Nougat 5

Have you ever been in danger or caught in a bind and wondered whether God remembered you? I have. I’ve even had a grumble about such cases, especially if I felt like God set me up (and sometimes God does set us up). As you chew on Today’s Holy Nougat, consider whether the disciples were set up.

“After sending them home, he went up into the hills by himself to pray. Night fell while he was there alone. Meanwhile, the disciples were in trouble far away from land, for a strong wind had risen, and they were fighting heavy waves. About three o’clock in the morning Jesus came toward them, walking on the water.” ‭‭Matthew‬ ‭14‬:‭23‬-‭25‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Was it a set up?

If we read Matthew 14 as A Day in the Life of Jesus, there’s no question – it was a rough day. The chapter prior ends on a low note. Jesus was ‘home’, but wasn’t permitted to help His community because of their scoffing and unbelief. Unlike many communities today that give keys of the city to hometown heroes, Jesus was told-reminded to ‘stay in His lane’ (ie, stop minding their business). They told Him that He was just an ordinary citizen like everyone else, in fact, they knew Jesus’ kin and they were all ordinary people.

We don’t know whether Matthew knew of the familial relationship between Jesus and John, and was continuing in that line of thought; or if he was alluding to the collegial ‘mentor-mentee‘ relationship John had with Jesus. For Luke made the link between Elizabeth and Mary (but he wrote to a Gentile audience – Matthew wrote for Jews). What we do know is that news of John’s execution hit hard, and Jesus attempted to get a chance to grieve. It was not to be.

We’re told Jesus departed by ship to a desert place – but the people followed him! (I am imagining a ‘Jesus sighting’ team, or folks in hot pursuit by boat, scarcely giving Jesus a chance to alight the boat). They relentlessly sought Him out – a stark contrast to the home folks who wouldn’t believe. Despite needing some alone time, Jesus ministered to their needs, healing them, as He was prohibited from doing in His hometown.

The Jesus sighting team hadn’t thought about food for the journey. They had their ‘priorities in order’. As the day progressed, by Matthew’s account anyway, the disciples approached Jesus about the food situation (now I suspect that they were hungry, and were not prepared to forfeit their meager fare!). With the feeding miracle that ensued, we discover that the Jesus sighting group had multiplied to more than Five Thousand people!

I have never done a feeding miracle; but preaching, teaching and ministering takes a toll on me physically. Imagine what healing and feeding 5,000+ would have meant for Jesus physically. Remember – He was fully human and fully divine – so His body registered grief and physical fatigue. Thus, by the end of that ‘unplanned’, unprecedented miracle; Jesus would have been totally drained. It is not surprising that at the end of that day, Jesus once again sought solitude. He dismissed the people AND sent the disciples away! He was marooned, perfect opportunity to seek God’s face.

He got some prayer in, but His disciples fell into difficulty. They might have been distracted and missed the warning signs of the storm, or the distance they travelled found them still at sea in the wee hours of the night. Whatever it was, their ship was a pendulum, rocking to and fro with them in it – they were facing eternity.

Did Jesus set them up?

Remember, they were with Him. He sent them to the desert place to avoid the multitude, who followed Him nevertheless. He prevented them from sending the multitude home when they discovered the food situation. And He sent them some time after – by boat – while He remained, ON LAND, to pray! Did Jesus not know what was about to happen? Was He so caught up in His grief that He missed the sign of pending doom?

Before making a judgement; consider this: About three o’clock in the morning Jesus came toward them, walking on the water. Jesus rushed to their rescue.

What about our situations? When life tosses our ship like a pendulum, with us in it; when we are caught in impossible circumstances at Jesus’ command; have we been set up by God, and how do we respond? Are we even able to cry out to Jesus, or recognize Him?

Selah

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May all we seek be found in Christ