A Study of Matthew: The Growth Principal

Matthew 14:13–21 ESV

Now when Jesus heard this, he withdrew from there in a boat to a desolate place by himself. But when the crowds heard it, they followed him on foot from the towns. When he went ashore he saw a great crowd, and he had compassion on them and healed their sick. Now when it was evening, the disciples came to him and said, “This is a desolate place, and the day is now over; send the crowds away to go into the villages and buy food for themselves.” But Jesus said, “They need not go away; you give them something to eat.” They said to him, “We have only five loaves here and two fish.” And he said, “Bring them here to me.” Then he ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass, and taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven and said a blessing. Then he broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds. And they all ate and were satisfied. And they took up twelve baskets full of the broken pieces left over. And those who ate were about five thousand men, besides women and children.

In the last few weeks, we have looked at the death of John the Baptist and how it affected Jesus. When Jesus got the news that his cousin had been executed by King Herod, it bothered him. As we read in this passage, Jesus needed to get away to process his grief. Instead, he found a crowd of people who had figured out where he was going. They didn’t know his need, but he knew their need, so he ministered to them.

Apparently, this lasted most of the day. Evening comes, and Jesus has a crowd of hungry people. A LARGE crowd—more than 5000 people! The problem is, this is the wilderness; Jesus specifically chose this place to get away from everyone. So no, there is not a nearby food court. There is not a Walmart Supercenter. There’s not even a gas station to buy a bag of chips!

The disciples encourage Jesus to send the crowd to the nearby towns so they can buy some food, but Jesus replies, “Nah, we don’t need to do THAT. YOU feed them.”

“But, Master, we only have five loaves here and two fish.”

“FANTASTIC! Let’s use that.”

Jesus blesses the food, breaks it all apart, and gives it back to the disciples, who distribute it to the crowd. And everyone eats their fill, with plenty left over!

Here we see the obvious miracle of multiplying something small to bless many. We’ve seen this before in the Old Testament, when Elijah helped out a widow who had no money and no way to support herself.

1 Kings 17:8–16 ESV

Then the word of the Lord came to him, “Arise, go to Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and dwell there. Behold, I have commanded a widow there to feed you.” So he arose and went to Zarephath. And when he came to the gate of the city, behold, a widow was there gathering sticks. And he called to her and said, “Bring me a little water in a vessel, that I may drink.” And as she was going to bring it, he called to her and said, “Bring me a morsel of bread in your hand.” And she said, “As the Lord your God lives, I have nothing baked, only a handful of flour in a jar and a little oil in a jug. And now I am gathering a couple of sticks that I may go in and prepare it for myself and my son, that we may eat it and die.” And Elijah said to her, “Do not fear; go and do as you have said. But first make me a little cake of it and bring it to me, and afterward make something for yourself and your son. For thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘The jar of flour shall not be spent, and the jug of oil shall not be empty, until the day that the Lord sends rain upon the earth.’ ” And she went and did as Elijah said. And she and he and her household ate for many days. The jar of flour was not spent, neither did the jug of oil become empty, according to the word of the Lord that he spoke by Elijah.

Later, the prophet Elisha does something similar.

2 Kings 4:1–7 ESV

Now the wife of one of the sons of the prophets cried to Elisha, “Your servant my husband is dead, and you know that your servant feared the Lord, but the creditor has come to take my two children to be his slaves.” And Elisha said to her, “What shall I do for you? Tell me; what have you in the house?” And she said, “Your servant has nothing in the house except a jar of oil.” Then he said, “Go outside, borrow vessels from all your neighbors, empty vessels and not too few. Then go in and shut the door behind yourself and your sons and pour into all these vessels. And when one is full, set it aside.” So she went from him and shut the door behind herself and her sons. And as she poured they brought the vessels to her. When the vessels were full, she said to her son, “Bring me another vessel.” And he said to her, “There is not another.” Then the oil stopped flowing. She came and told the man of God, and he said, “Go, sell the oil and pay your debts, and you and your sons can live on the rest.”

So we see how it’s nothing new for God to take something small and make it more than enough. With this miracle, Jesus is making a statement.

Remember what Jesus said in his sermon on the mount?

Matthew 5:17 ESV

“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.

Jesus is proving that he is the Messiah that they all have been waiting for. He is not starting a new religion; he is the fulfillment of God’s plan to redeem all mankind.

In fact, this miracle is a perfect representation of who God is and what he has been doing since before time began.

At the dawn of creation, we see God starting with creating the heavens and earth, but without form. Next, God brings light to darkness. AFTER making light, he condenses it into the sun and stars. He gives shape to the world, building upon what he previously made. He doesn’t just create life; first he creates the environment to sustain that life. He separates the earth and the sky, the land and the sea. Then he creates the vegetation that will sustain animal life before he actually creates the creatures that will inhabit the land, sky, and sea.

Only after all these things are done does God create man and place him in a garden that was already created and prepared for him.

After man falls, God institutes sacrifice as a temporary covering until the ultimate Lamb of God can come. To help man know how he is to live, God institutes the law that will point the way to a deliverer.

All through the Old Testament, we see God’s chosen people slowly develop a deeper understanding of who God is and what he wants from us.

And all of God’s redemptive work culminates in Jesus Christ. Jesus, who shows us that simply following laws is not enough to make us right with God. Jesus, who shows us that real holiness is not threatened by the unholy, but rather can make the unclean clean.

From the beginning, God created us to be part of his kingdom. Since the fall, man has been trying to find our way back into God’s kingdom. Jesus came to bring the kingdom of God to us.

The kingdom of God has always existed. Jesus didn’t create it when he came, but in coming, he caused the kingdom to grow, as more and more people turned their hearts back to God.

Just like the two fish and five loaves grew to satisfy more than 5000 people, with each disciple still having a full basket, the kingdom of God continues to grow.

When we came, this church was smaller than it is now. Those of you who were here a year ago were tempted to call it quits. But this church is God’s church. He has a plan. The same plan as from before the beginning of time—a plan to see his kingdom grow.

Since that time, we have seen two families rejoin this church and become active members. We are glad to have the Wierman family with us. Outside this church, we are receiving acknowledgment from the community of Jamestown that something good is happening.

Galatians 6:9 ESV

And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.

God is in the business of growing things. He is growing this church, and he is doing it through his people here. Within each of you, in the short time we have been here, I have seen God growing spiritual fruit and giftings. Some of you still have the mindset that you are unqualified to effectively work for God; but just has he grew a fisherman into a fisher of men, God is growing each of us into leaders and ministers.

Revelation 21:5 ESV

And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”

God builds on the old to make something new. God takes what was ugly and grows it into something beautiful. He takes a story of shame and turns it into a testimony of grace.

So today I invite you to look into your heart, your life, and see if there is anything you have held back from Jesus. Something you held back because you were ashamed. Something you held back because you thought it was too small or insignificant. Something you held back because it still had a hold on you, and you weren’t ready to give it up. Something you held back because it was too ugly. Jesus wants it all.

I want each of us to hold out our hands, and in those hands place everything that you have been holding onto—your fear of making a fool of yourself if you try to talk to others about Jesus. That habit or behavior that you keep saying, “I’m going to do something about that, some day.” Whatever it is place it in your hands, right now. And now, give it to God.

Lord, I surrender it all. Take it, and use it. Take all my old stuff, and make something new from it. Take all the things that seem small and insignificant, and grow them. Take all my weaknesses and make them something you can use to bring others into your kingdom. Take it all.

Communion

1 Corinthians 11:23–28 ESV

For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, “This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes. Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty concerning the body and blood of the Lord. Let a person examine himself, then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup.