Although a serious “people person”, Jesus often needed and sought out time alone with his guys. Just prior to our verses above, Jesus was doing what Jesus was always doing—healing the lame, teaching, sparring with the Jewish leaders. But then, he and his disciples got in a boat and crossed the Sea of Galilee. From there they went up on a mountainside—and probably had a bit of time together.
But that did not last long! The verses tell us that the crowd immediately began following him. Guessing—or perhaps, seeing—where he was headed, the crowd began moving that way. Considering that Jesus and his disciples went by boat, and that most of the crowd likely followed on foot, Jesus and his disciples likely got at least a bit of time to themselves.
That ended, however, as they all noticed from their mountainside perch the great crowd of people making their way toward them. Thirteen people saw the same, impressive sight. We do not know how they all reacted, but we do know how Jesus did. He saw the need! His first thought upon seeing the large crowd was not—”Oh! Them again! They are ruining my time alone with my disciples!” Instead, Jesus’ first thought was “They are going to be tired, and they are going to be hungry.” In other words, Jesus saw their need.
That should not surprise us though. Jesus was always seeing the need—healing the lame, giving sight to the blind, comforting the widow. He cared about physical needs. He also understood and addressed spiritual need—Nicodemus, the woman at the well. Jesus simply saw the need.
As Baptists, I think we are fairly good at “seeing the need”. Thousands are ministered to after disasters such as Hurricane Helene bring devastation to whole communities. Hundreds receive dental and health care when churches host BOM’s dental and health screening buses. Mission teams serve all over North Carolina, in other partner states, and around the world, meeting physical needs while sharing the Gospel message.
Our challenge, then, becomes one of maintaining the ability, and the desire, to see people’s needs. It is easy to grow weary. It is easy to think someone else will do it. And, needs change. Our traditional or “known” ways of helping may no longer be the most effective. Pray that we might have the eyes that Jesus has—and an open heart—to continuously see the need!
- Mark Abernathy, Baptists on Mission