Mark 6:5,34-41 NASB And He could do no miracle there except that He laid His hands on a few sick people and healed them. [34] When Jesus went ashore, He saw a large crowd, and He felt compassion for them because they were like sheep without a shepherd; and He began to teach them many things. [35] When it was already quite late, His disciples came to Him and said, “This place is desolate and it is already quite late; [36] send them away so that they may go into the surrounding countryside and villages and buy themselves something to eat.” [37] But He answered them, “You give them something to eat!” And they said to Him, “Shall we go and spend two hundred denarii on bread and give them something to eat?” [38] And He said to them, “How many loaves do you have? Go look!” And when they found out, they said, “Five, and two fish.” [39] And He commanded them all to sit down by groups on the green grass. [40] They sat down in groups of hundreds and of fifties. [41] And He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up toward heaven, He blessed the food and broke the loaves and He kept giving them to the disciples to set before them; and He divided up the two fish among them all.
John 3:3,5-7 NASB Jesus answered and said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” [5] Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. [6] That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. [7] Do not be amazed that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’
Jesus was the prototype of the New Creation and what it is like to live, as a man, in the kingdom of heaven while on earth. When we are born from above, we enter the kingdom of heaven, but Jesus did not have to enter the kingdom of heaven; he was already there. When you enter the kingdom of heaven, and you’re living in that realm, then you’re able to see what’s going on in the kingdom of heaven. Because Jesus lived in the kingdom of heaven while on earth, He was always announcing into situations that the kingdom of heaven is here, and then by faith, carrying the reality of the kingdom of heaven into each situation on earth. Jesus was both flesh and blood and spirit. Therefore, he could live as a man on earth and yet at the same time live in the reality of heaven. This is true also about us who are in Christ.
Let me do a little word study from Mark 6:41. I think it will give us some really awesome insight into how faith works for those who are in the kingdom of heaven and, therefore, can see the kingdom of heaven. The disciples’ conclusion about this particular situation was that it was an impossible situation. They saw the five loaves and two fish and the thousands of people who needed to be fed, and the logical conclusion was that could not be done. Jesus saw the five loaves and two fish, and then it says that he “looked up toward heaven.” The word “toward” should actually be translated as “into,” and the word “looking up” is actually one Greek word that is made up of two words. The word “ana” carries the idea of “up” or “again.” The other Greek word attached to” ana” is the word “blepo,” and that word means “to look at, perceive, observe, or behold.” That second word “blepo” literally carries the idea of seeing something so real in the spiritual realm that you’re able to carry that reality choose over into the natural. Also, the word “blessed” is literally the word that means “to praise.” Now, let’s put that all together and see what that verse is actually trying to say in light of the fact that Jesus lived in the reality of the kingdom of heaven and was always able to see into that realm. l Instead of just seeing the five loaves and two fish, Jesus looked into heaven, beyond the limitations in the natural and saw the will and the provision of the heaven, and by faith, he was able to bring that reality to bear into the natural, that released the supernatural provision of heaven into the situation. As a matter of fact, he praised God for what he saw when he looked into heaven (beyond the circumstance), and then he told his disciples to take the bread and the fish and disperse them. Jesus was walking in childlike faith, and in spite of what the disciples were saying about the situation, Jesus saw, believed, and transferred the reality of what he saw in heaven to earth. He boldly praised God for the provision and told his disciples to share the food before he ever saw it in the natural. He was doing what faith does: acting like it was so, even if it wasn’t so, in order for it to be so because he knew it was so. We are called to live in Christ now, as he did then, by faith. If you have been born from above, you have entered the kingdom of heaven and are seated in the heavenly places in Christ, though your feet are still squarely on the earth. We are called to bear witness, as citizens of the kingdom of heaven, of what we see and hear in heaven and by faith, bring heaven to earth.