8-2-26 Matt 14:13-21
Gospel: Matthew 14:13-21
13 Now when Jesus heard [about the beheading of John the Baptist,] he withdrew from there in a boat to a deserted place by himself. But when the crowds heard it, they followed him on foot from the towns. 14 When he went ashore, he saw a great crowd, and he had compassion for them and cured their sick. 15 When 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.” 16 Jesus said to them, “They need not go away; you give them something to eat.” 17 They replied, “We have nothing here but five loaves and two fish.” 18 And he said, “Bring them here to me.” 19 Then 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. 20 And all ate and were filled, and they took up what was left over of the broken pieces, twelve baskets full. 21 And those who ate were about five thousand men, besides women and children.
Grace, mercy, and peace, in Jesus they come.
Jesus tried to take some time off, away from the pressure of his teaching the disciples and the crowds. More like a day’s break, not a vacation. He went out in the boat, drawing up to a deserted place along the shore. You see, He had received bad news and needed time alone, to mourn the death of John the Baptist. No doubt he was considering the perilous position he was in and the likelihood that more opposition was mounting against him. He may have felt John’s death was partly his fault, stirring up the authorities by his challenging of true authority. The throng of people, that were attracted to Jesus and his work among them, continued to be eager to be hear and experience more from him. So on this day, they followed on foot around the lake to discover where Jesus had gone. And they found him. It seems that Jesus did not get an opportunity for much of any alone time. Still his reaction to the crowd was a compassionate one. He took up their concerns, hear their worries, and cured their sick.
This group of people had been walking and even carrying some of their companions after all they had their ailing and disabled with them. Their travel would have been exhausting so they were relieved to have found Jesus and could now stop. It would not have been a comfortable, accommodating wayside rest stop, either, just a place where they could sit on the grass. We learn it was a very deserted place, with no nearby towns, no site with a food market or any indoor rooms in which to rest.
Jesus knew they were not concerned about receiving hospitality; they were there because of the dire needs of their loved ones and to hear about God’s love. They needed to find hope, not relaxation and supper. But the disciples seem to have had enough with all these people. They obviously would be needing to eat and settle in for the night. They felt it was time for this huge crowd to move on and find their own way. Jesus had other plans. Even though he was the one who had tried to find time by himself, he invites the crowd to get comfortable and tells the disciples to get the food distribution underway.
You know how it is with us; we tend to put food near the top of our priorities. We often use people’s interest in food to raise funds for good causes. Our Bake Sale in October is a good source for money to support ministry projects. Local groups also cash in with Brat Sales, Pig roasts, Chicken dinners, Corn beef and Cabbage, Beef a rama, and food trucks are seen at every outdoor gathering. If we feed the crowds, we make money to meet the goals of the organization that sponsors that event. Sometimes it is a dinner that is used to celebrate a significant event. We build other gatherings around food to highlight celebrations for holidays, birthdays, anniversaries, a retirement, and wedding receptions. In Jesus’ day there were many a feast too.
In fact, this gospel story was preceded by such a party. Herod had a birthday. He was the ruler of that territory and it was incumbent upon him to host a feast to make sure everyone with noteworthy status was present and impressed by his affluence and power. He was then holding John the Baptist in prison because he had dared criticize Herod for marrying his brother Philip’s wife. When that party began to get rowdy and his new stepdaughter entertained them with a well-received dance routine, Herod foolishly offered her an open-ended reward for pleasing his guests and himself. Pressured by her mother, she asked for the head of John the Baptist. Against his better judgment, but because he was trapped by his promise, Herod had John beheaded. That feast led to an unfortune ending which changed the focus Herod had intended. Although it was in line with the way rulers did advertise their supremacy. Often such events would have included a display of military might to visually emphasize their power over a defeated people. In this instance, it was Herod’s wife who made sure it was realized that no one would be allowed to thwart this ruler’s will by disagreeing with Herod’s decisions.
Compare that dinner party with what happens next with the crowd focused on Jesus. They also were impressed with a strong leader; it was one of the reasons they had come. By this point, there would have been many expressions of gratitude, tears of joy, and an outpouring of relief for the many healings and for the comfort that had been received. Children were probably dancing around with all the excitement. Those whose life situation had been transformed were probably conveying their thanks with laughter or in silent wonder. The commotion would have been crazy with happiness bubbling over. When the disciples want to find some peace for Jesus and probably for themselves; Jesus instructs them to give this whole, wild, assembly something to eat. We like to top off celebrations with food, you know! It could be Jesus even wanted to host this meal as a way to honor the life of John the Baptist. You know people have a wide- spread custom of doing that kind of thing.
From those five loaves and two measly fish, the disciples were expected to feed this host of folks. They readily admit their resources were as NOTHING. They had no idea where to begin to solve this dilemma. Have you ever faced such a problem, no ideas? Jesus’ solution is as he said: “Bring them here to me.”
Don’t know what to do, where to turn? Bring your troubles to Jesus. Settle down, sit in the grass, take a load off - give it over to Jesus. The disciples just started passing out the food and they were able to keep passing it out, until everyone had eaten. Nothing turned into an excess; emptiness began to overflow into abundance. Doubt and discouragement turn into a party of thanksgiving. This story can repeat itself again and again. It takes different settings and doesn’t always involve food. Bring your need, turn over you challenge, share your heartache, take it all to Jesus. When you can see nothing, Jesus can change your vision. Believe it! When there was nothing to be used to fix the sinful nature of humanity, Jesus came and gave His life. Accept it!