Journey Through Matthew: Hungry Again!
Journey Through Matthew • Sermon • Submitted
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· 15 viewsOnce again, Faithin Jesus results in great blessings from God.
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Introduction
Introduction
Good evening and welcome back!
Hopefully everyone has had a good and restful day.
If you don’t care, starting turning back in your Bible’s to .
We are going to finish up the chapter tonight and we are going to be looking at the subject of “Hungry Again.”
And tonights message is more of a teaching message than anything else.
Because it serves as a transition from one focus of Jesus’ ministry to another.
This morning we looked at how Jesus healed the daughter of the Gentile Woman
And tonight we are going to see Jesus begin to carry his message of hope and his healing powers more and more to the Gentile people.
Which is also going to cause much more trouble with the Jews, which we will start to see next week.
But tonight we are going to be looking at the account of the second large group of people that Jesus fed.
There are a lot of similarities between the two accounts, but one of the key differences is, because of the region Jesus is actually in, this group is made up of predominately Gentile people.
There may have been a few Jews scattered in here and there, but these were mostly Gentiles.
So, lets get right into it.
If you have found in your Bible I’d invite you to stand with me as I read verses 29-39.
Matthew writes . . .
Scripture Focus
Scripture Focus
29 Jesus left there and went along the Sea of Galilee. Then he went up on a mountainside and sat down. 30 Great crowds came to him, bringing the lame, the blind, the crippled, the mute and many others, and laid them at his feet; and he healed them. 31 The people were amazed when they saw the mute speaking, the crippled made well, the lame walking and the blind seeing. And they praised the God of Israel. 32 Jesus called his disciples to him and said, “I have compassion for these people; they have already been with me three days and have nothing to eat. I do not want to send them away hungry, or they may collapse on the way.” 33 His disciples answered, “Where could we get enough bread in this remote place to feed such a crowd?” 34 “How many loaves do you have?” Jesus asked. “Seven,” they replied, “and a few small fish.” 35 He told the crowd to sit down on the ground. 36 Then he took the seven loaves and the fish, and when he had given thanks, he broke them and gave them to the disciples, and they in turn to the people. 37 They all ate and were satisfied. Afterwards the disciples picked up seven basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over. 38 The number of those who ate was four thousand, besides women and children. 39 After Jesus had sent the crowd away, he got into the boat and went to the vicinity of Magadan.
Great Crowds with Great Needs (Vs 29-31)
Great Crowds with Great Needs (Vs 29-31)
So, just like this morning we find Jesus on the move again.
This time, he is moving along the Sea of Galilee.
And apparently these people were following him wherever he went now.
He and the disciples made their way to a mountainside and sat down.
We don’t know if he sat down simply to rest or if he sat down in preparation for what was about to take place.
But when he did sit down . . .
30 Great crowds came to him, bringing the lame, the blind, the crippled, the mute and many others, and laid them at his feet; and he healed them.
And again, these were mainly Gentiles and not Jews.
So here again, the great lessons with the woman from this morning come into play again.
The lessons in faith and also the lessons to our disciples.
Because based on what we read this morning they would have probably been beating the people off with a stick to keep them away from Jesus.
But that’s not what happens.
It appears that Jesus got their attention and their attitude towards these people has completely changed.
No longer were they trying to get the people away from Jesus but they were helping Jesus facilitate this crowd.
And honestly we can only imagine what this crowd looked like.
They weren’t just a bunch of ordinary people following Jesus.
These were sick people, lame people, mute people, people with lepersy, people possessed by demons, blind people, deaf people.
You name it, these people had it.
It was not a pretty site, and it probably didn’t smell the greatest.
It wasn’t like all these nice scenes we see on TV.
These were real people who were desperate for Jesus.
And they didn’t care about Jewish customs or traditions.
They knew one thing, Jesus could help.
And they were going to do anything they could to get to Jesus.
And they did.
The Bible says they were laid at his feet and he healed them.
And I will tell you, if we do the same thing Jesus will heal us.
I don’t know when, I don’t know how, but if we keep the faith, we will be healed.
Remember it was by His stripes that we are all healed.
So, he heals these people and . . .
31 The people were amazed when they saw the mute speaking, the crippled made well, the lame walking and the blind seeing. And they praised the God of Israel.
And I really don’t know why they were so amazed by it.
After all, wasn’t that why they were following Jesus in the first place?
To be touched by Him?
To be healed by Him?
Some were. I would even say most were.
But there are always a few that are just there for the show.
And when the show is not as exciting as they hoped, they move on to a different show.
And these are the ones that were actually following the Man Jesus and not the Messiah Jesus.
And what I mean by that is they were following the man around to see what he would do next, but had never and probably would never put their faith in the Messiah.
We have to be careful and be sure that we are following the Messiah and not the man.
And another thing to notice here is who the praise went to.
Jesus didn’t want the praise.
He never sought praise for himself, but rather the God of Israel, The Father.
Christ’s Compassion (Vs 32-34)
Christ’s Compassion (Vs 32-34)
But going back to the point that most of these people were genuinely trying to do right and follow Christ, in verse 32 Matthew writes . . .
32 Jesus called his disciples to him and said, “I have compassion for these people; they have already been with me three days and have nothing to eat. I do not want to send them away hungry, or they may collapse on the way.”
Now, we can start to see things with a little more perspective.
These people have been following Jesus around for three days already.
And the Bible says they don’t have anything to eat.
And initially, you could say, they had food and run out.
Okay, that’s fine to say, but most people, if they weren’t serious if they were out somewhere and were getting low on food, what would they do?
Leave and go get food.
Just take camping for instance.
If you are camping and you start to run low on food, typically it’s time to break camp and go home.
And if you camp like me, when you run out of chips at the hotel, it’s time to go to the Dollar Store.
But these people were serious.
They were hanging in there.
However, there is more to it.
In the last part of that verse Jesus says I do not want to send them away hungry, or they may collapse on the way.
Now the word “hungry” is more accurately translated in the KJV as fasting.
These people had not run out of food, they hadn’t had any food for three days.
They had been in a state of fasting for three days while following Jesus.
Sometimes it’s a struggle for us to make it till noon on Sunday.
And I don’t think it is because they intended to fast, but rather they just picked up and followed Jesus.
And I don’t think it is because they intended to fast, but rather they just picked up and followed Jesus.
Wherever he went they were going to follow.
They didn’t think about food and provisions.
Jesus was all that was on their mind.
And Jesus seeing these people and the state they were in had compassion on them.
He was afraid that if he didn’t give them something to eat, some of them would never make it back home.
And I think the disciples were concerned, but also still looking at everything from a worldly point of view.
They respond to Jesus . . .
33 His disciples answered, “Where could we get enough bread in this remote place to feed such a crowd?”
Matthew 15:
Really guys? Jesus knows there’s no Kroger or Walmart up the road.
And they know they have some fish and some bread just like before.
And I really don’t understand why they asked the question instead of just presenting Jesus with what they had to offer.
Because really that is all Jesus is looking for any of his disciples to do.
All he wants us to do is give him what we have.
It may not be much, but it is what we can give.
And I’m not talking about money, I’m talking about ourselves.
I’m talking about being the living sacrifice that Paul teaches us in Romans.
That’s what Jesus is really after, us.
But they initially do what we do many times, they hold back.
And maybe they were holding back because they just thought it wasn’t good enough.
I don’t think they were being greedy, except maybe Judas.
But they held back, so Jesus had to ask for it . . .
34 “How many loaves do you have?” Jesus asked. “Seven,” they replied, “and a few small fish.”
Matthew 15:34
So, here we go.
Now we have something to work with.
It’s not a lot but it’s something.
A few small fish and seven loaves of bread.
And a huge crowd of people.
No problem for Jesus though.
He could feed as many as he needed to with it.
Feeding the Crowd (Vs 35-39)
Feeding the Crowd (Vs 35-39)
So the first thing he does is . . .
35 He told the crowd to sit down on the ground.
Have a seat and come to order dinner is about to be served!
36 Then he took the seven loaves and the fish, and when he had given thanks, he broke them and gave them to the disciples, and they in turn to the people.
Matthew 15:36
And one thing that I want to point out is before Jesus did anything with these fish or this bread, he gave thanks.
He gave thanks to the Father for providing it.
And we should do the same thing.
And it’s not just food.
Think about all that God blesses us with.
Do we thank Him for it?
If we do that’s great, but I think that sometimes we forget that God gives us absolutely every blessing we have.
There are so many it is easy to forget some of them.
And there are many we take for granted.
But we should always pause and thank for for His blessings.
Always.
So after Jesus blesses the food, breaks the bread they start distributing it.
And . . .
37 They all ate and were satisfied. Afterwards the disciples picked up seven basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over.
Matthew 15:
Just like before, only this time they seven baskets of leftovers.
Remember, no wasting what God has blessed us with!
38 The number of those who ate was four thousand, besides women and children.
Matthew
So, this was few less people.
Instead of 5000 men plus women and children, this time it was only 4000 men plus women and children.
Still at least 10,000 total people on seven loaves of bread and a few small fish.
And it was really because they had faith in the fact that God would provide.
If they were faithful to God, God would be faithful to them.
And when it was all over . . .
39 After Jesus had sent the crowd away, he got into the boat and went to the vicinity of Magadan.
It was time again to move on.
But this time, the crowd couldn’t follow because they were going by boat.
Altar Call
Altar Call
And that’s where we end tonight.
And I think the message that God really wants us to get from this is a message of faith and of following.
If we place our faith in Jesus and if we are willing to follow Jesus wherever he leads, He will make sure our needs are met.
Now that doesn’t mean that all of our wants will always be provided.
But we will always have every need met, somehow.
And maybe tonight you are struggling.
You’ve had a hard time believing that lately because things have been going on.
Maybe your faith has been weakened by the the troubles of the world.
Would you consider coming and allowing God to work in renewing and refreshing that faith?
The altar is open and available, will you take advantage of it today?