July 28, 2024 -Tenth Sunday after Pentecost - A Parenthetical Aside Without Parentheses

  

When Pastor Emillie read the today's Gospel passage what struck me today was the part after Jesus asks Philip, “Where are we to buy bread for these people to eat?” 

 

He said this to test him, for he himself knew what he was going to do.  

 

This is a parenthetical aside without parentheses.

 

How would the writer of John know that Jesus considered this a "test"? 

It does make sense, given John's Gospel and it's emphasis on Jesus' pure divinity, for this statement to be included. Jesus, as God, knows all, as far as this writer is concerned. Having this be a "test" is an easy explanation for Jesus' asking a question to which he knows the answer..

Yet the Gospel reading of the Seventh Sunday after Pentecost about Jesus unable to perform miracles in his hometown is still fresh in my ears and I like to think on this. Today I am not focused particularly on Jesus' divinity but rather the collaborative faith needed for miracles to occur. Another explanation for the question is that Jesus did not have knowledge of what was about to happen. He simply has the same faith in God he is asking of his disciples. He is inviting the collaborative faith that, in this situation, God would provide. Today this idea that Jesus is trying to "test" Phillip does not ring as true for me.

There is an account describing the feeding of the 5,000 in every Gospel. Each details different aspects. John's Gospel lesson for today, for example, mentions Philip's comment about the impossibility of buying enough food for everyone. It also highlights Andrew bringing a boy with five barley loaves and two fish to Jesus and that the people sat down on the grass. Pastor Emillie's sermon highlighted this. Jesus' role in distributing the food and the people recognizing him as a prophet afterward is emphasized as well.

A unique detail is the inclusion that it occurred near the time of Passover. The significance of the feeding of the 5,000 occurring around Passover in the Gospel of John is multi-faceted and rich in symbolism.

Passover commemorates the Israelites' exodus from Egypt and their journey to freedom, which included God's provision of manna (bread) from heaven. By performing the miracle of feeding the 5,000 during Passover, Jesus is portrayed as the new Moses, providing sustenance for the people. This draws a parallel between the manna provided in the wilderness and Jesus providing bread to the multitude, emphasizing Jesus as the divine provider.

Passover was a time of heightened nationalistic and messianic expectations among the Jews, as it was a celebration of their liberation from slavery. The miracle of feeding the 5,000 would have stirred hopes that Jesus might be the expected Messiah who would deliver them from Roman oppression, just as Moses delivered their ancestors from Egypt.

In the Gospel of John, the feeding of the 5,000 is followed by Jesus' Bread of Life discourse, where He declares Himself the "bread of life" and speaks about giving His flesh for the life of the world. This discourse is rich with Eucharistic imagery, prefiguring the Last Supper and the institution of the Eucharist. The timing of the miracle during Passover, a feast involving the sharing of bread and wine, further deepens this connection. Pastor Emillie let us know we would be focused on this for the next five weeks in the lectionary readings.

The timing underscores Jesus' mission and identity as the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world. Just as the Passover lamb was sacrificed, Jesus' miracle and subsequent teachings point to His impending sacrifice and the new covenant He would establish through His death and resurrection.

The miracle during Passover, a festival of remembrance and gratitude for God's past deliverance and provision, highlights themes of abundance and divine care. Jesus provides abundantly for the physical needs of the crowd, just as God provided abundantly for the Israelites in the wilderness.

By situating the feeding of the 5,000 during Passover, the Gospel of John weaves together themes of liberation, divine provision, messianic fulfillment, and the new covenant, all central to the Christian understanding of Jesus' life and mission.