The two men walked into the city looking for a man carrying a pitcher of water. Soon a man with a pitcher of water approached them and indicated that they should follow him. Coming to a certain house, he entered with the two men following. The master of the house appeared, listened as the two told him of their Teacher’s request to eat the Passover meal with his disciples in his guest room and, without hesitation, took the two men upstairs to a large furnished room.
It all happened just as the Teacher had said. A man with a pitcher of water met them, took them to a certain house and the master of the house made the guest room available to them for the Passover meal. Was this a supernatural event? It seems so. There is no indication that Jesus had prearranged all that took place.
As they left for the city, what were John and Peter thinking as they carried out this unusual assignment? How would the man with the pitcher recognize them? What to do if they missed him? Why would the owner of the house turn over his guest room to them? Despite these unknowns, they were obedient. Trust was a key element as John and Peter followed Jesus’ instructions.
WHY TRUST?
Why is trust so important to God? He calls us sons and daughters.[i] He wants a family. Jesus said to His disciples at the Last Supper, “I call you friends.”[ii] Friendships and familial relationships are built on trust.
Not interested in superficial relationships, God works at building our trust in Him. In doing so, He targets things which matter to us; otherwise, the trust involved wouldn’t be that significant. Often, we resist trusting God because it can be hard. Our human nature wants to be independent, be in charge.
Lord Jesus, sometimes, we would just like to skip over the trust part, but You will not let us do that anymore than You were willing to forego developing a relationship of trust with Your disciples. If we are to move toward oneness with You and the Father, as You prayed at the Last Supper, there will have to be a strong element of trust between us. It is essential. If we are to deny ourselves and live for You, trust will be indispensable. If we are to abide in You there will have to be a bond of trust between us.
[i] 2 Corinthians 6:18
[ii] John 15:15
ASSIGNMENTS
We might consider that while Jesus needed John and Peter to find and prepare a place for the Passover meal, He framed the occasion in a way that hinged on trusting Him. Jesus used such assignments to build the disciples’ trust in Him. To learn more about how Jesus builds trust, we examine three assignments Jesus gave to the disciples. In these interactions, we should look for themes of obedience, waiting, information, and an absence of information.
Lower Your Nets
After a fruitless night of fishing, Jesus instructed the disciples to let down their fishing nets one more time, a small assignment, but an assignment no less. Peter said to Jesus, “Master, we have toiled all night and caught nothing; nevertheless at Your word I will let down the net.”[i] This was one of those times that Jesus’ directions appeared to make little sense. Since they had already spent the entire night fishing with nothing to show for it, why try again? Peter and the other fishermen were thus astounded when they let down their fishing nets and pulled in a tremendous catch. This decidedly got their attention, laying a ground for building further trust in Jesus.
[i] Luke 5:5
Obedience was a key factor in this experience. It seemed pointless, but because it was Jesus speaking, Peter and the others did as He requested. Although it can go against what makes sense to us, there will be times that Jesus asks us to trust and do as He directs without giving us a full explanation of what He is about. We do not wait for understanding before following.
You Feed Them
It was becoming late in the day and having been with Jesus all day, the crowd needed to eat. Situated in a remote place, it was unlikely that they would find food for dinner. What to do? The disciples suggested sending them on their way, letting them take care of themselves; Jesus, however, had another plan. He said to the disciples, “You feed them.”[i]. They had no idea how to fulfill this assignment. All they could come up with was a boy’s lunch of two small fish and five loaves of barley bread, hardly sufficient for the crowd of over 5,000.
[i] Matthew 14:15-21
Jesus instructed the disciples to bring the lunch to Him, have the people sit down in groups of fifty and, after He had thanked the Father and blessed the meager lunch, distribute it to the crowd. What might the disciples have been thinking as they organized the people into groups of fifty? Were they afraid of looking foolish when there was no lunch to serve or were they confident that Jesus knew what He was doing and somehow the food would appear? What was their level of trust?
Jesus did not explain to the disciples how the hungry multitude would be fed, He just expected them to follow His instructions. When Jesus assigns the seeming impossible, He will lead us, but He will not always explain in advance how everything will work. He wants us to learn to trust Him, not negotiate with Him.
Feeding the massive crowd was an experience which Jesus orchestrated to build the disciples’ trust. He could have fed the crowd on His own without the disciples, but His mission was to train these men, so He involved them. If they didn’t acquire trust in Him while He was with them, they would never be able to advance His Kingdom after He was gone.
Just Wait
The last assignment Jesus gave to the disciples involved considerable trust. Just before ascending into heaven, He said to the disciples, “Behold, I send the Promise of My Father upon you; but tarry in the city of Jerusalem until you are endued with power from on high.”[i] Why Jerusalem? Why the wait? When would it happen? How would it happen? How would they know it had happened?
[i] Luke 24:49
While there was much unknown in Jesus’ instructions, one hundred and twenty believers waited in an upper room in Jerusalem for the power Jesus had promised. And when it did come, there was no doubt that the Holy Spirit had arrived. A mighty rushing wind filled the house, flames of fire appeared over the heads of every person present and they spoke in other tongues.
It turns out that waiting in Jerusalem was critical. This was the fiftieth day of Passover when thousands of people from different nations were visiting in Jerusalem. Hearing the startling sound of the rushing wind, a crowd came together in the place where the disciples had just received the Holy Spirit and were further amazed as the hundred and twenty Galileans spoke to them in their own languages. Peter then stood up, preached a remarkable sermon to the crowd about the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus and three thousand new believers were added that day.
Jesus’ instructions to wait in Jerusalem until the Holy Spirit arrived in power were designed with perfect timing. If the disciples and the other believers had been in a different location, the encounter between them and the thousands of people who had come to Jerusalem for the Passover would never have happened.
Jesus instructed the disciples to wait in Jerusalem until the Holy Spirit empowered them, but did He explain why Jerusalem and why the wait? No. Afterwards, they understood the big picture, but not until it had happened. He is always purposeful in His dealings with us, but He will not always reveal all the whys. He wants us to learn to trust Him.
THE PAINTING
The divided forms in each panel suggest a relationship in which each of the two parts needs the other to be complete. There is a sense of satisfaction as they complement one another. As the title indicates, they are never meant to be alone. Even the different hues of each pair cannot negate their oneness; the perception is that they belong together. This is the relationship of oneness Jesus pursues with us, separate entities but incomplete without one another.
There is no gap between the two parts of each form. Such closeness, one part tightly juxtaposed to the other, demands trust or else there would be an inclination to pull away to create a gap of security. Jesus does not impose this kind of proximity, but generously builds our relationship with Him through experiences of trust until we no longer desire a gap between us.
AND SO?
These instances, finding the guest room for the Passover meal, lowering the fishing nets, feeding the five thousand plus crowd, and waiting for the arrival of the Holy Spirit, show us that God does not expect our trust in Him to materialize out of nothing. He doesn’t wave His hand or blink His eye and suddenly we trust Him. He creates trust in us through unique experiences. I doubt that most of us will have to serve up a meal for thousands of people from five loaves of bread and a couple of fish or wait for a man carrying a pitcher to lead us to a stranger’s house; rather, we will have our own experiences.
The level of trust demanded from the disciples’ was not always the same. It probably took more trust to follow a man with a pitcher and request the use of a guest room from a stranger than to lower a fishing net. And just as the disciples did not learn deep trust in Jesus from one encounter, neither will we develop enduring trust all at once. This is an ongoing process that will progress largely according to our obedience.
There are rewards from obediently trusting Him. At times the reward can be almost immediate as when the disciples’ boats quickly overflowed with fish and other times (probably most times) when there will be waiting such as when the one hundred twenty believers waited seven days in the upper room. Waiting is often the hardest part. Seven days may lengthen into seven months or longer. God is not cruel, holding things back from us, but as on the day of Pentecost, the waiting will be purposeful.
Lord Jesus, we are so thankful that You want to call us, not acquaintances, but friends and want to build a relationship with us. As the embodiment of wisdom itself, You know precisely how to shape a relationship of deep trust.
Thank You for Your patience when we can’t see the forest for the trees, when we become snared in the details and can’t realize that what You are doing is developing trust that will strengthen our relationship with You.
Lord Jesus, You were never without a plan. Just as much as You had a perfect plan for the Passover meal, the hungry crowd and the believers after You returned to the Father, You always have perfect plans for our lives. It should bring reassurance and security to know You always have a plan for us. We should tell ourselves, over and over, Jesus is never without a plan.
When we are overwhelmed with concern, our relationship with You is distorted, You become out of focus. Please give us the grace to trust You and Your plans for our lives so we can see You clearly and be free to worship You rather than be consumed by our lives.
Sydney Walker, January 28, 2024
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