Tag: injil markus

Messiah, the Holy One of God vs man-made rules

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An excerpt from “The Holy One Called Isa,” by Pastor Ward Clinton:

Injil Markus 2:23  And it came to pass, that he went through the corn fields on the sabbath day; and his disciples began, as they went, to pluck the ears of corn.

Injil Markus 2:24  And the Pharisees said unto him, Behold, why do they on the sabbath day that which is not lawful?

Deuteronomy 23:25 allowed the disciples and the people to do this.  Tradition established by that time and the Mishnah said they could not do this on the Sabbath as though their tradition were greater than the Law given to them by Moses.  This is quite similar to claiming the Hadith is greater than the Koran by certain Muslim teaching for if it is then that, the Quran, is diminished in value beyond measure and perhaps an admission that the present day Koran has been corrupted.

The Pharisees had quickly pounced and pointed out the multiple transgressions they believed the disciples had committed.  It was obvious they expected Jesus to reprimand His disciples and command them to stop.  Instead He spoke to these “Imams” in their own language and chastised them in His own way which may be a wee bit hard for us to see because we are, fortunately, not under their traditions and rules although we must remember that we are not at liberty to do as we please because we ought to obey the one who is Lord of the Sabbath which is the kalimat Allah, Isa.  The one true God made the Sabbath to make our lives better and fuller.

Injil Markus 2:25  And he said unto them, Have ye never read what David did, when he had need, and was an hungered, he, and they that were with him?

Injil Markus 2:26  How he went into the house of God in the days of Abiathar the high priest, and did eat the shewbread, which is not lawful to eat but for the priests, and gave also to them which were with him?

See 1st Samuel 21:3-6

Injil Markus 2:27  And he said unto them, The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath:

Injil Markus 2:28  Therefore the Son of man is Lord also of the sabbath.

Religious tradition had so multiplied and twisted the restrictions, rules, and requirements for keeping the Sabbath that the burden became almost unbearable.  However living a holy life is not simply the keeping of requirements but the seeking of the One who set the requirements in order that He might be found.  The requirements set forth in the first covenant were not intended to drive us from Him but to make us understand our need for Him.  Likewise the first six chapters of Romans in the New Covenant are intended for the same purpose.

They call Him a sinner, a Sabbath breaker.  But their definition of sin is improper, the only Sabbath laws that Jesus broke were the man-made ones, created by sinful men, like Mohammad, lusting for power over others rather than truly desiring to properly interpret God’s law.  There are those who stridently deny that a follower of Christ can walk the highway of holiness and to prove it they redefine sin to ensure that none can.  But God commanded, “Be holy,” and Messiah Jesus said, “Sin not,” which logically indicates there must be a way to obey.

The Injil Markus and Food, Fellowship, and Fun with Messiah Jesus

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An excerpt from “The Holy One Called Isa,” by Pastor Ward Clinton

I seem to remember a certain Church making as one of their mottoes “Start at the Heart.”  All too often we followers of Messiah Jesus seem to forget the importance of relationship in the process of attempting to fulfill the Great Commission by making disciples and we start with the head rather than the heart.

Food, Fellowship, and Fun

Now, in the first century, food and fellowship were intricately woven together; to eat together was to have fellowship.  We do not need to suppose that all these people were sinners in the moral sense of the term.  The word sinner here means a man who broke the moral law but it also means one who did not observe the scribal law.  So that it was considered that the man who committed adultery and the man who ate pork were both sinners.  The man who was guilty of theft and the man who did not wash his hands in the required manner before he ate were both sinners.  Therefore the guests of Matthew probably included many who had broken the Mosaic Law but there is no reason to doubt that there were some whose only sin was that they did not observe the religious leaders rules and regulations.

The Pharisees and scribes provided the fun that day.  In the Jewish religion there was only one day in the whole year that was a compulsory fast, the Day of Atonement.  After the Babylonian captivity four other fast days were added (see Zechariah 7:5; 8:19) but the stricter Jews fasted during the day light hours on Monday and Thursday of each week.  There is a good possibility that this party took place on a Pharisee fast day because of the interaction that took place.  Perhaps the pleasant odors of preparation had wafted down the streets and tickled the noses of certain Pharisees in the public square and set their tummies to rumbling.  Perhaps for some reason they had failed to rouse themselves that particular morning before the sun began to peek above the horizon and therefore did not get to eat their regular pre-fast meal.  Now these tantalizing odors of a feast in preparation assaults their noses and demands their attention because they are about to have a divine encounter that will make them part of His story.

So, in this imaginary scenario leading up to the divine encounter, they find themselves led along by their noses and their bellies in hopes that not only would they find plenty of food but that the dwelling’s inhabitants would be super-thrilled to be so blessed by their presence and invite them to sit at or near the head table.

Suddenly, there they are and the hand washing stations are properly placed and the food looks to be plenty and luscious and… Oh, dear… ready too early because the sun is not yet set.  But the crowd is large enough to be a wedding feast and if that is the case then they will be freed from the obligation to wait until sunset to break their fast.  So they begin to scan the crowd to see if they can find the likely couple.  Then, to their dismay, they begin to recognize some faces of Publicans and other assorted sinners with whom they would never associate even as their stomachs rumble in protest at their unyielding obstinacy.  Then they spot Jesus and His disciples in the midst of these people and He looks in their direction and smiles, almost as though He has been expecting them.  Now they are really annoyed and they are not going to simply slip quietly away.  Oh no, they’re going to use this as an opportunity to cast doubt on the character of The Christ in the minds of His friends and followers.  With a frontal assault?  Of course not; they’ve chosen to use the more sinister indirect assault which has long been the preferred methodology of all of those who oppose Messiah’s teaching.

Injil Markus 2:16  And when the scribes and Pharisees saw him eat with publicans and sinners, they said unto his disciples, How is it that he eateth and drinketh with publicans and sinners?

Not all the teachers of the law were Pharisees and not all of the Pharisees were hypocritical even though it seems that way to us as we read the Scripture that the majority of those whom Jesus came into contact with were that way.

Injil Markus 2:17  When Jesus heard it, he saith unto them, They that are whole have no need of the physician, but they that are sick: I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.

Jesus calmly responds directly to the Scribes and Pharisees.  A self-righteous (self-justified) person does not recognize his need for a savior.  There are many sin-sick souls who have no clue regarding their actual situation.  We find the self-righteous everywhere but the one place we rarely find them is in Church.  An admitted sinner does tend to recognize his need for a cure.  Part of truly living righteously does include showing mercy to others who seek righteousness.  Although we followers of Christ do need to be very careful in how we keep company with ungodly men lest we become re-corrupted.  We do need to show and have love for their souls while attempting to convince them they also need to join us in the journey of following Christ.  Our good Physician had the power of healing in Himself and was in no danger of contracting the disease of sin.  However, we need to keep in close contact with Him to avoid sin.

For unfortunately there is more hope for a fool than for one who is wise in his own conceit (see Proverbs 26:12)  Even when such a one is on the side of truth he remains as fickle as the children of falsehood.

Injil Markus 2:18  And the disciples of John and of the Pharisees used to fast: and they come and say unto him, Why do the disciples of John and of the Pharisees fast, but thy disciples fast not?

John’s disciples may have been fasting because he was in prison.  It certainly had nothing to do with obeying their tradition as they were falsely attempting to imply.

Injil Markus 2:19  And Jesus said unto them, Can the children of the bridechamber fast, while the bridegroom is with them? as long as they have the bridegroom with them, they cannot fast.

Follow Messiah Jesus and Become Part of His Family

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An excerpt from “The Holy One Called Isa,” by Pastor Ward Clinton:

2:13  And he went forth again by the sea side; and all the multitude resorted unto him, and he taught them.

2:14  And as he passed by, he saw Levi the son of Alphaeus sitting at the receipt of custom, and said unto him, Follow me. And he arose and followed him.

Slowly but surely the synagogue door was shutting on Jesus He could have smoothed things over but He is forcing the guardians of Jewish orthodoxy to make some personal decisions and take sides.  He is going to keep stirring things up and He is the one who is actually in control, not they.  Now He is teaching by the lakeside and letting the Synagogue simmer.

As He was walking by the lakeside He was teaching.  This was a common way for the Jewish Rabbis to teach.  As they walked the roads from one place to another their disciples grouped around them and walked with them and listened as they talked.  Therefore Jesus was doing what any Rabbi might have done.

The tax collector’s booth where Jesus found Levi was on the major international road that went from Damascus through Capernaum to the Mediterranean coast on to Egypt.

It was a saying that “Judea is on the way to nowhere; Galilee is on the way to everywhere.”  The great Road of the Sea led from Damascus, by way of Galilee, through Capernaum, down past Carmel, along the Plain of Sharon, through Gaza and on to Egypt.  Another road led from Acre on the coast across the Jordan out to Arabia (Petra not Mecca) and the frontiers of the empire, a road that was travelled by the regiments and caravans.

Capernaum was by its very nature a frontier town; because of that it was a customs center and the import and export taxes were collected there.  That is where Levi worked.  While it is true that he was not like Zacchaeus, working directly in the service of the Romans; he was working for Herod Antipas, and therefore he was a hated tax-collector, also referred to as a publican.

Levi was not a good person or he would not have been a tax-gatherer.  Still Isa choose to call this person to be part of His core group.  This does serve to demonstrate to us that Isa can change the character of anyone if they will only commit themselves to Him.  The Scripture tells us about another person who was also chosen by Jesus but who offered excuses for waiting until a more convenient time and therefore he lost out on his unique opportunity.  Levi did not risk the chance of having the offer pass him by to become a disciple of Jesus but responded immediately, wholeheartedly, and without reservation.

2:15  And it came to pass, that, as Jesus sat at meat in his house, many publicans and sinners sat also together with Jesus and his disciples: for there were many, and they followed him.

In 1st Kings 19:21 Elisha gave a farewell feast for his friends when he went to follow Elijah.

Of all the disciples Matthew is the one who gave up the most at the very outset in his making the commitment to follow Jesus.  Matthew in giving a farewell feast for all his friends shows thereby that with cheerfulness and thankfulness to God he has committed himself completely, and without reservation, to Christ.

Andrew and Simon and James and John could easily go back to their boats but Matthew had burned his bridges behind him as far as his livelihood was concerned and could never go back.  He left everything but his pen.  He did try to invite his friends to join him in the journey and maybe some of them did later on but probably not at that particular point in time.  Some of Matthew’s friends may have been among those converted at Pentecost; we won’t know until after our own arrival in heaven.  His friends were no doubt curious and some of them would have tried to talk him out of this move even as they may have themselves wondered whether there were any hope for them and Jesus’ presence and demeanor at the feast no doubt gave them a glimmer of hope that they also were eligible to be included in God’s forever family.

Do not be a disbeliever in Messiah Jesus

The God of Father Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob Loves

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An excerpt from “The Holy One Called Isa,” by Pastor Ward Clinton:

2:7  Why doth this man thus speak blasphemies?  Who can forgive sins but God only?

In Jewish theology even the Messiah could not forgive sins and they were sure that Jesus was committing shirk.  However if He really is who He claimed to be then disbelieving is the worst type of shirk of all.  Al-Masihu-Isa (Jesus) is kalimat Allah and wadjih (worthy of esteem in this world and the next) according to the Quran.

2:8  And immediately when Jesus perceived in his spirit that they so reasoned within themselves, he said unto them, Why reason ye these things in your hearts?

2:9  Whether is it easier to say to the sick of the palsy, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Arise, and take up thy bed, and walk?

Since they believed that a person’s sins needed to be forgiven before they could be healed He has chosen to force them to engage their brains.  One purpose of the miracles was to testify to the people precisely who Jesus truly is.

2:10  But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins, (he saith to the sick of the palsy,)

2:11  I say unto thee, Arise, and take up thy bed, and go thy way into thine house.

2:12  And immediately he arose, took up the bed, and went forth before them all; insomuch that they were all amazed, and glorified God, saying, We never saw it on this fashion.

Jesus saw their faith, He may have smiled as he looked at a faith strong enough to overcome the obstacles and then He looked at the Scribes – the ones who should have had faith.  Now, in part, these fellows were doing their job; they were scrutinizing this itinerant Rabbi to make sure his teaching was okay.  But these were sitting there watching for what they considered to be the slightest mistake so they could blow it all out of proportion rather than allowing themselves to be moved by the working of God which was happening right before their very eyes.

The religious leadership made a connection between sin and disease, not entirely unfounded, but they were a bit misguided.  To them a sick man was a man who had sinned.  They had already heard Jesus preach; they had already seen Jesus heal.  Still they seemed quite unmoved.  Now Jesus won’t allow anyone to remain neutral towards Him.  He has decided to up the ante, therefore he said, “Child your sins are forgiven.”  He has just challenged them head on with that phrase.  They were of the belief that the sin had to be forgiven before one could be healed.  But anyone is capable of saying “your sins are forgiven” and how can it be proved whether the statement was effective or not?  Now on the other hand, to tell the man to get up and walk would demonstrate then and there the authority, effectiveness, and reliability of His word.  Therefore in the tenth verse Jesus lets them know they have to make a choice to either believe in Him or disbelieve.  He has hoisted these experts in the law on their own petard.  It is on their own traditions and stated beliefs this man could not be cured unless he was forgiven.  In effect Jesus has said, “you say I have no right to forgive sins?  You believe that if this man is sick, he is a sinner and cannot be cured until he is forgiven?  Okay, watch this!”  Jesus spoke the word and the man was cured, therefore he must be forgiven and Jesus’ claim to be able to forgive sin must be true.

Jesus probably left them in a baffled rage.  Here was something that had to be dealt with; if this were allowed to continue all their rules and regulations would be turned on their head; maybe even worse, proven to be completely out of step with their Holy Scripture.  So, with this incident, Jesus has signed His own death warrant and He is fully aware of it.  However He is also trying to correct their understanding of God.

They had the Torah (the uncorrupted holy word from the one true God), they knew that God will not let sinners remain unpunished, but they had forgotten that the Torah also showed them a God who desired to exercise mercy and forgiveness.  Remember the pouting prophet in the Old Testament who whined, “I didn’t want to warn those people because I knew You are a merciful God”?

Today, most seem to know that God forgives but they forget there are conditions that must be met… God is holy and just, as well as merciful and forgiving.  He calls us into a holy, loving relationship with Himself which requires that sin be shunned, not embraced with a “Oh well, I’m only human” shrug of the shoulders.

The Holy One of God Heals

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Excerpt from “The Holy One Called Isa,” by Pastor Ward Clinton:

In the Injil (New Testament) there is no disease regarded with more terror and pity than leprosy.  When Jesus sent out the Twelve he commanded them “Heal the sick, cleanse lepers.”  (Matt 18:8)  The fate of the leper in that day was truly hard.  There were some other skin diseases which were mistakenly classified as leprosy such as ringworm or psoriasis and when they went away there was a prescribed ritual to go through to be declared “clean.”

The leprous person could not come closer than a stone’s throw to a non-leprous person and if they did people would typically react in fear and drive them back with stones.  From Peter’s recorded perspective it appears the leper came closer than allowed but it is also likely he actually did not, only coming as close as he could before falling to his knees and making his plea.  Whether he came closer than allowed by law or stopped short isn’t important; what is important is that Jesus cared enough to reach out and tenderly touch the untouchable one as well as completely cure.  It was a demonstration of the one true God’s compassion; if we will only approach and humbly request He will bridge the remaining gap because He longs to establish/restore the fellowship that has been broken by the barrier of sin between an unholy being and the thrice Holy God.

Many a man on the face of this planet ignorantly and arrogantly thinks he will be able to approach God and plead the case that he himself is not so bad as some of his fellows and for that reason alone he must be allowed into heaven.  Many a man thinks that so long as his good deeds outweigh his bad deeds then he must be accepted but that also is a corrupt teaching from sinful man.  Sadly, he will be met with justice rather than mercy because he has chosen to act in pride rather than humility.  It is only those who by faith apply to Christ Jesus for mercy and grace who will find that He is quite willing and capable of providing the mercy and grace they need and seek and he will bring them into the presence of the one true God.

Jesus then sent the man to go fulfill the prescribed ritual.  We need not see this man as failing to obey, for he probably completed the task assigned except that he simply could not keep silent for the joy of deliverance.  How can a sin-sick soul that comprehends the cure which has been effected by the power of such a gracious, loving God (yes, the one true God really does have compassion on us) be silent regarding the cure?

The One True God is the God of Father Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob

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That ain’t allah…Don’t like it?  Tell it to the God of Father Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob…or are you afraid to because you are afraid to know the truth?

–Pastor Ward Clinton

Seek the Holy One of God

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Excerpt from “The Holy One Called Isa,” by Pastor Ward Clinton

1:33  And all the city was gathered together at the door.

1:34  And he healed many that were sick of divers diseases, and cast out many devils; and suffered not the devils to speak, because they knew him.

They knew and understood Him to be the Messiah, the one true and holy Messiah; Isa, Al-Masih, is kalimat-Allah and wadjih according to the Quran and for that reason they were powerless against Isa.

Many that were possessed with devils – Dr. Lightfoot gives two sound reasons why Judea, in our Lord’s time, abounded with demoniacs. First, Because they were then advanced to the very height of impiety. See what Josephus, their own historian, says of them: There was not (said he) a nation under heaven more wicked than they were. See on Rom_1:1 (note). Secondly, Because they were then strongly addicted to magic, and so, as it were, invited evil spirits to be familiar with them. It seems strange to find men at this distance of time questioning the truth of that which neither scribes nor Pharisees then doubted; nor did they ever object against the pretensions of Christ and his apostles to cast them out. And, if the whole business of demonism had been only a vulgar error, (as “wise” men now tell us), what a fine opportunity had the “wise” men then, to unmask the whole matter, and thus pour contempt on the pretensions of our blessed Lord and his followers, who held it to be one proof of their Divine mission, that demons were subject to them! – Adam Clarke

It has been said, “Build a better mousetrap and the public will beat a path to your doorstep even if you live in the wilderness.”  Unfortunately the crowds were only coming because they wanted something; unfortunately the crowds only thought they were coming to see a wondrous physician; fortunately the crowds were coming.

Sadly, for one prayer that goes up to God in days of prosperity ten thousand go up in times of adversity.  Many a man who has never prayed when the sun was shining begins to pray when the cold winds come.  So many people regard religion as belonging “to the ambulance corps and not to the firing-line of life.”  Therefore religion, to them, is merely a crisis affair.  Only when life has got into a mess do they begin to remember God but it is in the sunshine that we need to polish the communication lines so that when the darkness settles over us we don’t find ourselves trying to figure out how to establish a connection.  God is not someone to be sought only in the day of misfortune; He is someone to be loved and remembered every day of our lives.  Although the recognition of one’s failure to come to Him during the sunny time should not be allowed to hinder the seeking of Him in the dark time – it is just so much better, so much wiser, and so much safer to remember Him in the sunny time when one may be assured of finding Him.

Messiah Jesus is the True One of God

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Looked on His disciples – That they might all the more closely pay attention to what He was about to say.  He knew that Peter was not alone in his failure to correctly comprehend Christ’s commission.  Just because all men choose to walk a different path than what God requires doesn’t mean the God of Father Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob will change His standards to accommodate them.  Man-made kingdoms may modify their laws when all fail to comply.  He is God, we aren’t; we get heaven God’s way, not ours.  Generality in sins is no means by which to escape God’s judgment.  Remember the account regarding Noah as recorded in the Al Kitab ul Muqaddas.  God does not change and although He desires that all should be saved, the wicked, as defined by His standard which is revealed in the Injil, will be punished unless they repent and comply with His commands.

8:34  And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.

8:35  For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel’s, the same shall save it.

8:36  For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?

8:37  Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?

“Martyr” yourself on the word of some Imam and you will be trapped forever in the abode of the jinn with no way to escape.  The One True God, the God of Father Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob is the God who loves and does not deceive.  It is the god of death who deceives and destroys.

8:38  Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of me (Messiah Jesus) and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation; of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he cometh in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.

The Holy One Called Isa

 

 

Follow Isa not Muhammad

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The call to discipleship is definite and requires a personal choice be made to either accept or reject.  The call to believe or to disbelieve in Messiah Isa, the holy one actually comes to each one of us in one way or another.

1:18  And straightway they forsook their nets, and followed him.

1:19  And when he had gone a little further thence, he saw James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, who also were in the ship mending their nets.

1:20  And straightway he called them: and they left their father Zebedee in the ship with the hired servants, and went after him.

Jesus didn’t call the big shots nor did He call those who were sitting around waiting for opportunity to come knocking.  These were average people who were faithfully and diligently going about their business but they were also noble in that they didn’t cling to the world or the traditions of the others; they obeyed the Savior.

1:21  And they went into Capernaum; and straightway on the sabbath day he entered into the synagogue, and taught.

Synagogue – a very important place for the assembly of persons for worship.  Not less than ten persons of respectability composed a synagogue.  Jerusalem is said to have had 480 of them plus the Temple.  Isa (PBUH) took advantage of the custom that allowed visiting teachers to participate in the worship service by invitation of the synagogue leaders.

1:22  And they were astonished at his doctrine: for he taught them as one that had authority, and not as the scribes.

Mark frequently reports the amazement that Isa’s teaching and actions produced.  The Scribes tended to teach the words of other teachers and the traditions of men.      Part of what was happening with the teaching from Jesus was that He was teaching Scripture, not tradition of men; He was teaching them what God said, not what some famous Rabbi of bygone days had said.  When a man teaches that a Hadith or a fitnah supersedes something in the Quran is he not claiming the Quran is mistaken?

Part of what was happening with the teaching from Isa was that He was teaching Al kitab, not tradition of men; He was teaching them what God said, not what some famous Rabbi of bygone days had said.  When an Imam teaches something contrary to the Al kitab ul muqaddas then he is acting exactly like the Rabbis who were opposing Isa and he is not one iota less corrupt than they were. – an excerpt from my book “The Holy One called Isa”

Don’t be afraid to follow the holy one of God, Jesus for he cares about you. –Pastor Ward Clinton

Messiah feeds a Multitude

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6:30  And the apostles gathered themselves together unto Jesus, and told him all things, both what they had done, and what they had taught.

6:31  And he said unto them, Come ye yourselves apart into a desert place, and rest a while: for there were many coming and going, and they had no leisure so much as to eat.

6:32  And they departed into a desert place by ship privately.

They head out for some R&R (rest and relaxation) on the north east side of the lake near Bethsaida.  The wind may have been calm or they experienced a bit of a headwind which gave those who guessed or may have even overheard their intended destination a chance to go around the head of the lake and arrive shortly before or about the same time as Jesus and the disciples.  As they were going, the numbers have swelled.

6:33  And the people saw them departing, and many knew him, and ran afoot thither out of all cities, and outwent them, and came together unto him.

6:34  And Jesus, when he came out, saw much people, and was moved with compassion toward them, because they were as sheep not having a shepherd: and he began to teach them many things.

When Jesus stepped ashore, He could have been annoyed, instead, He recognized their need and began to minister to them.

6:35  And when the day was now far spent, his disciples came unto him, and said, This is a desert place, and now the time is far passed:

6:36  Send them away, that they may go into the country round about, and into the villages, and buy themselves bread: for they have nothing to eat.

After Jesus has been teaching for a few hours, the disciples tell Jesus that He better let these people go so that perhaps they may be able to go find some food.  Jesus says, “You feed ‘em.”  Actually, He is reminding them that they need to perform the duty of hospitality.  The disciples probably all blanched and experienced something akin to a panic attack at this point.  The mission they had been on expected them to depend on the law of hospitality and Jesus has just told them that it applies now, with and for these people.  They know He has spoken accurately.  Therefore, it is a wide-eyed, nervous, response that is uttered when they tell Him it would take six month’s, or more, wages to be able to pay for the food to feed all these people.  Additionally the nearby villages most likely could not have accommodated this crowd.  As for the food, all they have been able to come up with is one person’s lunch consisting of 5 small buns and the equivalent of two sardines.

6:37  He answered and said unto them, Give ye them to eat. And they say unto him, Shall we go and buy two hundred pennyworth of bread, and give them to eat?

6:38  He saith unto them, How many loaves have ye? go and see. And when they knew, they say, Five, and two fishes.

6:39  And he commanded them to make all sit down by companies upon the green grass.

When Jesus told them to have the people sit down the disciples, probably hesitated, thought about some of the things they have already seen Jesus do as well as what He has enabled them to do, and then they followed His instructions.

6:40  And they sat down in ranks, by hundreds, and by fifties.

6:41  And when he had taken the five loaves and the two fishes, he looked up to heaven, and blessed, and brake the loaves, and gave them to his disciples to set before them; and the two fishes divided he among them all.

Jesus did not distribute the food Himself.  He allowed His disciples to do this.  He allows and desires that we should do (Eph 2:10 “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them”).  He’s still got this habit of allowing us to be participants in the work He does on this earth and in our fellow man.  We are expected to do good works for the glory of God and the benefit of our fellow man.

6:42  And they did all eat, and were filled.

They had plenty to eat.  Attempts to explain away this miracle by those who harbor disbelief in their heart are completely inadequate.  If Jesus really was who He claimed to be then the miracle presents no difficulties whatsoever.  God had promised that when the true shepherd came the dessert would become a rich pasture where the sheep would be gathered and fed (Ezekiel 34:23-31), and here the Messiah feasts with followers in the desert (Isaiah 25:6-9).  Jesus is the Shepherd who provides for all our needs so that we lack nothing (Psalm 23:1).  The Holy One Called Isa

–Pastor Ward Clinton