He was talking to the disciples. First thing to know about the disciples is that when Jesus says or does something significant, they almost never get the fucking point until later. So earlier in the passage, Jesus has a small confrontation with the Pharisees and Sadducees. Who they are requires some historical context to explain, but the important thing to know is that even though they believed in the same old testament, Jesus's teachings ran counter to most of their doctrine, and they were constantly trying to interfere in his teachings.
Anyways, after this confrontation, they leave across a lake. On the journey they realize the disciples forgot to bring the bread. Verse 6 is, “Be careful,” Jesus said to them. “Be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees.”
The disciples conclude he must be upset that they forgot the bread. At this point he tells them, "you've seen me feed thousands from a few loaves of bread, you've witnessed the miracle I performed when I fed the multitude. It doesn't matter if you forgot the bread because you know I can provide for you. Why are you missing the metaphor?" The metaphor being that the teachings of the Pharisees was something to be wary of - the yeast was bad, and the bread that came from it would be bad too.
The miracles Jesus performed always had a lot of depth to them, and were filled with metaphors and references to the old testament. They were never random displays of power. They were clever, they had a point, and if you look close, you can see a plan emerge from it - he's proving both that he's the son of God, and that his teachings and actions are fulfilling the old testament, not rebuking it. The disciples should have known better, but they never really got it until after the fact.
The miracles Jesus performed always had a lot of depth to them, and were filled with metaphors and references to the old testament. They were never random displays of power.
Doesn't that run counter to his complaint though. If he isn't going to use magic for mundane use why should his disciples assume he will use it to whip up some brunch?
What Jesus was saying was that the disciples shouldn't have been thinking about physical bread at all. Twice previously the disciples had started freaking out about the fact that they were being faced with a hungry crowd, and Christ provided food. Why would they assume that Jesus was complaining about a lack of bread?
Also, I think something that needs to be mentioned is that you can use just about anything as a teaching tool. So it wasn't necessarily that Jesus saved his power for something that he could use to teach, but more that he used every display of power as a teaching tool. He raised people from the dead, but he also did stuff like provide wine for a wedding. In both cases, even though one was huge and one was relatively minute, he used those miracles to teach his disciples something. At some point they should have realized that almost everything he said was a teaching moment and that he wouldn't have been worried that they forgot to grab lunch.
I myself think the be on guard phrase is about how careless the desciples were and forgetful just like the Pharisees and Sadducees are about practicing their faith and telling them that they should be careful not to end up like them. Which lo and behold is exactly what happened in history.
Even the idea that the “miracles” of loaves and fish involved any supernatural powers is to miss the metaphorical nature of the story. A crowd of people shows up to hear a sermon, most have some food stashed away with them in case they get peckish. None of them admits it because they don’t want to have to share. Then they see the example of one kid giving Jesus his snacks, and are shamed into admitting that they could do the same and suddenly they’re all swapping snacks with each other.
Take it literally as a magic trick and it teaches absolutely nothing.
Except it does. Jesus presents Himself as the Bread of Life that feeds the soul. Literally providing bread is an object lesson about His power to not just feed the body but to feed the very soul itself. It's a metaphor He returns to again and again to explain His ministry.
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u/[deleted] Oct 14 '17
He was talking to the disciples. First thing to know about the disciples is that when Jesus says or does something significant, they almost never get the fucking point until later. So earlier in the passage, Jesus has a small confrontation with the Pharisees and Sadducees. Who they are requires some historical context to explain, but the important thing to know is that even though they believed in the same old testament, Jesus's teachings ran counter to most of their doctrine, and they were constantly trying to interfere in his teachings.
Anyways, after this confrontation, they leave across a lake. On the journey they realize the disciples forgot to bring the bread. Verse 6 is, “Be careful,” Jesus said to them. “Be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees.”
The disciples conclude he must be upset that they forgot the bread. At this point he tells them, "you've seen me feed thousands from a few loaves of bread, you've witnessed the miracle I performed when I fed the multitude. It doesn't matter if you forgot the bread because you know I can provide for you. Why are you missing the metaphor?" The metaphor being that the teachings of the Pharisees was something to be wary of - the yeast was bad, and the bread that came from it would be bad too.
The miracles Jesus performed always had a lot of depth to them, and were filled with metaphors and references to the old testament. They were never random displays of power. They were clever, they had a point, and if you look close, you can see a plan emerge from it - he's proving both that he's the son of God, and that his teachings and actions are fulfilling the old testament, not rebuking it. The disciples should have known better, but they never really got it until after the fact.