When we have our eyes on the Tree of Life, we should be prepared to be surprised. Our knowledge of good and evil doesn’t like surprises; it can’t control them. In fact, it’s irritated by the way the Tree of Life goes about things. Not only are we irritated, we will often try to tell Life Himself how things should be carried out.
When it was already quite late, His disciples came to Him and said, “This place is desolate and it is already quite late; send them away so that they may go into the surrounding countryside and villages and buy themselves something to eat.” Mark 6:35-36
The disciples can’t help it. They must point out how irritating is this Tree of Life! On and on He talks until they are all starving and it is getting late. Couldn’t He, just for once, do things like other teachers? Does He always have to be so impractical?
The Tree of Life sighs, looks each in the eye and says, “You give them something to eat.” Mark 6:37
In other words, “Since you think you are as gods, you give them something to eat.”
And the best that man can do… “Shall we go and spend two hundred denarii on bread and give them {something} to eat?” Mark 6:37
Ah, the truth is out! The disciples are not gods! They are powerless! They don’t have any right to advise the Tree of Life on how to conduct His affairs.
Point made, Jesus does what only the Tree of Life can do: He becomes the Bread of Life. He feeds them all. He demonstrates that He is more than enough and with the excess bread He foreshadows another surprise: His purpose is to become the Bread or Life even to the Gentiles. Be prepared to be surprised.