Sermon

Click here to print this Sermon

October 2, 2005
20th Sunday after Pentecost
Matthew 14:13-21
Pastor David Wenzel

Look to Jesus in All of Your Needs

Dear friends of our all-powerful and all-loving Savior:

Few stories can capture the imagination of young children as effectively as the miracles of Jesus. If you sit down with a 4 or 5 year old and tell him how Jesus walked on water, or calmed a storm, or turned water into wine, or fed 5000 people, the child is enthralled. And the child's fascination with the story doesn't end when you finish it, but rather they come back again and again with questions and demands for more details. They recognize that these miracles aren't normal events, they realize that Jesus' miracles are something special.

Unfortunately, as we grow older, we seem to lose our fascination for Jesus' miracles. Perhaps it's because by the time we're confirmed, we've heard them so many times. I don't want to judge anybody, but I would guess that as I read this text, once you realized that it was the Feeding of the 5000, it was easy for at least a few of you to allow your attention to drift. After all, you know this miracle by heart. The ending is no different this morning than it was the last time you heard it. It's not as though when Pastor Berger read the Gospel lesson, he was going to say that Jesus took 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish, fed 2000 people, and sent the rest home hungry.

But if the ending to this miracle hasn't changed, then neither have the beautiful truths that go with it, truths and lessons that we often forget or overlook. As we look once more at this miracle this morning, we'll consider this theme:

LOOK TO JESUS IN ALL OF YOUR NEEDS!
1. HE KNOWS THOSE NEEDS
2. HE FULFILLS THOSE NEEDS

That Jesus knows our needs is evident in this miracle in more ways than one. It's the only miracle of Jesus is recorded in all four of the Gospels. That gives us an idea of its importance. It happened about a year before Jesus' death, and it marks a new period in Jesus' public ministry. Jesus would still meet crowds to teach and to heal, but now more and more he would withdraw to remote places with his disciples. We're told in our text: "Jesus withdrew by boat privately to a solitary place.."

Jesus knew he had to prepare his disciples for his death, and so he had begun to spend time alone with them explaining his mission and his Father's will. So in this very first verse of our text, before he even feeds the 5000, Jesus knew the needs of his disciples. It was a need of which they weren't even aware. . .but it was their greatest need of all, the need to be in tune with God's will.

And so Jesus and his disciples got in a boat and sailed across to the northeast corner of the Sea of Galilee. But when they arrived, they found that they weren't going to be alone, We're told: "Hearing of this, the crowds followed him on foot from the towns." And so now Jesus recognizes another need, "When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them."

"Jesus had compassion." The Greek phrase used here can be translated, "He was filled with tenderness, or "his heart went out to them." Why did Jesus feel so for these people? They had followed him because they had heard of his many miracles. He attracted attention and crowds wherever he went. Some came out of curiosity, some came to be healed, but very few came because they recognized him as their Savior. Yet we're told that "Jesus had compassion on them and healed their sick." And more than that, Mark tells us that Jesus looked at the crowd and saw that they were like "sheep without a shepherd." Jesus knew their needs, and that included their spiritual needs. That's why we're told that "Jesus welcomed them, began teaching them many things, and spoke to them about the kingdom of God."

You have to admire these people who were willing to walk about 6 miles to see Jesus. They may have been more interested in physical healing than they were in hearing God's Word. But did anybody here this morning walk six miles? Would we if we had to? Would we have that same zeal? And before we're too critical of their motives, let's take a look at ours. Why are we here? As children of God, we come here to worship our Savior, to hear God's Word, to receive forgiveness, to approach the Lord's table and receive his body and blood. But we also have a sinful nature…a sinful nature that comes here because it's Sunday, and we think it's our duty, or because we're afraid we might be missed, or because your parents said, "It's Sunday, and you're going to church."

No matter what our motives, Jesus still knows our needs. He knows that we need to be here, that we need the comfort of his Word, that we need to confess our sins and be reassured of our forgiveness And for us, that's a miracle that's as great as this feeding of the 5000. If there's 200 of us here, then Jesus knows 200 different needs. He knows what's bothering you, he knows what kind of week you had, and he knows what you need to get you through this week. He knows your strengths and weakness, and your special doubts and special sins. He has help and forgiveness for each one of them. That's a miracle only the Lord can perform, but it's a blessing all of us can enjoy.

Do we recognize that as a need? And if we do, do we share that need with others? As parents, do you tell your children that that's why you bring them to church? Do they look to Jesus for their needs? Parents are responsible for their children's church attendance, but it's also your responsibility that church attendance isn't just another rule they must follow and then ignore when they're old enough. And young people have a responsibility to understand that church isn't a chore, that church isn't just for grownups, that you too have needs. Jesus knows those needs, and this building is one of the best places for you to have those needs met. It's those same needs that Jesus saw in those 5000 men and thousands of women and children. It s the same compassion that led him to that cross on Calvary. That's where we can look for our greatest miracle.

PART II. As we sit here this morning, Jesus can look at us and know our needs. But he does much more than that. We can LOOK TO JESUS FOR OUR NEEDS because he not only KNOWS THEM, but he also FULFILLS THEM, and he does it with unequaled power. We're told in our text: "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."

The disciples were concerned that it was getting late, and that unless Jesus sent the crowd on its way soon, they'd never make it back to town to buy food. The disciples never stopped to think that perhaps Jesus had something else in mind. We're told: "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. (18) 'Bring them here to me,' he said. (19) 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."

The disciples were perplexed by Jesus' command to feed the people. When they brought the five loaves and two small fish to Jesus, John says that their only thought was "How far will they go among so many?" Despite all of the miracles that Jesus had performed, they still forgot that with Jesus all things are possible. And so Jesus took that small amount of food, he thanked his Heavenly Father for it, and then he fed a crowd of thousands.

That's the famous miracle. That's the story we know by heart. But it's more than just a story from Jesus' life. Jesus didn't feed 5000 men just so they wouldn't go hungry. He also performed this miracle as he did all his miracles to prove beyond a doubt that he is the Son of God. And what does this mean for us? It means that we can go beyond simple awe that Jesus could feed thousands with a little food. It means we also bow our heads in humility before this Son of God who died and rose again to pay for our sins and conquer Satan. That's what it means to have a Savior who is the Son of God-a God who not only knows our physical needs and meets them, but also knows our spiritual needs, and gives himself as the answer.

Realize that there are millions who listen to this miracle and fall into very different categories than you. There are those who scoff at this miracle and say it's just another myth from a book filled with myths and fairy tales. There's another group who listen to this miracle and tell us that we shouldn't believe that Jesus actually fed thousands, since that is scientifically impossible, but we can find comfort in the spiritual truths that the story offers, that Jesus provides for our needs. There's a third group that says, "Of course Jesus fed thousands. Of course he walked on water. Of course he turned water into wine." But isn't it too bad that Jesus doesn't do that same thing still today?"

God would hope that we'd fall into a fourth category. May God gives us the faith to confess: "Yes, Jesus did miracles. And yes, God still does miracles today." We all know this. We've heard of people who are in serious accidents and shouldn't survive, but walk away with barely a scratch. We've heard of people who are terminally ill, yet they recover. But we've seen greater miracles than that. In the last few weeks, we've seen babies baptized…babies who are carried to this baptismal font in the arms of their parents and return to the pew as a child of God. In a few minutes many of you will experience the miracle of hearing your Savior say, "This is my body, this is my blood."

But all too often, the average Christian is no better than the average Packer fan. You realize that even if by some "earthly" miracle, the Packers would manage to go 13-3 the rest of the season, win their division and make the playoffs; that if they'd lose their first game more than one Packer fan would ask, 'Mike Sherman, what have you done for me lately?" And that is how we often treat God. "God, I know you do miracles, I know you can do anything, but God, where are you NOW, now that someone I love is suffering, now that I am facing a crisis…God, what have you done for me lately?"

When I was 7 years old and in 2nd grade, my dad was diagnosed with terminal bone marrow cancer. The doctor told him there was nothing he could do, that he had at most 6 months to live, and that he might not see Christmas. 14 years later, when I was a senior at Northwestern College, my dad died…not of bone marrow cancer, but something else. His original doctor said that there was no explanation for his recovery, that it was a miracle. But when he did die? My reaction? I was 21 years old, preparing for the ministry. I certainly should have known better. Yet instead of thanking God for the 14 years he allowed my dad to live, all I could ask is "God, 14 years ago you cured him, what about now?"

And to this day, there are still times when I question God, and think "If only, if only my dad could have seen me stand in a pulpit, if only he could have walked my sister down a wedding aisle, if only my kids could have Grandpa hold them on his lamp, then I'd be happy." But then I realize that the greatest miracle that God performed for my dad wasn't when he cured him of cancer when I was 7, but the greatest miracle was when he took him to heaven 10 days before Christmas when I was 21.

And that is the greatest miracle God has in store for each of us. It is so easy for us to forget that. But a Savior who could feed 5000, a Savior who could walk on water, a Savior who could raise Lazarus from the dead is the same Savior who will one day reach out and take you by the hand, and lead your loved ones in heaven. That is the miracle of God's forgiveness. Thank God that he has made you part of his greatest miracle. Amen.