No. 10. “He Shared His Lunch With Jesus”
Aug 3, 2008 Bothwell & Clachan
Matthew’s Memories of Jesus - No. 10. “He Shared His Lunch With Jesus”
Matthew 14:13-21
INTRODUCTION
Three Mice in Heaven
There were three mice that died and went to heaven. After a couple of days, St. Peter stopped by and asked them how they liked being in heaven. The mice said that it was OK, but since they have such short legs, it was hard for them to get around because heaven was so big. So St. Peter told them that he thought he would be able to help them. After a little while, an angel came to the mice and gave each of them a set of roller skates. Right away, the mice put the roller skates on, and they could zip around heaven, really enjoy themselves.
A little later, a certain cat died and went to heaven. After a couple of days, St. Peter stopped by and asked the cat how he liked being in heaven.
The cat answered by saying, "Oh, boy, do I like being in heaven! I'm having a great time and I'm really enjoying myself. And most of all, I love those meals on wheels."[1]
Yes, we are going to talk about food today. And how appropriate seeing that there is also the Lord’s Supper spread out on the Table here before us.
Last Week
But to get to there I wish to begin this morning where we left off last week. We had just spent three weeks looking at Jesus’ Parables and then asked the question: “And where do we go from here?” We said that this church is a safe and loving place where we have a special opportunity to hear Jesus’ very unique teachings. But Jesus asks us to travel from just listening to his “Jesus-disciple-told-tales” and to go out into the community around us where the hungry and troubled are waiting.
So today we are going to look at just that – explore a familiar scene, remind ourselves of the details of a familiar story – of hungry people, people who were both hungry to hear Jesus and people also growing even hungrier as they listened to Jesus. Now last week Jesus disciple-followers had claimed that they well understood all of Jesus teachings. But in this morning’s reading from Matthew 14, we see them faced with thousands of hungry people. And clearly, the disciples do not have a clue what to do with just a few little buns and a couple of sardines. “Little buns and sardines?” “Five barley loaves” is not the same as having five loaves of bread. According to biblical scholar, William Barclay, the “loaves” were small rather like little sandwich rolls. The fish were little salt fish the size of sardines, to act as a relish for eating the dry bread.[2] They are pretty small pickings for a giant sized miracle.
JESUS’ FOUR CHALLENGES
One Thing to Avoid
Perhaps it is for that very reason that such a miracle would be truly spectacular, so impossible, unfortunately, many have tried to explain away this miracle. It is almost as if they are trying to deconstruct a performance by the illusionist, David Copperfield. One attempt says that the people were so moved by Jesus' generosity and the generosity of the little boy that they brought forth the food they had hidden under their clothes and in their traveling pouches. This way everyone was satisfied. Another theory says that the story is not really talking about physical hunger but spiritual hunger. When the small amount of food was passed around everyone tore off a minuscule symbolic fragment. In this Jesus is said to have satisfied the thirst of the soul not the stomach.
I think these questions say more about us than they do Jesus. Those of us who attempt to let the Bible speak for itself are often lumped in with Alice and Wonderland in an attempt to believe a certain number of impossible things before breakfast. But if Jesus is the Messiah, and I believe he is, then there is no question but that he performed miracles, and on a regular basis. A miracle by its very definition is an event or an action that apparently contradicts known scientific laws and is hence thought to be due to supernatural causes, often an act of God. The purpose of the story of feeding of the five thousand is not to disprove that miracles can happen.
Impossible Task
And so I think we can all agree that the situation faced by the disciples in this Bible reading is truly impossible. It reminds me of the courier commercial that has been playing recently on the TV. You know the one. A fellow is sitting in an office shipping room looking with great concern at a box. It has a city destination written on the side. He calls over a co-worker and explains that he has a very difficult problem. He asks the other worker how this package can get from where they are now to it’s hoped for destination. Both of them shake their heads and admit that it is impossible. You just can’t get a box like this to a place like that. In one of the versions of the commercial they also call in one of the female workers. Unfortunately, she too is totally convinced that this is an impossible task. Impossible!
It is easy for us to smile at them. After all we know what the answer is because we’ve seen the courier company logo. We may even have had some very positive experiences with that very company.
In a similar way it is just as easy for us to smile at the disciples. Just like the confused workers in the shipping department, the disciples overemphasized the problem and underemphasized the resources, for they underestimated the Master![3] Yes they were totally frustrated. Without the normally respectful “Lord,” they told Jesus where he was, what time it was, and what he should do.[4] “Send them home!” Period. Get rid of them Jesus. Nobody could buy lunch for a crowd like this? And even if we had the money to order in? For five thousand plus their hungry families? Even if you had the money it would cost a fortune! Impossible!
But it is so much simpler for us today. We’ve got the upper hand over them. We’ve read about Jesus’ miracles. We know the end of the story. But put yourselves in their shoes or sandals, as the case may be. Then we are not quite so smug. We too can now see that it is Impossible. Is that the reason why this is the only miracle recorded by all of the Gospel Writers? Was it because it truly was impossible?
Not an Easy Road
Ministry for Jesus is not always easy. Even the circumstances may not be to our liking. Just shortly before this the disciples had found out that John the Baptist had been murdered by the King, Herod. The Herod referred to here is Herod Antipas, son of Herod the Great who slaughtered the male children around Bethlehem after Jesus had been born. Now Herod Antipas wasn’t as bloodthirsty as his father was, but he was not a great leader in any sense of the word. He loved luxury and lived licentiously.[5] And as Leonard Sweet puts it, Herod used John’s head as a party favor.[6] This news was devastating because some of Jesus disciples actually followed John before they had a chance to meet Jesus. John had been their teacher and example to follow. Now as the result of a drunken boast, this godly man was dead
On top of that the disciples were not able to make a clean get-a-way to their holiday spot. Just as in the old Western movies, a large crowd “headed them off at the pass.” Now after three days of a Bible conference retreat with Jesus the local canteen truck is empty and it doesn’t feel like such an adventure to the little kids who are there. They want some real home cooking and there is no nearby cupboard full of supplies, no drive-ins or any take out. It’s too late in the day to try to make it back to the nearest village. The moms are getting concerned. Even the men’s stomachs are starting to rumble.
Taking Care of the Crowd But as Max Lucado has written: Sometimes God is so touched by what he sees, he gives us what we need and not simply that for which we ask.[7] Jesus simply went ahead and fed the people. And as he broke the loaves, the miracle occurred. The miracle occurred in Jesus’ hands. He broke the loaves and gave them to his disciples to then give to the people. He did the same thing with the fish. The disciples acted as waiters to all of the groups of hungry people seated on the grass, taking bread and fish, distributing it, and then returning to Jesus to get more. They continued to serve the crowd until everyone had had enough to eat.[8] In fact, more than enough, stuffed!
Compare these two Bible feasts. There is such a stark contrast between Herod’s earlier deadly orgy and this miraculous feast that Jesus provided for the multitude.[9] King Herod Antipas had dined on delicacies with a chosen few in his stately palace, and then beheaded John the Baptist to reward a dancer (Mt 14:3-12,). But King Jesus used simple food to feed anyone who followed him to this deserted area, and everyone was healed and satisfied. Why the twelve disciples even got a “doggy” bag each to take home to their families. Impossible?
APPLICATION
Are There Still Miracles?
Earlier we defined miracles. Are there still miracles today? Yes, we have seen healings that surprised the doctors and defied medical knowledge. We have seen the irretrievably lost retrieved. Wee have seen hardened hearts and lives made fruitful. We know that a personal God, the creator of the universe, who continues to love us even when we are unlovable. And yes, our church is a miracle. How else do such different people work together in love and harmony? Miracles do not have to be big and spectacular to defy scientific laws.
How Much Is Enough?
Too often, we think that giving our lives to God must also be a big impossible thing like a miracle. It’s as if we were to take a $1,000 bill and laying it on the altar, saying, "Here's my life, Lord. I'm giving it all to you." But the truth of the matter is that God is much more likely to send us to the bank and tell us to cash that $1,000 bill in for quarters. And then we go through life giving away twenty-five cents here, fifty cents there, and so on. Instead of watching a ball game, we spend some time visiting a lonely person in a nursing home who has no family. Instead of sipping coffee and reading the newspaper, we get dressed and go to teach Sunday school. Instead of playing games on the computer, we listen to a friend tell us about her problems, even though we're tired and have problems of our own to deal with.
These are the moments in which the grace of God can work through us to help another human being, to feed the hunger of the heart and spirit. They may not be spectacular miracles, but these are the things we can do to bring meaning and significance to our lives.[10]
CONCLUSIONS
Looking back on this event the followers of Jesus in that Early Church were struck by something that Jesus continually did. Not only here at this miracle, but in the Upper Room when he first celebrated with them Lord’s Supper and later with the two disciples at Emmaus on the evening of his resurrection, Jesus lifted up the bread, blessed it and shared it with his fiends. We now have an opportunity to remember all of those events as we do that this morning while we share in this Lord’s Supper or Communion.
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[1] Jerry Fuller, Multiplication of Loaves and Fishes
[2] William Barclay, And He Had Compassion (Valley Forge, PA: Judson Press, 1976, pp. 148-149).
[3]Myron S. Augsburger and Lloyd J. Ogilvie, vol. 24, The Preacher's Commentary Series, Volume 24 : Matthew, Formerly The Communicator's Commentary, The Preacher's Commentary series (Nashville, Tennessee: Thomas Nelson Inc, 1982), 18.
[4]Bruce B. Barton, Matthew, Life application Bible commentary (Wheaton, Ill.: Tyndale House Publishers, 1996), 289.
[5]Jon Courson, Jon Courson's Application Commentary (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 2003), 113.
[6] Len Sweet Commentary, ChristianGlobe Networks, Inc. by Leonard Sweet
[7] Max Lucado, Christian Reader, Vol. 32, no. 1.
[8]Bruce B. Barton, Matthew, Life application Bible commentary (Wheaton, Ill.: Tyndale House Publishers, 1996), 290.
[9]Bruce B. Barton, Matthew, Life application Bible commentary (Wheaton, Ill.: Tyndale House Publishers, 1996), 287.
[10] Johnny Dean, How Much Is Enough?