Meditation for Monday
And when the day began to wear away, then came the twelve, and said unto Him, Send the multitude away, that they may go into the towns and country round about, and lodge, and get victuals: for we are here in a desert place. Luke 9:12
One of the most dramatic and impressive of all of the miracles that the Lord Jesus performed was the feeding of the multitudes with the lad’s lunch. But if the disciples had had their way, it would never have happened. It is hard to imagine how so many people had gone so far away from a place of provision without taking any supplies. But it happened. Practically speaking, the disciples saw the great danger of having all of those people stranded, hungry and tired, in the desert. Their solution made sense; if Jesus would dismiss the crowd now, there would be time for them to go and buy food and lodging. But they were missing two very important considerations. For one, many of those people would not have had the money to buy food, and would have to travel all the way home hungry and in the dark. The second consideration that the disciples missed was any responsibility on their part to provide for the needs of the people.
Many of the people who had followed the Lord Jesus into the wilderness were humble and poor. Some of them brought nothing because they had little or nothing to bring. They remind us of those to whom we seek to take the Gospel. Years ago, most people had at least a bit of knowledge of the Bible and had a measure of respect for God. Not anymore! The Bible does not appear in most homes, and is not taught or even referenced in schools. This has led to a great ignorance and apathy regarding spiritual things. Even those who are willing to listen to the Gospel need to have things explained to them in the simplest of terms. Like the poor people of Luke 9, they will go along in spiritual starvation and darkness unless we provide them with food and light.
Other gospel accounts indicate the disciples might have access to two hundred pennies. That, and the five loaves and two fish donated by a boy, were not enough. So the disciples took the approach that it was not their responsibility to provide for all those people. They thought they were doing the people a favour by sending them away early enough to find food and lodging for themselves. What is our responsibility to those around us? We can pray for them, of course. And we can support the preachers who will visit and speak to the people. We can hand out a tract, and speak a word of testimony when the opportunity arises. Some can preach, and some can boldly go forth with the Gospel in missionary lands. But how much of these things do we really do? How seriously do we take our responsibility to the poor and hungry folks around us?
The Lord Jesus does not send sinners out in search for the Gospel; He sends us out with the Gospel in search of sinners. -Jim MacIntosh