In Matthew 15, Jesus and His followers are in the middle of nowhere. He’s on a mountain somewhere near the Sea of Galilee on His way back from Tyre and Sidon on the Mediterranean coast. For three days, people have been gathering to Jesus bringing people in need of healing. Jesus is unwilling to send them away hungry.
Then, His disciples ask one of the dumbest questions in the Bible, “Where are we to get enough bread in such a desolate place to feed so great a crowd?” (Matthew 15:33).
Why is it a dumb question? Because this scene is the feeding of the 4000. The feeding of the 5000 has already happened. They have seen how Jesus fed people already. They took 5 loaves and 2 fish out to thousands upon thousands of people just a few chapters before this. It was probably only weeks before this. Maybe a few months. And yet here they, in basically the exact same situation, and they are wondering where they are going to get bread.
Where do you think? Did y’all forget what Jesus did last time?
Lest we look down on the disciples with superiority, how often have we been guilty of the same short-sightedness? How often have our memories failed to recall what Jesus has done in the past?
How often have we found ourselves in a situation the feels oh so familiar, and we sit worrying, asking a similar question. How are we gonna get out of this mess?
How often does Jesus have to show us before we remember?
One more time it would seem.
It was certainly one more time for the disciples. In the next chapter they are in a boat, worrying about not having enough bread. And it’s often one more time for us. But Jesus keeps showing us where we will get more bread and how we’ll get out of this mess.
Thanks for reading.
Andy