Sizable Perspective

There is what the eyes see, and then there is the more… beyond what is seen. And then there is the more that is within what can be seen. And it’s in this place that we need a sizable perspective.

An example:

There is a story where Jesus wanders into a region known as the Decapolis, which is Greek for Ten Cities. It’s located on the southeast side of the Sea of Galilee. It is a Gentile, non-Jewish, area, which means that if you are Jewish and are found there, then you are an outsider… to the outsiders.

And we read at the end of chapter seven and into chapter eight, that Jesus has been in this region three days now. By this time the amount of people who have gathered to Jesus to have their needs met is sizable, and the people seem to be quite diverse. The days have piled up, which means the people are without resources and they have become even more needy. They are hungry, or likely hangry.

Jesus rallies his twelve students and says, “I have compassion for these people; they have already been with me three days and have nothing to eat. If I send them home hungry, they will collapse on the way, because some of them have come a long distance.”

His disciples answered, “But where in this remote place can anyone get enough bread to feed them?”

“How many loaves do you have?” Jesus asked.

“Seven,” they replied.

It is also acknowledged, “they had a few small fish as well.” At this point it should be pointed out that there are “about four thousand people present.” So when Jesus’s students say there are seven loaves and a few small fish, we are faced with the question of whether that is enough.

What follows is how “The people ate and were satisfied. Afterward the disciples picked up seven basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over.”

This story is big… and then bigger yet. Contextually, numbers within the writing of the Scriptures most often function as symbols and signs to something more going on. The literal is usually the smallest perspective, or a starting point might be a softer way to say it. Before this story (chapter 6) there was a story of Jesus feeding five thousand people with five loaves of bread and two fish, and there were twelve basketfuls left over.

How about some numerical values for the original reader/listener. Five would be a symbol for the five Books of Moses (the Pentateuch, Law, or what we know as the first five books of the Bible). Two would be symbol of the two stone tablets of the Law (Ten Commandments). Twelve would be a symbol for the twelve tribes of Israel.

So the feeding of the five thousand with five loaves and two fish, with twelve basketfuls left over, is a picture of Jesus announcing that the people of Israel have been fully provided for through the giving of the Pentateuch and Law.

And then when Jesus wanders into a Gentile territory, he provides through our story above. Four thousand would be a symbol of the four corners of the world (they understood the world in four corners back then, remember). A way of saying it reaches to the ends of the earth. Seven would be a symbol of the seven tribes of Canaan, which would represent the full scope of outsiders and enemies of the Hebrew people in the Hebrew Scriptures (Old Testament).

So the stories of Jesus feeding thousands of people on two different occasions are about reach and provision… in big ways and REALLY BIG ways. There is what we see… and there is the much more within what we see.

Jesus can see what is before him with a perspective of abundance… the twelve students allow the math to be the only perspective. It certainly is logical, so let’s not be too hard on them. But there is something to work with, and Jesus immediately can work with what is. And that is a big deal, because that is already a sizable perspective.

And the stories are about much more than a meal. As has been said in an earlier writing, it’s always more than a meal. The stories communicate that Jesus’s reach and provision extends to ALL people, and there is more than enough for all.

In this season of Lent, of traditionally fasting in some form or of learning to go without one thing in order to focus on the more, we are invited to face our perspective… in everything. Is it sizable or small? Are the numbers merely math, or is there more behind the math?

Oh yeah, and Jesus has been in the region for three days and it’s now time for a sign of abundance. Which raises the question, does abundance come into play after three days at the end of the Lenten journey? It is understood that Jesus was in the grave for… yeah, there is always more being offered friends!