Jesus' Compassion

Jesus' Compassion

Max Lucado

Interesting, the stress seen that day is not on Jesus' face, but the faces of the disciples.

"Send the crowds away," they demand. Fair request. "After all," they are saying, "You've taught them. You've healed them. You've accommodated them. And now they are hungry. If we don't send them away, they'll want you to feed them, too!"

I wish I could have seen the expression on the disciples' faces when they heard the Master's response...

"You give them something to eat."...

Rather than look to God, they looked in their wallets. "That would take eight months of a man's wages! Are we to go and spend that much on bread and give it to them to eat?"

"Y-y-y-you've got to be kidding."

"He can't be serious."

"It's one of Jesus' jokes."

"Do you know how many people are out there?"

Eyes watermelon wide. Jaws dangling open. One ear hearing, the din of the crowd, the other the command of God.

Don't miss the contrasting views. When Jesus saw the people, he saw an opportunity to love and affirm value. When the disciples saw the people they saw thousands of problems.

Also, don't miss the irony. In the midst of a bakery--in the presence of the Eternal Baker --they tell the "Bread of Life" that there is no bread.

How silly we must appear to God.

Here's where Jesus should have given up. This is the point in the pressure-packed day when Jesus should have exploded. The sorrow, the life threats, the exuberance, the crowds, the interruptions, the demands, and now this. His own disciples can't do what he asks them. In front of five thousand men, they let him down.

"Beam me up, Father," should have been Jesus' next words. But they weren't. Instead he inquires, "How many loaves do you have?"

The disciples bring him a little boy's lunch.

A lunch pail becomes a banquet, and all are fed. No word of reprimand is given. No furrow brow of anger is seen. No "I told-you-so" speech is delivered. The same compassion Jesus extends to the crowd is extended to his friends.

STUDY GUIDES
READ JOHN 6: 1-15

* What do you think Jesus wanted his disciples to learn from this event?

* Who are you most like in this story? Philip? Andrew? The boy? The people? Why?

* Think of a time when God provided for your needs in an unusual or surprising way. How did that experience strengthen your faith?

* What problems in your life seem to have no solutions?

* Do you find it difficult to trust God to meet your needs? Why?

* What does this story teach us about the way God provides for his people?

* How does the faith of other believers inspire us to trust God?

* What sometimes keeps you from trusting God to meet your needs?

The Devotional Bible - Experiencing The Heart of Jesus - Max Lucado General Editor; New Century Version, Thomas Nelson Bibles