The Messiah

Luke 9:10-20

¹⁰On their return the apostles told him all that they had done. And he took them and withdrew apart to a town called Bethsaida. ¹¹When the crowds learned it, they followed him, and he welcomed them and spoke to them of the kingdom of God and cured those who had need of healing. ¹²Now the day began to wear away, and the twelve came and said to him, “Send the crowd away to go into the surrounding villages and countryside to find lodging and get provisions, for we are here in a desolate place.” ¹³But he said to them, “You give them something to eat.” They said, “We have no more than five loaves and two fish—unless we are to go and buy food for all these people.” ¹⁴For there were about five thousand men. And he said to his disciples, “Have them sit down in groups of about fifty each.” ¹⁵And they did so, and had them all sit down. ¹⁶And taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven and said a blessing over them. Then he broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples to set before the crowd. ¹⁷And they all ate and were satisfied. And what was left over was picked up, twelve baskets of broken pieces. ¹⁸Now it happened that as he was praying alone, the disciples were with him. And he asked them, “Who do the crowds say that I am?” ¹⁹And they answered, “John the Baptist. But others say, Elijah, and others, that one of the prophets of old has risen.” ²⁰Then he said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” And Peter answered, “The Christ of God.”

I quite often write these posts as I’m eating my breakfast and enjoying a cup of coffee. Usually I eat a handful of bran cereal which is similar to eating the box from which it came. I wash that down with the coffee and the day is begun. Clearly, my breakfast is not as interesting or exciting as that dinner was on the hillside during Jesus time here on earth.

This particular miracle signifies the end of Jesus’ Galilean ministry. He will head to Jerusalem shortly after this miraculous feeding only to engage in two more important meals; the Lord’s Supper and the meal with the Apostles after His encounter with a couple of them on the road to Emmaus on Resurrection Day. This particular miracle harkens back, for those paying attention, to God’s miraculous provision of food for the Children of Israel as they wandered the desert. For those 40 years, God daily provided manna and quail for the people to eat. Now Jesus provides bread and fish to help sustain their physical bodies. He will also provide His own body on the cross and remembered in Holy Communion in the months to come.

The inclusion of the Disciples in this miracle is significant. First Jesus tells them to feed the people. They are forced to admit their total inability to do so and they are 100% reliant upon Jesus to accomplish the task. The fact that He alone provides everything they need is probably lesson enough. We can take that fact and hold it close in every aspect of our own lives. But we move on. This is another one of those miracles that it would have been wonderful to witness. Just imagine the shock and joy on the faces of the Disciples as the reached into their baskets and continued to pull up a never-ending supply of food. And of course, everyone is “satisfied”. This wasn’t a small snack to tide the people over. It turns into a full meal where every single person walks away completely full. That’s how God does it – every time. There are no snacks – just full meals.

It is after this miracle that Jesus asks the Twelve who the crowds think He might be. They share the answers they’ve heard voiced by the crowd and then He asks the crucial question. “But who do YOU say that I am?” Peter gets is right and says, “The Christ [Messiah] of God.” Way to go Peter. It doesn’t take a theologian to bring that question into the present. Each of us has to answer that question every single day. I was deeply saddened to hear of the possible crucifixion of a priest, Father Thomas Uzhunnalil, from Yemen last Friday (Good Friday) by ISIS. He had been taken on March 4 from the church in which he worked along with 4 nuns who were all shot. Reports of his death have not been verified. But one cannot help but wonder if he had to answer that question as well. I pray that he finds himself in God’s presence whether he is dead or still being held captive.

As we walk through the day, may we find ourselves squarely in agreement with Peter’s confession. You are the Christ, the Son of God.