A Baptism that Transforms

Scripture

Matthew 15:1-20, Jesus spent time teaching and preaching

Matthew 15:21–38 (KJV)

21 Then Jesus went thence, and departed into the coasts of Tyre and Sidon.

22 And, behold, a woman of Canaan came out of the same coasts, and cried unto him, saying, Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou Son of David; my daughter is grievously vexed with a devil.

23 But he answered her not a word. And his disciples came and besought him, saying, Send her away; for she crieth after us.

24 But he answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel.

25 Then came she and worshipped him, saying, Lord, help me.

26 But he answered and said, It is not meet to take the children’s bread, and to cast it to dogs.

27 And she said, Truth, Lord: yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table.

28 Then Jesus answered and said unto her, O woman, great is thy faith: be it unto thee even as thou wilt. And her daughter was made whole from that very hour.

29 And Jesus departed from thence, and came nigh unto the sea of Galilee; and went up into a mountain, and sat down there.

30 And great multitudes came unto him, having with them those that were lame, blind, dumb, maimed, and many others, and cast them down at Jesus’ feet; and he healed them:

31 Insomuch that the multitude wondered, when they saw the dumb to speak, the maimed to be whole, the lame to walk, and the blind to see: and they glorified the God of Israel.

32 Then Jesus called his disciples unto him, and said, I have compassion on the multitude, because they continue with me now three days, and have nothing to eat: and I will not send them away fasting, lest they faint in the way.

33 And his disciples say unto him, Whence should we have so much bread in the wilderness, as to fill so great a multitude?

34 And Jesus saith unto them, How many loaves have ye? And they said, Seven, and a few little fishes.

35 And he commanded the multitude to sit down on the ground.

36 And he took the seven loaves and the fishes, and gave thanks, and brake them, and gave to his disciples, and the disciples to the multitude.

37 And they did all eat, and were filled: and they took up of the broken meat that was left seven baskets full.

38 And they that did eat were four thousand men, beside women and children.

Pray

As a parent, there have been times when I have spent all day, or sometimes days working until I had nothing left to give. Without fail, my kids would come to me asking to play, asking for help with something, or wanting to spend time with me. In that moment, I often had nothing left to give and I imagine Jesus felt the same way when he went up into that mountain and sat down. Jesus often went there to pray and recharge, but the multitude found him there.

Matthew 15:30–32 (KJV)

30 And great multitudes came unto him, having with them those that were lame, blind, dumb, maimed, and many others, and cast them down at Jesus’ feet; and he healed them:

31 Insomuch that the multitude wondered, when they saw the dumb to speak, the maimed to be whole, the lame to walk, and the blind to see: and they glorified the God of Israel.

32 Then Jesus called his disciples unto him, and said, I have compassion on the multitude, because they continue with me now three days, and have nothing to eat: and I will not send them away fasting, lest they faint in the way.

If you’re like me, maybe you’ve uttered these words on more than one occasion:

“If they ask me to do one more thing…”

“They” could be anyone trying to add one more thing to your plate. Anyone needing more than you feel like you can give.

Have you ever had a time when you schedules were packed and all you wanted was a little rest from the rushing around only to have someone call you up and ask for your help?

It’s not always easy to find the time and energy to say “yes, I am on my way.”

The result of saying yes in that situation can be miraculous.

Going and helping that person in need can be the difference of someone’s spirit being hurt and broken and feeling alone in their situation, to someone being blessed through us.

Helping others when we feel we have nothing left can ignite a fire in us when we see what God can do through it.

2 Corinthians 12:9 (KJV)

9 And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

Rest is a necessity and actually something God desires for us.

God rested on the seventh day after He created the world.

But, there are also ordained circumstances when He has something else in mind.

The feeding of the 5,000 in the Gospel of Mark is a familiar story to us. The events right before caught my attention. There is an interesting parallel to the verses in Matthew.

In Mark 6, Jesus sent His disciples on a mission:

The disciples went out:

Mark 6:12–13 KJV

12 And they went out, and preached that men should repent. 13 And they cast out many devils, and anointed with oil many that were sick, and healed them.

And they returned

Mark 6:30–31 (KJV)

30 And the apostles gathered themselves together unto Jesus, and told him all things, both what they had done, and what they had taught.

31 And he said unto them, Come ye yourselves apart into a desert place, and rest a while: for there were many coming and going, and they had no leisure so much as to eat.

I’m sure the disciples were thinking, rest – finally!

But just when the disciples found a comfortable spot to nap, the crowds found them.

Mark 6:34 (KJV)

34 And Jesus, when he came out, saw much people, and was moved with compassion toward them, because they were as sheep not having a shepherd: and he began to teach them many things.

Interestingly, the passage doesn’t say whether the disciples felt any sympathy for the people. At least they didn’t have to do anything … or so they thought.

After Jesus finished teaching the crowd, it was late, dinnertime.

Then, He says the unthinkable to the disciples, “You feed them” (v. 37).

Mark 6:37 (KJV)

37 He answered and said unto them, Give ye them to eat. And they say unto him, Shall we go and buy two hundred pennyworth of bread, and give them to eat?

Let’s put ourselves in the disciples’ shoes. I would have been beside myself with a million thoughts running through my mind. Why would Jesus ask this of me? I just accomplished all of these things for Him, and now He wants me to do this?

Jesus may not be asking me to feed a crowd, but I realize I have had my own “You feed them” moments, too.

These opportunities can be disguised as unwelcome interruptions to our plans:

a slow cashier who looked troubled,

a friend needing help at an inopportune time

and a coworker wanting to talk when we’re slammed at work.

When we feel like we have nothing left to give, God does. This is a beautiful thing about the Christian life. When we are weak, He is strong. When God asks something of us, we just have to say “Yes.” The rest is up to Him, and that’s when the amazing can happen.

Matthew 6:24–34 (KJV)

24 No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.

25 Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?

26 Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?

27 Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature?

28 And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin:

29 And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.

30 Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?

31 Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?

32 (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.

33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

34 Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.

People are fed. Our faith is built. Maybe, even a person can be saved.

Let’s look at the end of the story:

Mark 6:42–43 (KJV)

42 And they did all eat, and were filled.

43 And they took up twelve baskets full of the fragments, and of the fishes.

The crowd walked away full. The disciples did too … in more ways than one.