THURSDAY January 23rd
One of the miracles that I concentrated on recently in my ministry on a Sunday morning was that of the feeding of the five thousand as recorded in all four of the gospels, (Matthew 14:15-21, Mark 6:34-44, Luke 9:12-17, John 6:5-14)) and in John’s gospel led further to the discussion which takes us to the following verse:
‘Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst”’, John 6:35.
The miracle that had taken place was incredible, five loaves and two fishes being taken up by Jesus and after he blessed it, it was sufficient not only to feed the hungry crowd that consisted of not just five thousand men, but also the women and children, and for twelve baskets to be filled with the leftovers! Wow! But the problem was the next day the same crowd were hungry again, the natural only satisfies for a short time and Jesus speaks to those who had come looking for him, that they need to be more concerned about the spiritual, that which lasts for eternity.
Yes, he had handled and broken the five loaves, but at the same time, as he was doing it, he himself was the living bread that had come down from heaven, and soon he was going to be taken and broken, so that all who partake of him will never hunger and will have eternal life. ‘I am the living bread that came from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh’, (John 6:51).
The theme is ‘Jesus the very thought of thee with sweetness fills my breast, but here with this miracle we see another two word that begins with ‘S’, first is that Jesus satisfies, for he meets our spiritual hunger and thirst, and he alone can satisfy.
Second is that Jesus is sufficient, the natural food was only sufficient to meet their need for a short period of time, but Jesus as the bread of life is sufficient to sustain us not only now in time but also for eternity. We do not need to go looking anywhere else for satisfaction for Jesus is sufficient for each and every one of us.
When the crowd came looking for Jesus the next day he said to them ‘Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life’, (v27) Jesus is not saying that we should not work, but rather that we need to prioritise that which is eternal, in his own words while he spoke to the crowd from the mountain as he commenced his earthly ministry, ‘But seek first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you’, Matthew 6:33.