Journey Through Matthew: Fish for Supper
Journey Through Matthew • Sermon • Submitted
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· 9 viewsEven though Jesus was distraught by the death of his friend John, he still had a burning compassion on the people he encountered. Jesus knew that they were hungry for the Word and for Delieverance and he knew he was the only source of that. His love for others trumped his own grief.
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Introduction
Introduction
Good morning and welcome back.
This morning if you will start turning in your Bibles to .
Today we are going to be moving forward just a bit in our narrative in Matthew, looking at the subject of “Fish for Supper.”
And what this is in reference to is Jesus feeding 5000 men PLUS the women and children outside of Bethesda.
And many people miss that point, focusing simply on 5000, but in reality there were more than 5000.
The Bible talks about 5000 men, but these men also had wives and children as well.
And some scholars have estimated that the entire number could have reached 10,000 to 15,000 total people.
So, as awesome as this miracle is, when you factor in the rest of the people, we can easily see how amazing this actually was.
And another thing that is very significant about this miracle is that it is the only miracle Jesus performed that is recorded in all four of the Gospels.
We see Jesus’ miracles in one or two, but this one is the only one that is in all four.
And just for reference if you want to read about it in the other three, you can find it in , , and .
Now, we also have to remember what all is going on at this time as well.
Remember that Jesus has just experienced rejection by his own hometown, which is hard to believe since he is attracting people by the thousands.
But as great as it is to have people come and hear what he has to say, there is also a sense of sadness because these are Jesus’ people, the people who is was the closest to.
And also, if you were here Sunday night, you will recall that we looked at the murder of John the Baptist at the hand of Herod and his wife Herodious.
And our narrative this morning is going to pick up right after Jesus hears the news of the death of his friend John.
So, if you have found in your Bible I’d invite you to stand with me as we read.
Matthew writes, starting in verse 13 . . .
Scripture Focus
Scripture Focus
13 When Jesus heard what had happened, he withdrew by boat privately to a solitary place. Hearing of this, the crowds followed him on foot from the towns. 14 When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them and healed their sick. 15 As evening approached, the disciples came to him and said, “This is a remote place, and it’s already getting late. Send the crowds away, so that they can go to the villages and buy themselves some food.” 16 Jesus replied, “They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat.” 17 “We have here only five loaves of bread and two fish,” they answered. 18 “Bring them here to me,” he said. 19 And he directed the people to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then he gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the people. 20 They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over. 21 The number of those who ate was about five thousand men, besides women and children.
Matthew 14:
Jesus Withdraws (vs 13-14)
Jesus Withdraws (vs 13-14)
So, as we mentioned we find Jesus hearing the news of his friend John the Baptist, who had just been murdered by King Herod for preaching the Gospel to him.
And remember that John wasn’t just Jesus’ friend, but he was also a relative of Jesus’
tells us this . . .
31 You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. 32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, 33 and he will reign over the house of Jacob for ever; his kingdom will never end.” 34 “How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?” 35 The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. 36 Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be barren is in her sixth month.
:31-
And in fact, if you read in the KJV, it identifies Elizabeth, John’s mother as Mary’s cousin, so in our terms Jesus and John the Baptist would have been second cousins.
So, Jesus not only has lost a friend, he has also lost a fairly close relative.
And Jesus was not without compassion and not without feelings.
We sometimes get the impression that Jesus and even God the Father, for that matter are sort of out there somewhere just watching down but not engaged in our lives.
No, Jesus cared deeply about the people.
God the Father cares deeply about all of us.
The whole premise of salvation is the fact that God does love us so much that he was willing to do whatever it took for us to be reconciled to Him.
So we should never feel like we are all alone out in the world wandering about.
If you are a child of God, God is walking with you every step, even when you can’t feel him, he is right there.
The pain you may be feeling; rest assured that God is feeling it as well.
Grieving with you and for you.
And if you are not a child of God, his earnest desire is for you to accept the gift of salvation offered through Jesus Christ before it is too late.
He has offered you everything, but you have to be willing to accept it.
But here, Jesus is distraught.
He is upset by the death of John.
And he does what many of us do in those times.
Matthew tells us that . . .
Matthew 14:13-
13 When Jesus heard what had happened, he withdrew by boat privately to a solitary place. Hearing of this, the crowds followed him on foot from the towns.
He honestly, just wanted to be alone for a while.
He wanted to be able to spend some quiet and peaceful time with the Father .
So he found a boat and found the most solitary place he could find.
He went into
And apparently this place was very secluded because the whole premise of this miracle was the fact that the people couldn’t get to any food.
But even though Jesus had got on a boat and tried his best to get away, the people heard where he was headed and followed him on foot.
We don’t know exactly how far Jesus rode in the boat, but these people followed on foot.
They were so hungry for what Jesus was offering them that they were willing to tread over the terrain on foot to get to where Jesus was.
We can’t even get to church when one little thing goes wrong.
These people were so hungry for God’s Word that they were willing to do whatever it took.
When was the last time we were that desperate for God’s Word, for God’s touch?
And it all goes back to that willingness to put our faith in God.
We have to be willing to put our faith in God.
And as James puts it . .
18 But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.” Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do.
Faith is demonstrated by our willingness to follow through with what God is telling us.
And these people were willing.
And even though Jesus just wanted to be alone.
Even though he was probably exhausted . . .
14 When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them and healed their sick.
Matthew
He knew that these people had needs.
And he knew that he was the only one who could care for those needs.
And that is the thing about Jesus.
He will never refuse you.
If you come to Jesus he will always accept us.
Jesus tells us . . .
28 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”
The People are Hungry/The Dilemma (vs 15-17)
The People are Hungry/The Dilemma (vs 15-17)
And they came to him.
And he healed them.
But there was an issue . . .
Matthew writes. . .
15 As evening approached, the disciples came to him and said, “This is a remote place, and it’s already getting late. Send the crowds away, so that they can go to the villages and buy themselves some food.”
Matthew 14:15
So, it’s getting pretty late.
There is this huge crowd of people.
And apparently it is a good journey to the next village.
And since these people are following Jesus, Jesus feels responsible for their wellbeing.
After all this is a crowd of about 5000 men along with their wives and children.
And the disciples solution was to dismiss service and send them on their way.
It would sort of be like a church service where the Holy Spirit is really moving.
Things are going great and the Spirit is working, but chicken time is approaching.
People’s stomachs are starting to growl, but you know that the Spirit is there, what do you do?
Some people would say, dismiss and come back the next time.
However, the danger in that is by sending people away you may also send the Spirit away.
And, what if they don’t come back?
Two Scriptures come into play here.
First . . .
4 Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”
And also . . .
17 Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.
Meaning that where God is, yo don’t have to worry about your needs being met.
Even if you are hungry, God will take care of it.
Be obedient to God and find freedom.
Feed on Spiritual bread and the physical will follow later.
So, Jesus tells the the disciples . . .
16 Jesus replied, “They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat.”
And their reply back . . .
17 “We have here only five loaves of bread and two fish,” they answered.
Now Mark’s narrative adds this . . .
37 But he answered, “You give them something to eat.” They said to him, “That would take eight months of a man’s wages! Are we to go and spend that much on bread and give it to them to eat?”
Mark 6:
So, this wasn’t just a small miracle.
Think about it, could you come up with enough food for 8 months in 8 minutes?
This was a huge feat and also done with only 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish.
And now your prosperity preachers will tell you that this is the “law of multiplication at work.”
God multiplies what you have.
Now, God can and does multiply what we have as a blessing, but this was not a “sow your seed, give me $1000 and God will give you $100,000” moment.
This was God seeing the real and present need and providing for that need.
God is not a “you give to me and I’ll give to you” kind of God.
God gives when we need because God loves us.
You can’t manipulate God into anything.
And if your giving is motivated by what you think you might get in return, then your giving is wasted because the motivation is wrong.
The gift is not important, it is the motivation behind the gift.
God gives freely and without strings and so should we.
Jesus Feeds the People (vs 18-21)
Jesus Feeds the People (vs 18-21)
So, the gather up the bread and the fish and probably think Jesus is a little crazy here, but they do it.
And here is what happened . . .
18 “Bring them here to me,” he said. 19 And he directed the people to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then he gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the people. 20 They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over. 21 The number of those who ate was about five thousand men, besides women and children.
Matthew 14:18-
So, not only did everyone get fed but they also had leftovers for the next day!
And notice that it says they ate until they were satisfied, meaning they got full.
It wasn’t a little pinch off a piece of bread and a fish scale.
They ate all they wanted, all of them.
Mark says that they sat down in groups of hundreds and fifties to eat.
It was the Golden Corral of fish and bread.
There was plenty.
And when they were done the disciples gathered the leftovers because we don’t waste what God has blessed us with .
Whether it is fish and bread, money and treasures, or time and talents.
If God has blessed you with it, God expects you to use it.
Altar Call
Altar Call
But that is where many of us fail.
God has blessed us so much but we don’t use what He gives us.
And I am not talking so much about our treasures here, our money.
I am talking more about our time and our talents.
The truth is, I don’t think any of us are rich and our church is very good about giving money.
But one area that we lack is involvement with time and talent.
We are like every other church.
We have a few people that do the bulk of the work.
Now I will say that from what I’ve seen, we are slightly more involved than some other churches.
But the reality is, we average around 50 in attendance and of that there are 10 to 12 that get involved and share their time and talent.
And we all know where we stand.
We know what we can and can’t do.
And we also know what we are willing and not willing to do.
God’s blessed us, and we should use that blessing.
However, we really can’t until Jesus Christ is our Savior.
That’s the first step and I would encourage to make that step this morning if you haven’t.
Also, we talked about needs this morning as well.
Maybe you have a need that the Holy Spirit can minister to.
I would encourage you to also come to the altar.
The altar is for lots of things.
It is a place God has blessed us with, will we use it today?