The Kingdom of God Breaks In

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Scripture:

Matthew 14:19 Then he ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven, and blessed and broke the loaves, and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds.

Observation:

This is a familiar story that the gospel writers share with us. The miracle of the feeding of the five thousand is mind-boggling on many levels. God meets the needs of the disciples, of Jesus, and of the many hungry listeners. At the same time Jesus is foreshadowing a day which is to come when the disciples gather in an upper room. They recline and then Jesus takes that which has been prepared, blesses it, breaks it and feeds the disciples food which will lead them into eternity. This miracle is just a foretaste of moments when the kingdom of God breaks into our world. This is a symbolic act of communion in which the kingdom of heaven is revealed.

Application:

God provides opportunities in our lives for us to grow spiritually and to experience the breaking in of the kingdom of God. Just imagine what it must have been like for the disciples to gather up the baskets at the end of the day and realize what had really happened. This was beyond anything that they could have comprehended and could only have been a miracle from God. Step by step along their discipleship journey Jesus was revealing to them the kingdom of God. The invitation was for them to join Christ in his mission and to make disciples of this kingdom.

The revealed kingdom functions in ways in which the world does not. Jesus’ invitation to his disciples was for them to step out in faith. What would it mean for you and me to step out in faith today? Participating with God when the kingdom breaks in will take us to places we have never imagined. Following the leading of the Holy Spirit means we are never limited by our own understanding.

The kingdom is still breaking in day after day. We will only see this when we live lives broken and in daily communion with God. Even the simple daily acts of life — like giving thanks for the meals before us — become moments of kingdom presence.

Let’s open our eyes to see the kingdom breaking in today.

Prayer:

LORD, please help me to live in a daily awareness of your presence and the kingdom. Amen.

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