Jesus originally planned to withdraw with His disciples to rest, fellowship, and listen to their ministry reports. But God interrupted this plan when a multitude of people expressed their desire for Jesus to teach them. The disciples wanted to send the people away. Jesus knew that the crowd took priority over any of His own needs.
The revised plan was to feed the more than 5,000 people. Jesus asked Philip how they should feed the crowd. Philip said they didn’t have enough money to feed the people. Andrew brought a boy and his small lunch to Jesus. The boy willingly offered his food to Jesus.
Jesus gave thanks to God then distributed the food to all of the people until they “all had enough to eat.” They had all that they wanted, and there were leftovers! Jesus instructed the disciples to pick up the leftovers because He didn’t want to have anything wasted.
In response to this miracle, the crowd wanted to crown Jesus as their king. They called Him the Prophet and the Messiah. When Jesus realized that the people wanted to take Him by force and make Him their king, Jesus withdrew by Himself to a mountain to pray. This large crowd could have caused a riot and taken Him as their king. Jesus protected His disciples by sending them away.
He sent them in a boat to go to Capernaum. While in the boat, the disciples ran into a rough storm. These expert fishermen struggled against the storm. In the middle of the lake, they suddenly saw someone on the water, and they became frightened.
It was Jesus! He yelled at them, “It is I; don’t be afraid.” Then the disciples pulled Him into their boat, and they immediately arrived safely at the shore.
Things to Think About
- Jesus develops our faith and calms our fears.
- Jesus should set the priorities of our lives. When we allow Him to do this, we can fully engage in His plan for our lives.
- We should be grateful for everything God gives us, no matter how big or how small.
- Jesus makes sufficient whatever you place in His hands.
- In which situation do I think my resources are insignificant? Will I bring it to Jesus in faith, trusting Him to multiply it?
- Jesus was faithful to care for His disciples even though He sent them into the storm.
- In our storms, Jesus prays for us, Jesus comes to us, and Jesus delivers us (though maybe not on this side of heaven).
- Our obedience always brings blessings; sometimes it brings trials and storms. Jesus calls us to obey everything He commands us to do.