Interruptions are annoying. Our internet is acting up and just when the Netflix show gets exciting....interruption.
As I begin to study John 6, I wonder how the interruptions were not annoying to Jesus. Certainly his disciples would have been troubled by the ups and downs of following after Him....the constant conflict with the religious world, the crowds...
Some two years after the wedding in Cana, Jesus has grown quite a following. A lot of them followed Him just for the novelty....maybe they would get to see Him perform...( a miracle).
Some thought He was indeed the Messiah.
Mark 6:31 tells us that sometimes there was not even time to eat.
I don't know about you, but when my tummy gets really empty, I get impatient. And grouchy.
As John 6:1 begins, we see Jesus going up a mountain, away from the crowd, taking His disciples with Him for some peace and quiet. A time of rest...
But they were interrupted.
I imagine how I would have responded. Tired. Hungry. Emotionally and physically spent. Finally found a quiet place to just sit with Jesus....personal one on one time. And here they come, you can easily see them from up the hillside were they sat....coming.
Picnic and naptime is over. No more resting. Jesus looks down at them coming their direction.
Interruption.
And instead of looking for an out, maybe slip away somehow, Jesus thinks about the needs of these people who are seeking Him out.
And He sees a teaching moment for His disciples.
As a disciple of Jesus myself, I don't like interruptions when I have time alone with Him. I love finding a quiet place and just sitting with His Word, prayerfully taking it in...
Interruptions come.
People need to be fed. People need to know Him, not just me.
He is big enough for the crowd. The crowd of the entire human race...
The only time Jesus is recorded to have asked His disciples advice, and He asks them how to solve an impossible situation. How to feed this huge crowd.
He asks us to feed the crowd. Not with fish...
"Feed My sheep." (John 21:15-17)
What will interrupt my doing that task?
