The Same, Only Different

You’d Think I’d Learn

I took Monday off and Sara and I went on our own ride in the forest.

It was beautiful.

We had lunch at the scenic overlook by Stoneman Lake and watched the eclipse.

Came back thru Antelope Park and I showed Sara the burned out lodge that used to there.

We were trying to get to Mormon Mountain. We weren’t exactly lost, we had a map and were just mistaken where the road was that led up there.

We turn north on the 132 to come back around to Mormon Mt. and promptly ran out of gas.

In my defense, the gas gauge has never worked so I watch the odometer. The first few times I filled up it only took a gallon after riding 50 miles.

A 4-gallon tank, I figured I was fine up to 200 miles.

Well, at 117 it was bone dry.

We started out w/ 59 miles on the tank so I thought we’d be fine. That would leave us 140 miles for the day. No way.

I should have learned already that no matter how short the trip gas up before we go.

Sara called Mike and Trish and they came to the rescue.

We did them a favor b/c they discovered they had a flat tire after last Friday’s ride. They got to change it in their driveway.

Mean time, we got our chairs out and sat in the forest and enjoyed our quiet time together on a beautiful day.

It was a perfect day off, but for the whole gas thing.

I’m sure none of you have ever done that, run out of gas, had a flat tire and no spare, or no jack, or lug wrench, lost a part somewhere along the way.

So, let’s be careful about laughing too hard!

I’ve discovered it’s always best to learn from other people’s mistakes.

And, it’s a distant 2nd best to learn from my own mistakes.

But, at least we try to learn something.

The Bible is full of stories about people who made mistakes that we can learn from. Sometimes they made the same mistake twice.

If we get this, we may not make that mistake even once.

Then again...

Embedded in these stories is the character of Jesus.

He is a powerful, merciful, gracious, patient, and hospitable God.

He welcomes everybody into his presence, from the biggest failure to the most faithful servant.

The Bible is a reliable source of life-changing information about Jesus that is wrapped in verses, passages, chapters, and books.

Today we’re going to look at another familiar miracle, feeding the 4000 and the preceding context.

It’s miracle #23

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Normally, I start w/ the context. I’m going to address the context in the second part today b/c the context is structured to help us understand the bigger picture.

First, The miracle

The People Were Hungry

Matthew 15:29–32 NIV

Jesus left there and went along the Sea of Galilee. Then he went up on a mountainside and sat down. Great crowds came to him, bringing the lame, the blind, the crippled, the mute and many others, and laid them at his feet; and he healed them. The people were amazed when they saw the mute speaking, the crippled made well, the lame walking and the blind seeing. And they praised the God of Israel. Jesus called his disciples to him and said, “I have compassion for these people; they have already been with me three days and have nothing to eat. I do not want to send them away hungry, or they may collapse on the way.”

Matthew 15:

Who?

Near Decapolis, mostly Greeks. Non-Jews.

Very similar to feeding the 5000 (17,500). But, different.

Matthew 15:38 NIV

The number of those who ate was four thousand men, besides women and children.

Matthew 15:

This time there are 4000 men + women and children

Same number of women and 1.5 kids per couple

14,500 or so.

Picture that basketball arena, again.

He’s working the crowd. It takes time to get to everybody.

But Jesus takes all the time that’s needed.

Their bodies were broken

They wouldn’t have known the book of Isaiah from the NY Times.

But they are seeing fulfilled in front of them.

They’d figure it out later.

The healings were immediate and complete. No need for therapy.

And, the stories that would come out of this day.

Who knows?!

Their hearts were open

He had compassion on them.

Jesus was patient and powerful.

He took all the time necessary and healed everybody.

He was gracious and merciful.

None deserved what they got. None kept the law nor were perfect int their behavior. Their ancestors had all brutalized the Jews, God’s chosen.

Yet, He welcomed all comers.

Their stomachs were empty

3 days they’d listened to His teaching and watched Him heal their relatives and friends.

They stayed, watched, even those Jesus had already touched.

What would keep you at church for 3 days w/out eating?

They needed to eat before the left for home.

He was done serving the masses, now it was the disciples’ turn.

It wasn’t that long ago when Jesus told they guys to do something similar.

They learned a valuable lesson.

12 guys with 1 small lunch can feed 17,500 people if Jesus blesses the food.

Well, you’d have thought they learned.

Jesus is a patient man/God.

Twice in a Row

Matthew 15:33–38 NIV

His disciples answered, “Where could we get enough bread in this remote place to feed such a crowd?” “How many loaves do you have?” Jesus asked. “Seven,” they replied, “and a few small fish.” He told the crowd to sit down on the ground. Then he took the seven loaves and the fish, and when he had given thanks, he broke them and gave them to the disciples, and they in turn to the people. They all ate and were satisfied. Afterward the disciples picked up seven basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over. The number of those who ate was four thousand men, besides women and children.

Matthew 15:

two times in a row, no. Not a stellar streak for the disciples.

They had a second chance to get this right.

Maybe, the 3rd time will be a charm?!

Where?

Indeed! Where?

No stores close by. Can’t bake in time.

Maybe they thought that since Jesus had already done this once before He wouldn’t do it again.

Or, would only do this miracle for Jews. Like the manna in the wilderness, God hasn’t fed anyone except Jews like this.

They were stumped!

We can’t do this. They were right. They couldn’t.

But, Jesus could.

Jesus took over

Check supplies. What do you have to offer?

7 loaves and a few fish.

Got organized. Have everyone sit down.

Last time in groups of 50. This time? Don’t know.

He thanked God for what they had. He was not regretful for what they lacked!

“It would have been nice if...”

No one complained.

He began passing it out. And it went on from there.

And on and on and on.

The excitement would have built as the people kept passing what started out as 7 fish.

No one complained. No one left hungry. No one ate anything they didn’t like or didn’t agree w/ them.

Where did it come from?

Jesus is the original creator. He did it again.

These loaves and fish were created t/b consumed on the spot.

Jesus gave them a purpose and saw it fulfilled immediately.

Everyone was satisfied! Not just a snack to hold them over till they got somewhere to eat a meal. Satisfied!

7 large basketfuls left over.

Like what would be used to carry a person.

So, there may have been more leftover this time.

How do you think they felt when it was over?

How many times will Jesus have to show them what’s possible when they let Him do the work thru them?

How do you feel when you realize you could have done better if you’d let Jesus do it thru you?

12 men w/ 7 loaves fed 14,000 people w/ 7 basketful left over.

Did they get it this time?

Jesus didn’t scold them here for not getting it even this 2nd time.

Jesus is patient w/ us when it takes us several tries to get what He’s teaching us.

He’s merciful not to give up on.

He’s gracious to let participate in the blessing even when we fail Him.

How will they feed the people that come to them after Jesus is gone?

They’ll take an inventory and discover they have little to offer.

They should be thankful for what they do have, give it to Jesus, and it will multiply so that everyone will be satisfied.

About the people that Jesus brings to us or that He offers Himself to.

At one time in history if you wanted to get to heaven you had to become Jewish first.

Now, not so. Jesus offers Himself to everyone equally just as they are.

How do we know? Context.

Context

Bread

Jesus is the bread of life ()

After feeding the people Jesus explains to the disciples that what they had just done is a picture for them once He’s gone.

It’s Jesus. His teaching. The gospel.

Jesus saves. Gives life. Transforms.

Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees. (Mt. 16:6)

A little bit works its way thru the whole loaf.

A lot of truth mixed w/ a little untruth creates a big problem.

Their teaching. There’s a lot of truth in it. But, they mix in a little untruth.

Chiasm

Grammatical tool that an author will use to help make his point.

Based on the letter, chi or “X”

Remove the right half of the “X” and it looks like a “greater than sign from our early math classes.

Authors describe different, but obviously related events and use them as parentheses, top and bottom. Then, what comes between is the point of the passage.

Westerners are used to building a point in a linear fashion. The main point is introduced first, then the case is built to the conclusion.

A.

B.

C.

D.

E.

But, in a chiasm the main point comes in the middle.

So the way it looks is:

A.

B.

C.

B’.

A’.

There can be any number of parenthetically related events in the chiasm that lead to the point.

Many proverbs are very small, 4-point chiasms

A.

B.

B’.

A’.

Some large sections of the Bible are organized in a chiastic structure.

I have in a file in my office a diagram of a chiasm that shows that most of the book of look is a chiasm. It goes all the way to P. and then back down to A’.

Back in April I started this series and introduced the idea of a chiasm because the first 2 miracles of Jesus are written about by John and he organized ch. 2-4 as a chiasm.

A. Miracle: Water to wine.

B. Resistance from the Jewish leaders

C. Evangelism: Nicodemus, you must be born again.

D. Jesus is the Messiah

C’. Evangelism: Woman at the well, living water

B’. Acceptance by the Samaritan people.

A’. Miracle: Healing the Centurion’s servant

Back to Matthew, ch. 14-16

A. Miracle: Feeds 5000+ Jews

B. Miracle: Walks on water. In a storm stay close to Jesus.

C. The Pharisees are not amused: Those people!

D. Canaanite woman: Cast offs.

Cast off people get the crumbs that have been cast off by the children.

Jesus has been cast aside by the Jews so now everyone gets an equal opportunity to believe.

C’. The Gentile masses are amazed

B’. Miracle: Deaf and Mute man is healed. Now, you don’t have to be Jewish to hear God’s word and tell others what you heard.

A’. Miracle: Feeds 4000+ Gentiles

Something we now take for granted that 2000 years ago would have been unthinkable.

Everyone now has the same opportunity to have a personal relationship w/ God.

We don’t have to go thru a priest, we can go directly to God.

It’s possible because of Jesus’ death on the cross and His resurrection, then the indwelling of the HS that we have direct access to God.

What was once unthinkable and unheard of, is now a reality and we discover it written in God’s word as we experience it in life.

We can memorize verses, study chapters, outline books, and read cover to cover in a year.

The more time we spend in God’s word the more we will discover of the character of God and Who He is.

Then, when we’re in situations that are beyond us we will know what is consistent w/ the character of God so we can relax and trust Him to be true to Himself.

He’ll save us in the process.

Applications

Unable but available

Jesus didn’t need the disciples and He doesn’t need us.

He could have fed the people by Himself. All the disciples did was pass out the food and gather the leftovers.

Jesus doesn’t need us to be able. He needs us to be available.

So, when you’re in a situation facing an impossible task remember that Jesus put you there and He’s there with you.

Ask Him to do the work.

Then, be available to help.

Learn the first time

First, try to learn all you need to know from other people’s mistakes.

It’s always better if someone else is making the mistake.

If that’s not possible, try to learn all you need to know from the first time you make a mistake.

It’s always 2nd best to learn after on failing once.

Then, if that’s not possible, try to learn something the 2nd, 3rd, or 4th time you mess up.

Then, get on your knees and than Jesus that He is so patient, merciful, and gracious with you.

Study the word

We have so much to learn and God makes so much of Himself available to us in the Bible.

Lessons will jump off the pages and transform our lives.

We can learn so much about God’s limitless power and possibilities and so much about our own limits and inabilities.

We can reduce our stress by knowing Jesus better and expecting less of ourselves.

The #1 cause of stress in our lives is unfulfilled expectations.

We expect too much of ourselves and too much of the wrong things from God

The #1 cause of stress in our lives is unfulfilled expectations.

To know God better is to know better what to expect of Him.

Study and get to know Him.

The Bible is full of stories about people who made mistakes that we can learn from. Sometimes they made the same mistake twice.

If we get this, we may not make that mistake even once.

Then again...

Embedded in these stories is the character of Jesus.

He is a powerful, merciful, gracious, patient, and hospitable God.

He welcomes everybody into his presence, from the biggest failure to the most faithful servant.

The Bible is a reliable source of life-changing information about Jesus that is wrapped in verses, passages, chapters, and books.