The Need of Prayer in the Midst of Success
Jesus said, "Make the people sit down." Now there was much grass in the place; so the men sat down, in number about five thousand....When the people saw the sign which he had done, they said, "This is indeed the prophet who is to come into the world!" Perceiving then that they were about to come and take him by force to make him king, Jesus withdrew again to the mountain by himself. John 6:10-15, RSV.
Ever feed a large crowd? Even a couple dozen guests can drive a host to distraction in the planning and the supplying.
Try 5,000! Or, better yet 20,000, since the count in those days was males only. Wives and children need to be added in. But even feeding 5,000 is a pretty good achievement if you can do it with two small fish and five diminutive barley loaves.
The crowd did not miss that significance of the miracle. Immediately energized, they identified Jesus as "the prophet who is to come," a reference to Deuteronomy 18, in which Moses proclaimed: "The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your brethren--him you shall heed" (verses 15, 18, RSV).
"Here is the promised one" flashed through the minds of the crowd. Here is the second Moses. Just as Moses provided miraculous manna in the wilderness, so Jesus supplies us with bread from heaven (John 6:5-14). And just as Moses delivered us from our oppressors, the chain of logic ran, so his successor will rescue us from the Romans. They determined to make Jesus king on the spot. Even the disciples got carried away with the possibility. Mark tells us that Jesus had to "make" or "compel" them to get into their boat and leave Him, while He dismissed the crowds (Mark 6:45, 46).
We miss an important point of the story if we fail to see Jesus here being enticed to obtain the kingdom without a cross. He is facing His ultimate temptation. Here we have a repetition of His first wilderness temptation, but with greater forcefulness. Now He had demonstrated that He could indeed make bread out of "stones," and it profoundly impressed the people. "Build the kingdom of bread. Make it the first point in Your program to abolish hunger. Multiply loaves and fishes all the time, and the people will love You."
We sense the seriousness of the temptation for Jesus reflected by the fact that immediately after dismissing the crowds, "he went up on the mountain to pray" (verse 46, RSV).
Doing God's will in the accomplishment of His mission remained central in His life. And doing God's will is always a matter of prayer, even for me this day.
Jesus said, "Make the people sit down." Now there was much grass in the place; so the men sat down, in number about five thousand....When the people saw the sign which he had done, they said, "This is indeed the prophet who is to come into the world!" Perceiving then that they were about to come and take him by force to make him king, Jesus withdrew again to the mountain by himself. John 6:10-15, RSV.
Ever feed a large crowd? Even a couple dozen guests can drive a host to distraction in the planning and the supplying.
Try 5,000! Or, better yet 20,000, since the count in those days was males only. Wives and children need to be added in. But even feeding 5,000 is a pretty good achievement if you can do it with two small fish and five diminutive barley loaves.
The crowd did not miss that significance of the miracle. Immediately energized, they identified Jesus as "the prophet who is to come," a reference to Deuteronomy 18, in which Moses proclaimed: "The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your brethren--him you shall heed" (verses 15, 18, RSV).
"Here is the promised one" flashed through the minds of the crowd. Here is the second Moses. Just as Moses provided miraculous manna in the wilderness, so Jesus supplies us with bread from heaven (John 6:5-14). And just as Moses delivered us from our oppressors, the chain of logic ran, so his successor will rescue us from the Romans. They determined to make Jesus king on the spot. Even the disciples got carried away with the possibility. Mark tells us that Jesus had to "make" or "compel" them to get into their boat and leave Him, while He dismissed the crowds (Mark 6:45, 46).
We miss an important point of the story if we fail to see Jesus here being enticed to obtain the kingdom without a cross. He is facing His ultimate temptation. Here we have a repetition of His first wilderness temptation, but with greater forcefulness. Now He had demonstrated that He could indeed make bread out of "stones," and it profoundly impressed the people. "Build the kingdom of bread. Make it the first point in Your program to abolish hunger. Multiply loaves and fishes all the time, and the people will love You."
We sense the seriousness of the temptation for Jesus reflected by the fact that immediately after dismissing the crowds, "he went up on the mountain to pray" (verse 46, RSV).
Doing God's will in the accomplishment of His mission remained central in His life. And doing God's will is always a matter of prayer, even for me this day.
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