Seventh Sunday after Trinity

On the Fourth Sunday of Lent, Jesus feeds five-thousand men with five loaves of bread. Today, on the Seventh Sunday after Trinity, Jesus feeds four-thousand with seven loaves. Because these two miracles have some obvious similarities, unbelieving scholars have suggested that they are just two different versions of the same story. If the Bible were only a collection of humanly inspired stories, there might be some sense to this argument. You know how our stories grow over time. The 8-pound trout you caught as a kid is now a 10-pounder when you retell the story. So could it be that the account of the five-thousand and five loaves is a slightly embellished version of the actual miracle when Jesus fed four-thousand fed with seven loaves? Unbelievers say yes. Christians say no.

Why is this important? Because every word of God is true, down to the minute details about the number of loaves. If we can’t trust God to tell us the truth about the size of the crowd and the baskets of leftovers, how can we trust Him to tell us about salvation? Every attempt to discredit the Word of God is just Satan playing his age-old trick, asking, “Did God really say?” The answer is: “Yes. Yes, He did really say. God says it. That settles it. I believe it.”

Back to the feeding of the four-thousand: There are actually huge differences between this and the previous feeding of the five-thousand: different time of year, different part of the country, very different crowds, and a different response from the disciples. Let’s talk about these.

Jesus fed the five-thousand during the winter or early spring—the pleasant time of year in Palestine. We know this because there was much green grass in the place. The four-thousand are fed in the wilderness during the brutal heat of summer.

The five-thousand that were fed were Jews who lived around the Sea of Galilee. They weren’t interested in hearing Jesus’ words. They just wanted bread. And after He fed them, they showed up the next day looking for another handout. That’s one of the reasons we read about the five-thousand during the fast of Lent, because Jesus must tell us, just as He told the Jews, “Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to everlasting life” (Jn 6:27).

The crowd of four-thousand was very different. They were mostly Gentiles who had traveled from the Decapolis, that is, the ten Greek-speaking cities east of Galilee in the present day county of Jordan. Why did they travel from all around into the wilderness? To listen to the words of Jesus. That’s pretty amazing when you consider it. The Jews, who had been entrusted with the Holy Scriptures, cared only about filling their bellies with bread. But the Gentile pagans, without the benefit of any prior knowledge of God, dropped everything they were doing and traveled a great distance to be with Jesus. And it wasn’t just the men. Yes, there were four-thousand men, but Matthew tells us that they brought their families with them!

Think about it. These Gentile fathers gathered up their wives and children and took them on a long journey into the wilderness during the heat of summer in order to hear Jesus speak. And then they stayed for three days, long after the point of no return, until any provisions they had brought along were exhausted. How irresponsible! How cavalier! How unscientific! Didn’t they know that 10% of heat stroke victims die? Didn’t they consider all the possible risks of starvation, exposure, and countless other dangers?

Let me ask you: which crowd have you been part of over the last two years? The five-thousand Jews, who though entrusted with all the heavenly treasures, cared nothing for the Word of God and desired only the safety of a full belly? Or have you been one of the four-thousand Gentiles willing to risk everything in order to be with Jesus? Fathers, have you traveled a great distance, when necessary, carrying along your wife and children to the place where Jesus is, where His Word is taught in truth and purity and His sacraments rightly administered, or have you been content to accept the first excuse that presented itself?

Repent. Repent and learn from the example of your Gentile brothers. I don’t know by what miracle they had heard and believed in Jesus, yet they were willing to risk everything in order to sit at Jesus’ feet. They were willing to travel a great distance with no guarantee of safety. And after three days, with nothing left to eat, with little hope of a safe return journey though the wilderness, they still continued with Jesus. These people lived the words to the hymn, “One thing’s needful; Lord, this treasure teach me highly to regard” (LSB 536:1). That one thing is to be with Jesus. And everything else, including our daily bread, He will provide. Jesus said, “I have compassion on the crowd, because they have been with me now three days and have nothing to eat”(Mk 8:2).

Last of all today, we come to the difference in attitude of the disciples. When Jesus was about to feed the five-thousand, His disciples were still unbelievers, “Even two-hundred denarii would not give each of them a little” (Jn 6:7). But on this day, having learned something about how Jesus operates, they ask, “From whence can one fill these people with bread here in this desolate place?” (Mk 8:4). This is actually a good question. The disciples have learned that Jesus doesn’t give in half measures. He’s not interested in giving a little bit to each person. No, He fillsthe hungry with good things.

“From whence can these people be filled?” That question is a confession of faith. To be sure, the disciples know where it won’t come from. Every faithful pastor knows this as well. It won’t come from me. Of myself I have nothing of value to give. And yet here all the people are, sitting expectantly, waiting to be fed. From whence can these people be filled? The disciples knew the answer. The eyes of all wait upon Thee, O Lord, and thou givest them their meat in due season. Thou openest up thine hand, and satisfieth the desire of every living thing(Ps 145:15–16).

Therefore, Jesus took the bread, and when He had given thanks, He broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said that it should be set before the people. And they all ate and were filled (Mk 8:6, 8). The original text doesn’t just say that Jesus gave the bread to His disciples. It says that He kept on giving it. Why is this important? Because this story is not just about something that happened two-thousand years ago. Jesus didn’t only give bread to His disciples then. He keeps on giving it. He gives it today.

You didn’t come to church to hear me. You came to hear Jesus. You came so that His gifts could be handed over to you. Yes, God gives you your daily bread. He provides for the needs of this life. But He gives you far more. Because He has compassion on you, He sends His disciples out among you bearing the Medicine of Immortality, that is, the Bread of Life. “One thing’s needful; Lord, this treasure Teach me highly to regard.” Amen.