“The
Feeding of the 5,000”
“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. Return to Top | Return to Sermons | Home | Email Church Office
|