Sit Down and Be Counted

John 6:10 And Jesus said, Make the men sit down. Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, in number about five thousand.

John's version of the feeding of the five thousand takes on a slightly different view than the other three gospels. In fact, in John's gospel, he tells us not only what Jesus did, but who He is. Some of the most important language in the Christian faith is found there: I am the light of the world, I am the good shepherd, I am the living water, I am the truth and the light, no man comes to the father but by me.

Mark's version tells us that the disciples came to Jesus letting him know that they did not have enough food and that they needed to send the crowd away. Truly, that is the challenge to the church of today. So many hungry people, yet we push them away because we can't see God meeting their need. We say we can't solve everyone's problem; we don't have the answer to everyone's crisis. I am so glad that when I came to Jesus, when I couldn't go it on my own any more, He didn't send me away empty handed.

John says Jesus looked out and saw a hungry crowd. It was He who challenged Philip by asking, "Where shall we buy bread that these may eat?" He wasn't unaware of the situation. He already knew what He was about to do. There is no need that you can come up with that is not known to Him. In fact, He's already working it out.

There is no mention of the number of this gathering until Jesus told them to sit. Mentally, sometimes men think we can't get anything from God unless we are standing on our own two feet. We have to be the provider, the protector. We have a hard time admitting that we have needs, that somehow if we are not in control of every situation in our lives, that it is a sign of weakness. But these men realized there was something special about an encounter with Jesus. They recognized there need to be in the presence of a Holy God. Sitting down means giving up a little control, means we may not be seen, we may not get the attention we think we deserve, we may think that we will get overlooked, perhaps give up some of my uniqueness, my individuality or identity.

But sitting down with Jesus means spending time with the Master. It means allowing Jesus to minister to those hidden places in our spirits, surrendering control to His will. Naturally, we as human beings think that we have to stand; we have to be doing something. In the busyness of being where we need to be, getting where we need to go, we miss out on the miracles God wants to do in the stillness of our lives.

Five thousands lives. Certainly there were more needs than just natural hunger. Five thousand minds, attitudes, histories, understandings and pieces of baggage. After taking what little they had to offer, five loaves and two fishes, He fed them ALL!

Twelve baskets left over! He is more than enough to heal, to restore, to fix and to answer. There is no need to worry about an inadequate supply....if we would just sit down and be counted.