Jesus called his disciples to him and said, “I have compassion for these people; they have already been with me three days and have nothing to eat. I do not want to send them away hungry, or they may collapse on the way.”
Matthew tells us that Jesus had gone up onto a mountain near the Sea of Galilee. While He was there, a large crowd gathered and brought their sick to Him. And Jesus healed them. While Matthew does not explicitly say so, it is hard to imagine that He did not teach them as well.
And the crowd hung around for three days. No sleeping accommodations, no restaurants or grocery stores, and no sanitation facilities. That would be a hard sell for a retreat setting today. Clearly, something was drawing them to Jesus, making them willing to endure the nights sleeping on the ground and the hungry tummies.
The passage goes on to tell us that, at the end of the three days, Jesus fed this crowd of 4,000 men (plus families). They all ate and were satisfied. And then Jesus sent them home.
What About Me?
I cannot read this account without wondering how much I would be willing to endure in order to spend three days with Jesus. How many meals would I be willing to miss? How long would my short attention span be able to concentrate on what He was saying? Seeing people get healed would certainly help. But would I last three days?
I will never, in this life, have the opportunity to sit at Jesus’ feet and listen to Him teach or watch Him perform miracles. But I can listen to Him teach through His words in the Bible. I can sit and listen to those He has appointed to teach me. And I can commune with Him through His indwelling Holy Spirit.
But the question is, will I? For more than a few minutes or even an hour? Does He mean that much to me? Am I willing to take off my watch, turn off my phone, and clear my calendar? To do what it takes in order to spend a few hours, or even days, focused on Him?
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