Proper 13A

They, You, and Me

Scripture: Matthew 14:1–21; 1 John 3:17–18; Isaiah 40:3–5

Bad News

News hits hard.

We all know that feeling, don't we?

The phone rings in the middle of the night. A notification pops up on your screen. Your stomach drops. The room goes cold.

Matthew chapter 14 starts with horror. It starts with a headline no one wanted to read.

In verse 6, the Gospel according to Matthew records:

Matthew 14:6–8 NRSV

6 But when Herod’s birthday came, the daughter of Herodias danced before the company, and she pleased Herod 7 so much that he promised on oath to grant her whatever she might ask. 8 Prompted by her mother, she said, “Give me the head of John the Baptist here on a platter.”

Look at that scene. Herod’s palace. Music playing. Wine flowing. Wealth and political power on full display.

A foolish king makes a reckless oath. A bitter mother whispers malice in the shadows. A young daughter makes a gruesome demand.

And in a moment, a life is traded for vanity.

The Darkness of Power

Turn away if you are sensitive. Because the Bible does not hide the raw reality of evil.

John the Baptist is dead.

He was not just a great preacher. He was not just a figure in history. To Jesus, John was family. He was a cousin. A friend. A childhood companion.

Jesus and John.

Grew up together.

In the shadow of Roman occupation.

They spoke about big ideas. They talked about the coming Kingdom of God. They dreamed of a world made right.

John was the one who fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah:

Isaiah 40:3–4 NRSV

3 A voice cries out: “In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God. 4 Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill be made low; the uneven ground shall become level, and the rough places a plain.

In the spirit and power of Elijah.

He went face-to-face with corrupt rulers. He called out king Herod for his immorality and injustice.

And now?

John is gone.

Beheaded in a dark, cold prison cell. Destroyed by Rome. Destroyed by corrupt politics. Destroyed by human cruelty.

In the early 17th century, the artist Caravaggio painted this gruesome scene. If you look at Caravaggio’s painting, it is heavy with shadows.

Look at the executioner in the picture. He is a soldier who was ordered to carry out a brutal task. His shoulder is bare. His face is filled with sorrow. He looks broken. His own morality was injured by an order from above.

In the middle stands Herodias. Cold. Calculating. Satisfied that the voice of truth has been silenced.

And Salome looks away. She holds the platter, but her eyes turn in disgust. She is asking herself: What have I become a party to?

Lives ended on a whim.

Power operating in the dark. The weak destroyed by the powerful.

Scripture warns us about this kind of corrupt authority. In Psalm 94:20, the Psalmist asks God:

Psalm 94:20 NRSV

20 Can wicked rulers be allied with you, those who contrive mischief by statute?

The answer is no. The dark halls of human politics build walls.

They protect themselves.

And they sacrifice the vulnerable to stay in power.

Exodus

When the news reaches Jesus, notice His immediate reaction:

Matthew 14:13 NRSV

13 Now when Jesus heard this, he withdrew from there in a boat to a deserted place by himself…

The Son of God feels the heavy weight of grief.

Jesus mourns.

I understand Jesus here. Don't you?

When stress hits... When trauma breaks our hearts... When the news is too heavy to bear... We need to get away.

We need to get out of the city. We need a little exodus.

A walk on the beach. A quiet moment under the trees. We need to get away from the shadows of office blocks. Away from corporate power plays. Away from the places where people conspire behind closed doors.

So Jesus gets into a boat and heads for the quiet wilderness.

Now picture another artwork. John August Swanson’s 2003 painting of this story.

Swanson’s painting is the complete opposite of Caravaggio. It is full of light. Full of vibrant colors. Full of open, green space.

Swanson takes us out of Herod’s dark, suffocating palace. He brings us into the wide-open wilderness.

But the story does not stay quiet for long.

Matthew 14:13 continues:

Matthew 14:13 NRSV

13 …But when the crowds heard it, they followed him on foot from the towns.

Maybe they heard that Jesus was looking for peace.

But I believe they also heard the news about John. They were grieving, too.

This was not just a curious crowd. This was a collective protest. This was a public funeral.

John’s murder was a political message from the regime.

The message was: Your voice does not matter.

The message was: We can silence anyone who speaks for justice.

So the ordinary people voted with their feet. They left the towns empty.

You go to buy bread, but the delivery is delayed.

You check your phone for your grocery order, but the app says postponed.

There are no cashiers at the supermarket tills. The rubbish bins on the street are left uncollected.

Where is everybody?

They left.

They gave up on the corrupt system in the town.

They walked out into the wilderness to find Jesus.

When the institutions of human power fail, the wilderness becomes the only place where truth and hope can survive.

"They Do Not Need to Go Away"

Jesus steps off the boat.

He was looking for solitude. He was looking for space to cry for his friend John. Instead, He steps onto the shore and sees thousands of waiting eyes.

Look at how Matthew describes this moment:

Matthew 14:14 NIV84

14 When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them and healed their sick.

That word compassion in the original Greek is splagchnizomai. It means a movement deep in the gut. It is an visceral, overwhelming feeling of love and grief combined.

Jesus does not see an annoying interruption.

He sees sheep without a shepherd.

As the sun begins to set, the disciples get nervous. Look at verse 15:

Matthew 14:15 NRSV

15 When it was evening, the disciples came to him and said, “This is a deserted place, and the hour is now late; send the crowds away so that they may go into the villages and buy food for themselves.”

Notice what the disciples say: "Send them away!"

Notice that word: "Them / They."

That is our human reflex, isn't it? When things get overwhelming, we build circles. Inner circles and outer circles. Us and Them.

The disciples look at the hungry, grieving mass of people and say: They are a liability. They are too much for us to handle. Send "They" away.

If you have ever wondered if you belong in the Kingdom of God... If you have ever felt like an outsider... Listen carefully to Jesus' response in verse 16:

Matthew 14:16 NRSV

16 Jesus said to them, “They need not go away…”

Five words: They need not go away.

Who are "They"?

"They" are the ordinary people from the towns. "They" are the disenfranchised. "They" are the unemployed. "They" are the sick, the tired, the heartbroken, and the poor.

The world told them:

Get lost.

The disciples said: Send them away.

Jesus says: They stay.

Look at what Jesus does not check before He welcomes them into His circle:

He doesn’t check if they paid their tithes this month.

He doesn’t check if they completed the six-week membership class.

He doesn’t check if they’ve attended church every Sunday for three months.

He doesn't check if they raise their hands when the music plays.

He doesn’t check if they belong to the Manyano, or the Wesley Guild, or the Women’s Fellowship, or the Men’s Ministry.

He doesn’t ask them to recite the Nicene Creed. He doesn’t even ask them to pray the Lord’s Prayer.

The disciples said, "Send them away."

Jesus said, "They do not need to go away."

"You Give Them Something…"

Jesus doesn't stop there. He turns to His disciples—and He turns to us today—with a directive:

Matthew 14:16 NRSV

16 … you give them something to eat.”

The disciples panic! In verse 17, they hold up their hands in helplessness:

Matthew 14:17 NRSV

17 They replied, “We have nothing here but five loaves and two fish.”

They look at the massive need and say: It’s not enough. We don't have the budget. We don't have the capacity.

And Jesus gives His third command in verse 18:

Matthew 14:18 NRSV

18 And he said, “Bring them here to me.”

Look at the movement of Jesus in this text:

"They do not need to go away." (Inclusion)

"You give them something to eat." (Responsibility)

"Bring them here to me." (Surrender and Transformation)

Listen for the heart of God. Listen for the voice of Jesus in the words of 1 John:

1 John 3:17–18 NRSV

17 How does God’s love abide in anyone who has the world’s goods and sees a brother or sister in need and yet refuses help? 18 Little children, let us love, not in word or speech, but in truth and action.

And the apostle James says the very same thing in James 2:15–16:

James 2:15–16 NRSV

15 If a brother or sister is naked and lacks daily food, 16 and one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and eat your fill,” and yet you do not supply their bodily needs, what is the good of that?

Herod uses power to protect himself and execute his enemies. The disciples use caution and want to push the needy away. Jesus uses power to open the table, heal the hurting, and feed the hungry.

To follow Jesus is to feel what Jesus feels.

To follow Jesus is to share His gut-wrenching compassion.

To follow Jesus means it becomes impossible for us to turn our backs on people in need.

You and Me

So where do we find ourselves today?

When you look at our broken society... When you look at poverty, illness, and political corruption... What is your reflex?

When you meet the excluded and abandoned?

Do you draw your circles closer?

Or do you get curious - reach out - see what you can do to help?

Are we like the disciples, telling the crowds to go away because the problem is too big?

Are we hiding behind our church rosters and religious requirements?

Or are we listening to the voice // following the eyes of the Shepherd?

Jesus looks at every hurting person in our community and says: "They do not need to go away."

Then He looks at you and me and says: "You give them something to eat."

And when we look at our small, inadequate resources—our five loaves and two fish—He smiles and says: "Bring them here to me."

Bring your small gifts. Bring your small time. Bring your humble loaves.

Bring your hardened hearts.

Put them into the hands of Jesus, and watch Him bless, break, and multiply them to feed a hungry world.

The crowd is waiting. The broken are watching. And Jesus is saying to you and me today:

"They do not need to go away. You give them something. Bring what you have to me."

Amen.