Just as God's thoughts are very deep, so that no person can ever sound them to the bottom, but can look into them again and again, and always find more in them than he had before dreamed of, so with the record of the wondrous things that Jesus did; for all that He said and did was only an expression of God's thoughts.
The story of the feeding of the five thousand is one of the most familiar, and it has often been treated of in these pages, yet we can study it again with as much profit as if we had never before read it. Indeed, the more we have read it, the more we can learn from it.
God's words and acts are for ever, and the Bible is to be our teacher as long as we live; if we were not to come back to its pages time after time, we could well burn our Bible as soon as we had once read it; but since it is to be our meditation day and night; we must never allow ourselves to think that we have learned all that any scripture has for us.
Christ Not a Mere Historical Personage
The worst manner possible in which to read the life of Jesus is to consider it merely as a history. We are so prone to think of all the events in the life of Jesus as something in the past; but in so doing we unconsciously deny His Divinity; for since He is Divine--the Word that was in the beginning with God, and is God--so is He "the same yesterday, and today, and for ever." (Hebrews 13:8)
That which He did a thousand years ago, is that which He does still, and which He will always continue to do. Miracles are His ordinary and natural manner of working. In the wonders and miracles and signs which God did by Jesus of Nazareth, He was simply taking off the covering that hides Him from the eyes of men, and letting everybody see into His workroom, that they may know how He employs himself day by day continually.
But if we think that He has ceased working, because He has again hidden himself from human sight, the revelation has been all in vain for us. From the record of the life of Jesus we should learn not only to recognize His workmanship, but to see Him actually at work all round us every day.
In Him All Things Are Created
Let us therefore first think of what Jesus really did. He created food for a vast multitude of people. It is true that He had something to begin with, but He did not draw upon the original store, but increased it instead. There was more food left, after all had satisfied their hunger, than there was at first.
As He took the food in His hands, it multiplied, so that it is as clear as daylight, that it came from Him--directly from His body. In this miracle, therefore, we have an illustration of the statement that: "in Him were all things created." (Colossians 1:16)
Even if He had not afterwards said anything about it, the act alone is sufficient to show that He is the Bread of life, and that only as we consciously eat and drink His life do we eat as we ought, or have real life.
Whoever studies this lesson ought not to be content without at the same time reading the entire chapter. Reference is made to the manna in the wilderness, and it is made clear that Jesus did for the five thousand, exactly what He did for the multitudes who came out of Egypt with Moses. He fed them with himself--with His flesh and blood.
And then when we read the account of the last supper, the night Jesus was betrayed, we have Christ's explicit statement to that effect. That meal is the pattern for all our living; not that we must eat nothing but bread and drink the juice of the grape; but the meaning is that we should eat only that which is the perfect manifestation of His spotless life.
The manna in the desert was the daily food of the people. It was the "corn of heaven," "And had rained down manna upon them to eat, and had given them of the corn of heaven." (Psalm 78:24)--"spiritual meat," "And did all eat the same spiritual meat." (1 Corinthians 10:3)--but it was given to satisfy all the wants of the body. The bread with which Jesus fed the five thousand was barley bread, such as the people ate day after day. And that of which He plainly said, "This is my body," (Matthew 26:26; Mark 14:22; Luke 22:19; 1 Corinthians 11:24) was the regular Passover bread, such as was found in every house in the land.
All these things are intended to show us that the food that we eat every day is what Christ provides for us, from himself. The miracle of feeding the five thousand is continually being performed on a much larger scale, and has been from the beginning. This is the great lesson for us to learn-that Christ is with us, working miracles in our behalf, just as really and truly as when all men could see Him going about doing good.
An Indulgent Parent
It has often been set forth in these pages that the Lord's Supper, as the model meal, teaches us that the flesh of animals should form no part of our bill of fare. But someone will surely say, with an air of triumph, as though he had disproved the whole teaching, "But Jesus fed the five thousand with fish as well as bread."
They think that this is a proof that He wishes that we should eat animal food; but that is a mistaken idea. Let it be noted that in drawing the lesson from the miracle, Jesus spoke only of bread. Further, it should be remembered that it was only at the Lord's Supper, where no animal food was, that Jesus said, "This is my body;" (Matthew 26:26) and that in the wilderness, where He gave the people "bread from heaven," (Exodus 16:4) He gave them no flesh of animals. And finally, we should not overlook a single expression that is used in connection with the fish in the desert. He gave them of the fish, "so much as they would." (John 6:11)
He did then just what He has always done, and what He does still: He provides everything, and allows each person to choose for himself. He multiplies fish, animals, and birds, as well as fruits and grains, and gives people the privilege of eating what they please.
At the same time He has twice indicated in the most striking manner what is best for men, and what they ought to choose:
1. In the beginning, when He prescribed the proper diet for men, and
2. At the deliverance from Egypt, when He gave them only manna, providing it day by day.
Yet when the people longed for flesh, He gave it to them, performing a miracle to that end. He gives to all people exactly what they wish, even though it is contrary to what He knows is best, but in so doing He does not free them from the consequences of their unlawful desires.
It is always best, however, to choose only that which God has indicated is best.
A Companionable Teacher
Jesus knew what He would do, yet He asked the disciples what should be done. Like a father who is a companion and a teacher to his children, Jesus took His disciples into His confidence, making them sharers in His work. He gave them opportunity to express their opinion, so that their minds would be more intently fixed in what was done.
He knew what He was about to do, but they did not, and so they began to speculate. If they had really known Him, they would at once have looked to Him to provide food for the people.
We are, however, no more considerate than they. We have not learned the lesson, that: "He gives to all life, and breath, and all things." (Acts 17:25)
We forget, even after we have once learned, that God is always working to provide for His children, and therefore we indulge in so many anxious speculations as to where our support is to come from.
Jesus would have us know that not only does He miraculously feed us, but He makes us partners in His work of feeding others, which is much greater.
It is recorded in one place that when the disciples counseled Him to send the multitude away, so that they could buy food for themselves, He said, "They need not go away; give them to eat." (Matthew 14:16)
That is proof that they might have done exactly what Jesus afterwards did, if they had believed. They did indeed feed the multitude, in that they carried the food to them from the hands of Jesus. By this He teaches us that we should give to others as freely as He gives to us.--Present Truth, June 7, 1900--International Sunday-School Lesson (not part of the original "Gospel of John" series, but included because relevant)--John 6:5-14.