceiving that they were intending to come and take Him by force to make Him king, withdrew again to the mountain by Himself alone.

¹⁶ Now when evening came, His disciples went down to the sea, ¹⁷ and after getting into a boat, they started to cross the sea to Capernaum. It had already become dark, and Jesus had not yet come to them. ¹⁸ The sea began to be stirred up because a strong wind was blowing. ¹⁹ Then, when they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus walking on the sea and drawing near to the boat; and they were frightened. ²⁰ But He said to them, “It is I; do not be afraid.” ²¹ So they were willing to receive Him into the boat, and immediately the boat was at the land to which they were going.

In today’s text, in John’s account of the feeding of the five thousand it says:  So the men sat down, in number about five thousand. Jesus then took the loaves, and having given thanks, He distributed to those who were seated; likewise also of the fish as much as they wanted. When they were filled, He said to His disciples, “Gather up the leftover fragments so that nothing will be lost.”  So they gathered them up, and filled twelve baskets with fragments from the five barley loaves which were left over by those who had eaten.    We often look at this miracle from the standpoint of its magnitude. We focus on the number of people who were fed by the few fish and loaves. In Matthew’s account, in Matthew 14:20, it says:  There were about five thousand men who ate, besides women and children.  So in total there may have been ten to fifteen thousand or more who ate. There has also been many sermons preached and chapters in books written about the twelve baskets that were left over and gathered. Jesus said it should be gathered “so that nothing will be lost.”   The one who was able to provide for so many still did not want to sqaunder the blessing and provision from God. What do we do with the leftovers from the abundance of God’s provision? Are we careful that nothing will be lost? The disciples picked up twelve baskets of leftover. There was more leftover than there was in the beginning. Do we, particularly in the western church, so take for granted the abundance of blessings, the provision and the conveniences that we have, that we at times squander or at the very least don’t fully appreciate the miracle of God’s blessings and provision? Do we think that because things come so easily, that it is not important to save and savor what is left?

In today’s text it says:   He distributed to those who were seated; likewise also of the fish as much as they wanted. When they were filled…  Again, looking at Matthew’s account in Matthew 14:20 it says:  They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over.   John says the all had as much as they wanted and were filled. Matthew says they were satisfied. Matthew, Mark and Luke all say the same thing when the four thousand were fed; that they were satisfied. Do we take for granted or even miss the miracle of God’s provision for our lives because it is not enough that we are satisfied? Are we so focused on the magnitude that we miss the miracles of God that satisfy us every day? Every day we should begin thanking God for the miracle of a sustained life. We should be thankful that there is just enough oxygen in our air; that because of the perfection of creation, we have a sunrise and sunset; that the earth is positioned just right, in relation to the sun, that it is neither too hot, nor too cold. We too need to be positioned just right in relation to the Son, Jesus Christ, so that we will see and not miss the blessings and provision of God; so that we will be satisfied. At the end of each day, we should gather up what is leftover, so that nothing is lost. We should cherish and be satifsied even if we did not see the spectacular, because in Christ we have all we need.

In the second part of today’s text it says:   Jesus, perceiving that they were intending to come and take Him by force to make Him king, withdrew again to the mountain by Himself alone.   The people wanted a king to rule over and change their circumstances. We too, often try to make Jesus be the king that we want Him to be. We cannot make Him king because He is already the King of kings. We instead need to make Him Lord. If at times it seems that Jesus has withdrawn from us, it could be that we are trying to make Him king. it could be that He has gone to pray for us. We need to make Him Lord and submit to Him, rather than asking that He rule over the things in our lives.   The text continues:  Now when evening came, His disciples went down to the sea,  and after getting into a boat, they started to cross the sea to Capernaum. It had already become dark, and Jesus had not yet come to them. The sea began to be stirred up because a strong wind was blowing. Then, when they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus walking on the sea and drawing near to the boat; and they were frightened. But He said to them, “It is I; do not be afraid.” So they were willing to receive Him into the boat, and immediately the boat was at the land to which they were going.  Again, often when we look at this account we focus on the miracle of Jesus walking on the water, or we focus on the condition of the sea, the wind and the waves. Look again though at the outcome:  He said to them, “It is I; do not be afraid.” So they were willing to receive Him into the boat, and immediately the boat was at the land to which they were going.    Regardless of the conditions around us, Jesus can walk through them all. Whatever is going on, Jesus says:  “It is I; do not be afraid.”  If we will be willing to let Him into our circumstance, we will be right where we need to be and we will get to the place we are going.

Heavenly Father, Lord Jesus Christ and precious Holy Spirit; thank You for all that You do every day. May I truly be satisfied in You. May I never take for granted or squander Your blessings and provision, so that nothing You have done will be lost. May I position myself perfectly with You Jesus. May I make You Lord of my life rather than asking You to rule over my circumstances. May I not be afraid because with You, I will get immediately where I am going.   Amen.