I remain untitled

The Interests of Others

S: Matthew 14:13-16

Jesus Feeds the Five Thousand

13 When Jesus heard what had happened, he withdrew by boat privately to a solitary place. Hearing of this, the crowds followed him on foot from the towns.

14 When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them and healed their sick.

15 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.”

16 Jesus replied, “They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat.”

O: This is an interesting piece of scripture. Jesus heard that his friend, John the Baptist, got beheaded prior to this passage. I didn’t know that’s how John the Baptist died. I can imagine he was grieving for his friend privately. I would be sad if my friend died.

Jesus then saw the large crowd that followed him on foot from the towns. Nathan and I walked a good distance today around the National Zoo. It was hot outside and we were pretty tired by the end of our trip around the different cages and exhibits. These people probably travelled a long way to see Jesus. I can imagine they were exhausted. Interestingly, the disciples wanted to send them away. Jesus thought differently. He always put the interests of others before himself. He healed their sick and directed his disciples to give the people something to eat. He put their needs before his own.

He just lost his friend and went to heal and feed a crowd of people. He wasn’t engrossed in grieving. The scriptures don’t really talk about that here. Instead, he went on to feed five thousand people. I’m not sure I will be feeding five thousand people any time soon but this passage certainly puts things into perspective for me. 1) Sometimes unpleasant things happen. Jesus knew that. I know that. In this instance, Jesus needed to withdraw to a private place. He didn’t make a scene. He didn’t go around chatting it up with his disciples. It was a private matter for him. 2) When he saw the crowd of people, he tended to their needs. Despite his circumstance and feelings (I’m sure he was still sad about his friend the entire time), he put the interests of others before himself. He was selfless. He was generous.

A: I need to recognize that sometimes unpleasant and unexpected things will happen in my life. God doesn’t always shield me from these things. I will experience grief, loss, disappointment, etc. in this life but in those moments I think I need to withdraw and think and pray about these things privately. Also, despite my feelings, I want to be generous. Christ was generous all the time.

P: Father, please help me be generous and compassionate like you. Help me to put my circumstances aside (while dealing with these things appropriately) and serve you as you direct me. Help me to be sensitive to those times in my life where I need to put the interests of others before my own. Amen.