WHEN JESUS SAID "THANK YOU"
Matthew 15:35-37a, John 11:39, Luke 22:14-20
Two men were walking through a field one day when they spotted an ENRAGED BULL. Instantly they darted toward the nearest fence. The storming bull followed in hot pursuit, and it was soon apparent they wouldn't make it. Terrified, the one shouted to the other, "Put up a prayer, John. We're in for it!" John answered, "I can't. I've never made a public prayer in my life." "Do it now!" implored his companion. "The bull is catching us!" "All right," panted John, "I'll say the only prayer I know, the one my father used to repeat at the table: ‘O Lord, for what we are about to receive, make us truly thankful.'"
Two of the most gracious words in any language are "Thank You." Good parents teach their children as soon as they learn to talk to say thank you when they are helped or given something.
As children of God, we ought constantly to thank our Heavenly Father for all His benefits. The psalmist declared, "Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise, give thanks to Him and praise His name" (Ps. 100:4).
Our thank you list to God could be endless and so should our praise. Make sure especially during this time of the year that you find a quiet moment, count your blessings, and thank the One who makes them possible. James said, "Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows" (Jas. 1:17). Our greatest gift is eternal life through God's Son, Jesus Christ. As Paul said, "thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!" (2 Cor. 9:15,).
Jesus was the Creator of the universe and the only begotten Son of God, but He was also a thankful person. When He walked this earth, He expressed words of thanksgiving to His Father. When did Jesus say thank you?
I. JESUS GAVE THANKS FOR FOOD, Mt. 15:35-37a.
II. JESUS GAVE THANKS FOR ANSWERED PRAYER, Jn. 11:39.
III. JESUS GAVE THANKS FOR CALVARY'S CROSS, Lk. 22:14-20.
Matthew 15:35-37 says that before feeding the four thousand, "He told the crowd to sit down on the ground. Then he took the seven loaves and the fish, and when He had given thanks, He broke them and gave them to the disciples, and they in turn to the people. They all ate and were satisfied."
Our Lord knew that the grain for the bread came from fertile soil, renewing rain, and invigorating sunshine which brought about God's harvest time. The Master knew the fish came from the water God had given through rain or bubbled out of the earth. Jesus knew the necessary nourishment for the body was in the loaves and the fish. The disciples stated that their resources were inadequate. But Jesus intended to use these limited resources: "seven loaves and a few small fish" to feed a multitude. So filled with an attitude of gratitude He became the Source behind the substance. Then when He gave thanks the hand of God was revealed. After He blessed the food they had received, He gave it to the disciples and they gave to the crowd. It is to be assumed that as the disciples broke off bread and passed it, that the miracle kept happening in their hands; the bread continued to be present! [The Father provided the food through what ever channels open to Him to do so.]
So we see that Jesus gave thanks to God before He ate.
[NOT ALL GIVE THANKS] A godly farmer was asked to dine with a well-known gentleman. While there, he asked a blessing at the table as he was accustomed to do at home. His host said jeeringly, "That's old fashioned; it is not customary nowadays for well-educated people to pray before they eat." The farmer responded that with him it was customary, but that some of those on his farm never prayed over their food. "Ah, then," said the gentleman, "they are sensible and enlightened. Who are they?" "My pigs," the farmer answered.
II. JESUS SAID THANK YOU FOR ANSWERED PRAYER.
Jn. 11:38-42.
Jesus stood with tear stained face before the tomb of His friend, Lazarus, and told the people to "take away the stone"(John 11:39, NIV). With the grave stone taken away, the tension mounted. What would Jesus do?
Jesus then lifted up is eyes to overlook all the difficulties around Him, so that He might fixed His eyes upon divine omnipotence, instead of on unbelieving man; and directed His love and faith heavenward to His Father from whom He derived His power and hope.
Let's read John 11:41-42 as John continues to describe the scene. "then Jesus looked up and said ‘Father I thank You that You have heard Me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that You sent Me.'" His thanksgiving expressed the unshaken assurance that God heard and answered Jesus' prayer.
Prayer is a privilege, but answered prayer is a blessing. God said, "Call on Me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know" (Jer. 33:3, NIV). Stop for a moment and thank the Father for prayers He has answered in your life.... God has certainly rolled away some stones for me also.
[GRATITUDE] While on a short-term missions trip, Pastor Jack Hinton was leading worship at a leper colony on the island of Tobago. A woman who had been facing away from the pulpit turned around.
"It was the most hideous face I had ever seen," Hinton said. "The woman's nose and ears were entirely gone. She lifted a fingerless hand in the air and asked, ‘Can we sing Count Your Many Blessings?'"
Overcome with emotion, Hinton left the service. He was followed by a team member who said, "I guess you'll never be able to sing that song again." "Yes I will," he replied, "but I'll never sing it the same way."
III. JESUS SAID THANK YOU FOR CALVARY'S CROSS.
READ LUKE 22:14-20.
When He instituted the Lord's Table, Jesus gave thanks twice. He gave thanks before breaking the bread and before drinking the cup. The bread and wine symbolized His crucified body and His shed blood. Our Savior thanked His Father for His saving death.
Incidentally, due to the fact that leaven and fermentation both pictured corruption, both were forbidden in the Passover ordinance. Therefore, I believe the wine was not fermented. Furthermore, I do not believe Jesus would have equated His blood with a rotting substance.
I love the fact that Jesus chose to use the most common foods possible. Bread and wine have been the most available elements to nourish mankind in virtually every culture and every society on every continent throughout history.
What is bread? Grain that has been ground up and baked in the oven. Jesus, the Bread of Life, was ground up by the religious system and the sin of humanity. He was baked in the oven of adversity and absorbed the very fire of hell for you and me. What is wine? Grapes that have been crushed. Jesus was crushed by the sin of the world; by your sin and my sin. When the soldier thrust the spear into Jesus' side, the blood and water that flowed indicate that when Jesus died on the Cross, physiologically, He died from a burst, or broken, heart.
Such love desires unity, as seen in the substances Jesus chose to commemorate His death. After being ground, individual grains of wheat are brought together into a single loaf. After they are crushed, individual grapes lose their identity and become one. When we partake of Communion, we not only express our oneness with our Lord, but our oneness with each other as we eat of the same loaf and drink of the same cup.
Communion actually has a three-fold aspect: It looks back in faith as it remembers the Cross. It looks ahead in hope as it waits for the day we will eat with the Lord in the kingdom. It looks around in love as we see Christians all around the globe and down the tunnel of history eating of the same loaf and drinking of the same cup. We may never agree on end times, the work of the Spirit, or all points of doctrine. But we find unity at the Lord's table, at the foot of the Cross. Concerning Communion, Jesus didn't say, "Teach it." He didn't say, "Think about it." He said, "Do this." [Courson, Jon: Jon Courson's Application Commentary. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 2003, S. 405]
When He instituted the Lord's Table, Jesus gave thanks twice. He gave thanks before breaking the bread and before drinking the cup. The bread and wine symbolized His crucified body and His shed blood. Our Savior thanked His Father for His saving death.
Paul explained to the church at Corinth that the night Jesus was betrayed He "took bread, & when He had given thanks, He broke it & said, ‘this is My body, which is for you: do this in remembrance of Me." (1 Cor 11:23-24). He did the same with the cup. The Lamb thanked God that He could be the sacrifice for the sins of the world! Have you recently thanked Jesus for dying on the cross in your place for your sin and shedding His precious blood for your forgiveness? Do it now!
CONCLUSION
Our best example for all of life is Jesus Christ. He was grateful. Therefore we too must be a people of gratitude. We can start by expressing thanks for food, answered prayer and Christ's death on the cross.
Have you ever prayed a prayer asking Jesus to save you? If you will pray this prayer He will answer it and save you here and now.
Dear Lord, I acknowledge that I am a sinner. I believe Jesus died for my sins on the cross, and rose again the third day. I turn from of my sins. By faith I receive the Lord Jesus as my Savior and Lord. You promised to save me, and I believe You, because You are God and cannot lie. I believe right now that the Lord Jesus is my personal Savior, and that all my sins are forgiven through His precious blood. I thank You, dear Lord, for saving me. In Jesus' name, Amen.
If you prayed that prayer, God heard you and saved you. I personally want to welcome you to the family of God. So come forward and let us help make your relationship with God in Jesus Christ all that He would have it be. You come as we sing this hymn of reflection and response.
