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There are many troubling issues around us today – the cost of living, the divisions in society, opioid and alcohol abuse, homelessness and the rising power and influence of autocratic leaders. Many long for leaders of integrity in the West who will promote impartial justice and peace, healing and hope.
At the time of Jesus of Nazareth, the Jewish people were under Roman rule and there was enormous antipathy towards the Roman government. Significantly the protest against Rome was motivated by the recollection of God’s promises through prophets such as Samuel, Isaiah and Ezekiel concerning a coming king who would establish God’s rule in the world. Jesus’ contemporaries were constantly on the lookout for a leader who would storm the citadels of Rome and bring an end to Roman authority.
Such longings were heightened at the annual Feast of the Passover for, at Passover the Jewish people looked back to their deliverance from slavery in Egypt at the time of Moses some twelve hundred years before. They also looked forward to a far greater deliverance – the day when God’s king would appear and deliver them.
As the Jesus story unfolds, we learn in the opening scene of John, chapter 6 that Jesus was rapidly becoming a celebrity. He drew large crowds who especially wanted to see him and benefit from the signs he was doing on the sick (6:2).
John’s record is sometimes called ‘the book of signs’ – a reference to Jesus’ miracles that point to his unique power and compassion. In the scene that follows, we read of a fourth sign – food for a hungry crowd!
Because of the crowds Jesus and his disciples had crossed by boat to the north-eastern side of the Sea of Galilee, the Sea of Tiberias. On arriving there they had gone up the mountain and sat down. But the crowds had followed on land by foot.
Seeing that a large crowd was coming toward him, Jesus said to Philip, “Where are we to buy bread, so that the people may eat?” (6:5). John comments that Jesus said this to test Philip. They were not near a village where there were shops and there were certainly no fast-food outlets.
Even if they could buy food, Philip observed that two hundred denarii, the equivalent of a day-laborer’s pay for two hundred days work, would not be enough to buy even a small portion of bread for everyone. Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, had found a boy with five barley loaves and two fish, the diet of the poor. Taking the initiative, Jesus had the disciples sit the crowd of about five thousand on the grass: this is the kind of detail that assures us that John’s account of Jesus is that of an eyewitness.
Then, he took the loaves, and when he had given thanks, he distributed them to those who were seated. So also the two fish, as much as they wanted (6:11). In giving thanks, Jesus was doing what God-fearing Jewish people do before eating, indicating that God, in upholding his creation, provides the food we eat.
Being near the time of the Passover, Jesus’ miracle potentially would have reminded the crowd of the time of Moses and God’s provision of manna for his people (Exodus 16:4-36). The feeding of the crowd also looked forward, symbolising the day of which Mary, Jesus’ mother had spoken: the hungry would be filled (Luke 1:53). The crowds had done nothing to deserve this kindness. It was an act of sheer grace, a sign of God’s extraordinary generosity for people in need.
The meal not only satisfied everyone, but an abundance was left over. Twelve baskets of fragments were collected (6:13). God had provided a superabundance of food. The people saw the event as a sign. John records their response, “This is indeed the Prophet who is to come into the world!” (6:14).
But this was not the response Jesus was looking for. In John 6:15 we read: 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.
As it was nearing Passover time, it is not surprising the Jewish people began to view Jesus as a potential revolutionary and political figure. ‘Let’s make him king. This is the Passover we’ve been waiting for’.
Throughout history there’s been a tendency for churches to politicize Christianity. We find it at the beginning of last century in the USA with the so-called social gospel movement. We also find it in Latin America mid last century with liberation theology. It’s happening today in various traditional denominations in the West with their emphasis on social justice.
Now we can sympathise with these movements because it’s right to care for the needs of the poor and address the issues of unbiased justice. But this isn’t first and foremost what Christianity is about. Jesus is not a political Messiah. He could have been, but he refused to be. He would not let them make him king. His mission and message is primarily a spiritual one – a message not primarily about food for the body but food for the soul.
It was precisely because of this emphasis that many people left him. The same thing happens today. If we were to offer Jesus Christ as the one who can tell us how to care for the poor and the hungry and provide justice and peace in the world, thousands would flock to him. But it’s because he tells us to be less concerned about our physical bodies and more concerned about our spiritual state that he’s treated with contempt by people who are only looking for political solutions.
Following the next sign, Jesus made an extraordinary claim: “Very truly, I tell you, you are looking for me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you (6:26-27).
Prayer. Almighty God, Father of all mercies, we, unworthy as we are, thank you for all your goodness and loving kindness to us and to all people. We bless you for our creation, preservation, and all the blessings of this life; but above all for your amazing love in the redemption of the world through our Lord Jesus Christ; for the means of grace and for the hope of glory. Amen.
© John G. Mason
