Within the span of one chapter these twelve ordinary men:
- are sent out two by two to the villages to minister.
- learned of John the Baptist's murder. I suspect they carried grief and a reality check of what their future could look like.
- return from traveling all over (on foot) preaching and healing while also facing rejection.
- are hungry as they try to report to Jesus.
- Jesus attempts to take them away for a (much needed) rest, but 5,000 men follow and crowd them.
- It's now late in the day. Is it hot? Hangry much?
- still haven't eaten, and now 5,000+ other people are hungry too! Out of sheer exhaustion I probably would have, like the disciples, suggested Jesus send these people home to eat.... so I could eat too. The introvert in me is pained at this point.
- Instead of a break, Jesus tells these men to find food for the many people. Who could blame them for being overwhelmed or a bit irritable by this point? Their flesh is begging for a snack and a nap; that'd be miracle enough for them at this point.
- are now working crowd control by separating the masses into smaller groups of 50-100 before searching thousands of people for a few fish and loaves.
- witness a pretty cool miracle but find themselves responsible for physically distributing the miraculously acquired food to thousands of people. Simple task, I'm sure for twelve hangry, I mean hungry, men.
- can they eat now? maybe not. They've got to collect leftovers: twelve baskets of broken pieces.
- maybe it's their exhaustion that has Jesus sending them on in a boat. But wait, that's not going to be easy either. They are now physically exhausted and rowing a boat: straining against the wind. I wonder if any of them thought, "why can't anything be easy?"
- Is it any wonder when they see Jesus walking on water they think he's a ghost? These poor, ordinary men are physically and emotionally depleted.
- yet, as soon as they come ashore more people flock to them again!
Bless the introverts in this group of twelve ordinary men! Were these twelve men who walked daily with the Lord weary of hard things? I imagine at this point these men looked and felt an awfully lot like those twelve basketfuls of leftover pieces: broken. I know the feeling, and I suspect many of you do as well.
Do you know what I also see here? Extraordinary Jesus was present the entire time with these twelve ordinary men. He saw them; he never left. He provided for them, even while allowing the hard things. He sees me; he sees you: both of us just ordinary people -physically and emotionally exhausted in the hard things. I realize that I can, and will, survive on this basket of broken leftovers so long as they are HIS.
At least I don't have to do it hangry... today.
He meets me here. He may give me a job to do; He may allow really hard things, but I won't be alone.
Nor will you.
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