A sermon based on Matthew 14:13-21 , Rev. J. Orlando Flahn
The lectionary’s three weeks of parables are over and now we have a couple of weeks ahead of some of Jesus’ miracles. This week it’s “the feeding of the 5000” (Matthew 14:13-21). This is an interesting story…although I love the version of the Gospel of Mark better.
In today’s text, Jesus tells His disciples, “They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat.” (Matt 14:16)…..This reflects the heart of Jesus showing compassion, care, and concern for the hungry, thirsty, and destitute…..
This statement was in response to the disciples’ action to send away people who were tired and hungry. To them He says, Jesus said, “They do not need to go away…there is no need to dismiss them…..they don’t need to go anywhere….You give them something to eat….You feed them.”…..For Jesus, ministry is PEOPLE!
The question is how in the world does a local church faithfully respond to these overwhelming human needs around us?
We see joblessness, rising costs of groceries, gas and electric bills, pain at the gas station….and the list goes on. The needs can seem overwhelming, especially when our resources appear so small. Yet, in the face of these challenges, we are still called to respond. We want to obey Christ’s command and address real needs—both physical and spiritual—but often you wonder how we can possibly do enough when it feels like we have only “five loaves of bread and two fish.”
What It Takes Is to Be Moved With Compassion
Holistic ministry to our community is challenging and requires both sacrifice and compassion. It will stretch and test us, but what matters most is having a heart of compassion like Jesus. After withdrawing to a solitary place to grieve the death of His cousin John the Baptist—who had been beheaded by Herod Antipas—Jesus was soon interrupted by the multitudes. Despite His need for rest and time to mourn, He gave up that moment for the sake of others. The Bible says that when He saw the vulnerable, hungry, thirsty, and desperately bewildered crowds, “He was moved with compassion.”
In verse 14 we read, “And when Jesus went out He saw a great multitude; and He was moved with compassion for them, and healed their sick.”
APP: Jesus could have responded, “Get away from Me. I need a little bit of time by myself… I have nothing to give you all. Please leave me alone.” Instead of reacting with frustration or annoyance, Scripture tells us “He had compassion on them and healed their sick.”
QUOTE: Dr. Herbert Lockyer, in his book “All the Miracles of the Bible,” says, “The period of quietness which Christ sought was, however, short-lived, but He did not complain. As a Good Shepherd, the double need of the sheep without a shepherd was His first concern…..He was not annoyed by being thwarted. Though denied the rest He sought, He was moved with compassion and embraced the opportunity of teaching the multitude and healing the sick among them.” (Lockyer, p 197)
APP: We cannot be effective as the feet, hands, and heart of Jesus in fulfilling His calling to us without genuine compassion.
We Also Need Faith in the One Who Provides
We don’t know why the disciples wanted the crowds sent away. But it appears they had a legitimate concern for the people…a remote place, it is getting late, no convenience stores nearby….And besides, where can you find food in this dissert to feed over 5000 hungry souls?
Jesus surprisingly says, “Don’t send them away. You give them something to eat.” Wow! Jesus, you know this place is remote. You know the resources are limited. You know, Jesus, this crowd is huge compared to the offerings and tithes, the giving has declined since the pandemic. Why would the Lord tell the church to feed His people with “five loaves and two fish?”
John, in His Gospel gives us some insight. It says, “Jesus was saying this to test him, for he himself knew what he was going to do” (John 6:6). So, what do you think Jesus would be testing them on? Perhaps, He was testing their faith to see if they would trust Him as the One who provides. In this miracle Jesus is pointing out a significant truth that we often forget as we do church ministry….That when God entrusts in our hands His ministry of proclaiming the Gospel, we must believe and trust Him that He will provide what it takes to fulfill His missional purpose. Jesus was concerned for the well-being of the people…..and He wanted His disciples to trust Him that He is the ultimate Provider….Paul says, “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.” (Eph 3:20-21, ESV)
APP: God has called us as His people to trust Him when we are faced with serious challenges, and He has promised to be our eternal Helper.
Bring and Place in His Hands the Little That We Have
The way God works is not confined to how much we possess or not. …When we commit to Him our meager resources, God has the ability to multiply them…..His caring provisiions and miraculous working are not limited to how much money, clothing, food, or much room full of resources.
Hear the disciples again, “But Lord, we have nothing here but five loaves and two fish …” They see only what they don’t have……“We have nothing but a few loaves of bread and a couple of fish.”
APP: Don’t you think in many ways we identify with the disciples? We see only what we don’t have….our limitations, insufficiency, meager resources, etc. But God sees possibilities in the little things we have……only if we place the little we have in His hands…….
I like when Jesus says, “Bring them to me….Give what you have to Me.” ……Give to Me your limitations…..Give Me the little that you have ….your insufficiency and your limited resources, your inabilities….God never argues with us, He simply invites us to bring everything to Him and surrender it all into his hands.
APP: This is not about Jesus producing a lot of food or bread for everyone to have a meal……It is more than our ability to fill grocery bags for hungry people….. We must understand the reason why we feed people in the first place……It’s because of Jesus……He is the true Bread of Life….
This miracle of Jesus taking five tiny loaves of bread and two small pieces of fish wasn’t necessarily for the 5,000 plus people – it was for the disciples…and for us…..That Jesus is our mighty Provider, and we need to stop focusing on what do not have or the little that we have, and start to trust for God’s spossibilitis… “For God shall supply all your needs according to His riches by Christ Jesus.” !
When they brought the five loaves and fish to Him, He told them, let the people sit down. The text says, “Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then he gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the people….and they all ate and were satisfied….the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over.” (vs 19-19)
APP: Did you get the big picture? Jesus is saying, “Give to Me what you have, and let Me do something with it….let me multiply it and give it back to you, not only so you will have enough, but so there will be plenty to share.”……So, the secret to mulltiplication and expansion is about surrendering whatever we have to Christ, letting him take it, bless it, break it, and give it back to us to share with others.
APP: Are you willing give all of yourself to Him? Are you willing to give all of your limitations to Jesus? Are we, as a church, willing to place in His all of our meager resources in His hands that He may use them for His glory? ….If we do, if we surrender completely to Him, he will break us, bless us, and give us back to be shared with the world.”
Conclusion:
The crowds missed the point just like manhy of us do today…..They now wanted a “Bread King” ….A leader who would provide them free food they didn’t have to work for.
But Jesus was clear about His mission….He came to give them the bread of life—to be the Bread of Life for them……His work for coming into the world was primarily about providing for our greatest need—the need for the forgiveness of sins. He says, “Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you. For on him God the Father has set his seal.” (John 6:27 ESV)
Again, He says, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.” (John 6:35)
Under the physical hunger of our broken world is the deepest spiritual need for the true Bread of Life…..He is the Bread of life that is priceless and also given to us as a free gift.
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