Bring It to Jesus

Bryce Hamilton

The Message and Mission • Sermon • Submitted 4 years ago

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Introduction: Years ago, I was a member of a gym called LA Fitness. It was around New Year's, and a man randomly walked up to me and introduced himself. His name was Pat. Pat was looking for some workout tips, but, during our first conversation, he also learned that I was the youth pastor at a local church. In the months that followed, Pat and I had several discussions about the gospel, and he had even attended our church.

One day Pat gave me a call and asked to meet. He sounded pretty serious. We happened to be headed to the gym at the same time that day, and so we agreed to talk there. We met. I asked him what was going on.

He then began to describe his situation. For years one of his close friends had felt trapped in an unloving marriage. From his friend's perspective, his wife didn't respect him, and so he found it difficult to treat her lovingly. Until recently, he had put up with it, but now another woman was showing interest in him. Since they were close, this friend came to Pat for some advice. To his shame, Pat disclosed that he had encouraged his friend to engage in an adulterous relationship. "After all," he said to his friend, "you deserve it after being mistreated by your wife all this time."

Pat then turned to me and said, "I know that I encouraged him to do the wrong thing. His wife doesn't know what's going on, but I know that eventually, this will destroy him and his family. Bryce, what do I do now to make this right? Can I make this right?"

As a single, twenty-two-year-old with almost no adult counseling experience up to that point, I felt utterly unprepared for that moment. As I sat there with Pat, I thought to myself, "I have nothing to offer here. I have no experience to draw from here. I have no ability, no power, and no business attempting to help this man deal with this."

As a follower of Jesus, have you ever felt completely ill-equipped to help someone else in their need?

In our passage tonight, that is precisely where Jesus' disciples found themselves.

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Up to this point in Matthew's gospel, Matthew has introduced Jesus as the Messiah from the line of David, as the new authoritative teacher, and as Immanuel - which means, God with us. Then after announcing God's kingdom and explaining the kingdom's impact on day-to-day life, many accepted Jesus as the true Messiah. Unfortunately, Jesus was also rejected by others - especially Israel's religious leaders. Now starting in , Jesus' ministry enters a period that Warren Wiersbe has identified as "the King's withdrawal" because it is in chapters 14-20 that Jesus often withdrew from the crowds to specifically prepare His disciples for His coming death and their future ministries.

Following the death of John the Baptist, Matthew records for us that when "Jesus heard [of John the Baptist's execution under Herod], He departed from there by boat to a deserted place."

Now, unlike you and me, Jesus was not leaving out of fear. Surely Jesus was not afraid. We know that because the time was soon coming when He would purpose in His heart to walk willingly to certain death. Instead, the execution of John the Baptist signaled the growing antagonism towards Jesus, His message, and His followers. Jesus was undoubtedly taking this opportunity to withdraw from the crowds to mourn the loss of a faithful, beloved prophet, to prepare his disciples for what lay ahead for them, and to pray.

However, Jesus' withdrawal from the crowds does not indicate that He ever stopped serving them. Instead, throughout these periods of withdrawal, the crowds would often seek out Jesus, and He would unselfishly serve them.

And so it was, as Jesus came to this deserted place to rest, as he went out from the boat, he saw a great multitude and was moved with compassion. There is a lot we can learn from Jesus here. He departs from the crowd to teach his disciples and rest. Both Jesus and His disciples knew they desperately needed rest. According to : "there were many coming and going, and they did not even have time to eat." They were exhausted and hungry, but Jesus does not turn the people away. Instead, He uses this as an opportunity to teach his disciples a valuable lesson: you might not have much, but a little is much when you trust in the Lord.

As Matthew unfolds this account, he presents this lesson in three stages: Jesus' deeds of compassion, the misguided demand of the disciples, and the miraculous distribution of the Lord.

Jesus’ Deeds of Compassion

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Jesus' response to the crowd was not typical. Imagine with me that you are one of the disciples. You are exhausted because you have been engaged in ministry that is so busy you have not even had time to eat. One day Jesus turns to you and says, "Let's go away for a little while to rest. We have been working hard, and I know you guys need it. Besides, with the death of John, we need to talk about what is coming for all of you." Relieved, you get into a boat with Jesus and the other disciples. As you travel, maybe you are picturing a beautiful, quiet hill with some trees for shade. You imagine setting up your hammock, preparing your favorite meal, and enjoying time with Jesus. It will be such a relief after all of your work, not to mention all the questions you have regarding the future. After some time traveling, you reach your destination. Excited for the change of pace, you grab your things and head out of the boat, but instead of finding a quiet place to relax, you see another crowd. There are so many of them. "I can't possibly muster the energy to serve a crowd of this size," you think to yourself, but as you turn to head back into the boat, you spot the look in Jesus' eyes. You know that look. You've seen it before — his unrelenting compassion for the people.

In this situation, you and I would likely have told the multitudes, "Head on home folks! Don't you realize that I just lost a close, beloved friend? I am not in the mood, nor do I have the strength to deal with all of your problems today!"

It would have been the natural thing to avoid the crowd and get some much-needed rest. Instead, Jesus was drawn to them with compassion.

The word used here for compassion is only used 12 times in the New Testament, and eight of those occurrences are used to illustrate Jesus' heart for the people. Jesus also used this word in three of his parables. The master had compassion on his servant who owed him an immeasurable debt (). The Samaritan had compassion on the Jewish victim who fell among thieves (), and the father had compassion in his prodigal Son (). Only once is it used by a father begging Jesus to have compassion by helping his demon-tormented son — which, of course, Jesus does ().

Isn't it wonderful that our God is a God of compassion? Compassion is characteristic of all of God's dealings with men. In , Asaph writes that even though Israel was not faithful to God's covenant, "[yet] He, being full of compassion, forgave their iniquity, and did not destroy them." God has always been compassionate and merciful. Our God is not distant; He is not cold concerning men's needs. He sees your confusion, your suffering, and your despair, and He cares for you just as He cared for this crowd.

Jesus had compassion for the people, even though many followed him, not because they believed, but because they hoped to be thrilled by His miracles. According to , "a great multitude followed Him, because they saw His signs which He performed on those who were diseased." Many of the people there that day would ultimately reject Him, and Jesus knew it. Yet He had compassion on them regardless.

Concerning Jesus' compassion that day, John MacArthur notes, "Even as He lovingly healed their bodies, He had [an] infinitely greater concern to heal their souls. Even after Jesus healed a body, it could become sick or crippled again. But when He heals a sin-diseased soul, it is forever freed from sin’s dominion and penalty."

To serve the multitudes, Jesus put aside His need for rest.

Not only is compassion a characteristic attribute of God, but it is also a quality that God has given to us. Being made in the image of God, God expects us to exercise compassion just as He does.

Remember the parable of the compassionate master who forgave his servant an immeasurable debt in ? Later on, in that same parable, that same servant had the opportunity to show compassion to his fellow-servant — but fails to do so. When the master hears of this servant's lack of compassion, He becomes angry with him. How can someone who has benefited from the grace of his master not be equally gracious with someone else? By the end of the parable, the expectation is clear: just as God is compassionate towards you, so you ought to be compassionate towards others.

Transition: Now keep imagining with me that you are one of the disciples. You thought you were going to a desolate place to rest, but instead, you find a massive crowd waiting for Jesus. You hope that Jesus will pass them by so that you can finally have some peace and quiet, but Jesus does not respond like ordinary men — so, for the time being, you swallow your preferences and begin to serve. Hours pass, and now it is late in the day, and you are starting to feel nervous. "We can't keep the people here much longer," you think to yourself. "We are miles away from the nearest town, and even if we weren't, I'm not sure one town could even handle a crowd of this size." So, you go to Jesus.

The Disciples’ Demand

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We know from John's account that Jesus had brought up the issue of feeding the crowd earlier in the day. says, "Then Jesus lifted up His eyes, and seeing a great multitude coming toward Him, He said to Philip, “Where shall we buy bread, that these may eat?"

When we look at the verbs in this verse, we observe that the Greek forms of "coming" and "said" are both present tense verbs. So, while the crowd is gathering, Jesus is saying to Philip, "Where are we going to buy food for these people?"

Apparently, that question had been on the minds of the disciples throughout the remainder of the day. Now it was late in the day, and the disciples were no closer to answering that question than they had been hours before.

Out of options, they came to Jesus and said, "Send the multitudes away, that they may go into the villages and buy themselves food."

Feeling frustrated and unprepared, it seems the disciples panicked. The form of the verbs translated "send" is in the imperative mood. In other words, they were coming to Jesus and telling Him what to do.

Now you might be tempted to think that, had you been there, you wouldn't have let this situation get the better of you. Surely, you would have remained calm and expressed your unwavering trust in Jesus, right? Yet, how many times have you felt overwhelmed and unprepared and failed to recognize the power of the Lord?

Just like us, despite having spent time with Jesus and seeing His awesome power, the disciples failed to look to the Lord to provide what was needed.

To make matters worse, Jesus responds to them, "They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat."

So, the pressure is on. Jesus is not going to send them away; instead, Jesus commands the disciples to give them something to eat.

Transition: Again, I want you to put yourself in the disciples' shoes. You were already tired, but Jesus' unrelenting compassion for the people has put off your time of needed rest, and now he wants you to feed them. You're not even sure an entire village could feed a group of this size, and so you say, "Jesus, you have no choice but to send them away to the villages for food." Only to have Jesus respond, "No, I want you to feed them." Adding frustration on top of your frustration, you say, "But all we have is five loaves and two fish." To which Jesus issues them another command.

Jesus’ Miraculous Distribution

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Jesus' response to the disciples' complete frustration was, "Bring them here to me."

Do you see it? Jesus had brought the disciples to this desolate place where he knew the crowds would follow Him. He knew the disciples were tired. The disciples' probably felt like they didn't even have enough energy to serve these people - let alone the means to provide food for all of them. Yet Jesus insists - I want you to feed them.

You see, Jesus is preparing them for their future ministry. He is teaching them that there will be times when they will think to themselves, "I have nothing to offer here. I have no experience to draw from here. I have no ability, no power, and no business attempting to help in this situation."

To which Jesus responds, "I know! Bring it to me!"

Jesus expected the disciples to have compassion just as He did, and to serve the people as HIs representatives. But He also knew perfectly well that to do any of that - they needed to look to Him.

Now we get to the primary focus of the story. With the food in hand, Jesus had the multitude sit down. He then gave thanks to His Father and broke the loaves. He then gave them to the disciples, and the disciples distributed them to the people.

The disciples, who felt so ill-equipped for their calling, watched as Jesus created food right before their eyes. The disciples weren't able to find much food for the people, but when they trusted in the Lord, the little they had became more than enough.

Transition: Imagine with me one more time that you were one of the disciples. You began the day exhausted and hungry - hoping for some much-needed rest, but quickly realized that Jesus was not willing to ignore the crowds. So, you began to serve alongside Him. The hours got away from you, and so as dusk approached, you went to Jesus and let Him know that there is no way you could feed all of these people. Jesus turned to you and said, "We're not sending them away. I want you to feed them." You know another disciple was able to find five loaves and two fish, but what is that going to do. You went to Jesus again. "Jesus, all we have is five loaves and two fish! What do you want me to do with that?" "I want you to bring them to me," he said. You bring him the five loaves and two fish, and you stand amazed as you watch Him create a meal for thousands. He expected you to feed them, but He performed the miracle that enabled you to feed them. As the events of the day came to a close and the crowd dissipated into the night, you notice that Jesus didn't just create a meal for thousands, but also had created more than the people could even eat. You could not meet such a great need, but the Lord took what little you had and made it more than enough.

Conclusion: As I sat there with Pat, I knew I could not speak from a place of experience, but I could offer him the gospel. I could tell him that what was important was his response to Jesus Christ. I could assure him that his friend could rely on Christ to change him into a man that could love His wife regardless of her attitude towards Him. I could show him from the Bible that there was hope for his friend's family.

At the end of our conversation, Pat thanked me for taking the time to listen and care for him.

Pat was searching, and I believe God brought our lives together for Pat to hear the gospel. Today, Pat is more open to the gospel because of what the Lord did on that day.

How about you? Do you feel ill-equipped to minister to someone in your life? Maybe you prayed today, "Lord, I just don't know what I can do! All I have is five loaves and two fish! What is that compared to this great need?" Hear him say tonight, "Bring that need to me."