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Daily Scripture
Luke 9:10-36
During Lent, we are using short videos to share a daily idea (linked to the gospel of Luke) on how to grow spiritually. Watch today’s video. Click here or on the image below:
Note: We are reading the entire gospel of Luke in the GPS. Some day’s readings are longer than usual. We hope you’ll have an extra cup of coffee, or use your lunch break, and read Luke’s entire story of Jesus.
10 When the apostles returned, they described for Jesus what they had done. Taking them with him, Jesus withdrew privately to a city called Bethsaida. 11 When the crowds figured it out, they followed him. He welcomed them, spoke to them about God’s kingdom, and healed those who were sick.
12 When the day was almost over, the Twelve came to him and said, “Send the crowd away so that they can go to the nearby villages and countryside and find lodging and food, because we are in a deserted place.”
13 He replied, “You give them something to eat.”
But they said, “We have no more than five loaves of bread and two fish—unless we go and buy food for all these people.” 14 (They said this because about five thousand men were present.)
Jesus said to his disciples, “Seat them in groups of about fifty.” 15 They did so, and everyone was seated. 16 He took the five loaves and the two fish, looked up to heaven, blessed them, and broke them and gave them to the disciples to set before the crowd. 17 Everyone ate until they were full, and the disciples filled twelve baskets with the leftovers.
18 Once when Jesus was praying by himself, the disciples joined him, and he asked them, “Who do the crowds say that I am?”
19 They answered, “John the Baptist, others Elijah, and still others that one of the ancient prophets has come back to life.”
20 He asked them, “And what about you? Who do you say that I am?”
Peter answered, “The Christ sent from God.”
21 Jesus gave them strict orders not to tell this to anyone. 22 He said, “The Human One [or Son of Man] must suffer many things and be rejected—by the elders, chief priests, and the legal experts—and be killed and be raised on the third day.”
23 Jesus said to everyone, “All who want to come after me must say no to themselves, take up their cross daily, and follow me. 24 All who want to save their lives will lose them. But all who lose their lives because of me will save them. 25 What advantage do people have if they gain the whole world for themselves yet perish or lose their lives? 26 Whoever is ashamed of me and my words, the Human One [or Son of Man] will be ashamed of that person when he comes in his glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels. 27 I assure you that some standing here won’t die before they see God’s kingdom.”
28 About eight days after Jesus said these things, he took Peter, John, and James, and went up on a mountain to pray. 29 As he was praying, the appearance of his face changed and his clothes flashed white like lightning. 30 Two men, Moses and Elijah, were talking with him. 31 They were clothed with heavenly splendor and spoke about Jesus’ departure, which he would achieve in Jerusalem. 32 Peter and those with him were almost overcome by sleep, but they managed to stay awake and saw his glory as well as the two men with him.
33 As the two men were about to leave Jesus, Peter said to him, “Master, it’s good that we’re here. We should construct three shrines: one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah”—but he didn’t know what he was saying. 34 Peter was still speaking when a cloud overshadowed them. As they entered the cloud, they were overcome with awe.
35 Then a voice from the cloud said, “This is my Son, my chosen one. Listen to him!” 36 Even as the voice spoke, Jesus was found alone. They were speechless and at the time told no one what they had seen.
Daily Reflection & Prayer
Jesus had the 12 help him feed 5,000 people. Jesus’ probing question led Peter to say Jesus was the Christ (Greek for “anointed one,” like the Hebrew “Messiah”). Yes, said Jesus, but bluntly added that being the Christ meant a path of suffering, for him and his followers. Yet Moses, Elijah, a flash of light, and God’s voice said he was the anointed one, despite his counterintuitive vision of what that meant.
- Facing a large, hungry crowd, the disciples were prudent: “Send the crowd away so that they can go to the nearby villages and countryside and find lodging and food.” Jesus jolted them with, “YOU give them something to eat” (9:13). Does Jesus still call us to be a means for his power to help others? Why do we need to rely on Jesus’ power, not our own, to achieve God’s purposes?
- What a scene: Jesus’ face and clothes flashed like lightning, Moses and Elijah appeared, and God’s presence in a cloud overshadowed Peter, John, and James. God’s voice said of Jesus, “This is my Son, my chosen one. Listen to him!” What does it mean for you to listen to Jesus? Are you willing to do it?
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Prayer
Humble Jesus, Peter said you are “the Christ sent from God.” You reminded him that serving a king like you is not always easy and comfortable. Build in me the backbone to serve you faithfully. Amen.
GPS Insights
Ashley Morgan-Kirk
“You give them something to eat” is a very powerful statement. What always strikes me about the feeding of the 5,000 is that most often we read it like the miracle was Jesus multiplying the bread and fish. I prefer to wonder if the miracle was actually in the collective response of the people.
Imagine you know you’re in a desert and nothing is near. It’s not hard to imagine this if you’ve ever driven in the West in the U.S. You know that gas, food, water, and hotels are hard to find and really spread out. So what do you do? You prepare. You make sure you bring enough snacks for the road (and usually too many, right?). You make sure you regulate your liquid intake. You make sure you have a full tank of gas.
In an effort to see one of the possible miracles here: imagine you are driving through the desert and 5,000 people are randomly gathered listening to someone speak. Everyone is tuned in; no one is going anywhere for fear of missing out. But then your stomach begins to growl, and so does your neighbor’s, and a need arises.
I’d imagine that they did something very similar to what you and I would do for a desert road trip: pack as much food and water as possible. (In fact, they may have overpacked the food. We don’t do that nowadays, right?) I can also imagine the crowd of 5,000 looking at the 5 loaves and 2 fish and saying to themselves, “There’s no way this can work.”
But perhaps the most inspiring thing to imagine each person doing upon seeing Jesus bless the few loaves and fishes was to be compelled to offer what they have as well. Perhaps the reason they had an abundance of what they needed (plus “leftovers”) was not because of something extraordinary that Jesus did within his blessing, but because of something extraordinary that happened in their hearts. A response from each person gathered who opened up their bags saying “5 loaves and 2 fish won’t do it – what can I offer to help?”
“You give them something to eat” is a very powerful statement. Perhaps one of the miracles is that 5,000 people responded by showing up for one another. So, I wonder: how might you show up for someone else today?
