Jesus has traveled by boat to a solitary place. The only reason someone would do that would be to find some peace and quiet. John’s Gospel tells us that when He got there, He went to a mountainside and spent the day with His disciples. Yet the crowd of people who He had taught earlier have sought Him out. They arrive, expecting Jesus to minister to them. Astonishingly, the Scripture does not say that Jesus was disappointed or discouraged with that outcome, even though He had moved to get some time away. Instead it says, “When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them and healed their sick.” Jesus sees their faith and effort to get or stay close to Him and lets His compassion rule His heart. He acts, ministering in the power of the Spirit and healing the sick.
Time passes and the day grows long. Jesus’ disciples recognize that in that place there was no kitchen, no pantry and no store. Many hours had passed, and the people (especially the sick), would need food to make it back to where they lived. “As evening approached, the disciples came to him and said, “This is a remote place, and it’s already getting late. Send the crowds away, so they can go to the villages and buy themselves some food.” Jesus replied, “They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat.””
Jesus’ response to the common sense suggestion of His disciples is telling. One commentator notes, “To send the crowds away, as suggested by the disciples, would achieve the isolation which had been sought [earlier]. But instead Jesus challenges the disciples themselves to show compassion to the crowds, as Jesus has been doing.”
It likely never even occurred to the disciples that feeding the crowd would become their responsibility. After all, it was clear to them that Jesus was in charge. He was the one who told them to take a boat. He was the one who told them where to land the boat. He was the one who began to minister to the crowd. Subsequently, He was the one they asked to dismiss the crowd. It is clear from their actions (or lack thereof) that they were merely following. But Jesus’ terse response to them gives the reader the impression that He expected His followers to be more than mere groupies.
Following Jesus involves participation in what God is doing. That participation is not limited to what seems possible. No doubt Jesus would’ve expected His disciples to be praying while He was ministering, and no doubt that if they had done that, they would’ve heard the Father tell them what to do just as the Father was speaking to Jesus about what to do. For Jesus Himself testified, “I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does.”
Christ followers are supposed to hear God direct them, and they are supposed to act on that direction in the power of the Spirit, just as Jesus did. This is what it means to be a disciple. This is what Jesus expects of us.
All true Christian spiritual formation is for the glory of God, for the abundance of our own lives and for the sake of others, or it is not Christian spiritual formation. For this we toil and struggle with all the energy that God so powerfully inspires within us.
Ruth Haley Barton
APPLICATION: Intentionality
Today the Spirit of God will speak to you. How is your listening?