The Compassion of the King (Matthew 14:13-21)

Introduction

Consider some of your favorite magic tricks. Drawing out a coin from behind someone’s ear, making a ball disappear. Let alone the tricks by the “professional” magicians of cutting someone in two or being locked in a straight jacket and put in water. What makes these magic tricks possible? Spoiler alert, it’s not magic. Magic tricks work because those who perform them are masters of illusion. Illusion that appears to have one thing happening while another completely different thing is happening. 

Magicians make their shows and acts succeed by pulling the wool over people’s eyes of deception. A poor magician then is one who is poor in creating illusions. A great magician is able to create the greatest of illusions. Still, even the greatest magicians have their limitations. They are unable to pull off illusions they have not mastered or still that which is impossible of mastering. Imagine if a magician was to take five small loaves or possibly even wafers of bread and two tiny fish and make a satisfying meal of that for 5,000 men plus whatever number of women and children were present. You can’t imagine such an act, can you? At least not by a magician. For it is an impossible for a magician, but not for the Beloved Son of God! 

That’s what I want to talk with us about this morning for the next little bit from Matthew 14:13-21. Therefore please turn in your Bibles to Matthew 14:13-21. That can be found beginning on page #974 in the Red Bible in your seats if you do not have your own copy of God’s word. 

From the very beginning of Matthew’s gospel account, Matthew has been trying to show how Jesus is the Messiah King who has come to save his people from their sins. We saw this as he is the Son of David and Abraham, how it was stated that this Jesus would save his people from their sins (Matthew 1:21). We even have seen God’s announcement that Jesus is his beloved Son with whom he is well pleased (Matthew 3:17). And one of the ways Jesus continues to prove this is that he alone is able to imitate his Heavenly Father in the work that he does. Such as with our passage this morning. Therefore, let us hear the word of the LORD, from Matthew 14:13-21.

Main Idea: Jesus is the Son of God who comes in compassion to abundantly provide for all who come to him. Therefore, let us come and feast in him. 

Compassion

Satisfaction

1. Compassion

Look again with me at V.13. It starts, “Now when Jesus heard this”. What did Jesus hear? Either it was the hearing of his cousin, John the Baptist’s death or possibly it is taking us back to Matthew 14:1-2 where Jesus is hearing of Herod thinking that he is John the Baptist raised from the dead. 

Either way, the emphasis of what follows matters not, but considering Matthew 14:3-12 is a flashback, it is likely taking place in Jesus hearing of Herod’s reaction to his fame. And the hearing of this fear of Herod’s about Jesus and his resistance against the kingdom leads Jesus to withdraw from there in a boat with his disciples. To withdraw to get alone in a desolate place. A desolate place being an uninhabited or remote place. 

For that was the aim of Jesus for himself, as well as his disciples, that they be alone. For according to both Mark and Luke’s parallel account of this passage, this desire to withdraw to a remote place follows the twelve having been sent out and having not had time to sit and rest and eat. Therefore silence and solitude for all was much needed. 

Silence and solitude being the discipline temporarily withdrawing from speech to a remote or isolated place to better hear from God as we allow our minds to slow down and dwell on God. This is a discipline that can be a few minutes up to a few days.

It is this discipline that Jesus and his disciples seek to practice as they head towards their remote place. Silence and solitude is a discipline that we all need. In the hustle and bustle of life, it is good and beneficial to slow down, even if just for 10-15 minutes and be still and quiet before the LORD. Pausing from our minds and bodies going to and fro as if the things of this world are completely dependent upon us. 

The discipline of silence and solitude allow us to put these on pause and remember God. Remember his goodness, to remember his plans, his purposes. To remember his care even in the midst of life’s challenges. 

For Jesus, the need of silence and solitude is here in fact coming as he is likely reflecting on his cousin and forerunner’s death in John the Baptist. This reflection is causing Jesus to look ahead even more to his own coming death as that time is fast approaching. 

Likewise, the disciples have just been sent out to do the work of ministry, of healing the sick and preaching the gospel. They are physically tired, and despite all of it, they are confused why there is so much pushback against their teacher’s teaching on the kingdom. And so, silence and solitude is needed for them to ponder all they have been hearing about the kingdom of heaven and its slow but steady growth. 

Beloved, what presently is going on in your own life that is consuming you? Be challenged this next week to practice the discipline of silence and solitude. To be silent and alone before the LORD and consider who he is and what he has been teaching you in the word. Take just 10-15 minutes a couple times this week in this to remember he is God and you are not! 

Unfortunately though, for Jesus and the disciples, the plan to go to a desolate place and be alone was temporarily interrupted. Still in V.13, we pick back up, “But when the crowds heard it, they followed him on foot from the towns.” For just as Jesus heard and withdrew, the crowds heard Jesus’ plan and followed. They were willing to follow by chasing Jesus and the disciples by taking the long way around the sea on land while Jesus and his disciples crossed the Sea of Galilee by boat. 

The Sea of Galilee is roughly 13 miles long and 6 miles wide.  And so, the crowds could observe the path of the boat and run around the Sea of Galilee to beat Jesus and the disciples there. And beat them they did. For as Jesus and his disciples thought they were coming to a desolate place, here is what they find when they land, V.14…

Despite the coming to be alone in a desolate place, a crowd is gathered, and yet Jesus shows them compassion. To borrow from Alisdair Groves, "Compassion is an ache on the heart that presses towards action to make things better.” 

Jesus here is compassionate to a crowd that has pursued after him and around the lake. A crowd who has also failed to have ears to hear and rejected him for who he is. A crowd who is amazed by Jesus, but continually fails to believe. This is the crowd that Jesus shows compassion for. This is the crowd in which Jesus’ heart aches for and seeks to make things better for by healing their sick, but desires to heal their souls.

In his rich and helpful Expository Thoughts on the Gospels, J.C. Ryle writes, “Let us see in this the heart of our Lord Jesus Christ towards sinners. He is as He was of old, “the Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth.” (Exod. 34:6.) He does not deal with men according to their sins, or reward them according to their iniquities. He loads even His enemies with benefits. None will be so excuseless as those who are found impenitent at last.” 

Wherever you are at this morning, see the compassion of King Jesus for all who will come to him. He is compassionate to meet you where you are at and make things better for you in and through himself! 

He is compassionate to us as we come to him despite our sins, and seeks to make things better for us as we confess our sin. He seeks to make things better for us in the midst of need, even as we cry out to him to meet our essential needs. He seeks to make things better for us, as we seek his aide to turn even our hearts and desires. Jesus is the compassionate king who cares for his people! 

But friends, don’t miss the main application here for us. It is not to walk away primarily thinking we must be more compassionate like Jesus, that Jesus is the great example of compassion. For if that is the main take away, we miss the gospel. While we certainly should seek to be like Jesus as Christians, one could seek to be compassionate and miss Jesus completely and remain as much a child of hell! 

No, the main application here is for us to be in awe of the compassionate heart of Jesus! To be in awe that despite our evil, despite how often we have rejected him prior, that he is compassionate to all who comes to him! 

Therefore let us see here the heart of Jesus and draw even nearer to him who is full of compassion! And see how his heart aches to make things better for us, not just by healing the sick, but abundantly satisfying our greatest need by the giving us of himself! 

2. Satisfaction

V.15…What was supposed to be a means of isolation and retreat has now been filled with Jesus healing the sick and teaching as we see in other gospel accounts of this same story. Time has now passed, and the disciples express concern to Jesus about the crowds. They tell him in the form of an instruction to send them away so that they can get food, reminding him that they are in a desolate place and that it has grown late in the day. But Jesus disagrees with them. V.16…

Jesus turns the tables on his disciples. For instead of them being sent away to get themselves something to eat, Jesus commands his disciples to give them something to eat. V.17…

The disciples tell Jesus essentially that it is impossible for them to give the crowd food, that all there is present is a little lunch box meal of 5 loaves and 2 fish. The loaves consisting of not bread loaves of today from the store, but more along the lines of rolls. Think of those yummy Texas Roadhouse rolls. But even if as good of loaves as that, 5 are not sufficient to feed the crowd is the disciples point. 

But, now that the amount of food that is present has been told, Jesus takes over and gives more instructions. V.18-19a…

Having received the bread and the fish, having the crowds now reclining on the ground, Jesus turns his eyes upward in what would be a fairly common prayer. V.19b…

Upon the saying of his blessing and the distribution of the now broken bread and fish, Jesus does the impossible for all except God, he provides abundantly to feed a large crowd. V.20-21…

5,000 men, not counting the women and children present all eat and are satisfied, that is filled, from 5 small loaves and 2 fish. Friends, again, that original amount would not be a complete meal at a Texas Roadhouse for one person. Yet, it is more than sufficient for the large crowd! It is sufficient enough that 12 basketfuls of leftover scraps are gathered up for the disciples to take with them after. 

Jesus does a miracle here, a miracle proving that he is one greater than those before him. For Moses was before Jesus. Moses was God’s prophet in leading the people out of Egypt in the Exodus. But as they journeyed from Egypt to the Promised Land, the people grumbled about not having food. And so, the LORD tells Moses that he will rain bread from heaven to feed them so that they may feed to the full. This all coming from Exodus 16 and is even repeated in Numbers 11. 

Yet, here Jesus is the one who gives blessing for the 5 loaves and 2 fish, it is he as the Divine Son of God who continues the work of his Heavenly Father to provide abundantly for the people. Revealing that he is truly the Son of God who does the work of his Father!

But if that were not enough, there is also similarities to this and what took place with another prophet of old, this time, Elisha. Please listen then as I read from 2 Kings 4:42-44. 

2 Kings 4:42–44 ESV

42 A man came from Baal-shalishah, bringing the man of God bread of the firstfruits, twenty loaves of barley and fresh ears of grain in his sack. And Elisha said, “Give to the men, that they may eat.” 43 But his servant said, “How can I set this before a hundred men?” So he repeated, “Give them to the men, that they may eat, for thus says the Lord, ‘They shall eat and have some left.’ ” 44 So he set it before them. And they ate and had some left, according to the word of the Lord.

Elisha saw twenty loaves and fresh ears be enough for 100 men with some left over, this fulfilling the word of the Lord! Jesus feeds 5,000 men, plus women and children from 5 loaves and 2 fish. Some estimate the number present to be upwards of 15-20 thousand that were fed and were satisfied. 

Therefore, the feeding of the 5,000 men, plus here is more than just any miracle. Nor is it some magic trick with an illusion being pulled over people’s eyes. Jesus is doing the very work of his Father in providing for people in abundance. His goodness and power are being declared! Jesus truly is the Beloved Son of God who is able to abundantly provide!

5,000 plus are fed and 12 basket fulls are collected of leftover scraps from Jesus miraculous feeding with the 5 loaves and 2 fish. There is an abundance to his provision. 

Jesus continues to provide today. And at times that is the gracious earthly provisions. In seminary one of the class readings was a book about the life of George Mueller. George Mueller lived between 1805 and 1898. Mueller was most known as an evangelist, as well as Director of Orphan Houses in Bristol, England. 

Muller’s philosophy was never to request financial needs for his orphanage. He would turn to the Lord in prayer time and time again asking for need. And throughout his time in overseeing the orphanage, there were many days where many dire needs presented themselves, and as Muller prayed, the LORD would provide through the most timely of gifts and support to the orphanage using his people to meet those needs. 

Another example of this taking place was just this past year as we as a church were praying about supporting gospel work among the nations. The workers in East Asia that we took on, just happened to have lost some support that we were able to step up and fill the gap with, a need that was unknown even as I reached out to these workers to see about their needs. The Lord is gracious to provide in these ways. Even some in our midst have seen how God provides in remarkable ways for earthly needs. 

But more importantly, Jesus provides and provides abundantly for the needs of our souls. GOSPEL…Go!

Jesus is compassionate and ready to provide for the needs of our souls, but the question remains, will we respond to his miracle? 

One commentator draws this out, putting this within the context of the whole of Matthew 14, you have Herod who responds to God’s prophet by killing him for speaking God’s word, then you have the 5,000 plus fed who says nothing, but then you have the disciples who are rescued and respond by confessing who Jesus is, the Son of God. 

The miracle of Jesus is to drive us to be in awe of who Jesus is and cause us to come to him and feast in him and live. This is why in the gospel of John records these words of Jesus, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.” (John 6:35). 

The feeding of the 5,000 is pointing us to this rich and beautiful invitation to come and feast in Jesus! To have him provide for our greatest need and our other needs! 

Application

Conclusion

The feeding of the 5,000 was not a magic trick, Jesus did not create an allusion, he fed 5,000 plus out of his compassion, and he fed them abundantly so that all left satisfied! Jesus performed this great work as the Beloved Son of God who acts out of his compassion. The question is, will we come and respond to Jesus by faith or not? Will we be satisfied in Jesus or not? Friends, come to Jesus and feast in him! 

Let’s pray!