Matthew 61
(Chapter 14)
Compassion in action, The story of the little boys Lunchable!
Matthew 14:13–21 (NIV)
13 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.
14 When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them and healed their sick.
15 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.”
16 Jesus replied, “They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat.”
17 “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.
20 They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over.
21 The number of those who ate was about five thousand men, besides women and children.
Let’s take a closer look!
Matthew 14:1–2 (NIV)
1 At that time Herod the tetrarch heard the reports about Jesus,
2 and he said to his attendants, “This is John the Baptist; he has risen from the dead! That is why miraculous powers are at work in him.”
Matthew 14:13 (NIV)
13 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.
· Let’s set this up
· Jesus hears about Herod and knows that He drew some unwanted attention
· And He was trying to go somewhere to lay low for awhile
· To regroup and get some perspective, to chill for a bit
· He had got on the radar of a bad man, and it was not His time to go
· So, He went to a “solitary” place
o We think it was the wilderness of Galilee near a town called Bethsaida out of Herod’s Reach
· But it was easier to get away from the King than the crowds! THEY FOLLOWED!!
Compassion is everything
14 When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them and healed their sick.
· Compassion literally means “to suffer together.” Among emotion researchers, it is defined as the feeling that arises when you are confronted with another's suffering and feel motivated to relieve that suffering.
Compassion alludes to kindness and sympathy, but there is something deeper, something even more profoundly powerful, in its meaning.
The origin of the word helps us grasp the true breadth and significance of compassion.
· In Latin, ‘compati’ means “suffer with.”
· Compassion means someone else’s heartbreak becomes your heartbreak.
· Another’s suffering becomes your suffering. True compassion changes the way we live.
The Bible is saturated with compassion. It seeps through the pages of the Old Testament, pours out of the Gospels, and presents itself as a challenge to followers of Jesus. The Bible talks of a God who has compassion for Israel. It tells of a Savior who suffers for the world, and it asks us to live and act compassionately.
“We must learn to regard people less in the light of what they do or omit to do, and more in the light of what they suffer.” — Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Jesus was the “GREAT” example of compassion. And we are to follow!
Colossians 3:12 (NIV)
12 Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.
· Showing compassion is putting Love into actions
· When we suffer with others, it is the greatest action of Love we can show
· That why I say instead of looking down on them, walk with them in their suffering!
Our example to follow!
Jesus stopped what He was doing, forgot about His problems and took compassion (suffered alongside) the people that followed. He didn’t lecture them about their sin or condemn them, He showed them compassion, period.
Jesus had done more than enough, Right??
15 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 laid aside His own problems and healed the sick
· And taught them, loved on them
· He had poured His heart out to them
· And the disciples, His clan, His hey stupid friends, said enough is enough!
o Send them home
o Send the anywhere but here
o It’s getting late, they need to eat, and so do we
o Sounds reasonable, right??
No, He hadn’t done enough!
16 Jesus replied, “They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat.”
· Let this be an example for us all
· Just when we think we have done enough
· When we are ready to pat ourselves on the back
· To step away from the folks God calls us to suffer with
· Think again, if they still need you, you’re not done!
We were never meant to do it alone!
17 “We have here only five loaves of bread and two fish,” they answered.
18 “Bring them here to me,” he said.
· The disciples can’t do what Jesus requested
· There are upwards of 8 to 10 thousand people to feed
· And they have 5 loaves and 2 fish (enough for say 15)
· There are no food trucks, no Dillon’s, no Walmart
· They can’t feed 25 let alone 8,000!
You ever felt like that
· Like God has laid too much on you
· Too much drama
· To many mouths to feed
· Too much work to do
· To many people needing you
· To many directions you're being pulled
· If so, please pay attention to the next thing Jesus says
18 “Bring them here to me,” he said.
· Jesus wants you to bring them to Him
· Lay them at His feet
· Take His yoke
· Seek His help
· Look to His people
· Al these trials, all theses burdens are meant to draw you closer to Christ!!!!
There is so much going on here!!!
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.
Let’s just look at 3 things in this one verse!
1. the simplicity of the setting and the majesty of the miracle performed!
· In other parts of the bible, we see kings having a lavish feast with gold, marble, and silver
· But Jesus has a feast that defies nature itself, in the wilderness on a hillside, in the grass
Jesus shows, in a divine feast, the riches of a glorious kingdom, and the honor of a more excellent majesty, even a dominion over nature itself; but here is not so much as a cloth spread, no plates or napkins laid, no knives or forks, not so much as a bench to sit down on; but, as if Christ intended indeed to reduce the world to the plainness and simplicity, and so to the innocence and happiness, of Adam in paradise, he commanded them to sit down on the grass. By doing everything, without any pomp or splendor, he plainly showed that his kingdom was not of this world.[1]
2. the deity of Jesus to defy natural law (5 loaves, 2 fish feeds thousands)
· This is the first miracle that shows the deity of Jesus
· That He is not only 100% man, but that He is 100% God
· That He can defy nature itself
· That He has the full authority and power of God
· And that is something we can never deny!!
3. we are the conduit that Jesus uses to deliver His message to the world
· Then He gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the people.
· Jesus shows that we are to be the conduit by which His grace, mercy, compassion, and Love flows
· We must allow what God so freely gives us, flow through us to the ones that God places in our lives!
The gift that keeps on giving!
He is a never-ending source that keeps us filled!
20 They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over.
· The love and compassion that God gives us will never run out as long as we keep giving it away
· Some things we have
o Money
o Time
o Food
· Might run out but God's love and mercy will never run out
· It is a spring that continues to flow through us and even grows in us the more we give it away!
2 Corinthians 9:10 (ESV)
10 He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness.
[1] Henry, M. (1994). Matthew Henry’s commentary on the whole Bible: complete and unabridged in one volume (p. 1685). Peabody: Hendrickson.
No comments:
Post a Comment