January 27
JOHN 6
8 One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said to him, 9 “There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish, but what are they for so many?” 10 Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.” Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, about five thousand in number. 11 Jesus then took the loaves, and when he had given thanks, he distributed them to those who were seated. So also the fish, as much as they wanted. 12 And when they had eaten their fill, he told his disciples, “Gather up the leftover fragments, that nothing may be lost.” 13 So they gathered them up and filled twelve baskets with fragments from the five barley loaves left by those who had eaten. 14 When the people saw the sign that he had done, they said, “This is indeed the Prophet who is to come into the world!”15 Perceiving then that they were about to come and take him by force to make him king, Jesus withdrew again to the mountain by himself
– John 6:8-15
JOHN 6 JESUS FLEES FROM THE CROWD
A poem by ILMA inspired by these verses
After Jesus multiplied food to feed the five thousand
He saw how the people clamored for more than what he gave them
They were obsessed with the sign that they witnessed they wanted more
They’ve been waiting for the promised Prophet to come for long
So, the crowd chased Jesus so they can proclaim him as king
But Jesus won’t go against God’s timeline and so he fled from them.
What can we observe in this account of the multiplication of fish and bread? Yes, it was a great miracle to feed those hungry five thousand people but many of them missed out on the purpose why Jesus did this sign. It was to foreshadow his coming death and resurrection. When he sacrificed his life on the cross, it was in order to save mankind from sin and appease God’s wrath. That after this great sacrifice, they only needed to feed on the bread of life which comes from his word.
These people are not any different from us now. We don’t truly clamor for the bread of life but we pursue our own human pursuits. We chase after our desires, ambitions and dreams for a better life, but we fail to feed on his word which is more than enough.
REFLECTION
• Why do you think humans tend to want for more instead of being content?
