A Study In Luke - Day 30

DAY 30 - LUKE 9:7-17
 
7 When Herod Antipas, the ruler of Galilee, heard about everything Jesus was doing, he was puzzled. Some were saying that John the Baptist had been raised from the dead. 8 Others thought Jesus was Elijah or one of the other prophets risen from the dead.

9 “I beheaded John,” Herod said, “so who is this man about whom I hear such stories?” And he kept trying to see him.

Jesus Feeds Five Thousand
10 When the apostles returned, they told Jesus everything they had done. Then he slipped quietly away with them toward the town of Bethsaida. 11 But the crowds found out where he was going, and they followed him. He welcomed them and taught them about the Kingdom of God, and he healed those who were sick.

12 Late in the afternoon the twelve disciples came to him and said, “Send the crowds away to the nearby villages and farms, so they can find food and lodging for the night. There is nothing to eat here in this remote place.”

13 But Jesus said, “You feed them.”

“But we have only five loaves of bread and two fish,” they answered. “Or are you expecting us to go and buy enough food for this whole crowd?” 14 For there were about 5,000 men there.

Jesus replied, “Tell them to sit down in groups of about fifty each.” 15 So the people all sat down. 16 Jesus took the five loaves and two fish, looked up toward heaven, and blessed them. Then, breaking the loaves into pieces, he kept giving the bread and fish to the disciples so they could distribute it to the people. 17 They all ate as much as they wanted, and afterward, the disciples picked up twelve baskets of leftovers!

This is a great story of provision. But more so, it is a story of the great leveling of society by Jesus being willing to feed everyone, regardless of gender, position, creed, or age. Jesus, in one fell swoop, changed the way that we look at society; who is worthy of getting fed first, and who is worthy of getting fed at all, and how we trust in God to provide for all of us.
This was a great big potluck! But not everyone contributed; rather, it was God making sure there was enough for everyone. When you think about it, you know that there must have been more than just the men there. There would have been children, women, soldiers, aristocrats, priests, and even those needing healing.

Therefore, when Jesus was willing to serve them all from his provision, he was making a statement that in God’s kingdom blessings fall on everyone, regardless of of their position or their standing in society.

As well, Jesus was becoming a very popular preacher/teacher/rabbi. Even Herod was trying to figure out who he was and what he was trying to do. This confounded Herod, but not just Herod. The priests were always confused, as were so many other people.
 
The problem with Jesus has never been that he was a revolutionary, but that no one could figure out what kind of revolution he was starting. We know that it was a kingdom revolution, but this was just one of the  examples of how everything was about to change!

1. Could you imagine what it would have been like to be there on that day and be served by the disciples? 
2.  What would you have done if you were there? 
3. How is Jesus still providing for you today?