Ep 1071 | Jase Secretly Helps a Missionary Family & Al Emotionally Dreams About Phil’s Legacy
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Studying the book of John. We're going to get to John 6 today. And I don't know, Jase, you said you had a weird night leading into your Bible study. I've been having a lot of weird things happen. I told you a couple podcasts ago about a study I had with a guy. And then it's like he was an employee of a guy I knew from a card game. And it's like that morning they talked about how...

You should function in the work environment. That was the sermon. And then I'm studying Jesus on the stairwell with this guy, and the first person I ever studied with just comes walking by. It's like, man, is God orchestrating all this? That's the way I felt. Well, then I had another. So now I have, a couple days later, another weird thing because I hadn't studied John 6 yet, which I knew it was about –

I knew it was something about, you know, isn't that where Jesus fed the 5,000? But my night kind of fit in with what I was fixing to study. So I'll tell you about it if you want to hear. It's kind of weird. We're all ears. Okay. So, you know, we're trying to help my dad. He's not doing great. But, you know, his spirit is good.

But we try to think of creative ideas. And we've gone public years ago about we're food snobs. And so it's very difficult for someone else to like, you know how people gather around. They're like, we want to help and we'll bring meals. Like a meal train. They call them a meal train. Well, that's bad for the Robertson family.

Because we're not going to like most people's cooking. Yeah, potluck was a four-letter word in our vocabulary. Yeah, and it's not that we're, you know. It's not that we think we're better than people. It's just that we think we're better than people. No. Well, it's funny because you think about, yeah, it's the – a lot of people, though, I mean, I would say most people, well –

I don't want to get too offensive here, but I just haven't had a lot of good cooking. No, I'll give you the line you're looking for. Because my wife became a new creation in our marriage. And she will attest to that. And not only with her status with the Almighty, but when it comes to cooking. Yeah. Mine too. I wrote a book one time, and...

I wish I could rewrite it now because I've learned a lot. Most of it, it all came from a pure heart, but I'm saying theologically, I think I've come a long way since then. But one thing I shouldn't have done when I wrote that book is I described how my wife's family lived.

and what I thought about their cooking. Well, duh, Jace. When they read your book, this is going to cause some problems. Yeah. So that took about a year to walk through. Feelings were heard. Apologies were made. Checks were written.

A lawyer said that at a card game one night. Somebody said, are they still breaking the law? And he's like, look, mistakes were made, apologies were given, checks were written. We're good. That's what I did. That was a joke out there, people. He didn't pay off his in-laws. It's okay. But your wife's cooking, though. Well, what I was going to say is my wife famously said some people –

eat to survive. But when I became a member of the Robertson family, I realized that this family survives to eat. Oh, that's good. Ooh. And I think I'll put that in the book. If I didn't, I should have. That's good, though. But so... Which can lead to...

You know, being overweight as Al and I can. Well, by the way, Zach, you're exactly right. And I did not with my current diet, but in past diet of a doctor told me he said, there's two biblical words. You've got to practice if you want to lose weight. And I said, biblical words. He said, yeah. I said, well, lay it on me because I'm a Bible man. He said, well, first is repent.

He said, you know what that word means? I said, yep, it means change. He said, that's right. You got to change your habit. So I got that one. He said, and the second one is divorce. And I was like, whoa, Doc. Now, wait a minute. He said, you have to divorce your love for food.

And I said, Doc, I'm thinking more just like a separation with a hope of reconciliation. I don't think I can be actively rooting for divorce, especially what Jay's just said, because we survive to eat. Well, I'm going to have to take issue with both of you on that. It's not the food. Zach, see, he immediately went to what big people say.

And that's, it's not that. It's not the quality of the food. It's the quantity. There's where your problem lies. Because look, I'm eating at the same... I receive that. I receive that. I receive it, Jase. But let me say this real quick. I'm eating the same food that I was eating...

And that y'all have been eating. Well, Jace, I swallow a lot of aggression, along with a lot of Johnny's pizzas. I just wanted to clarify. Go ahead, Zach. Make your point. Well, I mean, in our family, what we do, and you guys have been previewed to this, is we will have open restaurants.

And I would say even heated. And sometimes there's a there's there's the dialogue turns into shouting over food and over different ingredients, such as the cheese that I introduced you guys to with the burger situation. But I never gave the conclusion. What is your I'm the one who ended up. Thank you.

Sargento owners. I ended up with the cheese and I did the test. I have eaten every slice. They're all gone. And there were multiple packages that I went through. You did the test. I did the test. And the test was so...

I mean, like on a scale from one to ten, you have your... Yours was a one. What was the test so people know what you're talking about? It was the processed... We won't use names, but processed cheese...

Well, we can use Sargento because they sent me a box of cheese. They sent us the cheese. It's natural American cheese. That's what it's called. And they sent me a hat that I've been wearing that's got a lot of good, led to a lot of conversations. Yeah, I've been wearing that too. Life is Gouda. Gouda. And you said that mine was, my recommendation was a one? Only because there's no number less than one available for me. Okay.

You didn't try it. I don't believe you. There's no way. Oh, yeah. It's gone. Absolutely hideous. So now we're getting into it. You know what it was reminding me of? It's like you get something out of a package, you know, and you eat it, which should tell you already you're on a dangerous road.

And then you didn't realize that whatever you were fixed to eat was actually still connected to the package that it was in.

And it just melted on what you're fixing to eat. This is a hypothetical situation. And then you're eating some weird form of plastic. I just want to clarify, you really did do the test. I did the test. That's your conclusion. I do want to say this. The word came up last podcast, hubris. I think there's some kind of hubris there.

This is, you're pot committed. It's a pride issue. You can't see, you cannot admit what you experienced there. So if you really want to know what I think, I think, you know, your weight issues and all that can be attributed to, you need to go have your taste buds analyzed that something went wrong. They have a real piece of cheese that functions like cheese.

the crap that you're putting on your burger, and it's delicious. It's fantastic. They may have created that. I'm not denying that. Oh, they did. But you can't tell me that what I have is – what I've created is a one. That's not true. I would say a one, and I would give – The point is this, though. I will say there have been people that sided with Zach in the argument. Oh, a lot of people. But I don't know that they've tried this –

Natural American that surges. That's a different discussion. I didn't know about that. I haven't tried that. That's a different thing. But the people that listen to this podcast, they do know. And I probably, I mean, but what the point is, is that if you bring potluck or like the meal train to the family, the problem is, is that Phil historically has been

pretty brutal and critique. He openly critiques whatever the cuisine is. So there's been some people over the years that may or may not have gotten their feelings hurt, but I don't get my feelings hurt when I come in with a, with a, with like a, cause I expect that you, whatever you're bringing to the table, it's meant to be critiqued. And then from there, the whole food game evolves into a, a more sophisticated state of existence, if that makes sense. Yeah.

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I've heard the next generation, Jay, talk about it at our Thanksgiving gatherings because, you know, our kids, they love to come up with something and try to bring it to impress all of us. Because if they ever get the thumbs up that this is a Robertson favorite, then it becomes part of the lexicon going forward. But it's usually a train wreck, you know.

You use it. It's trial and error. Yeah, I did want to say something about this, too. I was trying to pull it up here, but I just read this, and it made me feel so good about our family and our relationship, mainly with me and Chase. It made me really feel like we were on the right road. And the headline was that research shows we all should absolutely –

We relentlessly roast our friends. They've actually done the research now and that friends and family members who relentlessly, relentlessly roast each other actually have better relationships than those who don't.

So I feel like we've actually been, we actually have a very healthy dialogue that we can come in here. But to show Jace's point is right, Zach, when you read that whole thing, the word I focused in on was roast. Cause I love a good pot roast. Yeah. You got to sear it. You got to sear it, put it in some flour. Yeah, get the sear, hold in those juices. Dust it in some flour, sear that thing, stick it in. So anyway, so that, so that, so I, we thought, how can I help my dad to get back to the story?

And so I don't know if it was Missy's idea or mine, but I said, why don't we just go get some crawfish, boiled crawfish, and just have an experience. And so that's what we did. And so it was awesome, which I realized crawfish are expensive. Did he eat them? Did Phil eat them? Did he eat them? Yeah.

Did you have to peel them for him? He peeled one. It took a while. And, uh, cause he's just, you know, my dad's not clicking on all cylinders, but he, he insisted on peeling one. He got it done. But, uh, and what's funny is he, he, Missy was like, no, I'm going to peel them for you. You know, which I thought, here's my wife who wouldn't even attempt to, to eat a crawfish. When I met her, she wouldn't be in the presence of,

of a crawfish, alive or dead. Well, you've made it clear. Missy was freaked out by bugs in general. So, yeah, it goes against her. Now she's peeling crawfish for my dad. I mean. That's a good daughter-in-law. So it was great just the experience. She was outside eating crawfish. But anyway, so I do that, all right? And so I was going to play cards.

So I stopped at a convenience store on the way to play cards and I'm in there. And, you know, I mean, the problem with looking like this is you're easily recognizable, you know, and you get the feeling you're being watched. And look, there was this, you know, young woman with her daughter and they were kind of looking at me like, I think that's a Duck Dynasty guy. I got, I've seen that look. Yeah. So I was getting some tea, I think. And, uh,

So when I come back, well, here they came. I said, well, here we go. And so, because I'm a little nervous about that, because once that down breaks, you know, it kind of turns into a meet and greet, which is okay, because I realize these are moments where you can have Jesus conversations. Yep. So I went into that mode. And to my surprise, this woman's like, we don't want anything, you know, from, because usually people ask for a picture or something like that.

Don't want anything. We just appreciate y'all's ministry. And I thought, well, now here we go. So I started asking a few questions. She's like, well, there's my husband and my son. They were, you know, they came over and we kind of had a little talk there. And I was like, what do y'all do? They're like, well, we're missionaries. Like, well, how about this? You know, isn't this cool?

So anyway, we had our little meet and greet. Well, when I got over getting all my stuff, I looked at them. They had, you know, something, snacks. It was all snacks in each hand. I thought, these people are missionaries. So the guy behind the checkout, I was like, you want to do something good today? Which I didn't realize how that sounded, I guess, in the moment, because he just snapped up and looked at me kind of wild-eyed.

And I said, I'm going to see a little family there. I was like, I just met them. I was like, they're really, I like how they roll. I said, they are missionaries for the Lord Jesus. I said, which means something because I've met a lot of missionaries. It means they don't have a lot of money.

I said, so you take this $20 bill. I was trying to assess what they had, and I figured $20 would cover it, which shows you they ain't got a lot of money. There's four of them, and what they have may not be $20. I said, the only problem we're going to have is if, because they had multiple registers. It's that big, huge thing on Well Road. It's bigger than a store. I mean, this place is a circus. I said, so, because I'm going to leave, because they were in line,

And I was like, because they're in the other line there. So if you – I'm going to trust you to make this happen. And he's like, hey, I'm a man of integrity, which I thought was interesting for the checkout guy to say. He said, I'm a man of integrity. And then he said, and this is exciting. So I thought, great. So as I was leaving, he was going over to tell the other checkout. I saw him whispering in his ear. I was like, oh, this will be good. So –

So I got to do that, and I'm sure, you know, I wish I'd have been there to see the, oh, you know, somebody paid for it. Oh, the duck guy you met, you know, which I thought was good. I felt good about that. So then I played cards, and here's what's interesting. I won, after a few hours of the card game, I won the amount of money that I had just spent on the crawfish and the snacks. Don't you find that weird? Yeah.

I didn't realize that until I was going home. I was like, well, you know, I didn't win much.

Then I thought, well, wait a minute. We did two good deeds. You got your deeds covered. And I actually got a bunch of heathens to pay for it. I mean, this is just... So you're saying if you do the right thing, then... Apologies are made, checks are... That sounds like the prosperity gospel to me. I don't know, Jase, but... No, you know what it sounds like? You say, well, you just got lucky. No, it's like what Al said about pot luck. That's the problem I have when you attach...

luck with food. I'm out. I'm out. I never got past the name. Oh, we're having a potluck. Everybody's invited. Well, I'm not going to be there. Well, that's what dad used to say when he talked about, you know, take everything out of the refrigerator, throw it in a pot. Hey, maybe we'll get lucky. You know, that was the way he described it. So let me tell you this, because Jay, you talked about a weird night.

So it was night before last, which was the night last night we recorded the podcast a couple of days ago. And I did something. I'm trying to think if I've ever done it. I don't know if I've ever done this before. I woke up and I was crying like I had tears on my face. And it was from this dream I was having.

And it was about dad, you know, because, you know, all of us have been concerned. I pray all the time for him and, you know, for him, mom. And so a lot of times I think about it before I go to sleep. It was a time I spent with the almighty to close out the day he blessed me with. But in my dream, President Trump was awarding dad the presidential medal of honor, whatever they do for civilians. And of course, dad couldn't be there.

And so we were there, Jace. It was all the boys and Phyllis was there too. And we were receiving it on his behalf. And I rarely remember a dream. I've dreamed things before and I thought, man, I woke up like what happened? It was something scary or whatever. But I couldn't remember the details. But this one was so clear.

But I don't know that I've ever cried in a dream and then woke up with actual tears on my face. Have you ever done that? I've never done that, but that's an interesting thought. Yeah.

Yeah, I mean, it was so it was so impactful to me. The dream was I was so proud, you know, in the moment that like Trump was recognizing dad. And look, Trump said in the in his like thing when he was, you know, giving us the medal, he said, this man shared the gospel with me, you know, and I've always remembered it. So he says what dad always says about him. So I guess that was it. It was just it was a weird thing. But I mean, I've never woke up crying before that I can remember. Maybe I have.

So one of the things I wish, Zach, that I had learned about early in life was

that living above your means and going into debt is something that follows you for a long time. And it puts a lot of strain on your family, on your relationships, and even on your marriage. And Lisa and I, through the early years of our marriage, really struggled with debt. Yeah. Well, you know, the credit system, it's actually rigged to keep you trapped. But our friends at Done With Debt, they have a unique and brilliant escape strategy to help you end debt fast so

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Well, I do understand it. I mean, it's tough because I can't sleep real good. I'm having weird dreams like that too, but I can't remember what they are. But I think when you're going through –

Just tough times. Yeah, emotional. And that's what you're thinking about and you're praying about it, you know. So, because Missy and I have had this same conversation before. You know, you're just kind of restless. Yeah. Even though you feel like, hey, everything is, you know, we're in God's hands and we're doing the best we can. Yeah. So, well, we're in John 6. I mean, because then I thought when I read John 6 after that happened, I thought, phew.

It kind of opened my eyes because all that was around food. However, it was more about bringing Jesus and his qualities into difficult situations. I mean, when you think about it, that was the opportunities with my dad and with the missionaries. Because, you know, you just think.

what missionaries do. It's because both of those things, dealing, you know, with the health of my, you know, mom and dad and just the life of a missionary. I mean, that's all about sacrifice. That's all it is. I mean, you're, it's like even the people, you know, when you look at certain jobs, like people who work in, you know, healthcare facilities where, you know, with mental patients and, and, or people who are just in, you know,

dire straits. I mean, you just think they do even for their job. It's just sacrifice. I think same thing about teachers. I mean, who would, cause they're obviously not doing it for the money in the teaching world, but to go up and let's just say you're a kindergarten teacher, you know what your life is, is about sacrifice. I mean, who would do this on purpose? Yeah.

Same thing with law enforcement or, you know, first responders a lot of times. I mean, just not a lot of money, but man, you talk about just putting your life on the line. Yeah, exactly. So which leads you back to the image of Jesus, you know, and he came here humbly and said,

I thought Zach had a good line the other day when it was like the whole plan was for him to be conquered so that everybody could be saved, you know, and by humans, to be killed by humans that he made.

Because he loved them. I mean, that's just, you know, when you start doing Jesus stuff, that's where you're getting into that road. Which is why I mentioned that fault line before, because Zach mentioned this in the last podcast. The first time we see this idea that they're wanting to kill him comes up here in chapter five, and that's going to continue forward. What were you going to say, Zach? Yeah, I was thinking about your story about bringing that crawfish to Phil. And because when I went and saw him when I was in town,

It was funny. The first thing he asked me, the first question he asked me was, do you bring any grub? It's interesting there. You get somebody outside, you bring the crawfish. There's something about the food situation that brings grub.

Like the certain degree of human agency. And not just, it's not just a utilitarian. I'm just going to, you know, I'm not, I could, I could hook myself up to an IV and feed myself through some kind of, you know,

feeding to, but that's not really what, like, it's not that it's the enjoyment. It's the story. It's the, how did you make the crawfish? Man, we went and ran these crawfish traps. Look at what we got boys. And man, we put, you know, we put mushrooms in ours and, and potatoes and all the, it's a, it's all the story. Get around together and eat that. And I think it's something that Jesus and John six, I mean, how much of John six is about food? Yeah.

And what you eat. Well, and you're right. It's a whole community thing because the Cajuns, they have made tables, you know, long tables and round tables with the hole in the middle where everybody can converse as they're enjoying this delicious crawfish boil and all this stuff. It's very communal and it's designed for that.

Exactly. I mean, I said, you want to know what the afterlife looks like? I told Miss, I was like, go down to that crawfish city. Yeah. About seven o'clock. Yeah. I mean, you cannot stick another person in there. They're all outside. Everybody's wanting to get in. I mean, it's like everyone and it's that way every night. I mean, it's the best thing you can eat.

And we're just, it's a party atmosphere. I mean, well, Louisiana is different too. Cause it's the, you're right out the equipment. It seems like every time, every two or three years that passes, there's like a new upgrade in equipment. And I mean, it's, it's like how we were bowling crawfish and,

20 years ago, it's a whole other set of equipment now. Even like I think about like a jambalaya recipe, we used to cook that in an old black wash pot. It was literally, that's what it was, a wash pot that was converted into a pot that you cook jambalaya in. And the burner was kind of made specifically for that pot.

Well, now they've got a whole cottage industry. You can order these pots that are made, and they have little heat shields around them. The game just keeps elevating them, and the story continues. But there's something central about it.

You know, humans getting around a meal together that does bring some kind of something. There's something spiritual about that. You know, to back up your point, Zach, when we would when we used to rent big houses down here, when the whole family would come and now we're so big we can't do it anymore. But in the old days, we did. Lisa got to where she would ask.

before we would rent a house, because there's a lot of Louisiana people that own houses down here, especially from South Louisiana. She would say, is this house owned by someone from Louisiana? And the reason we asked that is because we knew the cooking equipment would be there that we needed for our week with the pots and pans and everything else. So, I mean, we literally asked the question before we would rent a house, is it Louisiana owned? Yeah. Yeah.

So, and you got to remember, up until this point, it's been a lot about water. And when you think about the importance of food and water, you're getting down near to survival. Yeah. Not to mention the experiences that y'all are talking about. I mean, even, you know, our show that took off, I think the reason it did is because you had people gathered around a table, eating a meal together, right?

Which is unheard of now in our culture. Everybody goes and gets their strains and goes to their rooms and...

does their own thing. Well, you remember Adam Carolla said that when he was on our podcast a few years ago, he mentioned about, cause he's agnostic or atheist or used to be, I guess. I don't know if he still is, but he said, you know, I admire you Christians was the way he put it. Talking about us. He said, and on your show, the way you do it, he said, when it, when I come into my house, everybody goes to their rooms to eat their meals and nobody's ever together. And,

He said, but when I go to Dennis Prager, who's Jewish, or, you know, I watch you guys on TV. He said, y'all seem to really like being around the table together. It was just an interesting observation, I thought. And almost like he lamented it, you know, that he didn't have it in his own family. Oh, it's number one childhood memory.

I mean, you gather up and you talk about the day's events or relive the stories that just happened. Which is why I think I said before, I think that's why we wound up on television, because you had your little moment, the spotlight on the table, and you didn't want to blow it. You want to have something to say that was either funny or, you know, mattered. You didn't want to waste your moments. You didn't get that many. Yeah.

So you may read this, John 6. Yep. Or I'll read some of it. Read at least the first 15 verses, Joseph. Let's get into that, which is the actual miracle. So we're coming off the difference in Moses and following Moses and Jesus being the fulfillment of Moses, which is a key context for where we're going here.

So then it says, sometime after this, this is John 6, 1, Jesus crossed to the far shore of the Sea of Galilee, that is the Sea of Tiberias, and a great crowd of people followed him because they saw the signs he had performed by healing the sick. Then Jesus went up on a mountainside and sat down with his disciples. Now, here's another key verse, verse 4. The Jewish Passover festival was near. So this is the second time.

This is brought up where Jesus is going to do something cool when the festival of the Passover was celebrated. So the first time was in John 2 where he cleared up the temple. And talked about his resurrection. Yeah. So if you think about the Passover, which we'll get into the details of that, but you actually had a lamb being sacrificed and eaten.

when the original Passover happened, which led the Israelites to be liberated from Egypt. Yep. Right? Correct. So, speaking of Day of Liberation, I mean, when I first heard that coming out, Trump, I guess a few days ago by the time you're hearing this, said, there's a Day of Liberation. And I thought...

Every day is a day of liberation as a follower of Jesus. We're making new creations. The old is gone. But that was their day of liberation as a nation, as a people. So I think that's a key thing to remember because I put that little phrase in your mind, a lamb was eaten, blood was spilled and put on the doorframe from the lamb and it was eaten.

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which you'll introduce. This is going to come up again in John 13, where he's talking about what we call the Lord's Supper now, which he introduced at the Last Supper.

And so it's like when he starts making some claims in the back end of this chapter, it's going to make a lot more sense if you look at it from their perspective. That's right. You remember the first thing John the Baptist said in John 2 when he saw him? He said, look, the Lamb of God that takes away the sins of the world. So that's why, because if you just go to the verse where Jesus says, which we'll get to,

He's like, unless you eat my flesh and drink my blood, you'll have no part with me. Well, people are like, oh, wait a minute. I'm out on this. What is this, some kind of cannibalism thing?

type of thing. And you can look up the Greek words and say, what were the words? No, it pretty much meant eat and drink, you know? So it's like, well, what did he mean by that? But now we're giving you the clues to kind of wrap your head around what he was saying. And Jason, let me give one little tease before you go back to the text. He mentions the Passover one more time. And guess when that is, when he's about to go into Jerusalem and John mentions it three times, right?

as Jesus is going in for the last Passover, which is very interesting that he mentioned it three times in his book and three times at the last time, just to show the importance. Which was right before his death on the cross. Correct. Because you think about it, he didn't pick the Day of Atonement or the Jubilee or whatever. Pentecost, right. Yeah, he picked the Passover. I think one of the things happening here, too, are the

You think about the significance of how much food was left over. There was 12 baskets of food left over. Yeah, we're going to get there. We're going to get there. I'll hold off then. Yeah, let me read verse 5. And now we get, if you're keeping score, how many questions have we had so far, Al, that we've written down? Four? Yeah. Where we just take Jesus' questions. Now, granted, this was a...

Kind of a trap question because John says that. And this one doesn't seem as profound when I first read it. But boy, once I went down a rabbit hole or two, this became very profound. And that's in verse 5. This will be our fifth question if you're keeping score. When Jesus looked up and saw a great crowd coming toward him, he said to Philip, Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat?

So, and I just thought, just immediately think, you think, well, that doesn't seem like a very profound question, but how many times have you had people coming over the, and especially for people who cook of our reputation, this is, this is a serious thing for us. You get getting ready to feed people.

for people like our family, is a big deal. So true. It's all hands on deck. We've got the best places in mind. Price is not the issue. That means nothing. I mean, you'll pay...

Twice as much as something's worth. Best brand, the brand, the best one. You're not going cheap at any level. It's abundance. Because there's going to come a moment in these festivities where people take that first bite of a meal that you've prepared. And what they think matters to my family a whole lot.

And basically, my dad was overblown if they didn't say, because he's as soon as you take the first bite, you remember what he would tell people out, every person that ever sat there? What about it? What do you think? What about it? What about it? And if they hesitated, he said, is that the best thing you've ever eaten in your life? Is that the best thing you've ever laid a lip on? That's what he said. Yeah.

So he asked that question, but then there's a clarification because he asked this. John intervenes here, which I love how John takes it upon himself to say it. He asked this only to test him. So in verse 7, Philip answered him, it would take more than a half a year's wages to buy enough bread for each one to have a bite. Another of his disciples, Andrew, which was cool because you don't see a whole lot of interaction from Andrew.

Yeah. In the Gospels. I don't think the other three mentioned Philip or Andrew. There's for sure no conversation. Yeah. But it shows you Andrew kind of had a pulse on the crowd because then he says, Andrew, in verse 8, he spoke up, there's a boy with five barley loaves of bread and two small fish, but how far will that go among so many? Which is weird that he would even bring it up.

But it is something like, here's what we got.

Maybe he can do something with it. That's what I put in my nose, Chase. It was like, maybe, maybe. Here's a happy meal. It's a good sermon with, you know, you take what you have and God, you know, let's see what he can do with it. Yeah. So verse 10, Jesus said, have the people sit down. There was plenty of grass in that place and they sat down about 5,000 men.

men were there. I mean, we're talking huge crowd. Probably double that with the kids and women. Which now his question seems funny. You know, where shall we buy bread for these people to eat? So, verse 11 says,

Jesus then took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed to those who were seated as much as they wanted. He did the same with the fish. When they had all had enough to eat, he said to his disciples, Gather the pieces that are left over. Let nothing be wasted. So they gathered them and filled twelve baskets with the pieces of the five barley loaves left over by those who had eaten.

After the people saw the sign Jesus performed, they began to say, surely this is the prophet who is to come into the world. So there's that verse that we talked about in the last chapter. And that's the Deuteronomy. Where was that at in Deuteronomy, Al? I think 1815. Yeah. So there was predicted that there would be a prophet sent as king, I think. Yeah.

But they call him a king here. So Jesus... And Moses even said, greater than I. So he was letting them... That was it. So verse 15, Jesus knowing that they intended to come and make him king. Because at first when you say, oh, here's the prophet. But he knew, okay, they're going to make him Messiah by force, withdrew to a mountain by himself, which seems...

kind of opposite from what you would think he would have responded. So that's when we take a turn here. So Jesus was coming here to declare himself king and son of God. However, they had the wrong motivation. You're going to see that later in the story. We're going to take a little time out, or John does, and you have this scene where he walks on the water, and then you get back to...

The controversy that comes from the feeding of the 5,000, which you think, well, how could that be controversial? Well, their motives, they started following Jesus just for the meals instead of recognizing who Jesus is on his terms. Yeah, they had their fill. Yeah, and it's really going to get down to that. The point is going to be you're following Jesus for what you can get out of it.

Right. Because the truth is, if you understand the Son of Man reference that he's mentioned already multiple times, and he will mention again multiple times in all the Gospels, that Jesus is king when he appears before the Ancient of Days. And so that's what he says, you'll see the Son of Man coming on the clouds and all of that. But they don't want that king.

They don't want the king that suffers. They don't want a king that's going to walk a Roman road to a cross all by himself. They don't want that king. They want the king that's going to feed them. To your point, they're looking at the power. It's kind of funny because they did kind of worship the prophets. We just saw that in the last chapter five of what he said, made the reference to Moses and kind of the upholding of all the prophets. And they studied the scriptures and all that.

But here they want to make Jesus a prophet. They just want to put him in the stack of other kind of leaders that they've had. He's going to be our current guy. We're going to lift him up as the guy because he obviously is bringing something big to the table. Which is an interesting thing, too, that you get from reading the other gospel narratives, because John is just kind of picking these events along. He's not necessarily trying to be chronological, but...

But when I read the other versions, the other eyewitness accounts, there were two things else that had happened. I think they helped set the context of the mindset because Jace is right. It seems counterintuitive to us for him to take the task he took that now is the time for him to step out because now they're saying and wanting him to be king. But it's not the right context. So two things have happened. One is.

is this follows him sending out the disciples. They just got back right before this happened. And so that's part of the reason they were retreating is to get a little rest because they had just gone out. Remember when he sent them out and said, you know, shake the dust off. So that had just happened. So they're probably on cloud nine that they got to get out on their own and share about the kingdom, about what was coming. And the second thing that had happened was,

from one of the other accounts is that John had just been beheaded in prison, which effectively ended the forerunner, you know, his life and everything he had come to do. And now it's just Jesus. So he's the only one left. So one is, you know, Jesus has taken that personally, which I think is part of the mindset with him and the idea that this was his cousin as well as somebody he loved deeply. He said there's no one greater on earth than him.

And yet these two things that happened leading up to this event. So I do think that helps us the context as to kind of why Jesus responds the way he does, as well as the disciples and probably why there's that little interlude of him walking on the water too.

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I think the part of him where he collects 12 baskets is not accidental as well. I think if you go back to the history of Israel...

Yeah, Israel didn't last long before it divided into two kingdoms. I mean, if you look at it, I mean, it was three kings. It lasted Saul, David, Solomon, then it split after Saul. So then you got to keep in mind that what happens there to the 12 tribes of Israel is they're divided. They're not together anymore. And so part of what's happening here is that Jesus is also being established, establishing himself as,

as the true shepherd of Israel. So the 12 baskets are the 12 tribes that are coming back in. Jesus is going to bring, he's bringing the 12 tribes back in under his shepherding. And he's also building out the bigger vision of the kingdom, which is going to bring also the Gentiles in as well. So you see all of that is going on here.

In this context, this number 12 is not just a random number. There's great symbolic connection here between the 12 tribes of Israel that were now divided and the 12 baskets that were now being collected. And it also shows the abundance of what God provides when God shepherds. There's an abundance left over. Everyone had their fill. They ate as much as they wanted.

And then there was so much left over that it was just overflowing with abundance. But it's also the classic way of how God does business. He's also looking at the needs of those in the moment. Because by the way, how many disciples were there that needed to eat? Because they've been serving this whole time, 12. So guess who got the basket full of the leftovers? Probably each one of them.

those 12 disciples to their sustenance in the moment. So to prove your point, Zach, it's the sustenance of the moment, which is what prophecy does, but also the bigger picture of what it provides for everybody. And don't you think it's connected? Like he's, we're going to get into this in the, probably the next episode, but he, I mean, it's connected to the man. No doubt. Do I think, right? No doubt. He's going to bring that up later in this chapter. And that's what I was going to say when I, when Al said the sustenance of the moment, right?

So here's what we need to do before next time is our readers. This rabbit hole made this question when Jesus asked, where are we going to go buy some bread? I mean, it was this thrilling of a revelation from these scriptures that I've ever had because I read Exodus 15, 16, and 17, which is interesting.

The 15 is about water being provided. 16 is about the manna and the quail. And 17 is the water that was provided when he struck the rock. And you remember what Paul said about that? That rock was Christ. And in the vein of Jesus being the fulfillment of everything written in the law of Moses and the prophets and the Psalms, I went to his prayer because I

Obviously, I thought, man, I like Zach, but I also thought when he taught them how to pray,

In Matthew 6, I want to read this. We're not going to have time to fully develop this, but I had brought that question up, and Al, you set us that statement, that sustenance in the moment. And when you read Exodus 15, 16, and 17, this really comes out. Because look, he only provided them by the day.

And just full disclosure, Exodus 16 is one of the few places in the Bible that maggots are mentioned, the larva of flies, because what they did, they had to have all this manna, and they were scared, so they was like, well, I'm going to gather some of this up for tomorrow. Yeah.

which he said don't do. Just in case he doesn't drop bread out of the sky tomorrow, I better make sure I get mine. But since they didn't trust what he said and the word becoming flesh now, claiming eventually in this chapter to be the bread of life, that the bread wouldn't keep. That's why the maggots. He's like, no, I want you to live.

One day at a time. Well, when you think about this prayer, and I want to read this. So he says in Matthew 6, when you pray and you think, when are we supposed to pray as a follower of Jesus and a son of God? When should we pray? I was asking y'all. When should you pray as a follower of Jesus? All the time. I mean, anytime. Thank you. Every day. Every day. This is something that is happening now.

Now to every believer, and it, you know, the next generation, this is a daily conversation. When you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they'll be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him. This, then, is how you should pray. Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Now watch this. Your kingdom come, your will be done. And look, look.

The previous chapters in Matthew, you know what it's been about? Jesus saying the kingdom is at hand. So now he brings us up in this prayer. Your kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven. And then the first thing he says for us to pray about personally is give us today our daily bread. And when you look up the Greek language here,

Give us today our daily bread. This is the only place in the New Testament that that word daily is mentioned. And the only reference when you look that up, don't you find that fascinating? The only reference that you get is they're like, well, the Hebrew language doesn't even have a word for that, but it's liking to Exodus 16, giving your daily bread.

Yeah, daily God providing, which then he's going to go forgive us our debts. And then he's going to say, lead us not into testing or temptation, but deliver us. Do you think about, well, who delivered us? Who forgave us? And who provides for us?

Well, we're getting a picture of Jesus here. Yeah. You know? And so I'm going to go further into that when we come back on the next podcast, because what you're going to see, and the reason that it's only mentioned that one time,

Jesus is wanting you to live in the moment every day. But we, you know how humans think? We always think, oh, you know, tomorrow I'll do this or I'll save my money and I'm going to retire. We all look like that. And in reality, no.

None of that is promised. And there's many verses about that. James 4, you know, don't say tomorrow we'll go down there and build a town. And there's something about, and to get back to the stories that I said, you know, helping the missionaries or, you know, helping my dad, looking at Jesus's whole life. You're talking about living one day at a time, which is why he said, hey, you know, where are we going to buy this bread? And I thought, man,

That's what we should be thinking of who Jesus is every time we're fixed to go to the store or buy some food. All these things should be wrapped around in the true bread of life. That's so good because we're out of time, but that's exactly where we're headed with his explanation when we get into the text too. So we'll pick it up here next time on Unashamed. Thanks for listening to the Unashamed podcast.

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