Sermon Tone Analysis
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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
Matthew 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-
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-
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 . .
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 . . .
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 . . .
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. . .
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 . . .
And also . . .
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 . . .
And their reply back . . .
Now Mark’s narrative adds this . . .
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.
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