Good Morning, Cross Church and NRHBC church families! Easter Sunday was a great experience and thank you for inviting others. It was one of the largest one-day attendances in our church’s recent history. God is good and gracious!
As we started with the resurrection (last week) and over the course of the next few weeks, we’re introducing you to both ancient miracles and modern ones. There are basically two kinds of people in the world: those who believe in miracles and those who don’t. Of the first kind – those who believe in miracles – oftentimes a pastor encounters a well-meaning person who believes everything is a miracle! We, pastors, don’t usually say it, be even we have trouble believing everything little thing is a miracle. Of the second type of person – those who don’t believe in miracles – I often find the kind of person who believes miracles happen back then …back then they were naive enough to believe they happened. This second group says that miracles never happened, but gullible people thought they did. Perhaps we find the idea charming and think ourselves generous for having it. But that is a tremendously patronizing view of other human beings. Maybe you grew up thinking miracles happened a long time ago, if at all.
Today, we continue a series that looks at four miracles Jesus performed. A miracle is simply, “A supernatural event.” And the Bible is a book of miracles. Luke alone includes some twenty miracles stories in his Gospel. Today we read of Jesus feeding the 5,000 - a famous story in the life of Jesus. And it’s a miracle story…
“On their return the apostles told him all that they had done. And he took them and withdrew apart to a town called Bethsaida. 11 When the crowds learned it, they followed him, and he welcomed them and spoke to them of the kingdom of God and cured those who had need of healing. 12 Now the day began to wear away, and the twelve came and said to him, “Send the crowd away to go into the surrounding villages and countryside to find lodging and get provisions, for we are here in a desolate place.” 13 But he said to them, “You give them something to eat.” They said, “We have no more than five loaves and two fish—unless we are to go and buy food for all these people.” 14 For there were about five thousand men. And he said to his disciples, “Have them sit down in groups of about fifty each.” 15 And they did so, and had them all sit down. 16 And taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven and said a blessing over them. Then he broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples to set before the crowd. 17 And they all ate and were satisfied. And what was left over was picked up, twelve baskets of broken pieces.” (Luke 9:10-17)
This is the only miracle that is reported in each of the four gospels. This miracle story shares a direct tie-in to Old Testament miracles going on behind the scenes of this story. The most important one and you easily can think of Moses’ day where the Hebrew people were fed manna and quail as it appeared daily with no effort on their part (Exodus 16; Numbers 11). It’s not just the Bible that tells us Jesus did miracles. But history tells us that Jesus did miracles — He was a miracle worker. He walked on water and calmed storming waters at a moment’s notice. In fact, Jesus was so associated with miracles that years later, in the first sermon after Jesus was gone, the apostle Peter said this about Jesus and miracles: “Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves know…” (Acts 2:22). So it is well established that Jesus did miracles.
There have been many different attempts to explain this down through the years. There have been all kinds of efforts down through the years to explain this miracle away. One theory is Jesus hypnotized the people into thinking they were full. Another theory is that rich people provided the food though none of the eyewitnesses’ accounts say anything about this. My favorite is this one: Jesus simply broke the pieces into really small amounts so everyone could have some.
Do You Believe in Miracles? Again, there are only two kinds of people in the world – those who believe in miracles and those who don’t. Naturalism presents nature as a closed box with everything being explained by natural cause and effect. Supernaturalism, by contrast, sees nature as an open system, operating by natural law most of the time, but open to intervention by God. So we can say the following: your openness to believing the miracles is contingent on whether you believe in an all-powerful, altogether good, God. If you doubt God, then you will doubt the miraculous. But if you believe in God, then you will believe in the miraculous. I believe in miracles.
Sermon Preview
Jesus Has Time for You
Jesus Meets Your Needs
Jesus is More Than Meets the Eye
And along the way, we’ll see two important and necessary elements to the miracles in our lives.
1. Jesus Has Time for You
The story is plain – Jesus and the Twelve Disciples were trying to get away from people. He needed a break; they wanted a break. Yet, they found Him- the crowds found Him (verse 11). The Twelve were like you and I, they were ready to send the people away. The day was getting late and the sun was going down. They too wanted a break from all the crowds and the conversations. They advised Jesus: “Send the crowd away to go into the surrounding villages and countryside to find lodging and get provisions, for we are here in a desolate place.” (Luke 9:12) Jesus had met their needs and it was time to send them away. After all, they were no places for such a vast multitude of people. And where you going to scrounge up anything to eat out here in the desert? The Twelve advised Jesus to send them away. But Jesus refused His close friends – He rebuffed their attempts at isolation. Instead, He welcomed the crowds.
1.1 Jesus Healed Every Single One
“When the crowds learned it, they followed him, and he welcomed them and spoke to them of the kingdom of God and cured those who had need of healing.” (Luke 9:11)
Luke says it so simply but don’t pass over without slowing down to soak it all in – Jesus healed every single person. There was no case that baffled Him. He never consulted the latest medical journals or the Physicians Desk Reference for help. No matter how bad the disease was, Jesus instantly cured them. Not one sick person came to Jesus and left disappointed on this day. There was a blind eye that needed healing here… …a deaf ear to be restored there. And between the two, a withered limb was made well… … a man full of leprosy was cleansed… … and even the demon-possessed were free. Jesus isn’t exhausted by the number of patients He sees. I am a spokesman for all who Jesus healed that day … He cared for each and every one of them. And none were disappointed in the Savior’s compassion or in the Savior’s power.
1.2 How Did He Do This?
The Bible never breaks down how this miracle happens. Instead, Luke simply offers us the following narrative: “And taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven and said a blessing over them. Then he broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples to set before the crowd.” (Luke 9:16)
Here Jesus did five things:
1) He took the bread;
2) He looked up;
3) He gave thanks;
4) He broke the bread;
5) He distributed the bread.
Jesus Has Time for You
2. Jesus Meets Your Needs.
As I stated earlier, each of the gospels include this miracle. It’s the Gospel of John that relates that it was Philip asked, “Where are we to buy bread, so that these people may eat?” (John 6:5b) Note that Luke tells us that while Jesus and the Twelve were in the desert, the nearest town to them was Bethsaida. Bethsaida was Philip’s hometown. Philip knew the area well and knew there’s nothing around there to feed 5,000 men. But Philip, like all of Christ’s followers, was a weak disciple of a mighty Savior. The gospel of John includes what Luke omits: it would take half of a year’s wages to pay for the food they needed to provide one meal.
Today, the average income of an average home in our city is just under $64,000. Think of your home and shelling out more than $30,000 to pay for a meal. It was Andrew that spotted the boy and his sack lunch. They had thought over the problem and they had concluded that nothing could be done. They looked at the sack lunch and 5,000 men, not to mention the women and children – no way! The Disciples think of every available means of taking care of the need, save one… … they never ask Jesus to solve the problem.
2.1 Jesus Works Through His Followers
Take note of this – it is the Twelve Disciples that share the food. It’s His followers that get to share the food. These twelve men get the opportunity to participate in a great miracle. Look at your role for a minute, followers of Christ. Jesus is the One Who provides for our needs, but He allows His followers to pass out the goodies: “Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, 21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.” (Ephesians 3:20-21) He multiplies by division and adds by subtraction.
2.1.1 Admit Your Weakness
You’ll never be a channel of His power until you admit your weakness. Philip to say, “I don’t know; we don’t have that kind of money.” They knew they had a problem. There are at least 15,000 people (when you count woman and children). Who do you think they are? Jesus leads His disciples to despair. And He’ll lead you to the point where you’ll cry, “Uncle.” That is God’s rule. Everybody who has ever been in a 12-step program knows what the first step is. What’s the first step? “You are powerless over your problem.” He’ll press you with hard questions: But he said to them, “You give them something to eat.” (Luke 9:13) Jesus will poke at you and prod you. He’ll ask you hard questions until you despair.
Personal Story
I’ve gone through this very thing. Years ago, I was struggling with various aspects in ministry. People weren’t changing as fast as I thought they should. I was having conflict with several people in a church. And I was reading a well-known pastor, an experienced pastor, who said something to the effect: “If you’re doing ministry and not desperately asking, ‘How can I do this?’ then you’re not doing real ministry.” “We are the aroma of Christ . . . a fragrance from death to death . . . a fragrance from life to life. Who is sufficient for these things?” (2 Corinthians 2:15–16). I cried, “Uncle.” If you feel you’re competent to run your life, then you haven’t even got to first base. Admit Your Weakness
2.1.2 Place Everything in His Hand
Luke omits the details of exactly where the five loaves and two fish come from but the Gospel of John tells us that an elementary or middle school aged boy brought his lunch. He fed the multitudes with a boy’s sack lunch. Here’s the second key principle – he placed his lunch in Jesus’ hands. God’s design is to showcase God’s power.
Let God be God in your life. A lot of you say, “Hey I’d like to obey the will of God in my life, but I don’t know. Should I stay in Fort Worth? Should I take this job? Should I marry this person?” Listen to what God is saying is, “For a minute will you stop thinking about the part of my will you don’t know, and will you start looking at the part of my will you do know? When trying to follow God’s will for your life, don’t dwell on what you don’t know. Instead, dwell on what you do know Place your life in His hands – all of your life.
Jesus Has Time for You
Jesus Meets Your Needs
3. Jesus Is More Than Meets the Eye
Take note that Jesus performed this miracle in the wilderness, the desert. The desert is a dead place where nothing could grow. 5,000 men and the Disciples with no access to food… This is a sign of God’s power to create food in place where no food grows. He can turn the Sahara Desert into Kroger.
This miracle is carefully designed. It’s carefully designed to show that, like a river bursts its banks, so Jesus Christ bursts the banks of your expectations for the Messiah. He shows us the super-abounding dimensions of His power. In the Old Testament story of the manna, there were never any leftovers. God says, “Just gather one day’s ration,” and if they even tried to gather more than one day’s ration of bread from heaven it would spoil. There were no leftovers of manna. You only got enough. But not with Jesus. After feeding 5,000 with only a boy’s sack lunch, only Jesus can have more leftovers than when He started. Jesus is incomparably great.
Think about this. A nuclear warhead is a thousandth of the power of a hurricane, and yet the Bible says the Lord sits enthroned over the hurricane (Psalm 29). A hurricane is just a billionth of the power of just one eruption on the surface of the sun, which is just a small star, and the Bible says God scatters stars like sand. Of course, this is nothing compared to the power of a supernova, a millionth of the power of a supernova, and the supernova is just one of the infinite number of points of power in the universe. What is the power of God? A million universes? The point of the miracles of Jesus is so they can truly understand the identity of Jesus.
Do You Believe Miracles? There’s hope for you today.
