MAY 24 THE JESUS QUESTIONS JQ#17 “How many loaves do you have?” (Matthew 15:34)

 

MAY 24  THE JESUS QUESTIONS  JQ#17 

“How many loaves do you have?”  (Matthew 15:34)

LIVING FOR JESUS  Daily Prayer    

JESUS, Lord, Redeemer, my Rock and my Salvation, Praise Your Holy Name.  Lord Jesus when I look back at where the journey that seeking You has taken me, I am in awe of the “Way” that You have Provided for my needs, all my needs, both the “physical” and the “Spiritual”.

 Lord, I may never understand but my understanding should and shall not interfere with my Praise for the ONE that is Worthy, the ONLY ONE that is worthy — in You alone is “Truth”, and You alone can give “Life”. 

No greater “Love” has ever been given, 

no greater “Gift” will ever be given 

than the “Gift of God” of the “Sacrificial Lamb” — 

His Only Begotten Son, Jesus Christ — “Sacrificed of God” 

that man could be reconciled to his Creator 

in spite of all our sins and iniquities!     

AMEN

THE JESUS QUESTIONS

Jesus never asks a Question without a 

Divine Intent to Teach us about the Father!  

Any time Jesus asks any Question we should really pay attention 

because the Master Teacher is using the Question 

to bring our focus on some 

“Spiritual Truth” 

by using our common everyday experiences to give us 

“understanding” of the supernatural life God gives so abundantly 

to all those that believe Jesus is the Savior 

and that as a believer in the Son of God 

that we are going to live for the rest of our “eternal” existence 

with Father God!!  

JQ#17 taken by itself is a simple six word sentence

 with the longest word being six letters 

(keep in mind the whole earth was created in just six days) 

and the subject is a physical item that is experienced by every soul 

that has ever lived or will ever live on the earth ——— 

“bread”! 

When we look at the context surrounding this Question and see that the woman that came to Jesus requesting that her daughter who was

 “severely demon-possessed” (Matthew 15:22)

 be healed was first addressed by a statement t

hat on the surface seems out of place for

 Jesus the “Healer”,

 as He initially stated to the woman: 

“It is not good to take the children’s bread 

and throw it to the little dogs.” (Matthew 15:26). 

However, if Jesus is starting another 

“Teaching of Deep Spiritual Truths” 

then He will do so by using a

 “shared experience” 

that everyone can relate to and an “experience” 

that we already have a base understanding of. 

In this case Jesus has used the consumption of 

“bread” 

as the common experience and we see how

 He puts the consuming of “bread” in juxtaposition to “great faith”. 

Before you accuse the writer of grasping at straws let us look at the progression

 of this lesson of consumption of bread as a 

“Great Spiritual Truth” 

as Jesus puts the 

“Bread Lesson” 

down on the bottom shelf so everyone can get to it 

as we read from Matthew 15:21 through Matthew 16:12 the 

“Master’s Lesson” on “Bread”. 

In Matthew 15:21-28 Jesus heals a severely demon-possessed girl 

and uses the seemingly out of place phrase about throwing 

“children’s bread”

 to the “dogs” and the mother responded 

“even …dogs eat the crumbs that fall 

from their masters’ table” (Matthew 15:26-27) 

and Jesus then responds to the woman’s comments of eating 

“crumbs” [of bread] “from [the] masters’ table” 

with this great commendation to the woman:

 “O woman, great is your faith! 

Let it be to you as you desire.” (Matthew 15:28) 

and then we see the results of her 

“great faith” 

as we read 

“and her daughter was healed that very hour.” (Matthew 15:28). 

Then Matthew records  that the 

“multitudes” 

brought to Jesus those in need of “physical healing” and Matthew notes 

“and [Jesus] healed them.” (Matthew 15:29) 

with the results of all those mighty works that the [multitudes] 

“glorified the God of Israel”. (Matthew 15:31)  

The significance of “bread” in the works of God 

starts to surface when we consider the first comment Jesus 

made as the woman had first petitioned Jesus by declaring

 “O Lord, Son of David!” 

and Jesus responded 

“I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”

 (Matthew 15:22-24). 

This “bread” Lesson then begins with a Jesus introducing 

the problem of “lostness” and we see the introduction 

of “[bread] crumbs…from the masters’ table” 

and Jesus then saying to the woman who realized the significance of 

“bread” in relation to her “faith” 

was rewarded by Jesus in the form of commending her on her 

“great faith”

 and then 

Jesus heals her “demon-possessed” daughter 

which was a “spiritual” ailment. 

Then Jesus immediately heals “physical” infirmities 

from the “multitudes” and then when Jesus mentions 

“compassion” for the multitudes 

we somehow end up talking about 

“loaves” of bread… [JQ#17] ?? 

Then the topic moves from “physical” infirmities to 

“spiritual infirmities” 

as Jesus, in response to another attack by the legalist of His day, introduces the

 “spiritual” concept of “leaven” 

of the false teaching of 

“the Pharisees and the Sadducees” (Matthew 16:6) 

and ends with this summary of the Teachings on 

“Bread” 

with this verse, 

“Then [the disciples] understood that [Jesus] 

did not tell them to beware of the leaven of bread, 

but the doctrine of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” 

(Matthew 16:12) 

Are you still surprised by the simple

 

“bread”

Question JQ#17 “How many loaves do you have?”  

(Matthew 15:34)

 

or 

do you not consider that Jesus is asking you 

to take inventory of all the “false doctrines” 

that you personally consume as your “daily bread”?!?!? 

—just a thought.