Introduction: Grace be to you and peace, from God our Father, and from our Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ. Our text is the Gospel Lesson just read, from Matthew 14. We begin with prayer.
Dear fellow disciples of our Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ:
- It has often been noted that the problems associated with some people not having enough of the resources needed for life in this world is not a matter of quantity but rather of distribution. There is plenty of food and water and wealth in the world; it is just unevenly distributed.
- While we generally have sufficient resources to feed ourselves and our loved ones – God is so good to us, we often observe that we do not have enough resources to do all that we can to alleviate the sufferings of others. There are hungry, needy, and poor people here in America, and of course many more in even worse circumstances throughout the world.
- Our text reveals a time when Jesus and His disciples faced just such circumstances – out in a “desolate place” with a crowd of over five thousand people, and with very few resources. We can learn from this text, from what Jesus taught His disciples and what He did, how we are to respond and behave in similar circumstances. And as noted, we often face these kinds of circumstances.
- So we begin with the realization that we often react just as Jesus’ disciples did:
I. We Tend Not To Evaluate Our Actions Of Love And Care For Others With The Eyes Of Faith
A. We Often Give Up On The Unbelieving, Judging Them And Dismissing Them Without Thought Of The Cross Of Christ
But Paul demonstrated just the opposite in his compassion for the unbelieving Jews of his day and time:
Epistle Lesson: “I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. For I could wish that I myself were accursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers, my kinsmen according to the flesh. They are Israelites, and to them belong the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises.”
Statement: These same people rioted against Paul, seized him in the temple, brutally beat him, and vowed to kill him. Yet he did not look at them as enemies, but rather as people who were redeemed by Christ, people loved by God, people whom God willed to save and bring to the knowledge of the truth. Regardless of their animosity, hatred, and persecution of the church, Paul kept love for them.
Application: In our own time we tend to take a detour from such love and compassion for the unbelieving in our world. We see that they have rejected Christ, that they have committed themselves to immorality and ungodliness, and that they hate and persecute the church – what we are, and seek to destroy the one thing that brings salvation and knowledge of God’s love to them. Just like the Jewish people of Paul’s day. We judge that they are not worthy of eternal life, nor worthy even of our compassion and love, and we just give up on them. Not only do we not seriously bring the Gospel to them, but when they suffer want and deprivation we consider this just – and have little compassion toward helping them out. This is dreadful betrayal of God’s love for us and for all mankind – for the unbelieving are not worse sinners than we are; they are only unenlightened as to God’s love, mercy, forgiveness, and salvation.
Transition: But having concluded this about other people, especially unbelievers, we can still feel good about ourselves when like the disciples of Jesus:
B. We Simply Look At Our Scant Supply And Excuse Ourselves From Helping Others, Eager To Merely Dismiss Them
Text: “The disciples came to Him and said, ‘This is a desolate place, and the day is now over; send the crowds away to go into the villages and buy food for themselves.’”
Statement: At first glance, this seems like very wise advice, the right course of action, even caring and compassionate toward these poor people, thinking about what they needed and what was best for them. We can identify with the disciples, and perhaps even initially commend them for their wisdom and concern.
Application: But in reality their behavior was faithless! They were considering only earthly principles and dynamics. And their “modeled piety” was quite superficial and hypocritical – they were concerned only about what they would eat if the crowd got their five loaves and two fish. In fact, they were probably concerned that one the disciples should also go into the village and procure greater provisions for themselves. And this, quite frankly, is often what we think, and what motivates us. But there is a great difference: we do not sit here today with such meager resources, and we are not concerned with just what we will eat and drink, but rather about our luxuries, our prerogatives, our greater privileges of vacationing and retiring well off and having all the “good” things in life. Our consideration, and our math, is all about counting the luxuries we will have to forego if we “give to the poor.”
Transition: However, as Jesus makes clear in our text, this is not the only option that we have, or even the preferred course of action, for:
II. Jesus Shows Us The Way Of True Faith And Love
A. He First Asserts That The Poor People Do Not Have To Go Away
Text: “They need not go away; you give them something to eat.”
Statement: Note that He does not require that the disciples satisfy the crowd or provide a feast for them. He doesn’t even require that the disciples give away all that they have. He simply said: “You give them something to eat.”
Application: There is promise already in what Jesus said – that He would bless their gift, that He would do something as well. And this is the foundation of living in faith and love – trusting in the goodness and kindness of God, and that He will bless our efforts and do something to help. And so:
B. Jesus Teaches Us To Give What We Have Without Distinctions And Without Further Considerations
Text: “‘They need not go away; you give them something to eat.’ They said to Him, ‘We have only five loaves here and two fish.’ And He said, ‘Bring them here to Me.’”
C. So We Are To Do The Same, To Pray, To Bless, And Then To Give – And God Does The Rest
Text: “Then He ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass, and taking the five loaves and the two fish, He looked up to heaven and said a blessing. Then He broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds. And they all ate and were satisfied. And they took up twelve baskets full of the broken pieces left over.”
Statement: Jesus did not require the disciples to do calculations and planning; He only required that they put what they had into service, and they were left with more than they gave. This is a heavenly kind of math, but we should not be surprised at this. We know God’s love and we know His power, that He is the Creator of all things and the One Who has given us all things. When we live in faith and love He is able to do remarkable and miraculous things in our midst, and even through us. It is His will that we all participate in these blessed experiences in life.
Application: So let us learn, and humble ourselves, and grow in our faith in Christ and in our love for others. We do not have to do the miracles, we need only do what we can – but let us not be selfish and miserly in what we give and what we do! Rather, let us allow the love that God pours into our hearts to flow out to others – that He may also truly bless them!
Conclusion: We often get caught up evaluating and processing all of the equations and concluding that what we are thinking about doing is futile – that it will never be enough or even suffice to make a small impact. This creates inertia – and the inactivity of doubt. And it also leaves in place the great inequities in life, including the reality that some people are going to starve and suffer because we didn’t have the faith and love to act, to follow Christ’s instructions.
And while this may leave us with the resources we have, it will denude us of the real wealth of participating in God’s miracles of love, compassion, and provision. But this is precisely the greater and richer blessings that Christ wants us to have and to experience. Imagine what the disciples must have been thinking and feeling when the baskets were collected. Jesus wishes the same for us, that we be part of the process of His “LOVING PROVISION FOR ALL.” May He grant each of us sufficient faith and love for this. Amen.
Votum: And the peace of God, which surpasses all human understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds in the true faith, which is in Christ Jesus, even unto life everlasting, Amen.