And Jesus took the loaves, and when He had given thanks He distributed them to the disciples, and the disciples to those sitting down; and likewise of the fish, as much as they wanted. John 6: 11, NKJV.
Dear God, as we study Your Word today, may we find in You the fulfillment of our spiritual, physical, and emotional, needs; in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
When the five barley loaves, and the two fishes were brought to Jesus, the Bible says that “when He had given thanks He distributed them to the disciples, and the disciples to those sitting down; and likewise of the fish, as much as they wanted.” Christ always carries out His purposes in an orderly manner. It is worth saying, that when purpose is clear, and order is applied; needs will be adequately met! If I should ask, of the three aspects, purpose, order, and need; which is the most important; no doubt, I would get several different answers. For some people nothing is more important than the purpose. For others, the order of, and in, a process are indispensable. Still, for others, nothing is greater than the need. We will look at each of these aspects individually. We will also look at the use of authority in the entire process.
The Purpose. The purpose was to take care of the people. When Jesus approached Phillip about purchasing bread, it was because He wanted to feed the people. They had been with Him the entire day listening to His teachings. They had not taken a break to go and be refreshed. They were obviously refreshed by His teachings! Yet Christ knew that they had needs that should be met! So He made plans to meet those needs. I believe it is safe for us to say, that purposes are usually based on needs.
The Order. Christ knew that to ensure that everyone was fed; there needed to be some order in the way the food was distributed. That was the reason for them to be seated in groups. In this way, the order of distribution of the food could be monitored; women and children could be served first. Also, in small groups, people are usually not overlooked. Therefore, the need of everyone would be met.
The Need. The people were hungry; plain and simple. There is a saying, that comes to my mind at this time; “People don’t care how much you know, until they know how much you care!” That is why the purpose preceded the taking care of the need. Is this just an act of charity? Or, Is it an act of love? Are you feeding us because you have the power to multiply food? Or, Are You multiplying food because You care? In many cases, it makes a world of a difference in how the gift is accepted!
The purpose was clear – the order was appropriate for the occasion; and the need of everyone was met!
The Use Of Authority. The use of authority was clear to all. From the very beginning, Christ made it clear to everyone, that He had not come to do His will, but the will of the Father who sent Him. Just before returning to heaven, Jesus would declare that all authority (or power) was given to Him, in heaven and on earth. So he takes the loaves and the fishes, He presents them to God for God’s blessing, and then He proceeds to distribute them to the disciples, and the disciples to the people. In this way everyone knew, that it was God who had given Him the power (or authority) to multiply the bread and the fishes!
It is healthy for ministers of the gospel to remember that the only bona fide source of authority, within the church, is that which descends from the Father to His children; and is passed from one child to the other. The only healthy use of vertical authority is from God to the people! Among the people, the use of authority should always be horizontal, because the purpose, should be one of service! In His humanity, Jesus left us the example, dare we do otherwise?