There is a record in the Bible: “One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said to him, There is a lad here, which has five barley loaves, and two small fishes: but what are they among so many? And Jesus said, Make the men sit down. Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, in number about five thousand. And Jesus took the loaves; and when he had given thanks, he distributed to the disciples, and the disciples to them that were set down; and likewise of the fishes as much as they would. When they were filled, he said to his disciples, Gather up the fragments that remain, that nothing be lost.Therefore they gathered them together, and filled twelve baskets with the fragments of the five barley loaves, which remained over and above to them that had felt so shocked and could confirm more deeply in my heart that the Lord Jesus is indeed the one true God who supplies all things, commands all things and brings something out of nothing. I was also sure that even if there hadn’t been these food at that time, the Lord Jesus also could perform miracles to feed these five thousand people, or even more. Because nothing is impossible for God. In the meanwhile, the Lord Jesus’ wondrous deeds became the foundations of my belief in and pursuit of Him.
Afterward, I saw these following passages of God’s words, which made me have a deeper acceptance and knowledge of the Lord Jesus’ thoughts behind the miracle of five loaves and two fish.
God said: “First, let’s try to understand what type of people these five thousand were. Were they followers of the Lord Jesus? From the Scripture, we know that they were not His followers. Did they know who the Lord Jesus was? Definitely not! At the very least, they didn’t know that the person standing in front of them was Christ, or maybe some people only knew what His name was, and knew something or had heard something about things He had done. They were merely curious about the Lord Jesus from the stories, but you certainly couldn’t say they followed Him, much less understood Him. When the Lord Jesus saw these five thousand people, they were hungry and could only think of eating their fill, so it was in this context that the Lord Jesus satisfied their wishes. When He satisfied their wishes, what was in His heart? What was His attitude toward these people that only wanted to eat their fill? At this time, the Lord Jesus’ thoughts and His attitude had to do with God’s disposition and essence. Facing these five thousand people with empty stomachs who only wanted to eat a full meal, facing these people full of curiosity and hopes about Him, the Lord Jesus only thought of utilizing this miracle to bestow grace upon them. However, He did not get His hopes up that they would become His followers, for He knew that they just wanted to get in on the fun and to eat their fill, so He made the best of what He had there, and used five loaves of bread and two fish to feed five thousand people. He opened the eyes of these people who enjoyed entertainment, who wanted to see miracles, and they saw with their own eyes the things that God incarnate could complete. Although the Lord Jesus used something tangible to satisfy their curiosity, He already knew in His heart that these five thousand people just wanted to have a good meal, so He didn’t say anything at all or preach to them at all — He just let them see this miracle occur. He absolutely could not treat these people the same as He treated His disciples who truly followed Him, but in God’s heart, all creatures were under His rule, and He would allow all creatures in His sight to enjoy the grace of God when it was necessary. Even though these people did not know who He was or understand Him, or have any particular impression of Him or gratitude toward Him even after they had eaten the loaves and fish, this wasn’t something that God took issue with — He gave these people a wonderful opportunity to enjoy the grace of God. Some people say that God is principled in what He does, and He does not watch over or protect non-believers, and He especially does not allow them to enjoy His grace. Is that actually the case? In God’s eyes, as long as they are living creatures that He Himself created, He will manage and care for them; He will treat them, plan for them, and rule them in different ways. These are the thoughts and attitude of God toward all things.
“… So did He make any requirements of these people? Was there any hatred? There were none of these — He just no longer wanted to pay any mind to these people who could not follow Him, and at this time His heart was in pain. Because He had seen the depravity of mankind and He had felt mankind’s rejection of Him, and when He saw these people or He was with them, human obtuseness and ignorance made Him very sad and left His heart in pain, so He only wanted to leave these people as quickly as possible. The Lord didn’t have any requirements of them in His heart, He did not want to pay them any mind, He particularly did not want to expend His energy on them, and He knew they could not follow Him — in spite of all this, His attitude toward them was still very clear. He just wanted to treat them kindly, to bestow them with grace — this was God’s attitude toward every creature under His rule: for every creature, treat them kindly, provide for them, nourish them. For the very reason that the Lord Jesus was God incarnate, He very naturally revealed God’s own essence and treated these people kindly. He treated them kindly with a heart of mercy and tolerance. …
“… Even though it’s a story that people have read for several thousand years, it has a simple plot, and allows people to see a simple phenomenon, yet in this simple plot we can see something more valuable, which is God’s disposition and what He has and is. These things that He has and is represent God Himself, and are an expression of God’s own thoughts. When God expresses His thoughts, it’s an expression of the voice of His heart. He hopes that there will be people who can understand Him, know Him and comprehend His will, and He hopes there will be people who can hear the voice of His heart and will be able to actively cooperate to satisfy His will. And these things that the Lord Jesus did were a silent expression of God.”
God’s words made me gain a new interpretation of the story of five loaves and two fish in the Scripture. In the past, I had read this section of scripture for many times, but what I could understand was only God’s authority and ability, while I had no knowledge of the Lord Jesus’ thoughts, the disposition and substance He revealed behind the miracle. Only through God’s dissection and revelation in this way did I know that what God had done is truly meaningful.
From God’s words, I saw that facing those people who just wanted to have a good meal but didn’t want to pursue the truth or seek an understanding of God, God only bestowed them with grace to make them full. This was God’s attitude. Even if they would not follow Him after they had eaten their fill, God didn’t have any requirements or hatred toward them in His heart. This was even more of the revelation of His substance of beauty and goodness. Moreover, God knew that those five thousand people who had a good meal would not follow Him, so He did not get His hopes up that they would follow Him, and meanwhile God didn’t intend to say more to them. From this I knew that although God loves and treats people kindly, He is principled in His treatment of different kinds of people. As for those who believed in God but only wanted to eat their fill of His bread, God would bestow grace on them and treat them kindly, but He would not express His will to them. However, as to His disciples who truly loved the truth and followed Him, God would provide more truths to make them sated in their spirit and live amid His guidance and blessings.
In God’s words, I also saw the heart’s voice God expressed to us behind “five loaves and two fish.” Although many people come before God, if they believe in God just in order to eat their fill of His bread, and get the peace of the flesh or blessings in the future, but not pursue the truth or knowledge of God, they will never be able to gain God’s approval, much less gain the truth and life. On the contrary, only those who truly love the truth and are willing to seek to know God can gain the truth and life. Only such people can seek the truth, obey God, and resolutely follow God in all manner of trials, tribulations and refinements that are arranged by God. Only such people can live out the reality of God’s word, change their life disposition and be men that God truly loves. Only such people can receive God’s promise and obtain eternal life. Behind five loaves and two fish, what are the thoughts of the Lord Jesus? Do you grasp it now?
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