Jesus' story picks up again in the 6th Chapter of John's Gospel. He has been healing the sick all around, and the crowds continue to follow Him, some to see what He would do next, some to know where He was going so they could bring others to Him to be healed, some because it was just the place to be right then.
Next comes the feeding of the 5,000 (only men were listed, but undoubtedly, with women and children included, there were considerably more than this). Jesus knew what He was going to do with the 5 barley loves and 2 fish, and He also knew that once the people had full bellies, they would talk about making this man their king. After all, sickness would be gone and they would be fed without doing any work. What better king could they have?
He might even be able to rid the land of the pagan Romans.
Jesus also knew that with every healing, especially those on the Sabbath, with every feeding and with every other sign and miracle, His fame would spread. As His fame spread over the land, so would the opposition gather steam, so that the religious leaders would someday have to take Him out. They could not chance losing their power over the people, and they could not invite the Romans to clamp down on what freedoms this occupying power had allowed in Israel.
Jesus had stated before that He only did what the Father told Him to do. All the healings, all the miracles, and all the signs would lead to the Cross and to the Resurrection. There was a plan in place, and, while it is fun to speculate on the meaning of individual actions on His part, He walked straight down that one road to Calvary and beyond.
I can also speculate on what individual happenings mean in the great scheme of things in my life. I cannot see how each thing fits into the overall plan of God. The only thing that I can do is to walk one step at a time, looking ahead only as far as the road is illuminated, listening to God and trusting in His goodness and His plan for me and those I love.
God help me to live that way.
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