Feeding the Five Thousand [35]
Text: Luke 9: 10-17
We see Jesus in many different situations and all of them are very human. He went to weddings and funerals. He ate and drank with people of all backgrounds and classes. He fell asleep on a boat. He staged a getaway when there were too many crowds and he went to a picnic.
This account of the feeding of the 5,000 must be one of the stories of Jesus that I remember away back to my earliest days in Sunday School. I wondered how Jesus did it, in the way that children do. If children see or hear of something unusual happening, they want to know more. They also believe what they are told and what they see.
At this stage, I was told that this was a real miracle (which it is). Jesus did something amazing. Just like Moses had fed the children of Israel with manna in the wilderness, so like a new Moses he was showing God’s new provision. To put this in another way, it was a purely miraculous and spiritual event. Jesus worked miracles. That was what Jesus did. So there was no problem.
Then when I was at secondary school, I heard a different explanation which I found quite disturbing at the time. It was suggested that what had actually happened was that people had brought their own food with them, but no one wanted to let on in case they had to share. To put it another way, they had their sandwiches up their jumpers! When one or two people started to eat, others brought out the food they had been hiding and gradually began to share with one another. It sounded plausible and I found it rather disturbing.
So, now I seemed to be faced with two competing alternatives – or that is how it seemed (to me). On the one hand, some people were saying that this was a spiritual and miraculous event which, like all the miracles of Jesus were a manifestation of his glory. On the other hand there were those who said it was really just an example of how important it is to share and that this is the logical and rational explanation. No need for a miracle.
Well, when it is put in such a simple way and polarised way, it seems that we has to choose one or the other. But actually, I do not find either explanation on its own to be entirely convincing. To me it is not a case of “either or” – it’s more a case of “both and”.
I suggest that the traditional view that this was a miraculous event is correct. And I agree that there was a real hidden significance in paralleling Jesus as Saviour under the New Covenant with Moses under the Old. But I suggest that there is also real truth in the fact that people were moved to share. What I tended to miss – and I suggest many people miss – is how much was left over. There was actually more food at the meal than people had brought. That takes a bit of thinking about. The sharing had opened up a channel for God’s blessing and his provision.
These two explanations are not in conflict. Actually, in the everyday situation the miraculous and the ordinary come together so closely that sometimes you can hardly see the join. Those who have eyes to see, see it.
Miracles require faith. When Jesus went to Capernaum, we are told he could do no mighty works there because of peoples’ unbelief. And part of the belief is being willing to see God at work.
Early in the last World War, Hitler pushed across north France leaving hundreds of men stranded on the beaches of Dunkirk. The king, George VI called for a national day of prayer. It was a more deferential society and people trooped out obediently to church. You know the rest of the story. Hundreds of men were rescued in the course of a remarkable operation. People who lived on the south coast said they had never seen the English Channel so calm. Winston Churchill – with considerable justification – called it a “miracle of deliverance”.
Of course, some people would say that it would have happened anyway. Maybe it would; maybe it wouldn’t. That is a question of faith. I can’t prove it but neither can anyone disprove it.
And let me suggest that when people are willing to share, everything does seem to go further. Any minister or missionary will tell you how far money seems to go in God’s work. People can say it’s not a miracle at all – but that’s a matter of perception. If I could prove something was a miracle, it would not be a miracle. If I could prove that that there was a totally rational explanation, then it also would not be a miracle. As it is, there is always an element of faith in any miracle. And there are always plenty of people who carry out fake miracles. When Moses stood before Pharaoh he threw down his staff and it became a serpent. Pharaoh’s magicians immediately said “We can do that one!”
Theologians speak about discernment which in itself is a gift of the Holy Spirit. Jesus never forced himself on anyone. He left it open for people to make their own decisions and see what they want to see. What do you want to see?