Many things that were recorded concerning Christ's earthly ministry only appear in the three synoptic Gospel accounts. Conversely, there are many events of Christ's ministry only recorded in the unique Gospel of John. There are various aspects of our Lord's passion that appear in all four Gospel accounts.

We must first recognize, "Every word of God is pure" (Proverbs 30:5). "Every word" incorporated within the sacred Scriptures is placed there by divine inspiration to convey truth to us. There are no non-essential or superfluous words. When a verse or an account is repeated, it is for emphasis. For this event to be recorded in all four Gospels (Matthew 14:15-21; Mark 6:35-44; Luke 9:12-17; John 6:5-13), there must be a purpose.

According to The Thompson Chain-Reference Bible, this miraculous event took place in the third year of Christ's ministry. Thompson's Bible styles it as The Year of Opposition. The Jewish leaders impugned Jesus' credentials, stating, "How knoweth this man letters, having never learned?" (John 7:15). They questioned Jesus' authority, asking: "By what authority doest thou these things? and who gave thee this authority?" (Matthew 21:23). John 5:16 and 18 tell us: "Therefore did the Jews persecute Jesus, and sought to slay him .... Therefore the Jews sought the more to kill him." 

This miracle, recorded in all four Gospel accounts, reveals Jesus' "power" over various realms and validates His position. Let us view a few.

(1) Christ has power over nature. Matthew 14:15 says, "This is a desert place, and the time is now past." (Also, read Mark 6:35 and Luke 9:12.) This reveals Jesus' authority over time and place. The natural elements rest in His control! Nahum 1:3 says, "The Lord hath his way in the whirlwind and in the storm, and the clouds are the dust of his feet."

(2) Christ has power over man. He commanded the multitude to sit down (Matthew 14:19; Mark 6:39; Luke 9:14; John 6:10). Daniel 4:17 tells us, "The most High ruleth in the kingdom of men."

(3) Christ has the power to meet the needs of man. "They did all eat, and were filled" (Matthew 14:20; Mark 6:42; Luke 9:17; John 6:12). The Apostle Paul was inspired to pen, "My God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus" (Philippians 4:19). 

(4) Christ has the power to set things in order. Luke 9:14 tells us He commanded the disciples, "Make them sit down by fifties in a company." He has the authority to make certain "all things be done decently and in order" (1 Corinthians 14:40).

(5) Christ has the power to meet man's needs through His ministry: "Give ye them to eat" (Matthew 14:16; Mark 6:37; Luke 9:13). His instruction to the ministry was "feed the church of God" (Acts 20:28). 

(6) Christ's power knows no respect "of persons" (Acts 10:34). This miracle provided for "five thousand men, beside women and children" (Matthew 14:21).

(7) Christ has the power to make provision for the future. "They took up of the fragments that remained twelve baskets full" (Matthew 14:20; Mark 6:43; Luke 9:17; John 6:13). Here we have seven distinct expressions of His power (the Biblical number of perfection). Deuteronomy 32:4 proclaims that "He is the Rock ['Christ'; 1 Corinthians 10:4], his work is perfect."
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Look at the effect of this miraculous event: "Then those men, when they had seen the miracle that Jesus did, said, This is of a truth that prophet that should come into the world" (John 6:14). They were quoting the verse that Moses spoke concerning the Messiah (Deuteronomy 18:18). This miraculous event was recorded in all four Gospels to establish the power and authority of Jesus as the Christ, or Messiah. Some of the last words our Lord uttered prior to His Ascension were, "All power ['authority'; The Emphatic Greek Diaglott] is given unto me in heaven and in earth" (Matthew 28:18). This miracle stands as a witness to His power and authority!

Earl R. Borders

To properly address this question, we must recognize some clear distinctions between the parties, or principals, and places involved in this question. Heaven is God's abode. In Christ's instruction concerning prayer, He said, "Our Father which art in heaven" (Matthew 6:9). This reiterates a truth echoed throughout the Scriptures. Ecclesiastes 5:2 proclaims, "For God is in heaven." 

In contradistinction to Heaven, man (Adam) occupied a position on earth. Yes, it was "Eden the garden of God" (Ezekiel 28:13), but it was occupied by earthly creatures who had bodies, which were not glorified and subject to both temptation and physical death. Contrary to common thought, the occasion of sin did not activate physical death. Man was created as an earthly creature and was instructed in Genesis 1:28 to "be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth." He would not have been instructed to "replenish" if there was not something causing it to diminish. 

This instruction was given by God before the fall of man occurred, letting us know the plan of death was already in the plan of God and was activated before sin took place. Also, Philippians 3:20-21 tells us that at the Second Advent of Christ, "our vile body ... may be fashioned like unto his glorious body." Adam and Eve's bodies were not glorified bodies and thus were subject to both temptation and physical death. James 1:14 clearly states, "Every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust ['desires'; the original Greek] and enticed." Acts 10:34 lets us know, "God is no respecter of persons." God made man as a creature of choice, hence the purpose of "the tree of knowledge of good and evil" (Genesis 2:9). It was designed to appeal to the fleshly desires of man.

Therefore, we have "Our Father which art in heaven" and Adam, who was "formed ... of the dust of the ground" (Genesis 2:7) and who inhabited this earth. Isaiah 57:15 proclaims, "For thus saith the high and lofty One who inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place." This distinctly lets us know that the "heaven" God "inhabiteth" is "high and holy." There is not, nor ever has been, any sin there. It is not possible because there are no beings there with unglorified mortal flesh. It is the mortal portion of man that is "enticed" to sin. Mortal flesh does not occupy Heaven, and glorified flesh cannot be tempted.

Genesis 3:8 reads, "They heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day." This verse portrays Him as "walking in the garden" not dwelling in the garden. He "inhabiteth eternity" not time nor the garden. He fellowshipped with man until sin occurred; then there was a separation between man and God. So, there is a vivid distinction between the places spoken of in the question: Heaven (that "high and holy" place God inhabits, who "cannot be tempted with evil"; James 1:13) and earth (where man dwells).

There is also a distinction between the parties involved: God ("whose name is Holy") and man (who has a mortal flesh, the source to which enticement must come to allure one to engage in sin). Since "the devil" is "the tempter" (Matthew 4:1, 3) and "every man is tempted" (James 1:14) by that which appeals to his mortality, it would not be possible for there to be temptation in Heaven. Heaven could never be properly designated as a "high and holy place" if sin were ever there or if there was a possibility it could ever be there. 

​This type of thinking is produced by the erroneous teaching that the devil was in God's Heaven to induce temptation to produce sin. The Scriptures clearly teach he was not. In John 8:44, Jesus explicitly stated the devil "was a murderer from the beginning." The word "beginning" in the original Greek is arche, which means "the origin, the active cause by which a person or thing came to be" (The New Strong's Expanded Dictionary of Bible Words With Vine's Complete Expository Dictionary). In his "origin," the devil was that for which he was created—a devil. This reveals the very premise of the question is not possible because there has never been, nor will there ever be, a tempter in God's Heaven. There are not any unglorified, mortal creatures there who could be presented with temptation through their mortality.

Earl R. Borders

When the patriarch Job described truth, he used the terms "silver" and "gold," things that readily relate to having great value and rarity. Job 28:1 reads, "Surely there is a vein for the silver, and a place for gold where they fine it." Both the Hebrew and the Amplified Bible render the word "vein" as "a mine." 

We cannot be superficial in our studies, but must get below the surface and into this "mine." The Proverb writer talked about the hidden treasure Jesus alluded to in Matthew, Chapter 13. Proverbs 2:1-4 says, "My son, if thou wilt receive my words, and hide my commandments with thee; So that thou incline thine ear unto wisdom, and apply thine heart to understanding; Yea, if thou criest after knowledge, and liftest up thy voice for understanding; If thou seekest her as silver ...." Silver is sought for in a mine. Yet, he was not talking about literal silver, but the preciousness of what is denoted as "my words" (verse 1). 

Too many times, people's experiences are shallow because they do not get into the depths of God's eternal Word. Ephesians 3:17 talks about the importance of "being rooted and grounded." We must put down some spiritual roots. There has to be some depth. The rest of Proverbs 2:4 instructs to search "for her as for hid treasures." These "hid treasures" are the truths of the Word that are in the depth, below the surface, in the mine. There is a grave danger in being superficial, shallow, and having no depth in our experience.

Many people will not exert the effort to understand anything that is the least bit beyond the surface, but God still instructs us in 2 Timothy 2:15 to "study." Why? So, we can be "rightly dividing," so that we can be "a workman that needeth not to be ashamed." 

Earl R. Borders

Earl R. Borders

Earl R. Borders

According to Webster's New World Dictionary, a shrine is "a place of worship, usually one centered around some sacred object or scene." Let us look at some general principles. When Noah came off of the ark in the patriarchal period, the Lord established Moral Law to guide them. Genesis 9:4 and 6 tell us: "But flesh with the life thereof, which is the blood thereof, shall ye not eat. ... Whoso sheddeth man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed." These timeless moral laws emanate from God's moral nature. Some "native doctors" offer human sacrifices, and to slay an individual to eat (cannibalism) would be morally wrong.

If the meat was offered to a religious idol, then a host of other moral principles apply. If it was not human meat and not a sacrifice to idols, I do not see a Scriptural prohibition. But assuming it was meat sacrificed to idols, then 1 Corinthians, Chapter 8, provides guidance. In verse 4, the Apostle Paul instructed those who had been saved from a heathen, idol-worshiping culture. He wrote, "As concerning therefore the eating of those things that are offered in sacrifice unto idols ....." He then set forth three things that must be considered. These three principles apply to far more than just "the eating of those things that are offered in sacrifice unto idols" (verse 4). 

Principle (1): Knowledge. There were those who had "come unto the knowledge of the truth" (1 Timothy 2:4) but their "knowledge" was causing them to be puffed up (1 Corinthians 8:1). They were not exhibiting "charity" to the newer converts who had not come to their level of "knowledge," or whose spiritual maturity had not developed as quickly as others. Paul told those Corinthians, if they were puffed up and did not exhibit "charity" (verse 1), then "he knoweth nothing yet as he ought to know" (verse 2). 

In verses 4-6, Paul set forth the falsity of those idols, and since they are "nothing," then the eating is nothing and of no consequence. In verse 8, he stated, "For neither, if we eat, are we the better; neither, if we eat not, are we the worse." In reality, neither makes a difference unless one is involved in the practice of idolatry. First John 5:21 instructs, "Keep yourselves from idols."

Principle (2): Conscience. Paul revealed in verse 7 that it is a matter of conscience, stating, "For some with conscience of the idol unto this hour eat it as a thing offered unto an idol." Because of their past experience and the immature development of their experience at the current time, they could not disassociate it from their previous pagan practices—"their conscience being weak" (verse 7). 

First John 3:20 tells us, "If our heart [several renderings offer it as 'conscience'] condemn us, God is greater than our heart [conscience]." An individual should not violate his conscience, but the "conscience" must be educated in truth. Therefore, the Apostle was instructing the Corinthians to exhibit patience and "charity" to those whose understanding has not developed to maturity. 

Principle (3): Consideration. This principle is set forth in 1 Corinthians 8:9-13. Verse 9 speaks of becoming "a stumblingblock to them that are weak." Verses 10-12 speak of ones being so brash in their actions that Paul posed the question, "Shall the weak brother perish, for whom Christ died?" Paul so strongly denounced their activity that he styled it as, "Ye sin so against the brethren, and ... ye sin against Christ." Paul then announced the consideration in verse 13, writing, "Wherefore, if meat make my brother to offend, I will eat no flesh." This consideration is a principle that can be applied by the Holy Ghost to many different situations throughout life.

Earl R. Borders

Earl R. Borders

Earl R. Borders

Earl R. Borders

Earl R. Borders