"They Do Not Need To Go Away. You Give Them Something To Eat" Series

¡§They do not need to go away. YOU give them something to eat¡¨ Mt 14:16

SCENE SETTING- INDIVIDUAL INVOLVEMENT

As you get to know your Bibles better you¡¦ll find there are all kinds of echoes of OT things¡K stories¡K in the NT

- often with a sense of ¡¥fulfilment¡¦

This resonates with 2 OT stories

1- about 1400 BC. Moses and the moaners in the desert. ¡¥what about food, Moses¡K God!¡¦

And God provides: manna and Quail. Moses says this:

8 Moses also said, "You will know that it was the LORD when he gives you meat to eat in the evening and all the bread you want in the morning, because he has heard your grumbling against him. Who are we? You are not grumbling against us, but against the LORD."

2- A prophet called Elisha 8C BC.

2 Ki 4:42. Hungry crowds gather round him during a time of famine

- man gives them 20 small loaves

2KI 4:43 "How can I set this before a hundred men?" his servant asked.

But Elisha answered, "Give it to the people to eat. For this is what the LORD says: `They will eat and have some left over.

But in the OT there¡¦s the hint of greater things to come.

- Moses (Deut 18:15) prophesies that God is going to raise up a further prophet like him. (Jews believed: Messiah)

- Jews were waiting for one like Moses (law) and David (king) and Elijah and Elisha (prophets)

Can understand what Jesus¡¦ appearance on mt of transfiguration means in a few chapters (Mt17)

- but He¡¦s showing it already in this passage.

o Jesus echoes these OT miracles

„X But fulfils them- because ¡¥one greater than Moses and Elijah¡¦ is here

This time

- it¡¦s God. ¡§You will know it is the LORD when He gives you all the bread you want¡¨

- it¡¦s not 20 loaves for 100. It¡¦s 5 loaves for 5000+

o with an abundance left over

And there¡¦s one other big difference, too.

- in the OT miracles were occasional, specific & special. Moses & Elisha did them. Special people did them sporadically.

- This is a NT kind of miracle

o The mantle is passed on to all His followers. To ¡¥anyone who believes in me will do these things¡¦ (Jn 14:12)

o They do not need to go away- YOU give them something

„X All 12 of you! YOU do it.

Even before Pentecost & the pouring out of the HS on ALL believers- Jesus is laying down the NT principle of the anointing & priesthood of ALL believers

1PE 2:4 5 you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

1PE 2:9 But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.

YOU give them something. YOU can do it. Through me

- because one greater than Moses & Elijah is with you (and now- IN you)

Individual involvement.

CRISIS -> CONFIDENCE

But, man, can we relate to how the 12 feel about it.

It¡¦s not that they aren¡¦t compassionate. They ARE compassionate- it¡¦s just they have crisis of confidence that THEY can do anything to help

- so best that the folks go to Tescos

o after all- it is late, dark¡K and they¡¦re ravenous

They are being realists. But there¡¦s a feeling of inadequacy there, too

- ¡§I can¡¦t do anything¡¨

- actually: this might help you understand some folks better. I have thought on numerous occasions when someone has said ¡¥THAT person doesn¡¦t care¡¦.

o They DO care. They just don¡¦t know how to help you, that¡¦s all. (maybe because you need to help yourself)

It has nothing to do with compassion-rather a crisis of confidence

- can you relate to that?

But you know something- this situation is not a crisis. It¡¦s a test, from Jesus

- MANY things in life are a test. It is helpful to see them as that

- And God doesn¡¦t test us ¡¥for testings sake¡¦¡K to make matters difficult¡K to make us squirm

- Jn 6:6 6 He asked this only to test him, for he already had in mind what he was going to do.

- He tests us so that

o He can provide

o We will be proven obedient

o HE can be proven faithful

And so our confidence in Him¡K and self (through him) grows

- for (Phil 4:13) 3 I can do everything through him who gives me strength.

That¡¦s fascinating, eh? Jesus set this up as a test- to grow them

- they may not have passed!