The miracle of feeding the five thousand is the only one which is told by each of the four evangelists; it has therefore a peculiar import. There was a prophecy concerning the Messiah, that He would feed His poor with bread (Psa. 132:1515I will abundantly bless her provision: I will satisfy her poor with bread. (Psalm 132:15)); and we may be sure that the promise of plenty, connected with His reign, would be one which the poor of Judah would naturally remember. And so it was, for when they saw how Jesus fed the five thousand, through the hands of His disciples, they exclaimed, “This is of a truth that Prophet that should come into the world” (John 6:1414Then those men, when they had seen the miracle that Jesus did, said, This is of a truth that prophet that should come into the world. (John 6:14)), and, accordingly, they were set upon making Him a king (John 6:1515When Jesus therefore perceived that they would come and take him by force, to make him a king, he departed again into a mountain himself alone. (John 6:15)).
The day of His kingly glory and reign over this suffering and troubled earth is yet to dawn; the promises connected with His Messiahship are yet to be fulfilled. The poor shall in God’s time be fed; but there is connected with Jesus a glory more excellent than that of supplying our earthly or bodily wants. Jesus is the Bread of Life, the Food of the heart, the Satisfaction of the soul. Before the day of His earthly kingdom He supplies every need of the heart, and not one hungry soul coming to Him is sent away empty. The poor in spirit find in Jesus the Bread of Life, and those who seek from Him the bread which endures to everlasting life never hunger (John 6:3535And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst. (John 6:35)).
Now when the Lord saw that the people, who had eaten of His bread, would by force make Him a king, would in their own will and by their own hands, and before the Father’s time, set up His kingdom, He departed into a mountain Himself alone. Man’s time was that present hour, because of the bread; and who does not welcome the temporal gifts of God? But the Lord’s hour for rule had not arrived, and how few there are who willingly wait God’s time!
Instead of becoming the king, Jesus, as it were, became the Priest. He went up by Himself to the mountain. What was figured by His action is now a fact. God has said to Him, “Sit Thou at My right hand, until I make Thine enemies Thy footstool,” (Psalm 110:11<<A Psalm of David.>> The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool. (Psalm 110:1)) and while there waiting for His kingdom, He is the Priest on high. The Lord has not gone up to heaven merely to wait for His kingdom, for His Messiah glory; He has gone up to heaven to intercede for His poor, tried and tempted people on earth, and to support them in their affliction and their weakness. “For in that He Himself hath suffered being tempted, He is able to succor them that are tempted” (Heb. 2:1818For in that he himself hath suffered being tempted, he is able to succor them that are tempted. (Hebrews 2:18)).
When the Lord was upon that mountain alone, the night closed in and darkness shrouded Him from the sight of His disciples. They entered a ship, and thrust out upon the waters. Jesus was not come to them, and, lo, the wind was contrary and the sea arose by reason of a wind that blew. Circumstances were against them. What a different scene than a few hours before, when out of His fullness they had received sufficient for their own need, and also plenty to feed five thousand!
The day when He was here, healing the sick and helping the poor, is past. He is not on earth, as is evident by earth’s circumstances, for sorrow and buffeting are bitterly well-known incidents to every toiler upon the waves of this life’s rough sea. It is night, and He is in heaven. Circumstances are often adverse to us, but in them we can learn His sufficiency and His care in adverse things. We may say even of the bitterest sorrows of our souls, that in going through them with His support the bitter becomes sweet.
Yes, it is night; but let us not forget that the night is far spent, nor live as if forgetting, as if Time’s voyage had no end or life’s sea had no shore. Toiling rowers, your vessel nears the land, you labor on to a haven of rest. The disciples of the Master are unlike the worldly ones crossing life’s sea, who know not whither they go. To a worldly person, there is no object beyond these waves. It is night and loneliness here, with no heavenly Friend in the difficulty, and no heavenly home beyond storms.
From His mountain the Lord watched the laborers and saw the difficulties of His beloved disciples; His heart was with them, and He came down from the mountain, and, lo, His way was upon the waves. Being Lord of all, all the powers of His creation obeyed Him. The unstable and stormy sea bore upon her bosom the feet of Him who is her Creator, as He neared the toiling vessel, whither He hasted to prove Himself a Friend indeed to those He loved.
At first the disciples feared when they saw Him, but when they recognized Him their fear vanished. His presence ever casts out fear from the hearts of those who love Him. The laboring rowers received Him into the ship, and, lo, immediately they were at the land whither they went. In an instant they were at their journey’s end.
So will it be in that day with the faithful remnant of His people Israel. He came to His own as King, but He was rejected by His people; He will come again to them in their night of sorrow and will deliver them. To this future scene, by the incident before us, we are directed. However, we, too, are toilers on life’s sea. We, too, need Him in this night, and He is coming, and will soon bring us whither we would be—He will bring us home. In the interval He is engaged with the difficulties of each one of His disciples; from heaven He looks down and beholds our trials, and He assuredly proves Himself a Friend in need to us, as each of His own can testify.
The Coming One draws nigh. He will soon descend from heaven, and we shall hear His voice—“It is I.” And then immediately, in the twinkling of an eye, we shall have reached the end of our voyage—we shall be at home.