#1275 Matthew 14 Part 2 Five Saltines and Two Sardines

 

13 Now when Jesus heard this, he withdrew from there in a boat to a desolate 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 on them and healed their sick. 15 Now when it was evening, the disciples came to him and said, “This is a desolate place, and the day is now over; send the crowds away to go into the villages and buy food for themselves.” 16 But Jesus said, “They need not go away; you give them something to eat.” 17 They said to him, “We have only five loaves here and two fish.” 18 And he said, “Bring them here to me.” 19 Then he ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass, and taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven and said a blessing. Then he broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds. 20 And they all ate and were satisfied. And they took up twelve baskets full of the broken pieces left over. 21 And those who ate were about five thousand men, besides women and children. Matthew 14: 13-21 ESV

Matthew 14: 13-21 Feeding the Multitudes

Now when Jesus heard this - The disciples of John the Baptist had just finished burying their teacher's body, and were now telling Jesus. 

He withdrew from there in a boat to a desolate place by Himself - There is really a lot to think about here. The person who was the herald of Christ's coming, who announced Messiah, baptized Him, was now dead. The Jewish ideal of Messiah coming, removing Roman occupation, and immediately setting up His kingdom was a hope that many held. Herod's father had already tried to kill Jesus as a small child, and as a man, the present Herod has superstitious concerns about Him being the reincarnation of John the Baptist. Jesus as political conqueror and even Jesus as the Lamb of God, Who takes away the sins of the world, both these things await their true prophetic time. He is marching towards the one, the cross, where He will be the Lamb, the sacrifice for sin, and He is the Messiah, yet He is not presently here as a political power. Jesus also loved John, so as many of us would, He also withdraws, wishing to be alone. Things are really speeding up at this point.

…10I have seen the burden that God has laid upon the sons of men to occupy them. 11 He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men, yet they cannot fathom the work that God has done from beginning to end. 12I know that there is nothing better for them than to rejoice and do good while they live,… Ecclesiastes 3: 10-12

…5For even His own brothers did not believe in Him. 6Therefore Jesus told them, “Although your time is always at hand, My time has not yet come. 7The world cannot hate you, but it hates Me, because I testify that its works are evil.… John 7: 5-7

But when the crowds heard of it - He had grown so much in popularity as a teacher, but mostly as a healer, and the testimony of that would drive any invalid to seek such an unprecedented force. There is nothing like Him, not before or after, and so He cannot even make it to a place of seclusion, the crowd is there waiting for Him.

He had compassion on them and healed their sick - We learn here from our example, the Lord Himself, that sometimes we put aside our own hurts, our desire for solitude, and we meet the needs of the people. Jesus spent much time away in quiet, with His Father in prayer, and this is a need that all men have. We need rest, we need time talking with God, studying with the Holy Spirit, and Christ is seemingly headed in that direction, to be alone, yet He has compassion on this crowd. I complain about much less, getting home from work or an outing, and all I want to see is the pillow or the couch, but when your kids are small they have to be fed, the dog needs to go outside, or the neighbor greets you talking about her well pump that won't prime, and you have to have compassion. Mostly, I would rather go fishing, but I know of people who have put aside their own interests for mine. I know that Christ laid aside His royalty, the expectations and comforts that befit the God of the Universe, to take upon Himself humanity, to take up the cross on my behalf, so what is a little of my time, or even all of it? 

“Jesus had come to find peace and quiet and loneliness; instead he found a vast crowd eagerly demanding what he could give. He might so easily have resented them. What right had they to invade his privacy with their continual demands?” (Barclay)

…3Do nothing out of selfish ambition or empty pride, but in humility consider others more important than yourselves. 4Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. 5Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus:… Philippians 2: 3-5

Send the crowds away - There may have been more than one motive here, the disciples may have wanted a break as well, but they see that it is late, and it is a desolate place. There isn't a White Castle within a hundred miles or two Millenia, and this is a great crowd. They will need food.

You give them something to eat - Jesus doesn't do anything that He doesn't see the Father doing, and He tells them, "they need not go away", as if there is no reason. The disciples have been with Him for a while, and He has shown power not only to heal, but power over the elements ie... turning water into wine and telling the Sea to be still. He is their teacher, and He removes the door of needing to go away for lack of food, and so they have to reason within this context, "you feed them". I would be thinking, "what kind of test is this?" 

We have only five loaves here and two fish - My pastor, when I was a small child, called it "5 saltines and 2 sardines", not much, but the disciples were bringing all they had available to them. The thing about anything we have is that it is God's, ultimately you didn't make the things you have, you borrowed them. You may build a log home, but it is from the trees that God created, with the hands and mind He gave you. Keep this in mind, nothing is so small when it is everything. God uses the most insignificant of us, the most average, uninteresting, seemingly without talent or strength, but made willing to say, "here, this is my last piece of fish, but I know that You can do so much more with it." In the gospel of John we learn where the fish came from, a boy, and these were probably pickled or dried fish that his mom had sent with him along with some flat bread.

…8One of His disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said to Him, 9“Here is a boy with five barley loaves and two small fish. But what difference will these make among so many?” 10“Have the people sit down,” Jesus said. Now there was plenty of grass in that place, so the men sat down, about five thousand of them.… John 6: 8-10

Bring them here to Me - Jesus will take whatever we have, and as far as our salvation goes, all we have to offer is our sin, our inadequacy. The disciples have enough food for a meal for one person, but He bids them come.

He ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass - Now, He has just finished healing many in the crowd, and teaching, but I think He is still teaching here. We shouldn't be callous towards people's physical needs. There are people who abuse charity, and I think welfare systems are gross that do not take into account people's ability to work, as the Bible clearly states, "he who does not work shall not eat", yet many politicians favor these systems as a way to take money that people worked for and buy the votes of those who didn't work for it. We will see this issue arise as we continue through the gospels, but here it is, the people came to see Jesus, and now it is late and they are hungry. There is nowhere around for them to get enough food for such a large crowd. There is another lesson, that God knew this situation before they arrived here. Just like the people who followed Moses in the wilderness, He did not bring them out of Egypt to starve them to death, although they, and we, deserve no more than that in our ingratitude. When it is in our power to do good, we should, but the disciples have already acknowledged that there are only 5 loaves and two fishes, and in the gospel of John, Andrew asks, "what difference will these make?" I could just imagine that smile on Jesus's face, that one that says, "I'm glad you asked, have you been with Me this long, and yet do not know Who brings the Manna from heaven?" He has the multitude seated down as an audience before Him, and this is in a remote place, a meadow on the Sea of Galilee. This is a trick that would require several semi loads, a stage with trap doors and lights flashing, some smoke to distract the onlookers, or the Son of God, because they didn't have all that technology back then. This is why it would be so much easier for those who disbelieve in future generations if Jesus's enemies would have just denied that the miracles happened rather than blame them on the devil. 

He looked up to heaven and said a blessing - This is why you pray before your meals, a blessing is thanking God, acknowledging that He is the source of your food, physically and spiritually. He doesn't tell them how good they are, or to look inside themselves, but rather to heaven, as the answer is outside of us.

Then He broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples - He has laid much honor upon them in giving through them, bringing them into His work. Andrew did the math and acknowledged that this was nothing to meet the needs of such a crowd, but they brought what they found. It wasn't enough, so in our minds, probably in theirs, we think, Oh God, lay it upon this person's heart who has great means, but the crowd could have taken up a collection of coin, money wasn't the problem. They were in the middle of nowhere, there was nothing to buy. I always want to give God some sort of play book, tell Him how He should provide, but He already knows, we just need to go to Him with what we have or don't have, trusting in His providence and grace.

…27Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? 28And why do you worry about clothes? Consider how the lilies of the field grow: They do not labor or spin. 29Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his glory was adorned like one of these.… Matthew 6: 27-29

All ate and were satisfied - They were all fed and to fullness.

Took up twelve baskets - Even what was left over was more than what they started with. It is like the mustard seed, or the seed that fell on the tilled soil, it brings forth in great abundance. Now these disciples, who were away from their families, have something to take back to them. We know Peter had a wife and a mother in law, and so they have something to bring back to their families, their neighbors, along with a story that is spreading throughout the country. I wasn't there, but I ate of His mercies. A workman is worth his wages, they served and were rewarded.

5,000 men, beside women and children - Now they didn't use a lot of birth control back then, and the disciples have only given the number of men, for they are the representatives of the families, the head, the protectors and providers. If you thought of them only as families of 4, then this may have been 20,000 or more people. It's staggering, a lot to believe, but sadly, even knowing what they saw, some only want the fish and the bread, and this still goes on today. We will see the sad reality of that as we continue through the gospels, and we should all ask ourselves, "do I want God, or only the fish and the bread?" What did you believe?

…18I have all I need and more, now that I have received your gifts from Epaphroditus. They are a fragrant offering, an acceptable sacrifice, well-pleasing to God. 19And my God will supply all your needs according to His glorious riches in Christ Jesus. 20To our God and Father be glory forever and ever. Amen.… Philippians 4: 18-20