[1] Some use the manner, described here, in
which Jesus distributed the loaves and fishes to be an example of a
military-like chain of command within God’s Church, but this is not the case. The
King James Bible is criticized by many as reflecting the archaic biases of the time
it was translated in. And this is true, but only in the English. The Greek text
its New Testament was translated from does not
reflect those biases—as almost all other
Greek texts do. It is a surprising fact that almost all English translations not only retain a hierarchal flavor but
the biases are also found in the Greek texts they are translated. That is why
this writer calls the Received Text the friend of liberty and autonomy for all
believers. It is true the translators of the King James Version were instructed
to follow the Bishops Bible as closely as possible. The Bishops Bible was a
beloved translation in its time, but it was translated under the established
authority of the church, in 1568, and so reflected the hierarchal world view of
the translators. But it must be remembered that our English Bibles were not originally
written in English, rather in Hebrew and Greek (with a smattering of Aramaic).
It is important to understand that there is diversity among the Hebrew and
Greek texts our English versions are translated from. And it is vital to
understand the difference between the facts of Bible history and the propaganda
involved in educating believers on the subject. This writer is a proponent of
the Ben Chayyim Masoretic text (Old Testament) and the Received Text (New
Testament), but understands that no English translation is without flaws.
God has given ministry gifts to the Body of Christ—his Church—which
is an organism, not an organization, in the form of Apostles, Prophets,
Evangelists, Pastors, and Teachers. Those who possess these gifts are
instructed to use them for the feeding of the sheep (all believers) John 21:16-17
the equipping of the Saints (all believers), the service of God, and the
building up of the Body of Christ Ephesians 4:11-13. The
illustration in this chapter, of Jesus distributing to his disciples and the
disciples then distributing to the people, cannot be taken to mean that Jesus
came to set up a hierarchal New
Covenant system with an inviolable separation between laity and clergy. It does
mean that those called of God to win souls and feed God’s flock, should take
that calling very seriously, remain humble, and remember that they will answer
to God for how they did or did not obey him in serving those under their care or
within their spheres of influence. The New Covenant (Received Text) instructs
all believers—Older, younger, pastors, church members, men, women, etc.—to be
subject to (meaning to yield to/prefer one another before themselves) one another
1 Peter 5:5.
[2] The act of gathering up the fragments
that remain that “nothing be lost” brings to mind the harvest season of Pentecost (the time of "Christ in You" / Dispensation of Grace) and the gleaning season of The Great Tribulation/Time of Jacob’s Trouble, in
relation to Jesus saying that he had come to save that which was lost.
Additional commentary pending for this
chapter. Questions and comments are welcome.
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