Jump Start # 676

Matthew 16:9 “Do you not understand or remember the five loaves of the five thousand, and how many baskets full you picked up?”

Yesterday we looked at the feeding of the five thousand. A powerful miracle that illustrated the compassion and power of God. Our verse today takes place shortly after that. Jesus and the disciples get into a boat to cross the sea. Matthew reveals that they forgot to take any bread. As Jesus is teaching, the disciples are not listening. They are discussing the lack of food. Jesus is feeding the soul and the disciples are talking about their bellies.

Our verse is a rebuke from the Lord. These very disciples were part of the miracle of feeding the 5,000. They had not heard about it, they were there. They participated in feeding the crowd. They saw what Jesus did. They knew what He could do. Somehow they failed to connect that event to their trip in the boat. Couldn’t Jesus do it again? Did they forget?

From where we stand, the disciples seem a bit shallow and slow. It’s easy to see that in others. The problem is we can stand right with them. We forget past prayers that God answered. We forget blessings that God has graciously given us. We forget sins that have been forgiven. We get in a place, and there is no bread and we feel alone, helpless and desperate.

Some people seem to go from one crisis to the next. There seems to be very little calm in their schedule. They are on the edge of their faith about to go over a waterfall.

Jesus reminded them of the many baskets full of bread that the disciples picked up. What happened to those baskets? Had they eaten them already? Did they give them to others? Why pick them up? Why twelve—one for each disciple? Did Jesus see this day and tried to build faith in them?

Our failure to remember spiritual help and blessings cripples us like it did the disciples. Prayers offered in emergencies…the plea for help with prodigals…the broken hearts that beg for mercy…the dark clouds and the valleys full of shadows makes us reach out to the Lord. But then we pass through those periods. The sun comes back out. Everything looks good once again. We tend to forget. Maybe the pain and fear of those times are things that we do not want to remember. We cannot forget what good the Lord has done for us.

We sing, “count your many blessings, name them one by one.” That helps. It also helps to remember that God carried you through the dark days. You and I, like the disciples forget. We forget to bring bread for the journey. We forget how to find our way home. When the belly growls we are reminded. When the soul becomes worried we are reminded.

The disciples were not alone in the boat. Neither are we. They had Jesus, the very one who multiplied the bread. We have Jesus, the very one who blesses, forgives and helps. I wonder if the disciples picked at one another for forgetting the bread. I wonder if they played the blame game. We do that. We can be good at giving others guilt. One writer said that guilt is the gift that keeps on giving. “No bread. You were supposed to bring bread.” “Not, I.” Or, “I always have to get bread.” “Why don’t you bring some?” Sounds familiar, doesn’t it. These very disciples would later fuss at one another about who was the greatest. It seemed that they forgot again.

You’ve seen the slogan, “Got milk.” Got Jesus is what we get from this. Not to take care of our bellies, but to take care of our souls. Trust. He’s there. Don’t worry. Don’t fear.

Do you not understand, is what Jesus asked them. They didn’t. Let’s hope we do.

Roger