"Have the people sit down." John 6:10
Have you ever been lost? If you have, you know how it feels. You know where you want to be, but you don't know how to get there. Which direction to go. Which signs to follow. You feel confused and disoriented. Your mind tries to put the puzzle-pieces together to bridge the gap between where you are and where you need to be. But it's not easy. It's slow-going. It's a trial and error process. Take this street--no that's not right. Oh, great. Where am I? This doesn't look like a good neighborhood. Yes, it might even be scary, leaving you feeling panicked and making quick decisions that make it worse, not better. Being lost is a place none of us want to be.
Besides finding ourselves lost in a physical locality sense, we also may feel this way about life. We may wonder what we are supposed to be doing. How to make money and how to spend it. What to make a priority and what to let go. Who to spend time with. Who to follow. How to find happiness, peace, fulfillment, and purpose. And, just like when we're lost in an unfamiliar area, we have similar feelings of confusion, frustration, and maybe even panic. The puzzle-pieces aren't fitting together right. We're not where we want to be, and no matter which way we turn, we can't seem to get there. Even seemingly good solutions, tested and tried by others, don't work for us. We may go about life, acting as if we know exactly where we are and where we're going, maybe even believing it ourselves, and yet in reality, we're lost. Like sheep without a shepherd, Jesus would say. Or in more modern-day terms, like athletes without a coach; workers without a boss; students without a teacher.
Jesus said this about the people living in Israel during the time of His public ministry, and their aimless wandering had been going on for quite some time. That's one of the reasons why He came. He came to lead the people, His people, on the right path. The path of truth, love, and peace. And He did this in various ways. He taught them by using the ancient Scriptures; He taught them by proclaiming the "good news"; He taught them by telling stories (parables); And He taught them by example. He spoke about the love of God, and He showed them that same compassion. He spoke about God's ways, and He lived by them. He pointed out the wrongful thinking of the religious elite, and He did it differently. He claimed to be the Son of God, and He proved it by the things He said, the miracles He performed, and His victory over sin and death.
I was reading about one of these miracles this week, and I "heard" something that I hadn't taken much notice of before. In John 6, Jesus and His disciples cross the Sea of Galilee to a remote place and hike up a mountainside. A large crowd follows them, and Jesus asks one of His disciples, "Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat?" Philip doesn't think such a thing is even possible, claiming it would cost way too much money to feed them, even something cheap like bread. Andrew has a little more optimism, seeing a boy with some bread and fish in his picnic basket, but hardly enough to go around.
Jesus, of course, has a plan. He knows what He is capable of and that He is not limited by natural means. If you know this story, you know what He does. He takes the small amount of food and miraculously multiples it to feed everyone and have plenty of leftovers. Through this story we draw out truths about Jesus and His miraculous power, and we also see that He simply cares about these people. He doesn't want them to go hungry. He knows their need, and He is willing to meet it.
But beyond their physical need for food, He also gives them something else. A need for rest. They have traveled a long way. Some may have come to be healed of their diseases, as they saw or heard He had done for others. Some may have followed Him out of curiosity to see what else He could do. And some may have made the journey just to hear what He had to say. To hear more about this Good News He was proclaiming. Perhaps they were feeling lost and wanted to hear what He might have to say about their lives. What they were doing right, what they were doing wrong, how they could find favor with God, how to receive this thing He was talking about called "eternal life".
"Have the people sit down," he says. Seems like a logical thing to say since He knew they were going to be eating in a few minutes. But I think Jesus' words here are very profound for a couple of reasons. One is because it was customary for people to stand in the presence of a rabbi, a teacher in Jewish culture. So the fact that Jesus is inviting them to sit at all says something about His character. He wanted the people to be relaxed in His presence. They didn't need to stand at attention and show proper respect like many of the teachers of the day expected. He didn't want to be honored, He wanted to be listened to. And He didn't want to just teach the people about God's provision and His role and their loving Father, He wanted to show them the reality of it. "Come to me, and I will give you rest," He said on another occasion, and He meant it.
Another thing I discovered is that the word for "sit" here is not the ordinary word for sit as we commonly think of it. He didn't just invite them to sit, but to "recline". To lay back. To take a load off. To relax. To rest and be nourished, like sheep with a shepherd. A good shepherd. A loving caregiver who knew what they needed. They had no other choice in this remote place. And they took the opportunity to sit down and have their fill and experience God's abundance.
As Christians we are often challenged and expected to do more. To be busy doing God's work. To not waste precious time and make the most of our days. And while we are called to meet the needs of others, teach, serve, and use our gifts, we are also called to rest. Why? Because we need it. We're human. We are like sheep, and we need a shepherd. We get lost easily. We get busy and think we're on the Holiness Express, only to look around one day and discover we're completely lost. Confused, disoriented, and scared. We're trying to make it on our own. We're trying to save everyone else, and Jesus gently reminds us, 'Hey, you still need Me. You need to trust Me. You need to rest. You need to follow Me, not chart your own course. Come and rest. Sit down. Relax. Take a load off. Find rest for your soul. (And your body too.) "For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light."
Do you need to accept Jesus' invitation to sit down and rest? Do you need to experience some peace? Do you need to be fed? Are you short on some spiritual nourishment? Are you confused? Are you living in a state of fear, worry, guilt, defeat, or burden? This is not what Jesus desires for you. He desires for you to be at rest in His presence. He desires for your heart to be filled with love, joy, and peace.
Is it?
'The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not be in want. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he restores my soul.' Psalm 23
Have you ever been lost? If you have, you know how it feels. You know where you want to be, but you don't know how to get there. Which direction to go. Which signs to follow. You feel confused and disoriented. Your mind tries to put the puzzle-pieces together to bridge the gap between where you are and where you need to be. But it's not easy. It's slow-going. It's a trial and error process. Take this street--no that's not right. Oh, great. Where am I? This doesn't look like a good neighborhood. Yes, it might even be scary, leaving you feeling panicked and making quick decisions that make it worse, not better. Being lost is a place none of us want to be.
Besides finding ourselves lost in a physical locality sense, we also may feel this way about life. We may wonder what we are supposed to be doing. How to make money and how to spend it. What to make a priority and what to let go. Who to spend time with. Who to follow. How to find happiness, peace, fulfillment, and purpose. And, just like when we're lost in an unfamiliar area, we have similar feelings of confusion, frustration, and maybe even panic. The puzzle-pieces aren't fitting together right. We're not where we want to be, and no matter which way we turn, we can't seem to get there. Even seemingly good solutions, tested and tried by others, don't work for us. We may go about life, acting as if we know exactly where we are and where we're going, maybe even believing it ourselves, and yet in reality, we're lost. Like sheep without a shepherd, Jesus would say. Or in more modern-day terms, like athletes without a coach; workers without a boss; students without a teacher.
Jesus said this about the people living in Israel during the time of His public ministry, and their aimless wandering had been going on for quite some time. That's one of the reasons why He came. He came to lead the people, His people, on the right path. The path of truth, love, and peace. And He did this in various ways. He taught them by using the ancient Scriptures; He taught them by proclaiming the "good news"; He taught them by telling stories (parables); And He taught them by example. He spoke about the love of God, and He showed them that same compassion. He spoke about God's ways, and He lived by them. He pointed out the wrongful thinking of the religious elite, and He did it differently. He claimed to be the Son of God, and He proved it by the things He said, the miracles He performed, and His victory over sin and death.
I was reading about one of these miracles this week, and I "heard" something that I hadn't taken much notice of before. In John 6, Jesus and His disciples cross the Sea of Galilee to a remote place and hike up a mountainside. A large crowd follows them, and Jesus asks one of His disciples, "Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat?" Philip doesn't think such a thing is even possible, claiming it would cost way too much money to feed them, even something cheap like bread. Andrew has a little more optimism, seeing a boy with some bread and fish in his picnic basket, but hardly enough to go around.
Jesus, of course, has a plan. He knows what He is capable of and that He is not limited by natural means. If you know this story, you know what He does. He takes the small amount of food and miraculously multiples it to feed everyone and have plenty of leftovers. Through this story we draw out truths about Jesus and His miraculous power, and we also see that He simply cares about these people. He doesn't want them to go hungry. He knows their need, and He is willing to meet it.
But beyond their physical need for food, He also gives them something else. A need for rest. They have traveled a long way. Some may have come to be healed of their diseases, as they saw or heard He had done for others. Some may have followed Him out of curiosity to see what else He could do. And some may have made the journey just to hear what He had to say. To hear more about this Good News He was proclaiming. Perhaps they were feeling lost and wanted to hear what He might have to say about their lives. What they were doing right, what they were doing wrong, how they could find favor with God, how to receive this thing He was talking about called "eternal life".
"Have the people sit down," he says. Seems like a logical thing to say since He knew they were going to be eating in a few minutes. But I think Jesus' words here are very profound for a couple of reasons. One is because it was customary for people to stand in the presence of a rabbi, a teacher in Jewish culture. So the fact that Jesus is inviting them to sit at all says something about His character. He wanted the people to be relaxed in His presence. They didn't need to stand at attention and show proper respect like many of the teachers of the day expected. He didn't want to be honored, He wanted to be listened to. And He didn't want to just teach the people about God's provision and His role and their loving Father, He wanted to show them the reality of it. "Come to me, and I will give you rest," He said on another occasion, and He meant it.
Another thing I discovered is that the word for "sit" here is not the ordinary word for sit as we commonly think of it. He didn't just invite them to sit, but to "recline". To lay back. To take a load off. To relax. To rest and be nourished, like sheep with a shepherd. A good shepherd. A loving caregiver who knew what they needed. They had no other choice in this remote place. And they took the opportunity to sit down and have their fill and experience God's abundance.
As Christians we are often challenged and expected to do more. To be busy doing God's work. To not waste precious time and make the most of our days. And while we are called to meet the needs of others, teach, serve, and use our gifts, we are also called to rest. Why? Because we need it. We're human. We are like sheep, and we need a shepherd. We get lost easily. We get busy and think we're on the Holiness Express, only to look around one day and discover we're completely lost. Confused, disoriented, and scared. We're trying to make it on our own. We're trying to save everyone else, and Jesus gently reminds us, 'Hey, you still need Me. You need to trust Me. You need to rest. You need to follow Me, not chart your own course. Come and rest. Sit down. Relax. Take a load off. Find rest for your soul. (And your body too.) "For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light."
Do you need to accept Jesus' invitation to sit down and rest? Do you need to experience some peace? Do you need to be fed? Are you short on some spiritual nourishment? Are you confused? Are you living in a state of fear, worry, guilt, defeat, or burden? This is not what Jesus desires for you. He desires for you to be at rest in His presence. He desires for your heart to be filled with love, joy, and peace.
Is it?
'The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not be in want. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he restores my soul.' Psalm 23
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