Luke 9:1-17: Jesus Provides

Introduction

https://www.foxnews.com/lifestyle/photographer-says-woman-requested-refund-wedding-photos-4-years-marriage-im-now-divorced - she knew what she wanted… She wanted her money back.

You don’t always get what you want… You’ve experienced that.

BUT… You have a King who knows how to give you what you need to accomplish His will for your life.

NOT… What do I want, but what does God want for your life?

What God wants is for you to spend your life serving the King who has served you.

Crucial point in the Gospel of Luke: Jesus sends out the twelve… The King of kings sending out His followers to serve Him, and Jesus would give them everything they needed to serve Him well.

Jesus provides… Jesus may not give you everything you want in this life, but Jesus provides what you need so that you might accomplish His will in your life.

Chapter 9 - Turning point in the Gospel of Luke. Conclusion of Jesus’ ministry in Galilee before He travels to Jerusalem - 9:51 to the end of the book - Jesus on His way to Jerusalem to be crucified only to rise again from the dead.

Chapter 9 - Focused on discipleship - Will you serve the King? Serve the King knowing that He will provide for you even when serving Him may cost you everything. Serving the King will cost you everything, but you will gain everything.

Two truths you need to remember as you live for what God wants.

Jesus provides the resources you need to serve Him.

Jesus prepared the disciples for this day. He told them about the different soils. They’ve seen good soil and bad soil. They crossed the stormy sea of Galilee for a divine appointment with a demon possessed man who was freed and believed in Jesus. The disciples saw Jesus restore a woman with an issue of blood, and they were there when Jesus raised Jairus’ daughter from the dead.

The disciples have watched Jesus minister. Now it’s time for the disciples to minister. Jesus, the King, has brought the 12 into His Kingdom so they might serve the King. There’s Good News to proclaim, and they are the ones Jesus will send to proclaim the Good News.

Odd that Jesus sends them out… They don’t know everything. Luke 8:25: “Who then is this?” They’ve witnessed much. They know that Jesus is from God, but they don’t yet fully know who Jesus is. AND… Jesus has not died and rose again yet. They don’t know what Jesus is going to accomplish for them.

BUT… Jesus preparing them for who they will be. Jesus will die, rise again, ascend to the Father and send His Holy Spirit who will empower them to spread the Gospel in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and to the ends of the earth (Acts 1:8).

“Take nothing for the road...” Just the clothes on their back… Stay in the homes that welcomed them. When not welcomed, shake dust from your feet and keep on moving.

In other words - just go - trust that your needs will be taken care of. Tall order! BUT… there hasn’t been a time yet where the disciples have not seen Jesus meet a need.

The mission was urgent… Just go… the disciples had to entrust themselves entirely to God’s provision. (Lord’s Prayer… “Give us this day our daily bread…) Jesus NOT telling us that this is the way we should ALWAYS travel, but Jesus is teaching the twelve to trust Him.

As they went, Jesus would not just provide for their daily needs, He sent them in His power and authority (Matt. 28:18-20).

Power = the ability to do something. Authority = the right to do something. The disciples given both. Who would believe the message of this ragtag group of men? Miracles would accompany their proclamation validating the Good News of the Kingdom.

The power and authority was not IN the disciples - the power and authority was in Jesus working through the twelve.

They’re sent out - and they do it! Imagine what it must have been like the first time Peter cast out a demon. (Whoa!) Or, when John caused a lame person to walk! They had seen Jesus do it, now they were doing it in the name of Jesus and for Jesus!

Jesus gave them everything they needed to serve Him.

You can’t wait to be fully prepared to serve Jesus.

Excuses for serving the King:

The experience excuse - I need more time to grow, learn, etc. I just don’t have the experience. BUT… Jesus sends people out with little experience - yet they have

The training excuse - “I don’t know what to say… I don’t know what to do...”

The resource excuse - I don’t have money, but when I do I’ll give. I don’t have time, but when I do I’ll use it, etc. The problem: You’ll never have all the resources you think you need.

The life-problem excuse - I’ll serve when life calms down.

You can’t underestimate how you’ve already been prepared to serve Jesus.

You have the calling of God - His authority to go and make disciples (Matt. 28).

You have the Holy Spirit inside of you.

You have the Word of God to instruct you.

You have the people of God to serve with you.

Jesus has given you what you need to serve Him. Your lack of serving the King is not because of a lack of resources. It’s because of a lack of desire.

Destin - NOT willing to spend the resources I had unless I got what I wanted out of the trip… If I stay, it’s on my terms… For followers of Jesus… If I serve, on my terms… Given resources for ministry but you hoard unless you get what you want…

Jesus provides the reason for you to serve Him.

Interesting insertion - Herod Antipas? He hears about the work of the twelve. NOT the same Herod that was King of Israel when Jesus was born. BUT, Herod Antipas is interested in Jesus. Wants to see Jesus because perplexed about his identity… Kingdom of God being proclaimed. What is this kingdom? “Who is this?” Similar to Luke 8:25

That’s the question the rest of this chapter answers… Luke’s already answered the question, but now, by the time Jesus leaves Galilee for Jerusalem, it’s going to be very clear to us who Jesus is… He’s not a puppet king like Herod Antipas. He’s the true King that Herod Antipas will come face-to-face with in Luke 23.

Apostles return to Jesus and Jesus takes them to Bethsaida - a retreat. This story in all 4 Gospels. Mark tells us they went to a desolate place to rest. BUT… the crowds follow.

Feeding of 5,000, but estimates of 10,000 - 20,000. Desolate place with no fast food options. Mark says Jesus had compassion on the people because they were like sheep without a shepherd (Mark 5:34).

Disciples want to send the people away. Jesus says, “Give them something to eat.” 2 things - 1. Jesus inviting them into ministry with Him. 2. Jesus reminding the disciples they are dependent on Him to do His work. They are inadequate without Him. They will continue to serve Him, but they will not serve Him without His provisions.

All they have - five loaves and two fishes… Sat in groups of 50. Maybe an allusion to 2 Kings 2:42-44 when Elisha fed 100 men and they had food left over.

Jesus blessed the bread and the fish, and then the miracle occurred! Food for everyone! Wonderbread! Enough for everyone and 12 baskets leftover! What a miracle! Jesus provides in abundance!

Herod asked, “Who is this?” Luke show us exactly who this is. This is God who provides. Jesus is a different kind of king than Herod - Herod Antipas, like his father, obsessed with self. Jesus obsessed with doing His Father’s will.

This is not the first time God has fed His people in a desolate place. In the wilderness, Moses led the people, but Moses could’t feed the people. Every day, when they woke up, manna from heaven. Now God, in the flesh, on earth, feeds the people from His own hand.

Moses led the people through the Red Sea into the wilderness, but did not bring the people into the Promised Land. Jesus, the greater Moses, will lead a greater Exodus, and will bring all who trust Him by faith into His Promised Land. He is the King that provides the salvation our hearts long for!

John 6:14-15 - People amazed and try to make Jesus king by force. The understand the significance of what Jesus has done, but they don’t understand the kind of king Jesus is.

In John’s Gospel, right after Jesus feeds the 5000, Jesus withdraws, walks on water, but then people seek Him again. Jesus says in John 6:26-27 (Read) Moving attention to eternal rather than the temporal. People: “How do we get bread that never perishes? Believe… “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall not thirst.” John 6:35

This is our King… He gives us Himself. He is the Bread of Life - in Him we have all the comfort, all the joy, and all the satisfaction we could ever want.

This is why we want to serve our King - because we have a King who has given us Himself. He’s a very different king than Herod Antipas or any other king… He is the King who gives His life for us and gives us His joy, His comfort, His peace, and His satisfaction.

You struggle with contentment, but you don’t have to. Not when you see that contentment is found in Christ and He has given you every reason to serve Him.

This morning remember:

Jesus always gives you exactly what you need when you need it. NOT on your time… On HIS time… NOT what you think you need or what you want, but what God knows you need. We serve Him because we know that Jesus knows how to care for His people. He knows what to give you to serve Him well. He knows what to give you as you go through challenges. (Times when God has sent the right people along at just the right time to encourage you.)

Thank God for what you have instead of focusing on what you don’t have. Repent of a hear attitude that says, “I deserve more.”

Pursue the One who gives you what you need instead of pursuing what you think you need. How must time, energy, effort do you waste pursuing stuff that will never satisfy instead of pursuing the One who brings complete satisfaction? Waste analysis: Where am I wasting time? Wasting effort? Wasting financial resources? We waste a lot of our resources on what does not satisfy.

When you understand that Jesus is all that you need it frees you to serve the One who has given you all you need.

Luke 9:16 - He broke bread and said a blessing. Early church saw this as reference to Lord’s Supper - where Jesus broke bread again and said this is my body.

You can have a different quality of life - eternal life - because of the broken body of Jesus. He was broken so you could be made whole.

For the first time, you need to experience the Bread of Life - the One that was broken on the cross for you… who took the punishment for your sin upon Himself, died the death you deserve, and rose from the dead for you. Turn to Him in faith and find what your soul longs for.