THERES 5,000 PEOPLE!
Posted by: bhfbc <bhfbc@...>
June 22, 2003
Text: John 6:1-15
While serving in the Naval Reserve, I had occasion to travel more
frequently than I do now. A few trips by plane each year was not an
unusual occurrence for me. As a result, I knew the ins and outs of
airline travel pretty well. As I was waiting for my luggage at the Des
Moines Airport claim area once after returning from Chicago, I noticed a
young boy, my guess was that he was about four years old, and his brother
playing around the conveyer belt that moves the luggage around in a
circle. We were still waiting for the luggage to be unloaded, so the belt
was not moving yet. Then, just before the belt started moving, the red
light flashed and that loud, terrible sounding buzzer buzzed, warning
everyone to stand clear. This commotion stopped the young boy in his
tracks. He stared, wide-eyed. And then, when the conveyer belt started
moving, his excitement couldn't be contained. He ran back and forth
between his Dad and the conveyer belt as he shouted his amazement that
this thing would moved and carried luggage on it. Luggage, by the way,
which magically appears from some mysterious opening. For this boy, it
was all an exciting adventure.
I remember taking a moment to compare this boy's uncontainable excitement
with the attitudes of us adults waiting for our luggage. There was some
happiness and excitement among those who had been rejoined with friends
or family, but for the most part, we were not quite as excited as that
little boy. At least not over a moving conveyer belt. It was late, we
were tired and ready to get going to wherever we needed to go. We
probably all shared a similar thought: I wonder where my luggage is going
to be this time!
In those moments of observation, it began to dawn on me why Jesus speaks
so favorably about children in the context of the Kingdom of God. Look at
Mark 10:15. "I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the
kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it." We adults, in
our mature, grown-up way, almost forget how to be excited over things
that amaze us - or over things that should amaze us. I, too, was one of
those tired passengers who faced a two hour drive yet before I would be
home. It would not have hurt my feelings one bit if my luggage was the
first out of the chute so that I could grab it and be on my way. I've
been through the routine often; what is there to get excited about?
But think about it. I had just gotten off of a rather ungainly-looking
contraption called an airplane that took me, in the air, from Chicago to
Des Moines in about two hours. Not only that, we had been delayed in
Chicago because of some dangerous storm activity that was detected,
identified, and tracked by some pretty sophisticated meteorological
equipment. These are miraculous events. I should have been running around
with as much excitement as that little boy! But, for us adults, routine
is routine. And in our day, being picked up and hurtled through the air
by a plane weighing a few tons at a few hundred miles per hour is just
all part of another day's work.
A point that Jesus makes by saying that the kingdom of God must be
received like a child is that we should be in awe and dazzled with
excitement about what the kingdom of God brings us. It brings us God's
love. It makes known to us God's love and all other attributes of His
nature. It makes us see, with all the certainty it can possibly contain,
that God's love is real, all-encompassing, and attainable.
The Biblical writers spent quite a bit of time trying to get the message
of divine compassion and love across to readers everywhere. When it comes
down to it, it really is simple. For God so loved the world
Of course
by world, John was not specifying this big rock on which we live that
hurtles itself around another rock that happens to be on fire. Another
example of quite the miraculous nature of things, by the way. By world,
John was talking about humanity - men and women, boys and girls. Gods
divine love - at least His invitation to know His love- extends to each
and every human being. Talk about an exciting truth!
Children know quite a bit about love. They know that it is awfully hard
to practice love unless they are excited about who Jesus is and what He
has done for us. I tried to explain love using the wind as an example. We
cannot actually see the wind. We do not know that wind is around until we
see its effects. When we see tree branches and blades of grass swaying;
when we hear sounds as it vibrates through vents or cracks; when we feel
a pressure striking our faces, then we say, The wind is blowing. If
someone tells us that the wind is blowing, but we don't see anything
swaying; we don't hear anything vibrating; we don't feel anything pushing
against us, then we would probably conclude that what we've been told and
what we actually experience are two different things.
Love is similar. We can only know that love is present by its effects. If
I say that I love you, but only treat you with contempt, put-downs, harsh
criticisms, or similar actions, then you might rightly question my love
for you. One frequent VBS memory Scripture is from 1 Corinthians 13. The
first verse says it very well: "If I speak in the tongues of men and of
angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging
cymbal." I can speak with wisdom, clarity, vigor, and so forth, but if I
do not show love, then I'm just making a bunch of noise. 1 John 3:18 is
similar: "Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with
actions and in truth."
1 Corinthians 13 goes on to say a lot about love, such as, "Love is
patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not
proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered,
it keeps no record of wrongs." We learn these in Bible school and Sunday
school and the worship service. We are taught several ways to put this
into practice, so that our days are not filled with just a lot of gonging
and clanging.
The point that Jesus, Paul, John, and others have always tried to make is
this: we can do an awful lot of "right" things; we can do many correct
things in the name of the Lord, but if we do not have and practice the
Lord's love, then we have accomplished nothing. And the only way we can
do such a thing is to be so excited about what God has done for us that
nothing could please us more than doing what God wants us to do. When we
"love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength," and
"love our neighbor as ourself," then we know what God's love is and
means.
What does this have to do with the miraculous feeding? When Jesus fed the
five thousand with just five loaves and two fish, he demonstrated God's
love. He was not showing off to demonstrate his supernatural talents. He
showed the people what God's mercy is like. Even though not everyone in
the crowd was preoccupied with the message of the kingdom of God, they
were nevertheless blessed with God's care. The motivation for this
crowds presence is given in verse 2,
a great crowd of people followed
him because they saw the miraculous signs he had performed on the sick.
I take from this an observation that their motivation for being around
Jesus was not because of his teaching of the kingdom of God. Some may
have been there to see if they could receive a needed miracle. Others may
have been interested in a show - in being entertained. Some could have
been curious about the whole affair. And probably a few were actually
listening to the teaching. In spite of whatever selfish or misdirected
motives that were present, Jesus showed the people the extent of Gods
divine mercy and love.
Because of God's love, the five loaves and two fish were transformed into
enough to feed more than five thousand people, with enough left over to
fill twelve baskets. "Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and all these
things shall be added unto you." So was this enough to convince all these
people that they should hear and obey Jesus teaching concerning the
kingdom of God? Unfortunately not. These people, once they had their
hunger satisfied, forgot about the meaning of the miracle. They failed to
praise God. In fact, we are not told that they made any connection
between Jesus and God. They did not connect the dots, to repeat a
frequently used expression of our day. Instead, they wanted to place
Jesus on a throne. Now, granted, we know that Jesus is Lord, so this
doesn't sound out of line. In fact, it sounds like a pretty decent honor.
In fact, though, they reduced Jesus to nothing more than a popularized
politician. Had he been so elevated by the populace, he would have become
nothing more than another figurehead worried about what the morning's
popularity polls might bring. He would have been followed as long as he
provided bread and fish and other necessities and niceties. As soon as he
pointed once more to discipleship and sacrifice and service, well, then,
forget it bub. History has plenty of examples that demonstrate that
monarchs are expendable.
In the wilderness, Jesus responded to one of Satan's temptations this
way: "Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from
the mouth of God." Jesus came not to fill growling tummies, but to fill
souls with the love of God. Probably one of the difficulties we have with
the passages concerning the miraculous feeding of the crowd is not that
we question whether Jesus could have done such a thing. Instead, we have
probably heard it so often, that the wonder is gone. Ho, hum! Just
another plane trip. Ho, hum! Just another miracle story. There were five
thousand people! We forget to praise God for this miracle, and we forget
to be excited about what this reveals concerning the kingdom of God.
Like the little boy at the airport, running back and forth between his
father and the conveyer belt, we should be as excited about what God has
done for His people. Whether it is the feeding of the five thousand or
the plagues brought to Egypt or little David standing in front of giant
Goliath, we should be moved to excitement to discover what God has done,
and is doing, among His people. Yet how easy it is to think of what God
is doing as routine. I wonder if any of the five thousand were part of
the crowd that shouted Crucify him!? That would have been telling.
My point is: how many of us forget to be excited about coming into the
presence of God, which is the real miracle of the ages? How much
excitement is there to come to Sunday school and church to hear about the
works of God through Scripture and through the testimonies of His people?
How much excitement is there to sing praises about the glories of God in
hymns and choruses? How much excitement is there to pray? How much
excitement is there to give to the offering? I know that we can be
excited without a lot of external hoopla; I am frequently excited about
something without necessarily showing a lot of outward indication. Or
what might seem to be a big outward display of excitement to me might not
seem like much to another. Regardless, you know whether you are excited
by hearing about the kingdom of God and obeying His will and receiving
His blessings or not.
I remember a story years ago from the Minister of Mission Support in Iowa
about a congregation in a poor African village, probably in the Congo.
Not only did these poor people travel from miles away on foot just to be
able to be in church, they would not have thought about coming without an
offering. Now these were people who did not have much, but they brought
something. Most of the offering was in the form of what they raised or
grew; a chicken or a few stalks of wheat or something. But thats not
all. In that village church, they did not take up or receive an
offering. The people brought their offering. They literally brought their
offering up the aisle to the altar, celebrating all the way, praising and
thanking God that they were blessed to be able to give an offering to the
Lord. Maybe this is also a stewardship story, but it is also an
illustration of what happens when we do not forget to be excited about
Gods kingdom and His miracles!
Let us be like a child. Let us be like the child God wants us to be when
we enter His kingdom. Let us be amazed all over again with the wonders of
God's handiwork in nature; let us stand in wonder at the intricate
complexities of a God-given child; let us be excited again and again
about the wonders of God's love. And let His love move us to pass along
this same love - with actions and in truth - to anyone who stands in need
of knowing that God's love is for them, too. For God, the miracle is not
found in feeding five thousand people. The miracle is found in one person
after another accepting the saving love and grace that He holds out for
His people.
Rev. Charles A. Layne, pastor, First Baptist Church, Bunker Hill, IN
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