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JESUS THE GREAT PROVIDER  

2 KINGS 4:42-44 

EPHESIANS 3:14-21 

JOHN 6:1-21 

The theme for our reflection is ‘Jesus, the great provider’. A provider is a person who gives support or meets the needs of others who depend on him or her for sustenance. The theme can be rephrased as ‘our dependable Jesus’. We depend on Him because He is our great provider.  We shall discuss the qualities of Jesus as the great provider. 

Firstly, Jesus is a great provider because He is able to identify our needs even before we ask of him. Jesus saw the crowd come to Him and being the great provider, he does not wait for the crowd to be struck by hunger but He takes the initiative to feed them. “Now the Passover, the feast of the Jews, was at hand.  Lifting up his eyes, then, and seeing that a large crowd was coming toward him, Jesus said to Philip, “Where are we to buy bread, so that these people may eat?”  He said this to test him, for he himself knew what he would do.” (John 6:4-6). To prove that He is the great provider who knows our needs, Jesus taught in Matthew 6:7-8 that “… when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.” Just like parents know the needs of their children before they ask, Jesus our great provider knows our needs even before we pray about them. “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?” (Matthew 6:25-30). Jesus the great provider has our needs at heart therefore we need not be anxious about them.

 Secondly, Jesus our great provider provides our spiritual, physical, and security needs. The people realise that Jesus possessed the power to heal the sick and therefore has power over evil spirits.  “And a large crowd was following him because they saw the signs that he was doing on the sick. (John 6:2).  Paul knows the importance of the Spiritual strength that God provides through Christ so that we are able to do God’s will so he prayed that “For this reason, I bow my knees before the Father,  from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love,  may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. (Ephesians 3:14-19). Again. when Jesus realised that the crowd was hungry, he fed them with five loaves and two fish, we see the same power of God’s providence at work in 2 Kings 4:42-44 where Elisha fed a hundred men with twenty loaves of barley and fresh ears of grain during a famine period. Indeed, Jesus is not only mindful of our spiritual needs but as the great provider, He ensures that our daily bread is provided as written in the Lord’s prayer that “Give us this day our daily bread, (Matthew 6:11). To further show that He is the great provider, He ensures that we are not alone and in times of storms and turbulence, He comes to our rescue. “When evening came, his disciples went down to the sea, got into a boat, and started across the sea to Capernaum. It was now dark, and Jesus had not yet come to them. The sea became rough because a strong wind was blowing. When they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus walking on the sea and coming near the boat, and they were frightened. But he said to them, “It is I; do not be afraid.” (John 6:16-20).  Indeed, Jesus the great provider assures us that “…behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:20) 

Last but not the least, Jesus our great provider caters for our needs graciously and abundantly. Paul bears testimony to Jesus our great provider when he said “Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen. (Ephesians 3:20-21). If Jesus the great provider is able to provide far more abundantly than all that we ask or think then what should be our priority in this world? Our priority or focus in this world is in Matthew 6:33 which says “But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” We must offer ourselves to the service of God and continually glorify His name.  

In conclusion, Jesus the great provider is sensitive to our needs, He provides our spiritual, physical, and security needs and above all, He is able to provide more than what we ask or even think. May we continue to have faith in Jesus, glorify Him and rely on His divine providence. May grace abide with us. Amen 

Jean-Paul Agidi (Rev)