A MIRACLE TO PROVIDE BREAD - Conclusion

 The people impressed by Jesus' way of teaching and by his miracles. Knowing that Moses had promised that God would raise up a special prophet, they may have wondered, 'Could Jesus be the one? (Deuteronomy 18:5-18) If so, it might have seemed that he would be an outstanding ruler, perhaps able to supply bread for the whole nation. Consequently, the crowd was about to "seize [Jesus] to make him king.  (John 6:14, 15) If Jesus allowed that to happen, he would be participating in the politics of the Jews, who were under Roman rule. Did he? No. We read that Jesus decisively 'withdrew to the mountain.' So despite pressure from others, he would not get involve in politic. What a lesson for us!

Obviously, others will not ask us to multiply bread or cure the sick miraculously, nor will they try to make us king or a national ruler. But they may urge us to get involved in politics by voting for or by voicing support for someone they feel will improved matters.  However, Jesus' example is clear. He refused to get involved in political affairs, even saying later: "My Kingdom is no part of this world." (John 17:14; 18:36) Christians today   do well to mirror Jesus' thinking and actions. We support, witness about, and pray for that Kingdom. (Matthew 6:10) Let us return to the account about Jesus miraculously providing bread and consider what else we can learn.

Next time: "THE MEANING OF THE LOAVES"

From the jw.org publications