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This is a very long chapter, and I haven’t included the text here, but I hope you will take the time to read it.

Someone said, ‘If the Lord is going to raise you up, let Him raise you up. But whatever you do, don’t raise yourself up!’ ‘Promotion comes from the Lord’, but self-promotion is of the devil.

Abimelech was a son of Gideon and a Canaanite mother from Shechem (Judges 8:31). It is likely that Abimelech was looked down upon by his seventy half-brothers (Judges 8:30) because of his mother’s inferior status as a concubine. He came up with a plot to establish himself as Israel’s new leader, enlisting the support of his maternal uncles, and the other citizens of Shechem. He murdered his seventy half-brothers and established himself as Israel’s first king. But he was not appointed by God.

The evil Abimelech did recoiled on his own head. He reaped what he sowed (Prov.22:8; Gal.6:7). Tom Hale says, ‘The saying is true: ”Though wickedness may prosper awhile, it will not prosper always.” ‘

‘Abimelech was actually trying to wrest the kingdom away from God (Judg.8:23), and the Lord permitted him to have a measure of success. But God was still on the throne and would see to it that man’s selfish purposes would be frustrated.

It’s a dangerous thing for us to think more highly of ourselves than we ought to think (Rom.12:3). We all need to discover the gifts God has given us and then use them in the place where He puts us. Each member of the body of Christ is important (1 Cor.12:12-31), and we all need one another and to minister to one another. Since there’s no competition in the work of the Lord (John 4:34-38; 1 Cor.3:5-9), there’s no need for us to promote ourselves. The important thing is that God receives the glory.’ Warren W. Wiersbe

 In the evening his disciples went down to the sea, got in the boat, and headed back across the water to Capernaum. It had grown quite dark and Jesus had not yet returned. A huge wind blew up, churning the sea. They were maybe three or four miles out when they saw Jesus walking on the sea, quite near the boat. They were scared senseless, but he reassured them, “It’s me. It’s all right. Don’t be afraid.” So they took him on board. In no time they reached land—the exact spot they were headed to.

^22-24 The next day the crowd that was left behind realized that there had been only one boat, and that Jesus had not gotten into it with his disciples. They had seen them go off without him. By now boats from Tiberias had pulled up near where they had eaten the bread blessed by the Master. So when the crowd realized he was gone and wasn’t coming back, they piled into the Tiberias boats and headed for Capernaum, looking for Jesus. (The Message)

‘The message here is that fear was banished in the presence of Jesus.’ Donald Guthrie

Lord, I pray today for friends, neighbours, colleagues, brothers and sisters, who find themselves in dark places. They are facing strong headwinds, and are being tossed about in a churning sea. I thank you that somehow, mysteriously and wonderfully, you can speak words of reassurance to their souls. You can reach their heart-ears Thank you that you are above the waves that would pull them down and drown them. You are over the storm. You can walk on the raging tide. You know how to get these suffering souls to where they need to be, and maybe more quickly than they could ever have imagined.

Please help us, in every circumstance, to take you ”on board”. May we not neglect you in our trials, but reach out to you for the help only you can give. Cause all our fears to disappear in your presence.

” But now, this is what the Lord says—
    he who created you, Jacob,
    he who formed you, Israel:
“Do not fear, for I have redeemed you;
    I have summoned you by name; you are mine.
² When you pass through the waters,
    I will be with you;
and when you pass through the rivers,
    they will not sweep over you.” (Isa.43:2)

to The people realized that God was at work among them in what Jesus had just done. They said, “This is the Prophet for sure, God’s Prophet right here in Galilee!” Jesus saw that in their enthusiasm, they were about to grab him and make him king, so he slipped off and went back up the mountain to be by himself. (The Message)

Hadn’t Jesus come proclaiming the Kingdom of God? Did He not want people to surrender to Him as King? Well yes, He did. But Jesus saw through the clamour of the crowd to enthrone Him. He knew they were motivated by self-interest. They had a wrong understanding of His Kingship, wanting someone who could meet all their material needs. It wasn’t surrender to the reign of King Jesus that was predominantly on their minds, but the servicing of their temporal wants

‘The most conclusive proof that our Lord was no weak fanatic or enthusiast is afforded by the calm spirit which refused the eager impulse of the crowds to make him king. Here the temptation of the wilderness was repeated, and only one who was filled with the unwavering determination to do God’s will could have refused this shortcut to the Messianic empire. Notice these withdrawals of our Lord to the calm of Nature’s stillness and the bosom of God. If he needed such spaces of undisturbed meditation and communion, surely we do.’ F.B. Meyer

One of the disciples—it was Andrew, brother to Simon Peter—said, “There’s a little boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish. But that’s a drop in the bucket for a crowd like this.”

^10-11 Jesus said, “Make the people sit down.” There was a nice carpet of green grass in this place. They sat down, about five thousand of them. Then Jesus took the bread and, having given thanks, gave it to those who were seated. He did the same with the fish. All ate as much as they wanted.

^12-13 When the people had eaten their fill, he said to his disciples, “Gather the leftovers so nothing is wasted.” They went to work and filled twelve large baskets with leftovers from the five barley loaves. (The Message)

Someone said, ‘Give as you can, not as you can’t.’

The little boy brought by Andrew (who is bringing someone to Jesus every time we meet him in this gospel!) gave what he could. It didn’t seem a lot, but Jesus used it to feed a crowd, and there was an abundant surplus.

Many years ago I heard a song, ‘Ordinary people’. As I recall, it went:

‘Ordinary people, God uses ordinary people.

God uses people who will give Him their all, no matter how small their all may be;

For little becomes much when you place it in the mighty Hands of God.’

^1-4 After this, Jesus went across the Sea of Galilee (some call it Tiberias). A huge crowd followed him, attracted by the miracles they had seen him do among the sick. When he got to the other side, he climbed a hill and sat down, surrounded by his disciples. It was nearly time for the Feast of Passover, kept annually by the Jews.

^5-6 When Jesus looked out and saw that a large crowd had arrived, he said to Philip, “Where can we buy bread to feed these people?” He said this to stretch Philip’s faith. He already knew what he was going to do.

⁷ Philip answered, “Two hundred silver pieces wouldn’t be enough to buy bread for each person to get a piece.” (The Message)

‘The world is to be fed by the co-operation of Christ and his Church.’ F.B. Meyer

”We are workers together with God…” (2 Cor.6:1/1 Cor.3:9). Jesus gives to us the privilege of teaming up with Him in order to perform the miraculous. Even when we don’t have an answer to the challenges He poses (let alone the right answer) He still works with us to grow us, to ”stretch” our faith. He always knows what He is going to do. He is not dependant on us for advice.

‘Christ often tests us to see what we shall say and do in the presence of overwhelming difficulty, but he always knows the way out.’ F.B.Meyer

”Two hundred silver pieces” would not have been enough; but neither were they going to be needed. Jesus had another way. Faith recognises that God has other ways we may not yet have comprehended.

Take your stand with God’s loyal community and live,
    or chase after phantoms of evil and die.

²⁰ God can’t stand deceivers,
    but oh how he relishes integrity.

²¹ Count on this: The wicked won’t get off scot-free,
    and God’s loyal people will triumph.

²² Like a gold ring in a pig’s snout
    is a beautiful face on an empty head.

²³ The desires of good people lead straight to the best,
    but wicked ambition ends in angry frustration.

²⁴ The world of the generous gets larger and larger;
    the world of the stingy gets smaller and smaller.

²⁵ The one who blesses others is abundantly blessed;
    those who help others are helped.

²⁶ Curses on those who drive a hard bargain!
    Blessings on all who play fair and square!

²⁷ The one who seeks good finds delight;
    the student of evil becomes evil.

²⁸ A life devoted to things is a dead life, a stump;
    a God-shaped life is a flourishing tree. (The Message)

At the heart of this next set of Proverbs we find two, back to back, about generosity. Although Scripture does not endorse what we might label ‘prosperity teaching’, there is surely no doubt that it pronounces blessing upon generosity and the generous (see v.17a also) . For myself, I want to inhabit that ever enlarging world of generosity, don’t you? The turned-in world of stinginess tends to be small, and has the tendency to grow even smaller as the years go by.

‘ In all of my years of service to my Lord, I have discovered a truth that has never failed and has never been compromised. That truth is that it is beyond the realm of possibilities that one has the ability to out give God. Even if I give the whole of my worth to Him, He will find a way to give back to me much more than I gave.’ Charles Spurgeon

 “I’m not interested in crowd approval. And do you know why? Because I know you and your crowds. I know that love, especially God’s love, is not on your working agenda. I came with the authority of my Father, and you either dismiss me or avoid me. If another came, acting self-important, you would welcome him with open arms. How do you expect to get anywhere with God when you spend all your time jockeying for position with each other, ranking your rivals and ignoring God? (The Message)

”…I know you. I know that you do not have the love of God in your hearts” (v.42 NIV).

If genuine love for God Himself is not the mainspring of ‘ministry’, self-love is likely to be the driving force. Such self-love shows itself in ugly warts like working for human approval, and the pride which manifests itself in a competitive spirit.

Every leader in the church must examine his/her own heart, and seek to live ‘for an audience of one.’ Our calling is to walk humbly before God, desiring His will and glory, and repeatedly crucifying every expression of pride, arrogance and self-promotion.

‘ Democracy demands that little men should not take big ones too seriously; it dies when it is full of little men who think they are big themselves.’ C.S. Lewis

The Father who sent me, confirmed me. And you missed it. You never heard his voice, you never saw his appearance. There is nothing left in your memory of his Message because you do not take his Messenger seriously.

^39-40 “You have your heads in your Bibles constantly because you think you’ll find eternal life there. But you miss the forest for the trees. These Scriptures are all about me! And here I am, standing right before you, and you aren’t willing to receive from me the life you say you want.

^41-44 “I’m not interested in crowd approval. And do you know why? Because I know you and your crowds. I know that love, especially God’s love, is not on your working agenda. I came with the authority of my Father, and you either dismiss me or avoid me. If another came, acting self-important, you would welcome him with open arms. How do you expect to get anywhere with God when you spend all your time jockeying for position with each other, ranking your rivals and ignoring God?

^45-47 “But don’t think I’m going to accuse you before my Father. Moses, in whom you put so much stock, is your accuser. If you believed, really believed, what Moses said, you would believe me. He wrote of me. If you won’t take seriously what he wrote, how can I expect you to take seriously what I speak?” (The Message)

‘The witness of John the Baptist, the witness of the divine miracles, and the witness of the Word of God all unite to declare that Jesus Christ is indeed one with the Father and the very Son of God.’ Warren Wiersbe

Here is the third strand of ‘testimony’ Jesus calls upon: the Old Testament Scriptures.

”You study the Scriptures diligently…” (5;39). Indeed the Jews did. The Scribes could even tell you how many letters there were in the Old Testament. But it’s been pointed out that they were like people who admired the medicine bottle, but didn’t take the medicine; they were like someone in raptures over the beauty of a jewellery box, but who fails to see, and prize, the precious Jewel inside.

”You study the Scriptures diligently because you think that in them you have eternal life. These are the very Scriptures that testify about me, yet you refuse to come to me to have life” (5:39,40)

We must beware of any form of Bible study that leaves us with bigger heads rather than bigger hearts of love for Jesus.

In particular, the Jews prized the law of Moses. Again, Jesus showed they were missing the whole point. If they were truly listening to Moses, they would be listening to Him (45-47).

”And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself.” (Luke 24:27)

Jesus is the centre and soul of all Scripture. May God give us eyes to see Him everywhere in our Bibles.

But the witness that really confirms me far exceeds John’s witness. It’s the work the Father gave me to complete. These very tasks, as I go about completing them, confirm that the Father, in fact, sent me. (The Message)

I have testimony weightier than that of John. For the works that the Father has given me to finish – the very works that I am doing – testify that the Father has sent me” (NIV)

Not only did John the Baptist testify to Jesus’ identity, so did ”the work” He was doing; that work given to Him by the Father. His entire extraordinary life (and death) causes us to ask, “What kind of man is this?” (Matthew 8:27). That Jesus was a man is evident, but what sort of man? What type? Ordinary men just can’t do what Jesus did. He supernaturally healed all manner of sickness and disease; He manifested extraordinary power over evil powers; He brought dead people back to life. Furthermore, after He had been executed, He returned to life three days later. So when we investigate the life of Jesus honestly, we are forced to ask, ”What manner of man is this?” How can we account for such a life if He is not God?

Furthermore, when we read the fourth gospel, we find that John has constructed it around a series of seven ”signs” (”works”) of Jesus. These signs point to Jesus’ identity. When John, towards the end of this gospel, states his clear purpose, he says:

” Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book.³¹But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.” (John 20:30,31)