Bread, delicious. "Give us this day our daily bread ... " (Matthew 9:11)
Using binoculars
Using my look into the past binoculars, I can see in my minds eye, Jesus walking on the earth with throngs of people following close behind. They don't know where He is going but they do know they want to go wherever He leads because they had seen and heard about the cool stuff He had already done.
Following the guy that does unheard of things: what will he do next?
They follow Him onto a mountain and from this vantage point, He scans the crowds. Next, He looks up at the sky, realizing that hey, it's lunch time with no bakeries or cafes nearby. What is God incarnate to do under these urgent and pressing circumstances? With a plan in place, He asks one of His crew, Philip, "Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat?" (John 6:5). Philip is rather incredulous, wondering if Jesus has been out in the sun a little too long "Eight months wages would not buy enough bread for each one to have a bite!" (John 6:7). No bread available for purchase and certainly, not enough cash in the coffers, Phil is thinking good luck buddy. Andrew hears the conversation and chimes in "Here is a little boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far will they go among so many?" (John 6:9). Andrew had witnessed some kind of crazy astounding things around Jesus, and going out on a thin limb, he offers up what he thinks may be a workable solution for his teacher.
From five to thousands plus a whole bunch of fish
Jesus said, "Have the people sit down." There was plenty of grass in that place, and the men sat down, about five thousand of them. Jesus then took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed to those who were seated as much as they wanted. He did the same with the fish (John 6:10-11).
The Bread
The moral of the story? When you hang around with Jesus you realize that looking for and finding bread is no big deal for Him. Historically, bread was a daily staple and making "dough" became synonymous with making money, to buy the bread. Jesus took some loaves sourced by a disciple, generously shared by a little boy, and made a meal for thousands from them. Talk about compounding interest, exponential growth, the paradox of giving all you have, and the return multiplying beyond imagination! This is what a miracle is, the breaking of all human constructs of the laws of nature, of physics; of what we believe is possible in our finite and constricted ways. Jesus didn't bring the bread, He is The Bread. In the Lord's Prayer, we are to pray, give us this day, our daily bread ... this reference is to Christ dear reader. Imagine this: if Jesus is our daily bread, we will be filled up "When they had all had enough to eat", he said to this disciples, "Gather the pieces that are left over. Let nothing be wasted." So they gathered them and filled twelve baskets with the pieces of the five barley loaves left over by those who had eaten (John 6:12-13)
Mind blowing miraculous meanings
Jesus didn't purchase loaves of barley bread, he took bread from a small boy, gave thanks, and had it distributed to thousands with twelve baskets (perhaps this represents the twelve tribes of Israel?) leftover for fish sandwiches the next day! Dear reader, the Lord's Prayer contains within it meaning on top of mind blowing miraculous meaning. Jesus is The Bread of life, dear one, and He provides beyond our daily needs without wasting a crumb. While many of us can relate to Philip, Jesus asks that we have the generosity of a child and the faith, however tentative at first, of Andrew. He willingly takes what we offer and multiplies it to bless us and many others.
Would you follow Him to the top of a mountain without a packed lunch? Will you offer up what you have so that it can multiply to bless thousands? Would you, will you, follow Him wherever He leads?
Yes or no time, dear reader?
Would you, will you?
