David Anguish
We have seen that, if we follow the example of Jesus, we will necessarily find ourselves involved in meeting needs comparable to those he met - healing the sick, feeding the hungry, and so on. In fact, though we have not yet mentioned it, we should think hard about the significance of Jesus' parable in Matthew 25:31-46 concerning the way we respond to those who hurt.
But we also understand that Jesus' example shows us the importance of moving beyond the obvious. The fact that the crowds who followed him did not appreciate the deeper significance of his work did not lead him to ignore their material needs. But neither did it keep him from trying to move their understanding - and commitment - to more lasting things.
We see this point clearly in the exchange recorded in John 6. Having witnessed his signs, especially his healings (v 2), the crowds eagerly followed him. They were even more committed after he fed the 5,000. But when he tried to move them beyond the temporal needs which they most immediately felt to the eternal needs they all needed to address many turned away from him and followed no more. There are some important lessons in this passage for the church today.
First, it is clear that people have needs beyond what they often realize. Because of their shallow spiritual insight, the crowds who followed Jesus thought that healing the sick and feeding the hungry demonstrated what he was really about. Because they were locked in to a this-worldly frame of reference, they saw the physical signs as evidence that Jesus would be the king who would finally rid them of the Romans (John 6:15). But because Jesus' insight was deeper, he sought to teach them about his real mission. As we have noticed before, his position was not that physical needs were unimportant, but that they were only part of what the people needed.
Few things are more relevant for churches today. As we have seen, meeting obvious needs is a legitimate thing for churches to do, an application of the example of the ministry of the One who "went about doing good" (Acts 10:38). We don't have to open our eyes very wide to see the acute suffering and need to help people with their hurts. But the seeing can actually detract from following Jesus' total example. The more we focus on the obvious hurts, the easier it becomes to make our response to those legitimate needs the sum total of our ministries. Our focus on the immediate needs we see so easily can cause us to fail to respond to the deeper and lasting needs which people most need to have addressed.
Put in terms of our mission, the challenge for the church is whether to pursue a course of ministry which will address the obvious hurts the crowds know they have or to attempt to meet the deeper needs which will result in eternal healing. John 6 shows us that ministries which address the obvious hurts will attract people - for awhile at least. The danger is that, while our motives as we begin to address such needs may be pure, we can easily surrender to the temptation to elevate crowd maintenance over real healing. For John 6 also shows us that people who are attracted by responses to "felt needs" will have to be sustained by similar programs. No greater test of discipleship may exist for preachers and elders than that which decides to follow the example of Jesus and attempts to lead God's people to confront deeper issues, even if that means sacrificing some numbers.
A balanced approach to ministry which imitates Jesus, therefore, will be as wide-ranging as he was in tending to the hurts of people who are like sheep with no shepherd. But it will also remember that physical, emotional, psychological and economic concerns are only part of the human condition. Spiritual cleansing and sustenance is also needed. Maintaining that balance put Jesus on the cross. Are we willing to follow him that far?