11^th Sunday after Pentecost – August 28^th, 2011

Matthew 14:13-21 - 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 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.

Jesus is our ALL-Sufficient Savior

If you were asked to make a list of the top three most serious sins, what would you include? My guess is that sins like murder, adultery, homosexuality, worshiping the devil and maybe even not going to church might find their way onto many lists. I would also guess that not many, if any, would include the sin of worry on their list. That’s right, I said worry.

But we all do it! And that truth was reinforced to me a few weeks ago, when at our pastor’s circuit meeting Pastor Mueller from our sister congregation in Clinton Twp. showed a video about people in Los Angeles who were stopped on the street and asked if they worry. Every single one of them said “Yes.” They talked about how they worried about their jobs, about their families, about money. One person responded, “Of course I worry, everybody worries.”

It’s true, isn’t it? The problem is, more often than not, we treat it as if it is no big deal; as if because it is so natural it is ok. We act as if there is nothing that can be done to curb our tendency to worry and so instead of treating the sin of worry as a deep wound that desperately needs a doctor; we treat it as a superficial scratch that doesn’t need a second thought. But our Lord says otherwise. He tells us it is sin…and that it is a serious sin. It is a lack of trust. In fact, earlier in the book of Matthew he spent 13 sentences during his Sermon on the Mount at getting that very point across - do not worry.

But Jesus doesn’t just tell us not to worry; he tells us why we don’t need to worry. And our lesson before us this morning, the miracle of the feeding of the 5,000, reminds us and encourages us to always remember we have no reason to worry because Jesus is our ALL-Sufficient Savior.

This miracle marked a new period in Jesus’ public ministry. John the Baptist had just been beheaded. Hostile sentiment toward Jesus was increasing. In about a year Jesus would ride into Jerusalem and make his way to the cross of our salvation. So more and more he liked to withdraw to quiet places with his disciples in order to prepare them for that day when he would redeem sinful mankind with his death on the cross.

This was supposed to be one of those occasions too. But as he sought that quiet, solitary place, the crowds followed him. Now if this were you or I we might have said, “Can you come back later?” “Can’t you leave me alone for a minute?” But that isn’t what Jesus said. Instead, our text says that “he had compassion on them.” That Greek word literally means “to have one’s inner being stirred.” It’s stronger than sympathy - his heart went out to them. He was moved by their needs, so he met their needs. Matthew briefly records it – he “healed their sick.”

But the physical ailments and needs these people had were only the symptoms of a much greater disease: the sickness of sin. Of course Jesus recognized this, and in Mark’s account of this miracle we read that Jesus saw this huge crowd as “sheep without a shepherd” (Mark 6:34). Luke fills in the detail that “[Jesus] welcomed them and spoke to them about the kingdom of God, and healed those who needed healing” (Luke 9:11).

Did you hear that? Jesus spoke to them about the kingdom of God! He wasn’t just concerned about their physical needs and not their spiritual, or vice-versa. He was their ALL-sufficient Savior. He taught them everything that has to do with saving faith. He would have told them the same things he tells us today in the Word - about their need for the forgiveness of sins; and that righteousness is not something that can be gained by one’s own efforts. He would have told them about God’s plan for salvation – and how it involved the sending of his only-begotten Son – the very man they were looking at. He would have told them that in the not so distant future he would enter Jerusalem, be taken captive, and be hung on a cross like a common criminal. But he would have told them that that crucifixion was different from all the others, because it would involve the sinless Son of God. He would tell them that in this way he would suffer the punishment of hell in the place of every person who has ever and will ever live on this earth, and as a result of his sacrificial death on the cross God would declare the world not guilty. Then he would have told them that the sinner could receive the forgiveness of sins and salvation won by Jesus only by faith. And here was the proof that he told the truth – he was healing their sick.

But now it was late in the day and the people hadn’t eaten. The disciples were getting anxious. How would they deal with all these people? So the disciples approach Jesus with a solution, “Send the crowds away, so they can go to the villages and buy themselves some food.” To this Jesus replied, “They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat.” What an astonishing command. How were they supposed to do that? But from John’s gospel we learn that Jesus was testing his disciples. He wanted his disciples to turn to him for help - to ask, to seek, and knock.

But their answers show a lack of trust. In John’s gospel we hear that Philip replied, “Eight months wages would not buy enough bread for each one to have a bite” (John 6:7). And here they say all we have are these few loaves of bread and even fewer fish. They doubted. They turned to themselves and to each other to try and solve the problem. They seem to have forgotten about all the miracles they had seen their Lord perform. If Jesus could heal the sick, could he not also supply food for all these people? And what we see here is a reflection of ourselves. So many times in our life we too fail to trust the Lord and his promises to help us in ALL situations! So we get all bent out of shape! Life gets out of control! We worry! We stress! We have anxiety attacks! We get angry! We get depressed! We rely on our own wit and wisdom instead of turning to our ALL-sufficient Savior.

A man and his dog were walking the beach when they came upon another visitor to the beach. The owner of the dog was proud of his dog’s newly mastered feat, so he said to the visitor, “Watch this!” Then he tossed a piece of driftwood far out into the water and the dog immediately ran on top of the ocean, fetched the wood, and ran back. The visitor shook his head in disbelief. The owner threw the stick two more times. Finally he asked the visitor, “Did you notice anything unusual?” “Yes,” the visitor responded, “your dog can’t swim, can he?”

Sometimes our worries blind us to the obvious: we have a Savior who loves us dearly and who will care for all our needs. So often all we see are all of our problems. We doubt and forget that we have a compassionate and all-powerful Savior who can help us. That’s the problem with worry! It blinds us to the truth. It creates in us a lack of trust. And that’s why it is a sin! It is a breaking of the First Commandment.

But this miracle reminds us to “Cast all [our] anxiety on him because he cares for you” (1 Peter 5:7). Trust that Jesus will meet and exceed all your needs. After all, he already has. He’s already earned salvation for you. No matter what may come in this life, the most important details have been met. He is our ALL-sufficient Savior. He took care of our sins of worry and doubting by paying the price we owed for them on the cross. Now we have heaven as a real certainty.

But he isn’t only concerned about our spiritual needs. That truth is brought home in unforgettable fashion in this miracle. From those 5 loaves and 2 small fish, well over 5,000 people “ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over.” They had more than enough – it says they were satisfied. That word is very strong and graphic word. It originally applied to the feeding and fattening of animals in a stall. God more than met their needs. Does he have any less power today? Does he love us any less than these? Certainly not! Our Lord will not leave us empty handed. How marvelously this miracle verifies what Paul so triumphantly says, “If God is for us, who can be against us? ³² He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things” (Romans 8:31,32). He is our ALL-sufficient Savior.

The miracle of the feeding of the 5,000 is one that is familiar to us. Perhaps, in fact, it is so familiar that often times we fail to take note of its lessons. But if we are tempted to brush it off as “just another miracle,” take note that of all of Jesus’ miracles, this is the only that is included in all four gospels. Jesus has something important to tell us with it and he doesn’t want us to miss it.

It shows that he is our all sufficient Savior who loves us dearly and will care for all our needs – both body and soul. It provides proof positive that Jesus is Lord over all. He is in control of all things, great and small. When our sinful nature and Satan cause doubts to arise within us as to the truth and reality of Christ in our lives, this is one of his miracles that can effectively silence them. This miracle strengthens our faith and reassures us that Jesus is for real. No Christian who trusts in him need fear the shortcomings of this earthly life. Christ is able to provide all that we need. He is our ALL-sufficient Savior. Amen.