Circumstances did not allow for posting these lessons the weeks they were completed. However, it is my hope that you will still be able to take something from them. Today’s posts address lesson 12, “I Am the Bread of Life.”
As I studied the miracle of the loaves and fishes for this week’s Sunday school lesson, I was touched by one important factor: who distributed the meal. Although most lessons seem to focus on the miracle itself, or the relationship to the Savior as the bread of life, I confess that this small technical detail intrigued me. Turn with me to John 6:1-14 and Mark 6:30-44 and see if you think this might be important.
Christ, of course, provided the miracle. He blessed the five loaves and two fishes, and created enough food to sustain the multitude. Without the Savior, this divine interference could never have happened.
If you look at Mark 6:37, the Savior commands His disciples, “Give ye them to eat.” In short, before the original food is brought forward, the disciples were commanded to feed the people. This instantly brought to my mind a thrice-repeated commandment given following the Savior’s resurrection: “Feed my sheep” (John 21:15-17). There, the Savior referred to spiritual nourishment; here, he seems to be talking about their temporal feeding. Furthermore, once the loaves and fishes have been blessed and broke, the Savior gives the food to the disciples to distribute (Mark 6:41, John 6:11).
On the surface, this probably comes from simplicity. After all, there is but one Savior, and there are twelve disciples, if not more. (In John 6:66, many of those who followed but where not of the twelve were called ‘disciples.’) Thus, this form of distribution made a great deal of technical sense.
On the other hand, this lesson is based on the idea that Christ is the bread of life. If Christ is the bread of life, comparable to the bread distributed (we’ll discuss that more on Thursday), then it is Christ and His teachings which are being shared.
And who is doing the sharing? Who is spreading the spiritual nourishment? The disciples. Who should we be striving to be like? The disciples.
Related Articles:
Gospel Doctrine: Straightway & Immediately
Gospel Doctrine: They Forsook All, and Followed Him
General Conference: “Discipleship”
For other articles on this week’s lesson, click the ‘Gospel Doctrine’ thread under ‘LDS Catagories’