Jesus Feeds the Five Thousand
It was time for a passover feast and Jesus saw that a large crowd had gathered. He asked his disciples how much it would cost to feed them all and they said it would cost more than 200 denarii. Andrew pointed out that there is a boy with 2 fish and five loaves, so Jesus took it and prayed, then distributed them. After it was done they gathered the leftovers and it filled 12 baskets. The people said that Jesus was clearly a prophet and he could see they wanted to force him to be king, so he withdrew.
I found an differences from this version from the versions in Matthew, Mark, and Luke. The first is that in the other 3 versions they felt the need to feed the people because they were in a desolate place. In fact, I think Jesus actually went to the desolate place to be alone but was followed anyway. This time it was passover and Jesus wanted to feed everyone because it was time for a feast. I'm not sure I would have even noticed this except I went to my first passover seder a few weeks ago. I'm also not sure how much I think this discrepancy is a big deal, I find it interesting for sure, but in my opinion it is less of a big deal than other contradictions I have come across.
There is something about this story that I like but it requires assuming that Jesus did not use magic. Suppose there were many people in the crowd who actually did have bread on them and they could see that there was not enough being provided so they put some of their bread in the basket rather than taking some out. This story then becomes Jesus inspiring people to share with each other, which is a good message and also hints at the idea that people are generally good at their core.
Jesus Walks on Water
A few of Jesus' disciples went out to a boat and went a few miles out to sea. A storm picked up and then they saw Jesus coming out to them on the water. He told them not to be afraid and they were happy to get him into the boat, and they were immediately at the land.
The way it is told here it sounds like a dream.
I Am the Bread of Life
The crowd noticed that Jesus and his disciples did not get into the boat together, but they are both gone even though there was only 1 boat available to them. They follow him and find Jesus and ask him what is up. He says they are looking for him because of the bread they got, but they should focus on food that endures forever. Jesus says that he is the bread of life, no one who believes in Jesus will be hungry or thirsty. Also those who believe will have eternal life for that is the father's will. The people are not satisfied with this because they know he came from Joseph and Mary. Then he says the manna from Moses was from heaven, but Jesus is the living bread, if you eat of him you will not die. You must eat of Jesus' flesh and drink of his blood to get eternal life.
Well based on that the whole transubstantiation thing does seem to make a bit more sense. According to this verse, I could see how some people would be insistent that the wine literally becomes blood and the cracker literally becomes flesh.
The Words of Eternal Life
Some of the disciples did not like the message he was delivering and complained, he said that they can only follow him if it is granted to them by the father and many of the disciples turned away. He then asked the 12 if they wanted to leave as well and said that one of them is a devil.
Wow, I have never heard this before. I always thought that anyone could be a Christian if they wanted, but this seems to be saying that some people are not allowed.
I wonder if any soldiers who were closet Christians tried to literally eat some of Jesus' flesh and blood when they took away his body after the crucifixion. It's a cannibalistic loop-hole, but it should have still got them into heaven, right?
ReplyDeleteThe last part is odd. Who was the devil? Judas Iscariot?
lol. Gotta keep your eyes open for those loopholes.
ReplyDeleteYeah, he was talking about Judas. When I wrote the summary I was thinking that Jesus calling him a devil was Jesus' way of calling him a dick. But now I'm wondering if he was actually saying he was possessed. On second thought, I'm not sure how much sense that makes, wouldn't he just get rid of the demon?
"Cast out demons" is part of his job description, so yeah.
DeleteJesus Feeds the Five Thousand. An interesting point, with the differences in stories. I like your take on the story better though. It would be a great story about sharing. Really cool btw about the passover seder. :)
ReplyDeleteI Am the Bread of Life. What fascinates me, is that here is another spot, specifically verse 42, where Jesus hometown doesn't even believe him, and he grew up with them.
The Words of Eternal Life When I read the verse about one of the disciples being a devil, does that mean that God needed to do a better job of picking his buds? Another thing about the apostles that bothered me was I've been told there are twelve apostles for the twelve tribes of Israel. If that is the case, which one goes with Judas. I might be totally wrong about this last part and maybe someone else can clear that up.
It is funny that they make it so clear that the people from his hometown don't think he's the real deal.
ReplyDeleteThat's funny about Judas, I wonder if it every actually says that there is 1 for each tribe, or if they both just happen to be 12 and since people are pattern finding machines they assumed there was supposed to be a connection.
I found the verse about the twelve tribes of Israel. I'm glad I wasn't just imagining that.
ReplyDeleteThat is really interesting about the 12 tribes, thanks for the verse. That is a really good question about who has the tribe of Judas.
ReplyDeleteLooks like we have an answer to who follows Judas, they replaced him.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.biblestudytools.com/esv/acts/1-12.html
(I mean to link to the title of the section more than the specific verse itself)