I have a set routine so I can make sure I get everything done without dropping one of the many balls I have in midair. Some weeks though are like trying to work a jigsaw puzzle with my time. This past week was a routine-busting challenge as I attempted to keep my regular duties and activities from crashing in a heap when unexpected things popped up. Those types of weeks are exhilarating, maddening, and exhausting all rolled together. Jesus had a few of these too. One was particularly memorable.
Now when Jesus heard about John, He withdrew from there in a boat to a secluded place by Himself; and when the people heard of this, they followed Him on foot from the cities. When He went ashore, He saw a large crowd,
-Matthew 14:13-14a
John the Baptist, Jesus’ cousin and forerunner, had been beheaded by King Herod after Herod made a very foolish oath to Herodias’ daughter. All Jesus wanted to do was be alone with His disciples, probably to mourn. The crowd had other plans. Jesus’ response was simply amazing.
and [Jesus] felt compassion for them and healed their sick. -Matthew 14:14b
There was no attempt to hide, no trying to turn them away, no loss of temper. Exhausted with grief, Jesus focused on others. Mark 6:34 adds that Jesus also taught the crowd during this time. This was no 5-minute encounter. It lasted until evening when the disciples tried to persuade Jesus to send the crowd away to food. Instead of complying, sighing, and waving good-bye while they all exit, Jesus performs one of the most well-known miracles of His earthly career. He fed 5,000 men and an undisclosed number of women and children with 5-loaves of bread and 2-fish! There was so much food provided in this miracle that the disciples picked up 12-baskets full of leftovers.
After all was said and done, Jesus finally got the peace and quiet He was seeking, and He used it to spend time with the Father.
Immediately He made the disciples get into the boat and go ahead of Him to the other side, while He sent the crowds away. After He had sent the crowds away, He went up on the mountain by Himself to pray; and when it was evening, He was there alone. -Matthew 14:22-23
The miracle alone was unfathomably astounding. However, when we consider the context surrounding the event, it becomes infinitely more impressive. Bad, busy, crazy days happen. This certainly qualified as such. Not many would have faulted Jesus for turning the crowd away. Yet God granted Him the strength, both during and afterward, to serve in the midst of all the craziness and sorrow.
The next time things just do not shape up the way we planned, we need to respond like our Savior, compassionately seeking to honor God through placing others before ourselves. God can and will help us through whatever the world throws at us.