“The Feeding of the 5,000”
Matthew 14:13-21

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Pastor Kevin Vogts
Trinity Lutheran Church
Paola, Kansas
Eighth Sunday after Pentecost—August 3, 2014

“Come, Lord Jesus, be our guest; let these gifts to us be blest.”  If you were raised, as I was, reciting that prayer at almost every meal, you have spoken those words of blessing thousands of times.  I figure that even at an average of only two times per day, I have already prayed that little prayer over 35,000 times.  If it is also your family’s mealtime prayer, it may be that there is no other single sentence you will utter more often in your lifetime than those words:  “Come, Lord Jesus, be our guest; let these gifts to us be blest.”

It’s interesting that the familiar words of that prayer form a perfect three-part outline for our text, today’s Gospel reading, “The Feeding of the 5,000.”

“Come, Lord Jesus”—What does the feeding of the 5,000 tell us about who Jesus is?

“Be our guest”—What does the feeding of the 5,000 tell us about God’s care and concern for us?

“Let these gifts to us be blest”—What does the feeding of the 5,000 teach us about trusting in God?

“When Jesus heard what had happened, he withdrew by boat privately to a solitary place. Hearing of this, the crowds followed him on foot from the towns. When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them and healed their sick. As evening approached, 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 themselves some food.’ Jesus replied, ‘They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat.’ ‘We have here only five loaves of bread and two fish,’ they answered. ‘Bring them here to me,’ he said. And he directed the people to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then he gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the people. They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over. The number of those who ate was about five thousand men, besides women and children.”

“Come, Lord Jesus”—What does the feeding of the 5,000 tell us about who Jesus is?  It tells us he is more than just a great teacher; more than just a famous healer; indeed, he is more than just a man.  The feeding of the 5,000 is a divine miracle, proof that Jesus is God, “who came down from heaven . . . and was made man,” God in human flesh.

Paul says in Philippians, “[He] made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being made in human likeness.  And being found in the form of a man, he humbled himself.”  Part of Christ’s voluntary humiliation, when he “came from heaven . . . and was made man,” was that for the duration of his life on earth, he put aside his divine power, privilege and prerogative.  “He humbled himself.”  That is why he was born in a stable; that is why he was obedient to Mary and Joseph; that is why he worked for decades as a common laborer; that is why, when he preached in his hometown synagogue, his family and friends and neighbors were amazed and asked, “Where did this man get this wisdom and these miraculous powers?  Isn’t this the carpenter’s son?”; that is why the Bible reports that he was hungry, and thirsty, and tired; that is why he rode into Jerusalem humbly, on a donkey; that is why he allowed himself to be unjustly arrested, convicted and put to death; that is why he was even buried in a borrowed tomb. 

“[He] made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being made in human likeness.  And being found in the form of a man, he humbled himself.”  For the duration of his life on earth, Jesus put aside his divine power, privilege and prerogative.  But, on occasion he allowed his divine nature to show through, he exerted his divine power.  We call those occasions miracles.

After Jesus changes water into wine, John reports: “This, the first of his miraculous signs, Jesus performed at Cana in Galilee. He thus revealed his glory, and his disciples put their faith in him.”  Peter says in Acts, “Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited to you by God with miracles, wonders and signs, which God did among you through him.”  Jesus himself says, “The miracles I do in my Father’s name, they bear witness to me.”

The miracles of Jesus bear witness that he is more than just a great teacher; more than just a famous healer; indeed, he is more than just a man.  The feeding of the 5,000 is a divine miracle, proof that Jesus is God, “who came down from heaven . . . and was made man,” God in human flesh.

The feeding of the 5,000 also shows that Jesus is the God of the Old Testament Scriptures.  The twelve basketfuls of leftovers remind us of the twelve tribes of Israel.  The same God who in ancient times miraculously fed his people in the wilderness with manna and quail is now present in the flesh, miraculously feeding the crowd in the wilderness with bread and fish.

What does the feeding of the 5,000 tell us about who Jesus is?  “Come, Lord Jesus.”  The miraculous feeding of the 5,000 tells us he is the Lord, God in human flesh.  As Paul says in Colossians, “God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him . . . in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form.”  What does the feeding of the 5,000 tell us about who Jesus is?  “Come, Lord Jesus.”

“Be our guest”—What does the feeding of the 5,000 tell us about God’s care and concern for us?  Just before the feeding of the 5,000, Matthew reports, “When Jesus heard what had happened, he withdrew by boat privately to a solitary place.”  What Jesus heard about was the execution of his cousin and co-worker, John the Baptizer, who was beheaded by Herod Antipas.  Jesus wanted to withdraw to a solitary place, to mourn John’s death and to be alone with his disciples in order to prepare them for his own approaching suffering and death.

“He withdrew by boat privately to a solitary place.  Hearing of this, the crowds followed him on foot from the towns. When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them and healed their sick.”  Jesus’ desire to be alone, to have some private time with his disciples, was soon thwarted by the crowd of thousands which followed them on foot to the other side of the lake.  But, does Jesus chastise them for bothering him on his day off?  Does he disperse the crowd and order them to go home?  What does he do?  “He had compassion on them and healed their sick.”  Luke and Mark add that he also “taught them many things” and “spoke to them about the kingdom of God.”  What is supposed to be Jesus’ quiet time with his disciples instead becomes a long day of teaching and healing. 

“When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them.”  What does the feeding of the 5,000 tell us about God’s care and concern for us?  “Come, Lord Jesus, be our guest.”  God is never too busy or preoccupied for you and your problems and needs and concerns.  He cares about and is intimately involved with even the smallest aspects of your life.  As Jesus says, “Even the very hairs of your head are all numbered.”  And as Peter says, “Cast all your burdens on the Lord for he cares for you.”  He cares for you, personally, individually. 

Jesus shows care and concern both for the physical well-being of the crowd and for their eternal salvation, by healing their sick and by teaching them about the kingdom of God. 

God shows care and concern for your physical well-being by granting you so many earthly blessings.  As Martin Luther says in the Small Catechism, “God has made me and all creatures. . .  He has given me my body and soul, eyes, ears, and all my members, my reason and all my senses, and still preserves them; also clothing and shoes, meat and drink, house and home, wife and children, fields, cattle, and all my goods. . . He richly and daily provides me with all that I need to support this body and life. . .  He defends me against all danger, and guards and protects me from all evil; and all this purely out of fatherly, divine goodness and mercy.”

And God also provides for your eternal salvation, through the forgiveness of sins earned for you by Jesus Christ, which is yours through faith in him.  As Luther says, “[He] has redeemed me, a lost and condemned creature, purchased and won me from all sins, from death, and from the power of the devil; not with gold or silver, but with his holy, precious blood and with his innocent suffering and death.”  This morning Jesus feeds you spiritually with the bread of life and the cup of salvation, his very body and blood, to strengthen you in the true faith unto life everlasting.

What does the feeding of the 5,000 tell us about God’s care and concern for us?  “Come, Lord Jesus, be our guest.”  God cares for you, personally, individually.  He cares about even the smallest aspects of your life.  He is with you always, and he is always ready to be your guest, your friend, your helper in time of need.  As he says in Psalm 50, “Call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you.”  “Come, Lord Jesus, be our guest.”

“Let these gifts to us be blest”—What does the feeding of the 5,000 teach us about trusting in God?  The Gospel of John reports, “When Jesus looked up and saw a great crowd coming toward him, he said to Philip, ‘Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat?’  He asked this only to test him, for he already had in mind what he was going to do.”  The disciples had witnessed Jesus’ first miracle, turning water into wine.  That very day they witnessed him miraculously heal many sick.  They had even witnessed him raise the daughter of Jairus from the dead.  But they did not trust that he could provide for so large a crowd; it did not even enter their minds that he would miraculously feed the 5,000.

“As evening approached, 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 themselves some food.’ Jesus replied, ‘They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat.’ ‘We have here only five loaves of bread and two fish,’ they answered.”

What does the feeding of the 5,000 teach us about trusting in God?  “Let these gifts to us be blest.”  Unlike the disciples, trust that God can and will provide good gifts for your needs. 

“’We have here only five loaves of bread and two fish,’ they answered.  ‘Bring them here to me,’ he said. And he directed the people to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then he gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the people. They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over. The number of those who ate was about five thousand men, besides women and children.”

Jesus says, “Do not let your hearts be troubled.  Trust in God, trust also in me. . .  Your heavenly Father knows what you need even before you ask him. . .  Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. . .  Your Father in heaven will give good gifts to those who ask him.”  Paul says in Philippians, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.”

The greatest gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.  “For by grace are you saved through faith; and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God.”

“Let these gifts to us be blest”—What does the feeding of the 5,000 teach us about trusting in God?  Unlike the disciples, trust that God can and will provide good gifts for your needs, and receive his gifts with thanksgiving and faith.

“Come, Lord Jesus, be our guest; let these gifts to us be blest.”  The familiar words of that prayer form a perfect three-part outline for, “The Feeding of the 5,000.”

“Come, Lord Jesus”—What does the feeding of the 5,000 tell us about who Jesus is?  He is more than just a great teacher; more than just a famous healer; indeed, he is more than just a man.  He is the Lord.

“Be our guest”—What does the feeding of the 5,000 tell us about God’s care and concern for us?   God is never too busy or preoccupied for you and your problems and needs and concerns.  He cares about even the smallest aspects of your life.  He cares for you, personally, individually.   He is with you always, and he is always ready to be your guest, your friend, your helper in time of need.

“Let these gifts to us be blest”—What does the feeding of the 5,000 teach us about trusting in God?  Unlike the disciples, trust that God can and will provide good gifts for your needs, and receive his gifts with thanksgiving and faith, especially the greatest gift of God, eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.