Author: Dave Dishman (Page 454 of 476)

The extraordinary story of Jesus feeding the 5,000 is found in Luke 9. Jesus takes all the resources at hand, five loaves of bread and two fish and somehow manages to feed 5,000 people. With no caterers or fast food joints nearby, people are either going to go hungry or Jesus will need to make something happen.

Jesus does make it happen. He takes all the food available for this crowd into his two hands, looks to heaven and gives thanks, and starting tearing apart the loaves and fish. He gives the food to the disciples who disperse it through the crowd. Everyone has plenty to eat and 12 basketfuls are left over.

How did Jesus do this? Jesus was able to accomplish the miracle because Jesus is the Creator. Jesus can literally make fish from thin air. Ex Nihlio, as they say in Latin, which means “out of nothing.”

In the beginning, when God created the heavens and the earth, he did so Ex Nihlio. Jesus was present at the creation (see Colossians 1) and as God in the flesh Jesus kicked back into Creator mode and started reforming matter and the elements at hand to instantaneously create more bread and fish.

If Jesus created enough food to give each man present one loaf of bread and one fish, therefore making one fine fish sandwich, then he increased the loaf availability by a factor of 1,000 and the fish availability by a factor of 2,500! That’s a solid return on investment. It’s also a glimpse into Jesus’ power and control over creation. The world is his and he will do with it what he will.

Why worry if Jesus is around? I can take what I have, paltry as it is, put it into the hands of Jesus and he can make more. Jesus gave the crowd enough to be satisfied. Won’t he do the same for you and I? We just have to trust him enough to let go of what we cling to so tightly.

Ex Nihlio, “out of nothing.” What are you trusting Jesus to create for you?

Ever wonder why the shepherds, those dudes keeping watch over their flocks at night, were the first people on earth that God chose to tell about the birth of his son? (see Luke 2). Why wasn’t the birth of Jesus announced in Rome, the capital of the empire? Or in Jerusalem, the center of the Jewish faith? Why wasn’t the birth of the coming king announced to the powerful or the mighty, or the well-connected? I suppose you could say it was, in that the Magi, kings from the East, read the stars and came to honor Jesus. But they only got a star, not a declaration by an angelic mob.

The first to get to the manger? Shepherds. Appropriate for a barn, I guess. God chose a group of lowly, smelly guys who made a living by watching animals, to receive the greatest announcement in history, namely that God was born into flesh and the world will never be the same! After mom and dad, the first people to greet Jesus was a group of herdsmen.

This says a few things to me. First, God cares about everyone, rich or poor, powerful or weak, in or out of the right crowd. In fact, God often favors the weak and those outside the mainstream, which gives me pause. Second, God doesn’t tone down the show for the shepherds. He gives a lavish glimpse into heaven, a peek into a terrifying, otherworldly reality. Third, the shepherds run straight to Jesus, and then after meeting him go out and spread the word concerning this magnificent child. They were the first missionaries.

Why shepherds? Well, why not shepherds? God will use shepherds, God will use kings, God will use you and I, if only we’ll let him do so. Enjoy the Christmas holiday and as you gaze out in the night on Christmas Eve watching for Santa, remember those shepherds waiting in the dark as well.