• Read the text. Matt.14:13-21
• Opening Prayer. Pray for Bangsar Gospel Centre
1. Purpose of Matthew’s writing. Only miracle recorded in ALL 4 Gospels
a. BGC following a series “Life’s Examples from the Life Giver”. He Provides – He can be Trusted and so on.
b. Did it occur to you that in Matthew, Matthew began the genealogy of Jesus, NOT with Abraham ( the Father of Israel) BUT with David ? Why? Because it was to David that God promised ‘I will raise up your offspring to succeed you, who will come from your own body…...and I will establish his throne of his kingdom FOREVER’ – 2 Sam.7:12-13. Matthew’s purpose in writing a logical fashion rather than a chronological order was to present to the JEWS of his time that JESUS WAS INDEED THE PROMISED MESSIAH KING.
c. In this wider context of the Book of Matthew then, we find this miracle of the feeding of 5,000 men, the only miracle recorded in all four Gospels, a fact that speaks loudly of its importance to the early church. cf Mark 6:35-44, Luke 9:12-17, and John 6:1-14.
d. And we will do well by paying attention to what this passage in Matt.14-13-21 is trying to say to us!
2. In the Context of & In Contrast to
a. In the Context of ‘Rejection of the King’
i. Chapter 13 ends with the rejection of Jesus at Nazareth. A Prophet without honour. Matt.13:58. Matthew through his skillful arrangement of the Gospel account showed that the Jews failed to recognize Jesus as the promised Messiah King and had rejected Him by the time we come to the end of chapter 13.
ii. Chapter 14 begins with the story of the beheading of John the Baptist by Herod Antipas. In 14:1-2, Herod hears reports of Jesus and concludes that he is John the Baptist raised from the dead. While he does not say that he must now kill Jesus too, that possibility looms over these verses. 14:3-12 is a flashback, telling the story of Herod’s birthday party -- and Herodias’ scheming -- and the daughter’s dance -- and Herod’s promise -- and John’s head on a platter.
iii. So we have in the 14:13. Jesus withdrew by boat privately to a solitary place (presumable to be alone, to pray and mostly like to grieve over the news of John’s death). But the crowd didn’t allow Him to have this solitary time by Himself. V13b – they followed Him on foot from the towns.
b. In Contrast Herod’s Party vs Jesus Feeding of the 5,000 men (15-20K+ when you include women and children) What a contrast between Herod’s dinner party and the meal that Jesus provides for the five thousand!
Herod’s party Jesus’ Meal
• Attendance Selective and the Haves All & Sundries
• Characterized by Opulence & Indulgence Bread – most basic of food
• Characterized by Scheming & Hatred Compassion
• Ends in Death (John the Baptist) Sustain Life
The contrast could not be more complete and vivid.
3. Parallel to the Past & Parallel to the Present & Future
a. Past:
i. Moses . These feedings are reminiscent of the manna in the wilderness (Exo 16; Num 11). Like Moses, Jesus has crossed over the water to the wilderness. Like Moses, he is surrounded by hungry people.
"Matthew clearly intends to portray Jesus as parallel to Moses, yet surpassing him as the bringer of a new age"
Jesus makes this connection even more explicit when he refers to manna in his Bread from Heaven discourse following the feeding of the five thousand in John’s Gospel (John 6:31, 49).
ii. Elisha. These feedings are also reminiscent of Elisha’s feeding miracle in 2 Kings 4:42-44. In that story, Elisha had only twenty barley loaves to feed a hundred people. When he ordered his servant to distribute the bread, the servant protested, "How can I set this before a hundred people?" Elisha reaffirmed the order, promising, "They shall eat and have some left." The servant distributed the bread; the people ate -- and there was bread left over in fulfillment of the Word of God. The linkage between the stories is made even tighter by the reference to barley loaves in John 6:9.
iii. It is worth noting that both Elisha and Jesus involved others (Elisha’s servant and Jesus’ disciples) in the accomplishment of their miracles.
b. Present:
Parallels between Matthew’s account of the Feeding of the Five Thousand and his account of the Lord’s Supper in chapter 26. They are compelling:
14:15 "when it was evening" ---- 26:20 "when it was evening"
14:19 "sit down" (Greek: anaklithenai) ---- 26:20 "took his place" (Greek: anekeito from the same root as anaklithenai)
14:19 "Taking the five loaves" ---- 26:26 "took a loaf of bread"
14:19 "and blessed" ----- 26:26 "and after blessing it"
14:19 "broke the loaves, and gave them to the disciples" ----- 26:26 "broke it, gave it to the disciples"
14:20 "ate" ----- 26:26 "eat"
14:20 "all" ------- 26:27 "all"
c. Future:
Also in Matthew there is a greater hint that this feeding of 5,000 prefigures the end time feast. Matthew’s other use of the Greek anaklino = "lie (sit) down" = "lie/sit at a table to eat" (v. 19) is in 8:11: "Many will come from east and west and will eat with Abraham and Isaac in the kingdom of heaven."
Why such Parallels to the Past, Present and Future? This Jesus who is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow, continue to be the One who feeds us and meets our needs and fills us to the full
4. Compassion & ‘Commission’
V14. JESUS HAD COMPASSION FOR THEM and healed their sick
V15-17 WE HAVE NOTHING HERE. HUMAN IMPOSSIBILITIES
15When it was evening, the disciples came to him and said, "This is a deserted place, and the hour is now late; send the crowds away so that they may go into the villages and buy food for themselves." 16Jesus said to them, "They need not go away; you give them something to eat." 17They replied, "We have nothing here but five loaves and two fish."
Just as Jesus felt compassion for the crowds in v. 4, so the disciples feel compassion in v. 5. They are surely hungry themselves, and can imagine the misery that awaits the crowd unless someone takes action
When Jesus says, "you give them something to eat," the word, "you," is emphatic in the Greek. "Christ did not feed the multitude without the human instrument. The bread did not come as manna from the sky, but through the work and kindness of some human hand"
The disciples response, "We have nothing here -- nothing -- nothing but five loaves and two fish." They emphasize not what they have, but what they haven’t. They see not possibilities, but problems. Their assessment is right on the mark. The loaves would be small, more like dinner rolls than loaves of bread. The disciples have five loaves and two fish -- seven items --enough for a small family -- but the crowd spreads to the horizon.
V18-21 18And he said, "Bring them here to me." 19Then he ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven, and blessed and broke the loaves, and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds. 20And all ate and were filled; and they took up what was left over of the broken pieces, twelve baskets full. 21And those who ate were about five thousand men, besides women and children.
."
In the disciples’ hands, five loaves and two fish are not much, but there are other hands here -- Jesus’ hands. What happened next? V19-21.
Whatever happened, it was truly amazing! Early on, the story establishes that there is an impending crisis for which the disciples have no answer. As the story unfolds, wonderment grows. There are only five loaves and two fish, but "all ate and were filled." Amazing! We cannot imagine how they were filled -- except by the grace of God. And then we learn that the disciples gathered twelve baskets of leftovers –perhaps 1 for each of the 12 disciples.
How did the miracle happen? A few intepretation. But I think what is more important question to ask is What had the 12 disciples learned from this miracle?
5. Miracle happened (but not without the 12 disciples)
• There certainly could have been other ways of feeding the hungry that didn’t involve so much work by the disciples.
• Jesus could have miraculously made the people’s hunger pains disappear.
• If Jesus was going to miraculously make food appear -- why not have it appear in the stomachs -- no work for the disciples and no garbage to clean up. Jesus could have waved his hand and the magic words, "Colonel Sanders," and every family would have their own bucket of chicken right in front of them.
• However the story is interpreted, Jesus’ charge to his disciples stands: ’You give them something to eat.’ The source of the feeding is God, but the resources are human.
• Back to the Context of Matthew 14. Jesus withdrew from public ministry to Private Ministry (Bethsaida). An very important Object/Real Life lesson for the 12 Disciples.
6. What does it mean to me?
Do you turn a blind eye to a need you saw?
"You give them something to eat" continues to challenge Christians today. We live in a world full of hungry people and pray that Jesus might do something. He responds, "You give them something to eat." The church has often risen to the challenge, providing food, clothing, shelter, and medical care to people in the far corners of the world.
How is our giving?
5 loaves of barley bread and 2 fishes. They gave Jesus ALL they had.
Giving out of our abundance vs giving until it hurts.
God will provide in ways we do not expect. He ALWAYS will.
Story of New Mgt Committee (20’s, 30’s and early 40’s) . There is never a suitable time to serve God. Wait until I do this first (MBA, job more stable, children are bigger, after my daughter got married, etc..etc..etc).
In Matt.14:13-21.
What was Jesus response when He saw the Crowd? HE HAD COMPASSION ON THEM.
What did He do? HE FED THEM, despite His needs to be alone, to pray and to grieve over John’s death (maybe).
How is the Party of your life? Who do you associate and minister to?
Herod’s party Jesus’ Meal
• Attendance Selective and the Haves All & Sundries
• Characterized by Opulence & Indulgence Bread – most basic of food
• Characterized by Scheming & Hatred Compassion
• Ends in Death (John the Baptist) Sustain Life
Story about Mother’s Teresa attending an International Conference about ‘How to help the Poor?’ in India.
Enough talking – too much talking. Having a false sense of Christian compassion and actually do nothing about it at all.
The same goes re the recent Tsunami Wave Catastrophe. JUST DO IT.
A Word for those in Leadership Position.
YOU give them something to eat.
7. Closing prayer.
