Mat 14:15 “When it was evening, His disciples came to Him, saying, ‘This is a deserted place [belonging to Bethsaida], and the hour is already late [after 3 PM]. Send the multitudes [~10-20k, including men, women, and children] away, that they may go into the villages and buy themselves food.’”
Mat 14:16 “But Jesus said to them, ‘They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat.’”
Mat 14:16 “But Jesus said to them, ‘They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat.’”
I don’t want to appear flippant concerning the incorrect thinking of the apostles at a deserted place belonging to Bethsaida prior to the feeding of the 5k+; it was serious but also comical in some ways. It is hard for some to keep their self-righteousness in check when I mention the strange partnership of serious and comical appearing in Scripture together. We have to keep the context of the situation in mind and realize where were the apostles spiritually during this time, and just how gracious Jesus was in reshaping their understanding of Him because they were going to take over after His departure, except for J.I., of course.
Come to think of it; we are all guilty of doing something so ludicrous before God that it is absurdly funny. I am thankful that God has a sense of humor at our unintended improprieties. Think of the times you may have assumed of Jesus, and He didn’t slap you up the side of your head for being stupid; now that’s funny because I have been there! If Jesus would have struck a blow every time I did something of low IQ, I would not be here today. He rebuked the 12 disciples in Bethsaida before this expansive miracle got underway in a manner He felt was warranted, and moved on. We can learn from this, too!
We will go easy on the disciples in this context for they were learning on the fly, out in the field, going fast and furious, and trying just to keep up with Jesus (Remember Jn 21:25?). We know that 11 of them are going to continue the mission after Jesus leaves. Ten of the disciples will eventually be martyred for the cause of Christ, and one will be persecuted by being banished to the Isle of Patmos in the Aegean Sea for a time; J.I. doesn’t count. Since we have the whole body of Scripture at our disposal, we are to learn what to do and not to do that is pleasing to our Lord (cf. Rom 15:4; 1 Cor 10:6, 11).
There were two major no-noes committed by the disciples in Mt 14:15 that should raise red flags in our minds every time we read verses 15 and 16. We do well to avoid counseling Jesus or commanding Him to do anything and showing Him more reverent respect for who He is than we do. Yes, He is Abba, but He is also the Almighty, too! Love and fear are not incompatible.
Counseling Jesus, Mt 14:15a, “When it was evening [after 3p], His disciples [all 12, Lk 9:12] came to Him, ‘This is a deserted place, and the hour is already late.’”
Why is it wrong to attempt to counsel Jesus? Well, how does finite man advise God who is eternally infinite, all-wise (omnisapient), and all-knowing (Rom 11:34)? Do you think that the apostles, approaching Jesus to inform Him of the situation, were a case of familiarity breeds contempt or more along the lines of thinking that Jesus thought like them or both?
Let’s look at this metaphorically. Whenever we don shepherd clothing and treat Jesus like a sheep is a major no-no. Psalm 23 teaches us that we cannot call Jesus Lord if we do not adorn Him as Shepherd – “The LORD is My Shepherd.” When we take His raiment from Him, figuratively speaking, we are taking control of our lives, acting like a shepherd rather than the sheep we are, if born again. We have shifted authority roles from theonomous authority or God’s law (Gk, theos + nomos) to autonomous authority or self-law (Gk, auto + nomos) or self-governing. In other words, instead of having the mind or understanding of Christ, we have moved to think, speak, and act independently of God.
The disciples made the mistake of thinking that Jesus thought like they did and would agree with their assessment of the situation. We are to have the mind of Christ, not expecting Jesus to have the mind of man. They were factually correct about their surroundings, but dead wrong in allowing the situation to dictate the terms of the next move according to their thinking rather than asking Jesus what was the next move. The disciples were so certain that it was time to close up shop because they were in a deserted place, and it was getting late, that their counsel to the Messiah, the Son of God had transformed into a command, their second major no-no.
Commanding Jesus, Mt 14:15b, “‘Send the multitudes away, that they may go into the villages and buy themselves food.’”
“You” is the understood subject, and it is in the imperative mood. “You (Jesus) send the multitudes away….” Really now, can we command God to do anything!? You may deny that you don’t command God, but what are you doing when you expect God to fulfill your expectations? We can offer our petitions and our requests, but to demand or command God to do anything outside His will is ludicrous thinking! The Creator God is not subject to His creation; it is the other way around.
In Mt 14:16 we see Jesus’ surprising (to His disciples) two-fold response,
“But Jesus said to them, ‘They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat.’”
“But Jesus said to them, ‘They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat.’”
Jesus rejected their counsel based on their assessment of the situation, “They do not need to go away.” Imagine the buildup that led the disciples to approach Jesus in the first place.
i. We are in the middle of nowhere.
ii. It’s after 3 P.M.
iii. We have been out in the sun all day.
iv. We are hungry and tired, and all of these men, women, and children have to be exhausted and hungry.
v. We need to tell the Lord to send them away.
Remember the acronym, WWJD – What would Jesus do? “Why, Jesus would do what I would have done, “Send them away!” We see that this didn’t happen. This was the apostles thinking here and most WWJD thinking today! We have to have the mind of Christ in order for WWJD to mean anything. Unless we have the Word of God in our hearts, we cannot have the mind of Christ, and any WWJD propositions will be based upon human reasoning.
“They do not need to go away” is the first Selah moment or pause. This is analogous to asking you to hold your breath as you watch the second hand of the clock. It is only one minute, but it seems like forever! I do think there is a possible pause following each of Jesus’ remarks to the counsel and command of His apostles. The first pause produced a mild seismic shock wave that hit all 12 with surprise. I like the way the NLV captures this moment in Mt 14:16.
“But Jesus said, ‘That isn’t necessary – you [you is plural, all 12] feed them.”
Now comes the intense shock wave that had to have left them speechless when Jesus counters their command with one of His own, “You feed them.” I wished the translators would have employed an exclamation point here because the disciples didn’t see this coming. It wasn’t anywhere to be found on their radar screen. Imagine them all looking out over the 10-20k people and probably thinking to themselves, “How in the world are we going to feed these people?”
This is what happens when we drag Jesus down to the level of our human reasoning, and we quickly discover that Jesus doesn’t think like us at all. In fact, He wants us to do just the opposite of our thinking! <><
Now comes the intense shock wave that had to have left them speechless when Jesus counters their command with one of His own, “You feed them.” I wished the translators would have employed an exclamation point here because the disciples didn’t see this coming. It wasn’t anywhere to be found on their radar screen. Imagine them all looking out over the 10-20k people and probably thinking to themselves, “How in the world are we going to feed these people?”
This is what happens when we drag Jesus down to the level of our human reasoning, and we quickly discover that Jesus doesn’t think like us at all. In fact, He wants us to do just the opposite of our thinking! <><
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To Part 3
