350 lines
19 KiB
Plaintext
350 lines
19 KiB
Plaintext
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THIS WRITING IS APPROVED FOR ONLINE DISTRIBUTION
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IN ANY BULLETIN BOARD OR OTHER ONLINE SERVICE.
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Copyright (C) 1992 George W. Demers
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Box 112O-13, Campton, NH O3223
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E-Mail at EXEC-PC or GEnie: G.DEMERS2
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*ALL COMMERCIAL PRINT RIGHTS RESERVED*
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HIDDEN MANNA
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============
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"For there is nothing covered
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that shall not be revealed
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NEITHER HID, THAT SHALL NOT BE KNOWN."
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- Luke 12:2
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This is an investigational report which reviews stated Scriptural facts from
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Jesus' own word in testament. In this, we inspect the testimony of Jesus and
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the Apostles, concerning the 'loaves and fishes' events. This is NOT an effort
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to disprove that something good happened, but an effort to see what REALLY
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happened by judging thru testimony. Doing so, we find things which stand out
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within the testimony concerning the event and in particular, an event which
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occurred afterwards. By these, we are able to find some things NOT previously
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understood about either of these events.
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Nothing is read into Scripture which Christ did not say or define Himself
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first. This is an objective investigation which is not affected by any
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particular religious or secular point of view and is based on His definitions
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and doctrinal teaching, also found to be perpetuated by the Apostles.
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It is suggested that you use a KJV Bible for verification and the reading of
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connective Scripture outlined below. Any Scripture quoted is sourced from the
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KJV Bible. The source of testimony for the following is within: Matthew
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14:2O-21/15:29-39, Mark 6:3O-44/8:1-21, Luke 9:1O-17 and John 6:1-14.
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EMPHASIZED sections are in CAPS. FOOTNOTES will be found at the end of the file
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and will be noted within by a number within parentheses,"(12)".
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===============================================================================
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One has to take all facts concerning the 'Miracle of the loaves and the
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fishes' into consideration, in order to understand what actually happened. The
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reports and connective testimony concerning this event must be read
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comprehensively. The best way to do this is to actually place yourself within
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the situation, applying your own feelings. Let's first examine the main event
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and all facets of it.
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In the feeding of the multitudes, 5,OOO people (4,OOO in another event)
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traveled far enough to have to be put up somewhere, as they were too far from
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home. In our day and age, this is an everyday occurance; an accepted thing.
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When we go somewhere, we can pretty much get what we need when we get there.
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However, in the time of this event, such was not so. These people knew that
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they were in for a long trip and stay. As nomads are, these were. They knew
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when they had to go distances, they had to be prepared. However, it must be
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also seen that some of these 5,OOO must have been from somewhere closer by and
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perhaps had brought no food in preparation and of course, some just didn't
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have any food to bring. These were poor people. (1)
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So the chances were good that there were SOME that had nothing to eat, but
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the belief that 5,OOO people ALL came without provisions of some type (as some
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would say), raises itself as almost ridiculous. According to three of the
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accounts, Jesus and the Apostles came with proper provisions. Certainly, if
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THEY came prepared, others in the crowd must have done the same. The people
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knew where they were going. Why would they (with some exceptions) NOT do the
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same thing as Jesus and his followers?
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Going where He was going, some must have taken the same precautions that He
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had taken. While it's possible that one or more may have forgotten to bring
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food, what has to be remembered is that these were conditioned to travel in
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those days. Think of Peter, who took to the sea for a living prior to these
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things. Provisions were of utmost importance to ANY traveler. Further, seeing
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as the occurance of multiplication had taken place at the end of the event, it
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may also be seen that all (or again, some) had taken provisions, BUT that some
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had run out during the course of the long event. According to one account, even
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Jesus and the Apostles, after three days of the event, had provisions to spare;
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Mt. 15:34.
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What this presents is a case for those of the multitude holding out on each
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other when it came to the sharing of foodstuffs. Knowing the length of time
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already spent there, to be further spent there AND the long journey back
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BEFORE they could replenish their provisions, they held back. They would cling
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to what they had in their possession. What happened here, was that a body of
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people came together to hear one man, but when it came to taking care of the
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body, it fell apart when it came to its physical need in total. The 'haves'
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claimed also to be as the 'have-nots' in order to keep what they had in store
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for themselves and their own. This would be a natural response, something that
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you may even do yourself. (2)
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Conversations which had to have taken place during this event (how else would
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they know?), probably went like this:
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===============================================================================
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Q: "Sir, we've nothing to eat here. Have you any bread?"
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A: "Sorry, we're all out."
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===============================================================================
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Hypocrites, hardened hearts and the hungry. This touches the account of the
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event afterwards concerning the Apostles; see Mark 8:17 AND that seen further
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below.
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Let's inspect and understand fully, this next piece of evidence...
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John 6:9
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========
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"There is a lad here which hath five barley loaves
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and two small fishes, but what are they among so many?"
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John's account of the event doesn't even claim that the goods belonged to
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Jesus and the Apostles, BUT to someone else in the crowd. (3) This would have
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made the event very embarrassing to those there, convicting by conscience. He
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would have been the ONLY one from within the body of people to have come
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forward with his food to share. This was done in open view. This is something
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upon which one can come to their own conclusion: If the boy and/or Jesus and
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His group had food to share, THEN what of OTHERS in the multitude?
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Hearing, seeing and knowing all of this, Jesus knew what He would do. He
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broke up and gave what He and the Apostles (or the boy) had in a public
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fashion. He would not say that they hadn't enough to share with others. He
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would not be a hypocrite, knowing that the example itself was the teacher. (4)
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Remember, this was no ordinary crowd. The very reason that the multitude was
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there was to receive The Word; to be taught. These people were students. The
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act of giving freely by the teacher, set them up to do the same among
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themselves as it was ALSO an act of teaching. The GREATEST part of His teaching
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concerned the turning away from hypocrisy. (5)
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Out of that 'nothing' came baskets of abundance, which were evidence of the
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hidden abundance of those in the multitude. (6) "Thou shalt love thy neighbor
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as thyself" was not proving itself as a commandment being followed. The teacher
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used a subtle but heavy hand on those He had just spent much time teaching.
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Hypocrites discovered that they had enough to share with their neighbors, AFTER
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receiving the example.
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Putting YOURSELF within that teacher/taught situation, how would YOU have
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reacted, if YOU had food in your possession?
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What should also be seen, is that the multiplication of the foodstuffs DIDN'T
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occur at the place that He broke the bread, BUT among the crowd. There was NO
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account of 'bread falling from heaven' or any other supernatural event
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concerning it directly, which brings us to this next piece of evidence.
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In John's account (6:25-33), Jesus stated that men didn't seek Him later
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because they saw a miracle, but because they ate. This of course, indicated
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that the men were at the scene, yet hadn't seen anything. After this, those
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that sought Him asked for a sign in order to believe in Him. This also said
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that they DIDN'T see any miracles of a supernatural kind previously. If they
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had, they would NOT have asked for another sign and it would have been a quite
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different situation in which they faced Him. Stating that given their fathers,
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they wanted a similar sign of 'bread from heaven'. He stated that the 'true
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bread from heaven' was Himself, NOT physical bread, which denied them a sign.
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More exacting evidence concerning the reality of things in this situation
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is not truly seen until AFTER the event. This is in another event in which the
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Apostles tell Jesus that they have no (or not enough) bread to eat during a
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journey, a similar circumstance. One will see and understand that Jesus tied
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these two events together inextricably thru His word concerning the earlier
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example. HIS words and questioning put this together.
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Let's journey with them and listen...
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Mark 8:14-21:
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=============
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'Now the disciples had forgotten to take bread, neither had they in the ship
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more than one loaf.
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And He CHARGED them, saying "Take heed, BEWARE OF THE LEAVEN OF THE PHARISEES
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and of the leaven of Herod".
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And they reasoned among themselves, saying, It is because we have no bread.
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And when Jesus knew it, he saith unto them, "Why reason ye, because ye have no
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bread? PERCEIVE YE NOT, NEITHER UNDERSTAND? HAVE YE YOUR HEART YET HARDENED?
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"HAVING EYES, SEE YE NOT? AND HAVING EARS, HEAR YE NOT? AND YE DO NOT REMEMBER?
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"When I brake the five loaves among five thousand, how many baskets full of
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fragments took ye up?" And they say unto Him, twelve.
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"And when the seven among four thousand, how many baskets full took ye up? And
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they said, seven.
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And He saith unto them, "HOW IS IT THAT YE DO NOT UNDERSTAND?"' (7)
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===============================================================================
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What He did here was to make the connection of the feeding of the multitudes
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that had 'no food' to the feeding of the Apostles, who had 'no food'. The
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circumstances were the same. He brings the event with the multitudes directly
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into remembrance for that specific reason. It turned that there was really
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plenty. He then asks them why they still DON'T understand AFTER receiving those
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examples.(8)
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AFTER being told that there wasn't enough or none (same problem), He charges
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them (gives them a duty to perform) and says "Take heed, Beware the leaven of
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the Pharisees", the definition of which He gave in...
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Luke 12:1-2
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===========
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"Beware ye of the leaven of the Pharisees, WHICH IS HYPOCRISY.
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FOR THERE IS NOTHING COVERED THAT SHALL NOT BE REVEALED,
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NEITHER HID, THAT SHALL NOT BE KNOWN."
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It is thru this saying to the Apostles, that He speaks of hidden things
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within the boat journey event; THEIR hypocrisy. By stating this in connection
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to the boat journey event, He DIRECTLY connected the revealing of hypocrisy to
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the 'loaves and fishes' events. There can be NO OTHER reason for this.
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If that isn't clear, then a telling piece of testimony connecting directly to
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that revealed hypocrisy is found in this ACCUSING question asked by Jesus of
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the Apostles: "HAVE YE YOUR HEART YET HARDENED?"
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This is a question which can ONLY pertain to HOW THEY WERE TREATING EACH
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OTHER. Again, there can be NO OTHER reason for this. This is a description used
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many times in Scripture and one which we use to this day. This not only tells
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us what happened here, but clues us into what went on previously at the scene
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of the feeding of the multitudes, by His connection of the leftover baskets and
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the leaven of the Pharisees. These stood as evidence of a situation concerning
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something of the same nature and He used the instance SPECIFICALLY. (Mark
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8:17-2O)
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Picture yourself within this situation on the boat:
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===============================================================================
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Q: "I forgot to bring anything to eat. Can't seem to find anything either. How
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about you?"
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A:
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===============================================================================
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Even having a full-blown Christian belief, there is still a twinge of "What
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of myself? What do I need?", prior to any sharing of what you have, if you do
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it at all. You know where you're going and how long it may be before you can
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replenish provisions.
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Seeing all of these things tells us that Jesus knew EXACTLY what was going
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on. Someone (but not all) among them had possession of food, thus the reference
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to the leaven of the Pharisees, (hypocrisy) and to the leftovers, which
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remained as evidence of it.
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Again, hardened hearts, hypocrisy and the hungry. Again, "Thou shalt love thy
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neighbor as thyself" was not proving itself as a teaching being followed. It
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was just as tight for goods, etc., in that situation as it was for the
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multitude. The tighter it gets, the tighter the grip gets. Self-preservation;
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one keeps for his own future. Jesus' accusation about the hardened hearts of
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the Apostles in this situation and the finding that there was AT LEAST one
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person at the previous scene with food who would share it (the boy and/or Jesus
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and the Apostles) are the true things which give this away.
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This was a stepping off point for the rest of the testimony which was
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connected to the event with the multitudes. They knew THAT HE KNEW THE ANSWER
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ALREADY; that their hypocrisy, as that of the Pharisees, was revealed to Him.
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The teacher was using a subtle but heavy hand on the students; conviction by
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conscience. He used their hearts and their own reasoning power. In this
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situation, He gave the Apostles every piece of the puzzle which would let them
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ALL eat, when THEY put it together.
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THIS was the rationale BEHIND the 'not speaking of bread, but of the leaven
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of the Pharisees' statement in the reports; Mt. 16:12. He focused on the
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mentality BEHIND the apparent lack of food; that of hypocrisy among those that
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wished to make sure that they ate and were more comfortable than their
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neighbor. (8)
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The testimonial evidence in BOTH events tells us some things that He already
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understood about men:
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1) That there were hypocrites in the multitude. He taught them by a direct
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physical example.
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2) That there were hypocrites AND those that didn't learn even AFTER seeing the
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example among the multitude work.
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This second group, was/were those who were commanded to beware the "leaven
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of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy". He RE-taught these by word and direct
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reference to the physical example of the multitude.
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The multitude learned it but the Apostles had to RE-learn it, as they had
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forgotten or refused to remember or believe in it. What He was doing when He
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directed them to beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, was to tell them to
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perform a specific duty among themselves. The physical example set in front of
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the multitude was also a call to that duty. What one needs to remember is that
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the Apostles were STILL learning. Indeed, the Gospels are an account of that
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learning process.
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All of this says something that flies into the face of dogma, that there was
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NO supernatural work performed among the multitudes, but a 'man-made' miracle;
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not the type of work that men are taught to believe in by clergy, their own
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superstition or misunderstanding of the term. This is NOT to say that nothing
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good happened, BUT that NOTHING of supernatural nature happened concerning the
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'loaves and fishes' event.
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===============================================================================
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FOOTNOTES:
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(1) Further, they were going to a place (desert) where nothing would be readily
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available to them. Preparation would be especially seen in the cases where
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entire families traveled. What father would go the distance without making
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certain that the children or elderly would be fed?
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(2) The reports also state that fasting took place, which would have provided
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for an abundance of foodstuffs, as they initially withheld it from themselves.
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Does one not prepare to break fast? It seems that at least one did just that.
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(3) It may be that this account may only have touched upon only one of the
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events, as John mentions no other as Matthew and Mark do. None of the others
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mention the boy, however.
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(4) These particular circumstances also connect to something also shown by
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James; James 2:14-16. Hypocritical acts (works) do not show faith in teaching,
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either by example or word.
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(5) A physical act of faith, based on His example, reinforced by the example of
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the boy in John's account.
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(6) See Luke 12:1-3 again. 'There is nothing covered that shall not be
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revealed, neither hid that shall not be known."
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(7) What is noteworthy BY ITS OMISSION, is that there is NO testimony
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concerning the rectification of the problem of not having enough to eat. It is
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left as part of a mystery to be solved.
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(8) What should also be seen here, is how Jesus' statement and question fit
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into the context of the report and the situation itself. By saying these things
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in response to lack of bread, His answer seems at first non-sequitorial; ALMOST
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nonsensical. It is odd in comparison to the readily apparent nature of the
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problem: "We need bread, not a lesson."
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But upon close inspection, it gives the appearance that He knew the REAL
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nature of the problem. The questioning after the 'no bread' statement is ALSO
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of an investigational nature; making them answer questions which He already
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knew the answer to. It is a method of self-conviction by conscience which He
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used on more than one occasion, in different circumstances.
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:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
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: : See other writings which may be in this database,
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: : "SMOKING GUN: A Trial Of Jesus Christ", a
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: (C) 1992 George W. Demers : revealing and alternative view of Christianity,
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: : its creation and its current status.
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:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
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