This is the Pastor’s Blog for the Service on Sunday August 2nd. This week the message is titled “WHY This Story”. Included here is the primary Scripture of this message and the Pastor’s notes.
Scripture: Matthew 14:1-21
14 At that time Herod the tetrarch heard the report about Jesus 2 and said to his servants, “This is John the Baptist; he is risen from the dead, and therefore these powers are at work in him.” 3 For Herod had laid hold of John and bound him, and put him in prison for the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife. 4 Because John had said to him, “It is not lawful for you to have her.” 5 And although he wanted to put him to death, he feared the multitude, because they counted him as a prophet.
6 But when Herod’s birthday was celebrated, the daughter of Herodias danced before them and pleased Herod. 7 Therefore he promised with an oath to give her whatever she might ask.
8 So she, having been prompted by her mother, said, “Give me John the Baptist’s head here on a platter.”
9 And the king was sorry; nevertheless, because of the oaths and because of those who sat with him, he commanded it to be given to her. 10 So he sent and had John beheaded in prison. 11 And his head was brought on a platter and given to the girl, and she brought it to her mother. 12 Then his disciples came and took away the body and buried it, and went and told Jesus.
13 When Jesus heard it, He departed from there by boat to a deserted place by Himself. But when the multitudes heard it, they followed Him on foot from the cities. 14 And when Jesus went out He saw a great multitude; and He was moved with compassion for them, and healed their sick. 15 When it was evening, His disciples came to Him, saying, “This is a deserted place, and the hour is already late. Send the multitudes away, that they may go into the villages and buy themselves food.”
16 But Jesus said to them, “They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat.”
17 And they said to Him, “We have here only five loaves and two fish.”
18 He said, “Bring them here to Me.” 19 Then He commanded the multitudes to sit down on the grass. And He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, He blessed and broke and gave the loaves to the disciples; and the disciples gave to the multitudes. 20 So they all ate and were filled, and they took up twelve baskets full of the fragments that remained. 21 Now those who had eaten were about five thousand men, besides women and children.
Pastor’s Message:
The feeding of the five thousand was clearly one of the most important stories for early Christians. It is the only miracle—apart from the resurrection—that appears in all four Gospels. Matthew and Mark even tell of two miraculous feedings: the feeding of the five thousand and the feeding of the four thousand. That means that there are six different versions of Jesus feeding very large crowds in the gospels!
When all four Gospel writers make room for the same story and that story is repeated multiple times, we should probably pay attention. The gospel writers wanted the people of the Church to remember this miracle.
Some biblical scholars even suggest that this story was closely associated with the celebration of Holy Communion in the early Church. It seems to have been one of those passages Christians returned to again and again whenever they gathered around the Lord’s Table. If the congregation celebrated the Eucharist – holy communion – every Sunday, then they may have heard this story every Sunday.
Imagine hearing this story every Sunday.
At first, you might think, “I already know this one.” Five loaves. Two fish. Five thousand people. Twelve baskets left over.
Why did the early Church insist on telling this story over and over? Surely it wasn’t simply because people were amazed by a miracle. The gospels contain plenty of miracles that don’t appear in all four gospels. What kept drawing Christians back to this story?
Perhaps the early Christians weren’t listening primarily for the miracle. Maybe when they gathered around the Lord’s Table, hearing this story helped them remember the compassion and nurture of Christ. Maybe it assured them that God would continue to provide for them during times of persecution. Maybe they recognized themselves in this story. Maybe they were listening for one sentence that still speaks to the Church today. It’s the sentence where Jesus says: “You give them something to eat.”
This sentence takes place in the midst of a really interesting conversation between Jesus and the disciples. The disciples see a problem. Jesus sees an opportunity.
They say, “Send the crowds away so they can find some food.” Jesus says, “You give them something to eat.”
I don’t think the disciples are wrong — they’re practical. It’s getting late. There are thousands of people. The nearest villages are miles away, and there’s not a fast food place or convenience store to grab a quick bite.
The disciples look at what they have: five loaves and two fish. No way is that enough for the twelve of them and Jesus, much less a crowd of thousands.
Then notice what Jesus does: he doesn’t argue with their assessment or their arithmetic. Instead, he asks them to imagine another possibility. “Bring them here to me.” The miracle begins not with multiplication, but with surrender. The disciples don’t create abundance; they simply place their scarcity into Christ’s hands.
Jesus could have given into the temptation he faced in the wilderness when Satan dared Jesus to turn stones into bread so that he could feed himself. Surely the hungry crowds would be reason enough to give into that, don’t you think?
Instead, Jesus blesses those five loaves, breaks them, gives them to the disciples, and the disciples give the blessed bread to the crowd. The disciples become participants in the miracle instead of spectators.
Jesus took the bread, blessed it, broke it, and gave it.
Perhaps Matthew wants us to hear echoes of another meal that is still to come. That deserted place with the hungry crowd begins to sound like the last meal in the Upper Room. The miracle begins to look like the communion table.
Some of us – many of us? All of us? – come to worship each week carrying something that doesn’t seem like enough. Some of us bring weary hearts. Some bring grief. Some bring questions. Some bring fear about the future. Some bring faith that may feel much smaller than it once did.
My friends, let me suggest that we do not come because we have enough. We come because Christ has enough.
At this table, Christ continues to take ordinary gifts, ordinary people, ordinary lives, and bless them. Then he gives them back. Somehow, by grace, we and all that we are and have – no matter how much or how little — become enough for God’s work in the world.
We often think communion ends when the last person has received. But communion always has a second half. We are fed, so that we may feed. Jesus never says, “Watch me feed them.”
He says, “You give them something to eat.”
WE are able to participate in the miracle not because we possess miraculous powers, or unlimited resources. But because Christ chooses to feed the world through those he has first fed himself.
In a few moments, we will hold out your hands to receive a small piece of bread, and we’ll receive a cup with a little bit of juice. It’s not very much, just as five loaves and two fish did not seem like very much.
Yet every time we gather at this table, Christ reminds us that God’s abundance is not measured by the size of the gift but by the generosity of the divine Giver. We receive this bread to comfort our souls. We also receive this bread to become the Body of Christ for the world.
We come hungry. Christ feeds us. Then, as surely as he spoke to those first disciples in that deserted place with the crowds pressing in, he speaks to us: “You give them something to eat. I will make it enough.”
Closing prayer
