The Republican., 1947-02-06
FEEDING THE FIVE THOUSAND

EEED1-SO HE F1N l. lHOUSaND
LESSON TEXT-John 6:25.35, 5G.58
MEMORY SELECTIoN-I am that bread
of life.-John 6:43.
Bread! The cry of the hungry
peoples of the world for bread has
reminded us anew that it is the
simple and elemental things of life
which are of most Importance.
Bread, water, light-such things
man cannot do without How signif-
cant then that our Lord declared
himself to be the bread of life
(John 6:35), the satisfying water
John 4:14, and the light of the
world John 8:12).
Our lesson does not deal with the
feeding of the five thousand, but the
story of that miracle of our Lord is
the background for the discourse on
the bread of life which is assigned
for our study. 1t is one Of the most
delightfully."- simple, yet unfathom-
ably profound, portions of Scripture.
The story of how our Lord multi
piled the loaves and fishes of a
small boys lunch and fed the multi
tude presents him as the Creator
and Sustainer of all things. The
people having been fed, wanted to
take Jesus and make him their
King John 6:15), so he went over
the Sea of Galilee to Capernaum.
But he could not get away from
them, for they followed him thither.
Meeting them he gave them the
instruction they SO much needed as
he effectively contrasted the tenn
poral and earthly with the eternal
and heavenly.
1. The Bread of Earth and the
Bread of Heaven wv. 25-27).
They sought Jesus not that they
might receive spiritual blessings,
but that their stomachs might be
filled ". 26). 1t was not high
motive, but an understandable one.
Hunger, or the fear of hunger,
threatens so many Of the people of
this earth that one does not find
it in his heart to condemn them too
severely.
Yet it was a low motive and
one which caused them to entirely
miss the greatest and most blessed
provision of God for their every
need. The bread of this earth, bear
ing the imprint Of a human maker,
would soon leave them hungry
again, and eventually they would
die The bread of heaven, bearing
the seal of the Father ". 81,
would soon satisfy them for an
eternity.
Note the folly of those who labor
for the reward which this world
can give, but who neglect their eter-
nal welfare ". ~. How foolish,
too, is the Christian who spends his
whole life and his talents in the
pursuit Of money and invests little
or nothing of time or ability in the
service Of God!
II. The Work of Men and the
Work of God Wv. 28-33).
Entang!ed as they we're in earth
ly things and desires, they seemed
for a moment to reach out toward
the things of God. Jesus had been
talking about everlasting life and
the bread from heaven; they want
ed to know what they could do to
merit and receive it.
1t is quite typical of man even to
this day that he thinks there must
be some way that he can come
through to eternal blessedness by
way of his own works. We shall
see how effectively Jesus dealt with
that folly!
The only work that man can do to
meet Gods first demands and in
herit eternal life is to believe
in Christ ". 29). Men want to add
up works of penance, works of char
ity, deeds of righteousness, char
acter development, the observance
of religious traditions and cere-
monies, the offering of prayers, ana
so on without end. Jesus sweeps
aside all this with one brief word,
saying in effect, 'It is not ques-
ton of do; it is matter Of believe" "
Works is not the answer to any
spiritual need, but faith in Christ.
We must trust God and believe in
the One whom he has sent; then
we are ready to 60 out and do
his will!
They Eyes, and we too) must
now face the alternative
III. The Way of Death and the
Way CT Life Wv. "a, 35, $3.50.
One could wish that the request
made in verse "a could be taken at
face value, but the fact that they
later turned away and left the Lord
indicates that this was again de-
sire for physical bread. There was
probably a vague desire for eter-
nal life, too, but not enough to make
them follow through with appropri-
ate action. How much they were
like folk today who want the bene-
fits of Christianity, but who will not
take up the cross.
There is here a bold contrast be-
tween the things of this earth,
which, as we use them, perish (and
alas, we perish with them), and
the things Of God which are of eter-
nal value and power.
Which shall it be, reader, for you?
Are you willing to go on day after
day on the way of death, or will
you today take Christ, who is the
way o. life?
n