3 minute read
Reflection
The miracle of his presence
Major Alistair Dawson takes a fresh look at a familiar story
THE feeding of the 5,000 in John 6 is quite a hard story to swallow for some people. Whether we take it at face value or believe that many in the crowd would have brought their own food with them and that the real miracle was getting them to share it, clearly something significant took place.
Turning to the disciple Philip, Jesus said: ‘Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat?’ (v5). Philip, who was aware of the great company that had come to see Jesus, reminded him that more than half a year’s wages for a labourer would not be sufficient to buy bread for them all, even if everyone received just a little.
I suppose in situations like this, when everything seems impossible, there is always an observer or a comedian who sees the possible. ‘Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish,’ said Andrew (v9). Although nobody knew the potential of what this young lad could do, his meagre ration clearly had its limits. Surely it was a joke to ease the tension – after all, what were five small loaves and two small fish among so many?
I try to think of the reason why these people had come. It was to see Jesus and, whatever their need, they must have hoped that it could be met by him.
Now none but Christ can satisfy, No other name for me; There’s love and life and lasting joy, Lord Jesus, found in thee.
(SASB 508)
Their need, though, wasn’t for food. They knew what it was to feel hunger, but this was not a life-or-death situation. What these people were searching for was the richer life that only Jesus could give. To know Jesus, says John, is to discover that he alone meets our deepest hunger, because he is ‘the bread of life’ (John 6:35).
What the world has to offer is never enough. Neither do we alone have the means to meet what is demanded of us. A person’s spiritual hunger can only really be satisfied through what God can do.
The miracle we all need must come to us on a one-to-one basis, for if God cannot meet an individual’s need, he cannot meet the need of the masses. And a miracle that satisfies thousands is of no value to me if my own personal need is not met.
If miracles are just a means to stagger the imagination, what use are they? The Devil tempted Jesus to turn stones into bread, a miracle that would attract people’s attention. Jesus answered, ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God’ (Matthew 4:4). So the miracle in John 6 was more than a stunt to meet temporary needs – it was a sign of the deeper satisfaction Jesus could offer.
John, reflecting on what had happened, writes: ‘After the people saw the sign Jesus performed, they began to say, “Surely this is the prophet who is to come into the world”’ (v14). They seemed to have understood, but Jesus knew otherwise: ‘Jesus, knowing that they intended to come and make him king by force, withdrew again to a mountain by himself’ (v15).
Are we attracted to Jesus by large evangelistic rallies held in his name? Does God need mass media to get his message across or does he simply meet us where we are, in ways that we can understand?
The poet Harriet Auber set out the manner of his coming in a beautiful way:
He came sweet influence to impart, A gracious, willing guest, When he can find one humble heart Wherein to rest.
(SASB 289)
Often, our greatest evangelists are those who sit near us as we worship, who quietly support and pray for us. They are the people who truly care for us. They are there to meet our needs, for y they are God’s miracle workers.
M MAJOR ALISTAIR DAWSON
Retired St Austell
