THE FEEDING THAT WAS HEARD AROUND THE SEA!

Please take your Bible and turn to . Our passage for today deals with one of the most familiar scenes in all of the Gospels. I say this because the feeding of the five thousand is one of only two miracles that are mentioned in all four Gospel accounts. The other miracles is the resurrection of Jesus. Based on that alone we must acknowledge that this particular miracle was seen by all of the Gospel writers as being extremely important. The question I ask myself is why is this particular miracle so important? Why were not other miracles, such as the raising of Lazarus from the dead, included in all of the Gospel accounts?

Some see this miracle as being important because it may indicate that Jesus was the coming prophet who would be like Moses, mentioned in , .

Deuteronomy 18:15 NASB95PARA

“The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your countrymen, you shall listen to him.

Moses went on to say that the LORD told him that:

Deuteronomy 18:18–19 NASB95PARA

I will raise up a prophet from among their countrymen like you, and I will put My words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I command him. It shall come about that whoever will not listen to My words which he shall speak in My name, I Myself will require it of him.

When Moses led the people out of Egypt and all through their forty years of wilderness wanderings, they were fed manna — bread from heaven. And in a similar fashion Jesus fed the crowds of people some bread on this fateful day.

Liberal scholars who seek to deny the supernatural often teach that the selflessness of the lad who shared his lunch with Jesus convicted the selfish people who had their own food with them to share their food with those who had none. While it is always good to move from selfishness to selflessness, I will not deny the supernatural power of Christ. Rather, I sing the mighty power of God that made the mountains rise!

Other scholars see in this an anticipation of the messianic banquet that is written of in such passages as , , and as well as many other passages.

Matthew 8:11 NASB95PARA

I say to you that many will come from east and west, and recline at the table with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven;

Matthew 26:29 NASB95PARA

But I say to you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in My Father’s kingdom.”

Revelation 2:17 NASB95PARA

He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, to him I will give some of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, and a new name written on the stone which no one knows but he who receives it.’

One thing that I see in this is a presentation that Jesus is indeed the long awaited Messiah. Before we delve into our text this morning I would like to read a couple portions of . In this passage there is a description of the forerunner of Christ, whom we know to be John the Baptist. But there is also a description of Messiah as well. First, the forerunner.

Isaiah 40 NKJV

“Comfort, yes, comfort My people!” Says your God. “Speak comfort to Jerusalem, and cry out to her, That her warfare is ended, That her iniquity is pardoned; For she has received from the Lord’s hand Double for all her sins.” The voice of one crying in the wilderness: “Prepare the way of the Lord; Make straight in the desert A highway for our God. Every valley shall be exalted And every mountain and hill brought low; The crooked places shall be made straight And the rough places smooth; The glory of the Lord shall be revealed, And all flesh shall see it together; For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.” The voice said, “Cry out!” And he said, “What shall I cry?” “All flesh is grass, And all its loveliness is like the flower of the field. The grass withers, the flower fades, Because the breath of the Lord blows upon it; Surely the people are grass. The grass withers, the flower fades, But the word of our God stands forever.” O Zion, You who bring good tidings, Get up into the high mountain; O Jerusalem, You who bring good tidings, Lift up your voice with strength, Lift it up, be not afraid; Say to the cities of Judah, “Behold your God!” Behold, the Lord God shall come with a strong hand, And His arm shall rule for Him; Behold, His reward is with Him, And His work before Him. He will feed His flock like a shepherd; He will gather the lambs with His arm, And carry them in His bosom, And gently lead those who are with young. Who has measured the waters in the hollow of His hand, Measured heaven with a span And calculated the dust of the earth in a measure? Weighed the mountains in scales And the hills in a balance? Who has directed the Spirit of the Lord, Or as His counselor has taught Him? With whom did He take counsel, and who instructed Him, And taught Him in the path of justice? Who taught Him knowledge, And showed Him the way of understanding? Behold, the nations are as a drop in a bucket, And are counted as the small dust on the scales; Look, He lifts up the isles as a very little thing. And Lebanon is not sufficient to burn, Nor its beasts sufficient for a burnt offering. All nations before Him are as nothing, And they are counted by Him less than nothing and worthless. To whom then will you liken God? Or what likeness will you compare to Him? The workman molds an image, The goldsmith overspreads it with gold, And the silversmith casts silver chains. Whoever is too impoverished for such a contribution Chooses a tree that will not rot; He seeks for himself a skillful workman To prepare a carved image that will not totter. Have you not known? Have you not heard? Has it not been told you from the beginning? Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth? It is He who sits above the circle of the earth, And its inhabitants are like grasshoppers, Who stretches out the heavens like a curtain, And spreads them out like a tent to dwell in. He brings the princes to nothing; He makes the judges of the earth useless. Scarcely shall they be planted, Scarcely shall they be sown, Scarcely shall their stock take root in the earth, When He will also blow on them, And they will wither, And the whirlwind will take them away like stubble. “To whom then will you liken Me, Or to whom shall I be equal?” says the Holy One. Lift up your eyes on high, And see who has created these things, Who brings out their host by number; He calls them all by name, By the greatness of His might And the strength of His power; Not one is missing. Why do you say, O Jacob, And speak, O Israel: “My way is hidden from the Lord, And my just claim is passed over by my God”? Have you not known? Have you not heard? The everlasting God, the Lord, The Creator of the ends of the earth, Neither faints nor is weary. His understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the weak, And to those who have no might He increases strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, And the young men shall utterly fall, But those who wait on the Lord Shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint.

Isaiah 40:3–5 NKJV

The voice of one crying in the wilderness: “Prepare the way of the Lord; Make straight in the desert A highway for our God. Every valley shall be exalted And every mountain and hill brought low; The crooked places shall be made straight And the rough places smooth; The glory of the Lord shall be revealed, And all flesh shall see it together; For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”

Next, the passage that refers to Messiah.

Isaiah 40:9–11 NKJV

O Zion, You who bring good tidings, Get up into the high mountain; O Jerusalem, You who bring good tidings, Lift up your voice with strength, Lift it up, be not afraid; Say to the cities of Judah, “Behold your God!” Behold, the Lord God shall come with a strong hand, And His arm shall rule for Him; Behold, His reward is with Him, And His work before Him. He will feed His flock like a shepherd; He will gather the lambs with His arm, And carry them in His bosom, And gently lead those who are with young.

Isaiah 40:11 NKJV

He will feed His flock like a shepherd; He will gather the lambs with His arm, And carry them in His bosom, And gently lead those who are with young.

It seems fitting to me that Matthew would choose to write about this event as another proof that Jesus is the long-awaited Messiah. As we continue our meditation on this text this morning we are going to look at Jesus’ reaction to Herod, Jesus’ compassion for those who are hurting, the disciples’ consternation with the situation, the significance of the miracle, and the people’s reaction. Let’s read our passage together.

JESUS’ REACTION TO HEROD

The Background

To set the context for this passage, since it is written about in all four Gospel accounts, it was important for me to compare them with one another. We don’t have that kind of time this morning, but let me just give a bit of what we learn from the various passages.

From Mark and Luke we learn, apparently, that this scene occurred after the twelve returned from their mission of going out, two by two, preaching the message of the kingdom and healing various diseases. We also learn that part of the reason for this strategic withdrawal was so that the apostles could find some rest after their long and weary mission. From Luke we learn that the secluded place to which they withdrew was near Bethsaida, which was the hometown of the Apostle Philip. It is worth noting that Bethsaida was in the north east section of the Sea of Galilee, which was out of the jurisdiction of Herod Antipas, and in the jurisdiction of Philip the tetrarch. From John’s account we learn that this was around the time of The Passover, placing this event about a year before the crucifixion of Christ. We also learn that after the feeding of the five thousand the people wanted to take Jesus by force and make Him king. It would seem that the people were looking for a military general to rally behind as they sought to overthrow the oppressive Romans who were controlling them.

Last week we looked at Herod’s reaction to the news of Jesus. His reaction was superstitious in nature, thinking that Jesus must have actually been John the Baptist raised from the dead. If you will recall, I had passed out to you an insert with the text from Matthew. And I had indented verses 3-12 to set them apart. That is because the current narrative was found in verses 1-2, and verses 3-12 were a looking back at an event that had taken place at some point in the near past. So, in my mind the current narrative is found in verses 1-2, and verse 13, our text for today, picks up where verse 2 left off. Is anyone confused yet?

Look with me at verse 13 for a moment. Now when Jesus heard [about John], He withdrew from there in a boat to a secluded place by Himself; and when the people heard [of this], they followed Him on foot from the cities.

If you are following along in the NASB which is what I use, you should notice that the words “about John” are in italics. That means that they are not in the Greek text but are supplied by the editors to help readers with the context. Unfortunately, I believe that these supplied words (in this particular instance) are not only unnecessary but they also bring an element of interpretive confusion. Based on the flow of the narrative I believe that what Jesus heard was, in this instance, the superstitious view of Herod’s that Jesus was actually John resurrected from the dead.

Luke tells us that Herod had been longing to meet Jesus, but Jesus had kept His distance from him. Herod’s main home was in Tiberius, which was within the region in which Jesus did most of His Galilean ministry. But the Gospels never record His ministering in that prominent city.

We have been looking at what I consider to be Jesus’ reaction to Herod’s superstition. Let’s turn our attention now to

JESUS’ COMPASSION FOR THOSE WHO ARE HURTING

Look with me verse 14. When He went ashore, He saw a large crowd, and felt compassion for them and healed their sick.

Mark gives us a little further detail regarding the reason for Christ’s compassion:

Mark 13:34 NASB95PARA

It is like a man away on a journey, who upon leaving his house and putting his slaves in charge, assigning to each one his task, also commanded the doorkeeper to stay on the alert.

Mark 6:34 NASB95PARA

When Jesus went ashore, He saw a large crowd, and He felt compassion for them because they were like sheep without a shepherd; and He began to teach them many things.

Jesus recognized that this flock needed a shepherd. The question that has been plaguing me this week was whether or not this was seen by Jesus as being His flock. Or if, in grief over them not being His flock, He chose to show them some compassion anyway.

Regardless of the answer to that question, I must say that every time I read this passage I am convicted. Do I have such compassion that I put other’s needs ahead of my own? May we all learn to have such an unselfish compassion for others!

We’ve looked briefly at Jesus’ reaction to Herod, and His compassion. Let’s turn our attention now to

THE DISCIPLES’ CONSTERNATION WITH THE SITUATION

Look with me at verses 15-18. The disciples wanted Jesus to finish with His teaching and healing and then to send the crowd packing so they could each find enough food to sustain themselves until they got home. But Jesus was unwilling to send them away hungry.

When I consider that the apostles had just returned from preaching the message of the kingdom in the various villages. And I think about such statements of Christ as: “Man cannot live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God;” I wonder if this episode was about physical food at all. I wonder if Jesus’ statement in verse 16 : “They do not need to go away; you give them something to eat!” may have been more about the message than the meal. In John’s account, shortly after this episode (or so it would appear) we learn that many stopped following Christ because they took offense at His teaching. Jesus at that time asked the twelve if they were going to leave Him as well, but they responded like this:

John 6:68–69 NASB95PARA

Simon Peter answered Him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have words of eternal life. We have believed and have come to know that You are the Holy One of God.”

Well back to the feeding of the five thousand, gives us more details as to which disciples Jesus was conversing with:

John 6:4–7 NASB95PARA

Now the Passover, the feast of the Jews, was near. Therefore Jesus, lifting up His eyes and seeing that a large crowd was coming to Him, said to Philip, “Where are we to buy bread, so that these may eat?” This He was saying to test him, for He Himself knew what He was intending to do. Philip answered Him, “Two hundred denarii worth of bread is not sufficient for them, for everyone to receive a little.”

As previously mentioned, Philip was from this general area. So it was natural for Jesus to consult him in this regard. John tells us that this was a test for Philip, and it doesn’t appear that he scored very well on this test. Least we criticize him too much I wonder how many of us are so focused on the present circumstances of our lives that we fail to see the bigger picture? We fail to see that God is doing something, or at least preparing to do something that is awe inspiring.

I know that this passage is not about church finances. But I find myself being like Philip (we do share the same name after all) and wondering how we as a church are going to get through this present financial crisis that we are in. I’m focusing on the temporal, material aspects, when I should be focused on the eternal aspects. Can you folk pray for me that I not allow the temporal to distract me from the eternal?

John goes on to mention another apostle by name — Andrew. Somehow Andrew ran across a lad who had packed a lunch which contained five loaves (or perhaps cakes) of barely bread, and two fish. Barely was the cheapest of grains for making bread. It was a poor person’s diet. The fish were probably something along the lines of “pickled fish to be eaten as a side dish with the small cakes of barley bread.” (D.A. Carson, Pillar New Testament Commentary).

The obvious point of all of the Gospel writers is that even though the disciples had faith in Jesus as the Christ, still they had their minds set on earthly things. They were very much like most of us are — focused on the present with no thought about God’s role in the story!

Let’s turn our attention now to

THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE MIRACLE

I have already stated what I believe in part to be the significance of this miracle, which is that Jesus showed to those who witnessed this event that He was the One prophesied about of old. He is the second Moses, who as the writer of Hebrews argues is better than Moses since the covenant that He ushered in was superior to the Mosaic covenant. He was the Messiah whom Isaiah wrote about who would feed His sheep like a shepherd.

At the risk of spiritualizing this situation I would like to mediate on a couple of further thoughts. First is that of

SATISFACTION

Note that everyone who ate of this meal, ate until they were satisfied. Like the old song said: “Bread of Heaven, feed me till I want no more...” On the physical realm they were satisfied. But what about in the spiritual realm?

The idea of satisfaction in the spiritual realm brings me back to the cross of Christ, for it was there that God was satisfied that sufficient punishment had been meted out for my sin. The words of Isaac Watts are so well written:

Alas, and did my Savior bleed?   And did my Sovereign die? Would He devote that sacred head   For such a worm as I?

Was it for sins that I had done   He groaned upon the tree? Amazing pity! grace unknown!   And love beyond degree!

Was it for sins that I had done   He groaned upon the tree? Amazing pity! grace unknown!   And love beyond degree!

Well might the sun in darkness hide,   And shut His glories in, When Christ, the mighty Maker, died   For man, His creature’s sin.

4

Thus might I hide my blushing face   While His dear cross appears. Dissolve my heart in thankfulness,   And melt mine eyes to tears.

5

But drops of grief can ne’er repay   The debt of love I owe; Here, Lord, I give myself away,   ’Tis all that I can do.

Not only is God satisfied with Jesus, but so are we. He provides us with everything that we need for life and godliness. Everything we need to live and walk in the Spirit.

The next thing I want to meditate on is the

GENEROUS SUPPLY OF GRACE

Notice verse 20 once again: And they all ate and were satisfied. They picked up what was left over of the broken pieces, twelve full baskets.

Commentators are quick to point out the significance of the twelve baskets. In the nation of Israel there are twelve tribes. In the economy of Christ there are twelve apostles who will sit on twelve thrones and rule the twelve tribes. The twelve baskets full of food seems to indicate that there is enough grace to save all of the lost sheep of Israel. And we who belong to Christ are numbered among the lost sheep of Israel.

Christ’s grace is abundant and free

Christ’s grace is sufficient for our every need

Christ’s grace is truly amazing

THE PEOPLE’S REACTION

John’s Gospel tells us about the crowds reaction to this miracle. They were ready to crown Him king.

John 6:15 NASB95PARA

So Jesus, perceiving that they were intending to come and take Him by force to make Him king, withdrew again to the mountain by Himself alone.

Jesus understood that at present His kingdom was not of this world. There is coming a day when He will return to planet earth and establish Him kingdom. He will reign of the entire earth for a thousand years. His kingdom will experience a peace that has not been known since the day Adam and Eve rebelled against God in the Garden of Eden.

But until that time Christ is ruling in the hearts of His people. And like Him, we His people are to be about our Father’s business.

We have looked at Christ’s reaction to Herod, His wonderful compassion, the disciples consternation, and the people’s reaction. We need to ask ourselves if we, like our Savior, are compassionate toward others. Or are we more like the disciples who cannot seem to see God’s hand at work because of the circumstances in which we find ourselves.

Let’s pray.

Closing Song: Blessings