Luke 9:10-17: “Jesus, the Compassionate Provider”

“And the apostles, when they had returned, told Him all that they had done. Then He took them and went aside privately into a deserted place belonging to the city called Bethsaida. But when the multitudes knew it, they followed Him, and He received them and spoke to them about the kingdom of God and healed those who had need of healing. When the day began to wear away, the twelve came and said to Him, ‘Send the people away, that they may go into the surrounding towns and country, and lodge and get provisions, for we are in a deserted place here.’

“But He said to them, ‘You give them something to eat.’ They said, ‘We have no more than five loaves and two fish, unless we go and buy food for all these people.’ For there were about five thousand men. Then He said to His disciples, ‘Make these sit down in groups of fifty.’ They did so and made them all sit down. Then He took the five loaves and two fish, and looking up to heaven, He blessed and broke them and gave them to set before the multitude. So, they all ate and were filled, and twelve baskets of the leftover fragments were taken up by them” (Luke 9:10-17, NKJV).

The Lord Jesus had healed a woman with menstrual issues that had plagued her for twelve years, had raised a young girl back to life, and had commissioned the apostles to go preach, cast out demons, and heal the sick, spreading His message to other towns and territories that had probably heard about Him but had not been witnesses to His teachings or works (Luke 8:40-9:9).

The scene picks up after the apostles had returned from their missionary journey. They reported to Him what had happened. Their work had produced spiritual fruit, being a type of praise to the LORD for working through them. Now, at Jesus’ insistence, they withdrew from the crowds and rest from their labors. This work that they had undertaken at Jesus’ command prompted them to rest and reflect on what had occurred through their obedience and faith. In turn, their own faith grew and gained strength and was a means by which the Lord Jesus opened their eyes to the supernatural.

They head back to the town of Bethsaida, which was the home of Andrew, Peter, Philip, and probably Bartholomew, also known as Nathaniel (John 1:43-51). Tragically, this town and others would incur the wrath of the Lord Jesus for their unbelief amidst the powerful works of God that they witnessed yet remained indifferent and spiritually blind (Matt.11:20-24; Luke 10:13-16). In the meantime, the crowds who desired to hear more from Jesus grew, a sign of spiritual hunger and an obvious sign that they were sheep without a shepherd (Matt. 9:35-36) and in need of care (John 10:14-18, 28-30).

Jesus, who always had time for everyone who came to Him, began to teach the people the good news of the kingdom of God and healed those who were sick as well. This intimacy that is demonstrated by our LORD should encourage us to always seek Him and come to Him when we need assurance, comfort, or a need that cannot be obtained by our own attempts (Psalm 84:11; 37:23-25). No one on earth can supply our needs when the times of troubles appear. The acts of a government can only go so far in giving assistance, and they are all broke. A relative’s act of compassion is limited at best, and their resources do not last. We look for peace in the political realm and put our faith in people who have clever phrases but no real solutions. Most are part of a chorus of fools, possessing empty words and little if any action.

Religion, as defined by the world, does not help. Apart from the saving work of Jesus Christ, all our efforts to gain spiritual insight or redemption is nothing more than an exercise in works-based futility. All religion, save from Christ, tells someone that they earn favor with their deity by their own efforts before anything can happen. Only the Lord Jesus Christ comes to us and takes us as we are, reaching out to us and allowing Him to transform us, redeem us, and open our eyes to His will and direction as well as supply our needs (Phil. 4:19). Only Jesus can give us true and authentic freedom and life (Luke 11:14; John 8:32, 36; Romans 7:25; 8:2, 21; Gal. 5:1).

As the crowd around the LORD grew and congregated, the apostles saw a problem. These people were not just spiritually hungry, but there was a need to fill physical hunger as well. Concern over this situation is expressed in verse 12. They suggest to the LORD that the people leave to go to the nearby villages and towns to purchase food from the local vendors and farmers. Jesus in return tells them to provide food for the crowd, and the meager meal of bread and small fish they did have would not suffice, or so it seemed. Why did Jesus ask them, then?

Think for a moment. These men a while ago had done mighty works in the name of the LORD in healing the sick, casting out demons, and preaching the Gospel to people all throughout the regions. Surely, they believed that the situation they were facing at that moment could be solved, but not in their own power or strength. The apostles were just getting a notion of what Jesus would provide them with and expect them to demonstrate when the time came to carry on the work of Jesus after He went back to heaven. Right now, though, they were still thinking of solving these problems in their own strength. Their faith still needed to mature, and they also needed to know that they were in the presence of the very God who would provide them with such power.

The Lord Jesus asks the apostles to organize the crowd into groups of fifty, which would be far easier to handle than would a big uncoordinated group. The Scriptures tell us that five thousand men were there. No doubt their wives and children made up the crowd as well, so the total number was a few thousand more. As the apostles began going around and asking everyone to get into the smaller numbers, the fathers and husbands there would gather their families and have them all together, which shows that common sense played a part in what was about to occur. After the organizing was completed, there were probably a thousand groups of fifty.

Jesus took the loaves and fish and gave thanks to God for the provision. He supernaturally began creating fish and bread and gave the abundance to the apostles for distribution. No doubt other men in the crowd assisted with this task, giving the food to their families and others. If they were hungry, the LORD created the food to satisfy their need. These people were eyewitnesses to a genuine compassionate act of the Sovereign God for their benefit and to show that He was the One Who cares for the welfare of His creation, if they would simply trust and ask Him for what they need and not doubt that it would come to pass. After everyone was full, there were enough leftovers for the apostles to enjoy as well. They certainly deserved it.

While there were people who saw this act as one of compassion and a means to strengthen their faith, a lot more saw what had happened as a free meal ticket and hung around the next day to see if Jesus would do it again. They would then take Him by force to make Him their king. Consider their point of view. He would provide an endless supply of food, be able to heal rebel Jewish soldiers of all wounds and bring them to life if they were killed in battle against the Romans, and rid the land of Caesar and his paganism. The new king, Jesus, would then establish a renovated Israel with Him as the Davidic Messiah, conqueror of their enemies and ruler for all time (John 6:22-40).

Their vision was shattered when the Lord explained to them that He was the Bread of Life, more concerned with their souls than with the establishment of an earthly dynasty. They ended up abandoning Him, showing that they loved their stomachs more than their eternal destinies, which would be a common reaction to many who encountered Jesus.

The same attitude is present in today’s “name it and claim it,” or “prosperity” teachings that false teachers proclaim to the greedy and gullible crowds who see Jesus as a “sugar daddy” instead of the Almighty Lord and Savior worthy of worship, praise, and reverence. I have written about the abomination of the “prosperity gospel” in past articles, so I will not repeat myself, and I have not changed my mind on the subject.

I end this study with a question that you really need to consider. Who is Jesus to you? A miracle maker? A performer of signs and wonders? A meal ticket? A good man? A figure in history? A great teacher? Or do you bow before Him in awe, reverence, and humbleness and declare Him Lord and Savior? You had better have that figured out and settled before you take your last breath (2 Cor. 6:2).

donaldwhitchard@gmail.com

www.donaldwhitchard.com

 

We’re in for a Wild Ride—But God is in Control.

I am an optimist by nature; I tend to look at the glass as half-full, and I tend to have a natural hope for the future. But today, I come to you as an optimistic pessimist. Let me explain. I have some great news to share, but first, I have to share some tough news. Before a doctor can share treatment options, they must first give their patient the unadulterated truth. A doctor can’t sugarcoat the news that someone has cancer or a terminal illness. They are trained to separate themselves from the emotion of the moment to help their patients fully understand the reality of what they are facing. Likewise, when a police officer has to share the news that a loved one has died, there is no simple way to say it. There is nothing they can do to lessen the impact of the terrible news. But the news still must be shared.

I’m not a doctor or a police officer, but I have some blunt news to share, then some great news to follow.

THE BAD NEWS

OK, where do I start? The signs of the times are screaming at us through:

• a global pandemic,
• constant contradictory misinformation about said pandemic,
• a national and global economy that is holding on by a supernatural thread,
• Mideast turmoil with Israel at the center,
• locust plagues of Biblical proportions,
• Marxist cancel-culture groups destroying our cities,
• major civil unrest in multiple countries,
• the worst humanitarian crisis (in Yemen) the world has seen in decades,
• the US and China butting diplomatic and potential military heads in the South China Sea,
• murder rates exploding as various cities defund the police,
• prisoners being let out of prison en masse,
• churches are told they can’t gather or sing,
• freedoms eroding before our eyes,
• and—worst of all—much of the church is floating downstream like a dead fish instead of being the salt and light it was called to be.

We are watching our country die before our eyes. America—the greatest superpower of history—is not found in end-time Bible prophecy as a major player. Something terrible must happen to her before the tribulation begins.

Those are the cold, hard facts. Now, for some more bad news. (Don’t worry, I’ll get to the good news in a minute.)

First, I believe the next 3-6 months could be the most volatile we’ve seen this century. We simply must wake up to the fact that there is something MUCH larger at play in our country than mere political differences. Forget Democrat vs. Republican for a moment. What we’re seeing is a globalist plan to take down America. This plan has been in place for decades and has progressively ramped up the past 12 years to never-before-seen levels. There are very real, very well organized, very intentional, very prophesied (if I can use that as a term), very powerful people behind the scenes fomenting division, disorder, lawlessness, and instability in America.

People must wake up. Globalists want to take America down because it will implode the world economy, and they want to rise to power through order out of chaos. It’s on our dollar bills, it’s in their public speeches, it’s out in the open. They don’t even hide it anymore.

Please research this for yourself, and please prove me wrong. I don’t want to be correct here, but I am. It’s hidden in plain sight. I know it sounds crazy, but it’s true. Behind these globalists is an even bigger, more organized puppet master—Satan himself. Scripture tells us he is the “god of this world,” the “ruler of the power of the air,” and that he has levels of coordinated evil ranks in the unseen realm (Ephesians 6). He knows (by studying prophecy) that the rapture of the church is on the near horizon, and he is aggressively positioning his chess pieces on the board.

So, what does this look like in the seen realm? It looks like more waves of chaos to come. Whether you like Trump or not, please—for a moment—remove his personality and your thoughts about him from the picture. Now, view these few facts with as little bias as possible. We have an unexpected DC outsider in the White House who is a staunch Nationalist who understands (and pushes back against) the globalist agenda. That is the single fact that most people miss. The raw fact is that the president (love him or hate him) has thrown a major monkey wrench into the plans of the globalists—and they have been throwing a 4-year lawless temper-tantrum.

Here’s why I share all of that. The globalists play for keeps, and they see their moment slipping away. Between now and the election, they will likely leverage anything and everything they can to increase social and economic chaos in their attempts to get a globalist into the White House.

Now, here’s the rub. There is no good outcome. If Trump gets in for a second term, the globalist temper tantrum will accelerate. Who knows what post-election plans the globalists—who see their moment slipping away—will implement? If Trump does not get in for a second term—they will move at lightning speed to get their agenda back on track. The gloves will be off. There will be no restraint. They don’t want the moment to slip away. An increased animosity toward Christians and Jewish people will increase (and already is). Freedoms (including religious freedom) will likely be trampled upon even more if we don’t stand up. Aside from divine intervention, we could be in for some tough times in America.

I’m not a prophet, but the above is my prayerful, Holy-Spirit-led take on what is to come. I pray I’m wrong. I pray that the pandemic and riots cease, that our country turns back to God en masse and that we can catch our breath and return to stability and normal life. But you and I both sense in our gut that is not going to happen. It seems we’re nearing a tipping point.

THE GOOD NEWS

Now for some good news. All of this lines up 100% with end-time prophecy. Events in our day are converging like no other time in history. We have more reason to believe the Lord is coming in our lifetime (perhaps very soon) than any other generation of Christians in the history of the church. Every Old Testament prophet except Jonah predicted Israel would become a nation again in the last days. Jesus indicated that the generation that sees Israel become a nation again would be the generation that witnessed all end-time events. I am 100% convinced that the rapture will occur prior to the revealing of the Antichrist and the beginning of the tribulation period.

As for our country, I truly believe that the rapture of the Church (perhaps along with other events) is what ultimately weakens America, collapses the world economy, and prepares the way for the rise of the Antichrist.

On this point, I’ve noticed a gigantic uptick in confusion and error about when the rapture will occur. The enemy is trying to create battlefield confusion at a time when we need to be crystal clear about the times and order of events. Here are 7 reasons to firmly believe the rapture will occur before the tribulation. By the way, that doesn’t mean we won’t face some tough developments before the rapture. Look around. In case you haven’t noticed, we’re already in tough times.

1. We are not appointed to Wrath (1 Thessalonians 5:9)

This and many other verses clearly say we are not appointed to wrath or that we will escape the coming wrath. The entire tribulation period is God’s wrath. Jesus is opening the seals at the beginning, and by the 6th seal judgment, the inhabitants of earth clearly state they know that it is God’s wrath (Revelation 6:15-17).

2. Departure Before Antichrist (2 Thessalonians 2:3*)

Scripture teaches a great falling away from truth in the end-times (1 Timothy 4:1, 2 Timothy 4:3), but the Greek word in 2 Thessalonians 2:3 literally means “departure.” Strong’s concordance says the root word aphistémi means: to lead away, to depart from (Usage: make to stand away, draw away, repel, take up a position away from, withdraw from, leave.) Another reason I feel this is referencing the rapture is that saying a great falling away “must occur first” detracts from the doctrine of imminency (the consistent scriptural teaching that the rapture could happen at any moment).

3. Jewish Wedding Traditions

All of the symbolism related to end-time events mirrors ancient Jewish wedding traditions. Jesus used that tradition in his teachings. In ancient Jewish (specifically Galilean**) wedding traditions, the groom would leave the father’s house, travel to the desired bride’s home, pay a great price for the bride, have his offer accepted or rejected, become legally bound if accepted, and go back to the father’s house to prepare a place for his bride. At a specific time known only to the father, he would send the son to fetch the bride. The groomsmen would announce the groom’s arrival, then the bride would be lifted up on a seat to be carried away with the groom. The two would enter the wedding chamber for 7 days, then there would be a great wedding feast after the marriage was consummated.

Space does not allow, but every single one of those details line up with the order of key first-coming and second-coming events. Here is one key passage: John 14:2-3— “My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.

(**There is a great film that unpacks this beautifully called “Before the Wrath.”)

4. Imminency

The clearly taught doctrine that the Lord could return at any time.

5. Our Blessed Hope

Titus 2:13 calls the rapture our “blessed hope.” It is what we’re looking forward to. Nowhere does scripture tell us to prepare to endure Hell on earth. Every instance of the Lord’s return is painted as something we look forward to with joyous anticipation. Most believers in the tribulation period will be martyred. That is not a “blessed hope.”

6. Old Testament Types

Two judgments clearly prefigure the final time of God’s wrath on earth: the flood of Noah’s day, and the judgment of Sodom and Gomorrah. In both cases, God removed the believers prior to judgment. There are many other types and figures that point to this pattern as well.

7. Rapture Designed to Encourage

In the main text on the rapture (1 Thessalonians 13-18), Paul concludes by saying, “Therefore encourage one another with these words” (1 Thessalonians 4:18).

Now, here’s THE Good News. Your sins can be forgiven, and you can look forward to the rapture and eternity with the Lord in Heaven. If you have never accepted Christ, now is the time to ask him to save you and receive his free gift of salvation. Sometimes we make it too complicated. Becoming a Christian is simply accepting Jesus is who he said he was (God in the flesh), and believing that his death and resurrection were for the purpose of paying your sin debt. We can’t work for salvation; it has already been paid for. We simply need to receive the gift and trust in Christ.

THE TREATMENT

So, as believers, how now should we live? What can we do in these trying times? Here are a few marching orders.

First, it’s no time to play around. This is not a playground; it’s a battleground. We need to get serious with the Lord and serious about our faith. If you are a believer, it’s time to read your Bible seriously. It’s time to seek the Lord sincerely and deeply. It’s time to turn from anything that pulls us away from a quality relationship with the Lord.

Second, we simply MUST understand the times. If you are fuzzy on Bible prophecy, now is the time to get unfuzzy. (Yes, I’m making up words like the apostle Peter did.) God means what he says and says what he means. We CAN understand what the Bible teaches about prophecy and the end-times. Don’t settle for anything less than clarity. Wrestle with scripture in prayer until you have it.

Third, we must take it one day at a time. The weight of world events can be overwhelming. Swimming upstream and being a countercultural Christian who studies prophecy like the watchmen we were called to be is hard work. Most people won’t get you. That is OK. Be like Jeremiah and be prepared to say what God calls you to say even though most will misunderstand, ignore, or even mock you. You are not running the race for them. You are running for an audience of One! Spending time in his word and in prayer daily is critical. Focusing on one single day at a time is freeing as we trust our Savior for our marching orders for that day.

Fourth, if you’re not a believer, now is the time to believe. Time is short. How short? I don’t know, but I know that every breath is a gift, and life has no guarantees. If you sense a stirring in your heart to come to the Lord, do not ignore it. Respond to the Holy Spirit who is drawing you to Jesus. I promise you He is real and the Bible is true. 100% of it! Soon, our faith will be sight!

Todd Hampson | ToddHampson.com