PENTECOST 9 – August 2, 2020 – Matt. 14:13-21
“WHAT CAN WE DO?”
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:
- This is truly one of the great accounts of Jesus teaching His disciples. It is truly fascinating what He does! He puts them into a predicament that seems impossible for them to negotiate. He asks them to do something, asserts that they can do something, when it appears they don’t have more than a small fraction of ability to accomplish what He instructs them to do.
- I’m certain the disciples reasoned in this manner: “There are so many people, and we have such little resources, that it is impossible for us to feed them all. We should send them on to fend for themselves.” This seems to be impeccable logic!
- Jesus turns the tables on them and simply instructs them: “You give them something to eat.” Now this puts them in a deep quandary. How are they going to be able to do this impossible thing. They have a choice, however, and they make the right one.
- They are aware that Jesus has been healing the sick people, and this too would seem impossible. So should they believe Jesus – that the people do not need to go away? Should they believe their own eyes, and their own rational minds? Should they begin to feed the crowd, as Jesus instructs, or not? And I should add that it was their dinner that they were to be giving away!
- There are times when the Lord does the same with us. He leads us into situations where faith is required, where we must suspend our logic and simply lean totally upon Him. We ask ourselves: but “WHAT CAN WE DO?”
- Our text helps us with this. We can simply do what Jesus instructs, and put the outcome in His hands, trusting His love, His care, His compassion, and His power to do all things! We see in our text that:
I. There Are Times Of Tragic Sorrow And Need For God’s People
Text: “When Jesus saw the crowd He had compassion on them and healed their sick.”
Statement: This is the first thing that we should consider carefully and seriously. Jesus takes our burdens, troubles, illnesses, needs, and trials seriously and with great compassion. That should comfort us when we are in such times of need, sorrow, or tragedy. It should also compel us to look very carefully and compassionately at the needs, troubles, difficulties, trials, and suffering of other people around us.
Application: As we look to address these kinds of situations with compassion and care, we may conclude “THERE IS NOTHING WE CAN DO.” This is what the disciples logically concluded. And humanly speaking, this is often the case. However, there is almost always at least something that “WE CAN DO,” and we should leave it in God’s hands as to how He will bless our efforts. Perhaps there will be some left hungry; perhaps God will feed them all, heal them all, take care of all needs and problems. When we ask “WHAT CAN WE DO?” we can try, we can begin, we can pray, and we can try to stay out of God’s way!
So it is clear that:
II. As We Live As Jesus’ Disciples, We Must Persist In Our God-Given Tasks, As Jesus Did
Text: “Now when Jesus heard of John the Baptist’s death, He withdrew from there in a boat to a desolate place by Himself. But when the crowds heard it, they followed Him on foot from the towns. When He went ashore He saw a great crowd, and He had compassion on them and healed their sick.” [He did all of this while on a vacation!]
Matt. 26:39 “And going a little farther He fell on His face and prayed, saying, ‘My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will.”
Heb. 5:8 “Although He was a son, He learned obedience through what He suffered.”
Luke 17:10 “So you also, when you have done all that you were commanded, say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done what was our duty.’”
Eph. 2:10 “For we are His workmanship created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God has before ordained that we should be walking in them.”
Statement: We all have a kind of “lazy bone” – if the work gets too tough we can easily just give up. We must avoid this. Most of us also have a bit of pessimism within us – if a task looks impossible then it must be. But we see in our text that we should not succumb to this way of thinking – especially not in matters of our spiritual life, our faith, and our duties of Christian love.
Application: So, what is called for is that we look at Jesus, and not ourselves. What we must do is look at what He has accomplished and His capabilities, not what we are capable of doing. We need to look at what He has asked us to do, and not be tempted to make our own judgments about whether or not it is possible. If He has instructed that we do it then He will make certain our success.
And if the effort proves futile, our faith in Jesus and our willingness to do as He bids us certainly is not futile! You remember what the apostle wrote us: “Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.” [1 Cor. 15:58] Even if it looks like we have not succeeded, God has accomplished what He desired. And so:
III. We Must See Clearly And Believe
A. Seeing The Needs Around Us, As Jesus Did – needs for healing, and the tiredness and hunger of the crowd.
B. We Must Also See The Compassion Of Jesus – And His Abundant Generosity To Us And To Others
C. And We Must Clearly See The Power Of Jesus, Power That Can Be Used Through Us When We Have A Word From Him
Text: “They need not go away; you give them something to eat. . . . And they all ate and were satisfied. And they took up twelve baskets full of broken pieces left over. And those who ate were about five thousand men, besides women and children.”
Statement: It should be noted as well that Jesus “looked up to heaven and said a blessing.” All our efforts should begin with prayer. And we should pray confidently – seeing clearly the compassion of God, the generosity of God, and the power He is able to exert through us. It is remarkable. I wonder what the disciples thought when they realized they had been the instruments of a miracle!
Application: So, it is true that we do not have the visible presence of Jesus with us today. We nonetheless do have His Word! We do not have specific instructions – like the disciples did when Jesus instructed them: “You give them something to eat.” However, we have the general promises of God, and are able to have a clear view of how He wants us to think, to feel, and to act!
Conclusion: As we continue in our life of discipleship to Jesus, and our congregational life together, let us remember these things – so that we do not allow our sinful nature to negate the powerful work of God that He seeks to do in us and through us!
Let us take care not to make judgments and determinations – especially when it comes to spiritual and churchly and kingdom issues – on the basis of what we can see and mere human logic. Obviously God can defy all odds and do what He pleases – and He has numerous ways to do it. One of the more delightful ways is when He involves His people in His mighty gracious, compassionate, and generous works!
So “WHAT CAN WE DO?” Much, very much! With God’s direction and blessing nothing is impossible! Thanks and praise be to God! 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.