You, not me

In a remote place by the lake, thousands of people are listening to Jesus. It is getting late. The disciples suggest sending the crowd away, so they can buy food in the villages. But Jesus tells them to feed the people themselves. The disciples do a quick sum: bread for two hundred denarii? That is more than half a year's wages. In Greek, Jesus puts the stress on you. He doesn't say: I'll sort it out.

That feels unfair. But this way he makes them part of what happens, instead of spectators. Soon they will be the ones handing out the bread.