Division Problems with Jesus

Years ago when I still homeschooled my children, one of my sons had just mastered double digit addition. His sister, older by four years, was working her way through long division. My son, looking through his sister’s math problems, was at first puzzled and then frustrated in not being able to understand long division.  After all, he had mastered adding double digit numbers, no small feat at 6. Yet, though he recognized the numbers; he saw no familiar “+” symbol. He could not figure out the meaning of the funny symbols  “/” and “÷.”  The numbers looked the same, but in the context, those same numbers no longer made sense. My oldest just said reassuringly, “Mama will show you when you get to third grade.”  Long division can be quite challenging and frustrating, both in the teaching and the learning.

Last time I wrote about taking Jesus at his word and the blessing of doing so. I, of course, l, like many others, think taking Jesus at His word is alternately easy and difficult. If God is very clear, specific and unequivocal about what He has said to do, as He often is (i.e. Ezekiel 4:4-8: lie on your left side for 390 days, then lie on your right side for 40 days), it is easy in that it is specific. It is difficult in that I, personally, would find this an odd and embarrassing command to obey. But it is specific. And if Jesus is clear and specific in His command to me, I am, frankly, without excuse. 

This time, let’s think about a situation when Jesus is not so clear in his command to a certain disciple. Philip had been following Jesus for a time and had been witness to the miracles Jesus was performing. Unfortunately, so had a great crowd of people who were also following Jesus from place to place. “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?” (John 6:1-21)

Poor Philip. He had only been with Jesus for less than three years. He is the one Jesus had sought out in Galilee to call Philip to follow him. And, Philip in turn called Nathaniel, saying “We have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law, and about whom the prophets also wrote—Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.” “Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?” Nathanael asked. “Come and see,” said Philip. He knew something about this one he was following around Israel- enough to invite Nathaniel to come and follow Jesus too. 

            Flash forward to a hillside crowded with thousands of people who had been listening to Jesus teach for hours. Being the good host, Jesus wanted to feed them and invited Philip to problem solve with him. “Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat?”  Jesus asked “where.” The answer to a “where” question is “Walmart” or “Kroger.” He was asking for a location…maybe. Philip’s response was to “how.” Philip answered him, “It would take more than half a year’s wages to buy enough bread for each one to have a bite!” The obvious implied tag is “and we do not have enough in our collective purses to put together half a year’s wages.”

When Jesus asked Philip the where question, the writer John states “He asked this only to test him, for he already had in mind what he was going to do.” Jesus asked a “where” question but he already knew the “how.” He knew He was the answer to the “where” and the “how.” Philip just had to get to the same place of understanding how the problem could be solved and who could solve the problem. Philip was not alone in his thinking. Andrew, as well, privy to the conversation and the conundrum of feeding five thousand unexpected guests spoke up, ⁹ “Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far will they go among so many?” 

Let’s see, problem solving: 5 small loaves divided by 5000 (give or take an extra 2000 women and children) and 2 divided by give or take 7000 = … not enough. A problem without a solution.

However, Jesus understood the human problem of hunger and set the problem before Philip.  It was more than Philip or Andrew could figure out. But Jesus already had in his mind what he was going to do. He himself would be and provide the answer.  “Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.” There was plenty of grass in that place, and they sat down (about five thousand men were there). ¹¹ 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.” No division, subdivision, no divide by 7000, borrow the one. None of that. He gave thanks, distributed to those who were seated as much as they wanted. The hungry were fed and there were leftovers...12 baskets full. Philip and Andrew saw that Jesus himself was the answer to the “where” and the “how.” Moreover, they saw that when He invited them into solving the problem, He had a pretty good idea of how to solve it.

Sometimes, Jesus invites me to problem solve with Him. I am at times faced with a small problem and the answer is as simple and profound as praying with someone. Sometimes I see an overwhelming need, in my life or the life of someone I love, sometimes it is in the life of someone I do not know at all. Even recently, with the earthquake in Nepal, the sheer numbers of deaths, homeless and sick staggered and overwhelmed my small mind, my helpless ability, my thousands of miles distance from the situational problem…which is a human problem. I pray and I bring my ten dollar contribution to feed the hungry or a hundred dollar contribution for 2000+ people groups without the Gospel in their own language. I pray for those who struggle without shelter. I bring 72 bagged lunches to the homeless shelter. And, yes, I also ask as Andrew did: “how far will they go among so many?” Apparently, far enough. I just need to entrust what I have to give to the Lord of 12 baskets leftover. 

Maybe you are like me and still don’t get the division, but a heavenly Father will show us how He does it and somehow, miraculously enough, we get promoted to the fourth grade.