A Messiah Who Helps Us See the Possibilities
Text: Matt. 14:13-21
Introduction
1. Illustration: I recently came across a quote that I found amazing. While I am not sure who said it, I am sure that what this persons said is true: "If I were to wish for anything, I should not wish for wealth and power, but for the passionate sense of the potential, for the eye which, ever young and ardent, sees the possible. Pleasure disappoints; possibility never. And what wine is so sparkling, what so fragrant, what so intoxicating, as possibility."
2. We have a Messiah who teaches us a lot about possibility. He teaches us about the possibility of:
a. Compassion
b. The Obvious
c. The Miraculous
3. Read Matt. 14:13-21
Proposition: Jesus teaches us that with Him anything and everything is possible.
Transition: Jesus teaches us about...
I. The Possibility of Compassion (13-14).
A. He Had Compassion On Them
1. Jesus teaches us that sometimes we need to put our own problems aside and see that there are others worse off than ourselves.
2. Our text begins with Matthew telling us, "As soon as Jesus heard the news, he left in a boat to a remote area to be alone..."
a. Jesus now travels to area east of the Sea of Galilee, which was sparsely populated in comparison to the western side where it was hard to get any privacy.
b. After John was murdered, Jesus withdrew from public view in order to have some teaching time alone with his disciples.
c. Some people falsely claim that Jesus was running from Herod, but Jesus never ran from a fight and is here taking time to prepare his disciples for what would come later (Horton, 301).
d. What we need to keep in mind here is that Jesus wanted two things here. He wanted to be left alone to mourn the death of a friend and to teach his disciples.
e. Unfortunately, that is not what he gets.
3. What Matthew tells us next is proof of the old saying that word travels quickly. Matthew says, "But the crowds heard where he was headed and followed on foot from many towns."
a. They followed him "on foot" around the top of the lake, presumably crossing the upper Jordan at a ford two miles north of where the river enters Galilee.
b. They saw where Jesus was going and set out after him; but arriving first, they were already there when he landed with his tired disciples (Carson, Zondervan NIV Bible Commentary (2 volumes), Pradis CD-ROM).
c. All he wanted to do was to be alone, but because of who he was and what he could do people followed him wherever he went.
4. However, look how Jesus responds when he sees them. Matthew says, "Jesus saw the huge crowd as he stepped from the boat, and he had compassion on them and healed their sick."
a. Unfortunately, Jesus plan is interrupted by the crowds that flocked to him, even in remote places.
b. Now I don't know about you, but when my plans get interupted I get a little bit snippy!
c. But Jesus didn't look at his own needs he saw the needs of others.
d. Even though He was exhausted and in great need of rest, He was drawn to them because He felt compassion for them.
e. To have compassion" means literally to be moved in one's bowels, where the people in Jesus day considered the emotions and feelings to reside.
f. The Son of God was not remote or coldly calculating and analytical concerning men's needs but was deeply moved by the suffering, confusion, despair, and spiritual lostness of those around Him (MacArthur New Testament Commentary – Matthew 8-15).
g. What matters the most is that Jesus put his plans on hold in order to minister to the needs of the people. "His heart went out to them" (France, NICNT: Matthew, 561).
B. Hearts of Compassion
1. Illustration: "Compassion is the sometimes fatal capacity for feeling what it is like to live inside somebody else’s skin. It is the knowledge that there can never really be any peace and joy for me until there is peace and joy finally for you too" (Frederick Buechner, "Wishful Thinking.")
2. Jesus shows us the possibility of compassion because we all need some compassion.
a. Matthew 9:36 (NLT)
When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them because they were confused and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.
b. We are all in the same boat.
c. We are all lost and hopeless without Jesus.
d. We need to remember what we were without Jesus!
3. Jesus shows us the possibility of compassion because he understands our needs.
a. Hebrews 4:15 (NLT)
This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same testings we do, yet he did not sin.
b. He knows what it is like to be tempted.
c. He knows what it is like to be hurt.
d. He knows what it is like to be lonely.
e. He knows what it is like to feel abandoned.
4. Jesus shows us the possibility of compassion because he wants us to become like him.
a. Luke 19:41 (NLT)
But as they came closer to Jerusalem and Jesus saw the city ahead, he began to weep.
b. Jesus saw people in need and his compassion caused him to care.
c. Jesus saw people in need and his compassion caused him to pray.
d. Jesus saw people in need and his compassion caused him to act.
e. He wants us to see people in need and respond like he would.
Transition: Jesus also shows us...
II. The Possibility of the Obvious (15-17).
A. That Isn't Necessary
1. The disciples weren't always the sharpest knives in the drawer, but even they could see the situation at hand.
a. Jesus had been ministering to these people for a long time.
b. They were getting hungry and needed nourishment.
c. They were in a remote place and chances of finding a McDonald's nearby was slim.
2. Matthew says, "That evening 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 food for themselves,'”
a. Jews recognized two periods of night: the first began at twilight; and the second when it was completely dark.
b. Notice that it wasn't the crowds that were restless, it was Jesus disciples. The crowds wanted Jesus to keep preaching (Horton, 303)!
c. The place was desolate, many miles from the nearest town, which, in any case, could not have provided food for such a vast horde of people.
d. Not only was it near the end of the day, but the long trip had doubtlessly made the people hungrier than usual (MacArthur New Testament Commentary – Matthew 8-15).
e. The disciples were right to be concerned about the people's hunger but intended to solve the problem in a purely natural way.
f. Our expectations of what God can do often are too small; providing food in the wilderness was technically impossible, but God had used Moses, Elijah and Elisha for feeding miracles (Keener, IVPNT: Matthew, 253).
3. Look at what Jesus tells them, “That isn’t necessary—you feed them.”
a. As we look back on the scene from our two-thousand-year vantage point, it seems impossible that even when Jesus said to them, "That isn't necessary - you feed them!" the idea of His feeding the people miraculously did not enter the disciples' minds.
b. The problem wasn't "where's the beef,?" but where is their faith?
c. It would seem to have required so little faith and to have been so natural for the disciples to expect Jesus to feed the crowd.
d. But they were like a person who stands in front of Niagara Falls and asks where he can find a drink.
e. They were face to face with the supreme power in the universe and yet were spiritually blind (MacArthur New Testament Commentary – Matthew 8-15).
f. Chrysostom, one of the early church Fathers said, "Observe with what discretion he draws them toward believing. Observe how deliberately this unfolds. For he did not simply say, 'I will feed them'" (Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture, vol. Ib, 7).
4. Sometimes we have to look at what we have and have enough vision and faith to realize what God can do with it. They told Jesus, “But we have only five loaves of bread and two fish!”
a. John's gospel emphasizes that they were barley loaves, the kind eaten by the poor.
b. They were small round loaves, which were usually not cut.
c. The fish could be placed between two loaves and eaten like a sandwich - and you thought McDonald's invented the "filet-o-fish" (Horton, 303).
d. Their answer not only reveals limited vision but also an approach to the problem betraying a lack of both understanding and faith (Carson).
B. Use What You Have
1. Illustration: Vision is the ability to understand the history, the present condition, and the potential of the church, and to conceive a plan for action that will maximize the ministry potential. More often than not, vision is a result of having spent much time absorbing the facts about the community, knowing the resources upon which the church can call (people, funding, facilities, equipment, etc.), and devising sound but creative strategies for moving forward. Vision always entails progress: it is never satisfied with the status quo (George Barna, How to Find Your Church, 104).
2. Jesus teaches us the possibility of the obvious because by faith we are able to see what cannot be seen.
a. Hebrews 11:1 (NLT)
Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see.
b. By faith small churches can do the impossible.
c. By faith small churches can make a big impact.
d. By faith small churches can turn their communities upside down with the power of the Gospel of Christ!
3. Jesus teaches us about the possibility of the obvious because with vision we are able to see what can be.
a. Philippians 4:13 (NLT)
For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength.
b. With vision we can look at our property and not see a barren and empty plot of land, but a building where Jesus is worshipped.
c. We can see a place where lives and eternities are changed.
d. We can see a place where needs are met.
e. We can see a place that is a lighthouse for those living in darkness.
Transition: We can see all of this because Jesus teaches us...
III. The Possibility of the Miraculous (18-21).
A. As Much As They Wanted
1. A little becomes more than enough when placed in the hands of Almighty God.
2. Jesus looks at the five loaves and two fish and says, “Bring them here.”
a. No doubt with sadness in His eyes, Jesus said, "Bring them here," referring to the loaves and fish.
b. He had to tell the disciples to do what, by this time, should have been second nature to them.
c. He was saying, in effect, "I knew that you did not have sufficient food or money to feed the people, and I knew that you had no way of getting it.
d. I never expected you to feed them from your own resources or by your own power.
e. In asking you to feed them I was asking you to trust Me.
f. Without having to tell you, I was giving you the opportunity to bring to Me what little you had and trust Me for the rest" (MacArthur New Testament Commentary – Matthew 8-15).
g. Jesus often takes what we bring to him and multiplies it.
h. Although God created the universe from nothing, he normally takes the ordinary things of our lives and transforms them for his honor (Keener, 254).
3. Matthew continues the story by saying, "Then he told the people to sit down on the grass. Jesus took the five loaves and two fish, looked up toward heaven, and blessed them. Then, breaking the loaves into pieces, he gave the bread to the disciples, who distributed it to the people."
a. We are not told exactly at what moment the miracle took place.
b. Apparently it was a continuous multiplication that occurred as the disciples walked among the groups distributing the food.
c. He broke the bread and kept giving it out; it just kept multiplying (Horton, 305).
d. The men could not possibly have carried containers large enough to hold all the food, even with it divided into twelve parts.
e. There was no fanfare and no dramatic change from little to much.
f. The miracle was all but invisible, its magnitude being evident only as the thousands of people all ate (MacArthur New Testament Commentary – Matthew 8-15).
4. Now we need to pay very close attention to what Matthew tells us next, "They all ate as much as they wanted, and afterward, the disciples picked up twelve baskets of leftovers."
a. "As much as they wanted" was used of animals who stayed at the feed trough until they wanted nothing more to eat.
b. Jesus uses the same term in the Beatitudes when He promises that those who hunger and thirst for righteousness "shall be satisfied" (MacArthur New Testament Commentary – Matthew 8-15).
c. Gathering leftovers was mandatory at a Jewish meal, which followed careful guidelines.
d. In this instance, they ended up with more than what they started with, which teaches us that Jesus not only cares about our daily needs but also about our future (Horton, 305).
e. But the miracle also has a lesson for the disciples. They see the size of the need and the smallness of the human resources available.
f. They must learn to see as Jesus sees, who recognizes the size of the need and the greatness of God’s resources available (Wilkins, 515).
5. We also learn from this miracle that God has no limitations. Matthew tells us, "About 5,000 men were fed that day, in addition to all the women and children!"
a. The fact that there were about five thousand men who ate, aside from women and children, indicates the total crowd could have been as large as twenty-five thousand (MacArthur New Testament Commentary – Matthew 8-15).
b. Also notice that Matthew ends the story with an exclamation point. His way of saying "wow!"
c. Jesus not only feed as many as 25,000 people, but there were leftovers!
d. Is there anything to big for our God?
B. Power of God
1. Illustration: There is a tale told of that great English actor Macready. An eminent preacher once said to him: “I wish you would explain to me something.” “Well, what is it? I don’t know that I can explain anything to a preacher.” “What is the reason for the difference between you and me? You are appearing before crowds night after night with fiction, and the crowds come wherever you go. I am preaching the essential and unchangeable truth, and I am not getting any crowd at all.” Macready’s answer was this: “This is quite simple. I can tell you the difference between us. I present my fiction as though it were truth; you present your truth as though it were fiction” (G. Campbell Morgan, Preaching, 36).
2. Jesus shows us the possibility of the miraculous so that we understand his power.
a. Mark 10:27 (NLT)
Jesus looked at them intently and said, “Humanly speaking, it is impossible. But not with God. Everything is possible with God.”
b. With Jesus nothing it too high.
c. With Jesus nothing is too far.
d. With Jesus nothing is too big.
e. Because with Jesus everything is possible!
3. Jesus shows us the possibility of the miraculous so that we experience his power.
a. Acts 1:8 (NLT)
But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
b. He baptizes us in the Holy Spirit so that we can do his work.
c. He baptizes us in the Holy Spirit so that we can preaching His Gospel.
d. He baptizes us in the Holy Spirit so that we can use His power.
4. Jesus shows us the possibility of the miraculous so that we can operate in His power.
a. John 14:12 (NLT)
“I tell you the truth, anyone who believes in me will do the same works I have done, and even greater works, because I am going to be with the Father."
b. He has given us access to His power.
c. He has given us the knowledge of His power.
d. He has given us the limitlessness of His power.
Conclusion
1. Jesus shows us the possibility of:
a. Compassion
b. The Obvious
c. The Miraculous
2. Do you see possibilities or obstacles?
3. Are you ready to see that with God there are no more limitations?
4. That's My King! (Show that video "That's My King" from www.youtube.com).
