Matthew S Telling of the Same Events on a Mountainside Speak to Ppl Iv

Matthew S Telling of the Same Events on a Mountainside Speak to Ppl Iv

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Set scene:

  • Gentile country[i] – far side of Galilee – what we now call Golan Heights[ii] - wilderness[iii].
  • Matthew’s telling of the same events – on a mountainside – speak to ppl[iv]
  • Matthew 15:30-31Great 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. 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.
  • v1- large crowd gathered – all over the region
  • v3some came a long way to see J
  • You would, wouldn’t you. In a day & age with limited medicine, little social care system – healings.
  • There 3 days – slept out – great sermon!
  • Picnic runs out on day 1. Pretty hungry. Longest ever gone w/o food? 3 days once – tough.
  • Problem: desperately hungry. Can’t send them away: collapse – die. Can’t stay here – desert.

Jesus’ response: v2 I have compassion for these people

  • Feeds them – provides for their material needs
  • Compassion – pure and simple – no other reason.
  • Jesus sees the hungry, weary people: heart goes out to them – compassion. Hope that’s us – ought to be if we’re going to be like J.

Disciples:

  • In the middle of nowhere J -v4 where in this remote place can anyone get enough bread to feed them? where can we get bread from? Staple food.
  • How much would you need?
  • 4000 present – Matthew: “men”[v] + women & children. Do maths.
  • ParquedaBela Vista, Lisbon, Portugal. June 2009 – biggest picnic ever. 22,232 people[vi]. Diff event w 20k[vii]. Lots.
  • How much bread and fish could you eat after 3 days?
  • 800g loaf between 4 + 140g (5oz) fish (according to BUPA[viii])
  • 5000 loaves (4 tonnes of bread), 2.8t of fish!
  • Manage to cobble together 7 loaves – flatbreads probably[ix] - not much between a crowd.Even with a few small fish thrown in – probably sardines[x].
  • I’m not sure we could even feed the front row!
  • But J gives thanks for what they have - first bread, then fish(v6,7) – then distributed them.J is grateful.
  • Would you have given thanks first? Say grace at meal times? Made me think about whether I’m grateful enough. Even when it’s not much.
  • So much: most grateful, generous, giving ppl in the world. Jesus was always thankful.
  • Then somehow - /how – as they distributed a packet of pitta bread and some sardines, several tonnes of food was produced.
  • Bread that had never been baked, and fish that had never swum in the sea[xi]. Jesus created BBQ fish - /good if raw!
  • And as everything the creator makes is perfect[xii], you can bet it was a good meal.
  • Finished: 7 baskets of leftovers. More than start. Big baskets[xiii] – hampers – Paul lowered down from city wall of Damascus in one[xiv].

We should be compassionate towards the needs of others – and grateful for what we have, even if it’s not much. But let’s look at the responses of 2 groups that day:

Pharisees

  • Crossed back over the lake (v10) – religious people – v11 to test him, they asked for a sign from heaven.
  • J: sighed deeply – imagine him rolling his eyes? Answer: No.Why is he so frustrated with them?
  • Ppl /talk – talking. Permanently disabled: limbs re-grown & walking. Blind people seeing.
  • And just created 6.8t of quality food from thin air!
  • And they want a sign – give us some more J! Show us another miracle and then we’ll believe.
  • Doesn’t this show us the problem of spiritual blindness. Even after so many incredible proofs that he is the M – they won’t believe – can’t believe – refuse to believe.
  • Fact is,spiritual blindness is far worse than physical blindness because it’s a problem we’re all born with, because of sin. /Exceptions.
  • Without the power of God through the work of Jesus, we’d all be spiritually blind forever.
  • Spiritual blindness causes irrationality. Irrational for the Pharisees to ask for further proof of why Jesus is – complete madness[xv] – obvious – wouldn’t know the Messiah if he slapped them with a wet fish (or a BBQ’d one!). This is what spiritual blindness does.
  • 2Corinthians 4:4The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ
  • Blinded to the gospel – good news – that displays the glory of J. That’s what the blindness does – prevents people from seeing J as glorious. Might accept him as existing, good - /glorious - /wonderful. Gospel does that. Blindness takes away our ability to see his glory.
  • Solution?

2Corinthians 4:6 [God...] made his lightshineinourheartsto give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayedinthe face of Christ.

  • God made the light shine in our blind hearts – light made us see God’s glory – illuminates Jesus to us – see him as glorious.
  • That’s what the Pharisees didn’t have. They were blind – /know it.
  • That’s why prayer is so important in evang – God’s work not ours.
  • Know that’s you – pray for light – understanding – unblind your eyes – want to see Jesus.

Disciples:

So, some time later, back in a boat (v13) – forgotten to bring lunch (v14) – just one loaf. What shall we do?

  • J: warns them about the “yeast” – influence[xvi] - of Pharisees and Herod – religion and politics. Come back to that.

Disciples: funny? - tragic?

  • Fixated by lunch.v16 It is because we have no bread – that’s why he’s mentioned yeast. Yeah, what are we going to do? 13 guys – 1 pitta. Situation going on here.
  • Mind’s eye: I can just see Jesus – shaking his head – head in hands. Guys: wake up! Think he probably says this with a slightly wearied smile[xvii]:
  • v17 Why are you talking about having no bread? Do you still not see or understand? Are your hearts hardened?Do you have eyes but fail to see, and ears but fail to hear? And don’t you remember?
  • Don’t you remember? Haven’t we been here before recently?
  • Except last time, 20,000 ppl, you think 12 is a big deal?
  • You remember when I fed 5000 men + women & children. Yes. Left over? Yes, 12 baskets – we were really well fed that day – as much as we wanted & more.
  • Leading them through, like a slightly dim-witted child[xviii].
  • And when I fed 4000 men + women & children just the other day. Leftovers there? Yes, 7 huge baskets – man that was a feast. We stuffed ourselves![xix]
  • v21 He said to them,‘Do you still not understand?’
  • He had provided for them before – “don’t you remember?” – here they are worried about exactly the same problem. J can provide – trust me, he’s saying! They’ve forgotten to learn from Jesus’ past faithfulness to them.
  • Be careful that you don’t do the same as the Pharisees – watch out for their influence – that yeast that works its way all through the dough – changes it. Their influence is unbelief – refuse to come to J - /believe him /trust him /love him. Beware of that.

Friends, we can do the same as those disciples.

  • Spiritual blindness is lifted – following Christ. But blindness can come upon us temporarily sometimes. And we forget the lessons of experience, even if we’ve been walking with him a long time.
  • Sorrow has come to you before – and we came through it in the end.
  • The darkness of depression did lift.
  • Temptation came, and we overcame it.
  • Illness got us – but we survived.
  • A problem seemed impossible – got through it.
  • At your wits end – somehow went on.
  • Reached breaking point – yet did not break.
  • Don’t you remember, says Jesus – I helped you before. I’m with you now. Trust him – keep eyes on him.

Pray:

Psalmist: as for me, my feet had almost slipped; I had nearly lost my foothold[xx]. All of us at one time or another – take our eyes off you – stop trusting – in spite of all the history – all that you’ve done for us before – all grace – mercy, kindness – take our eyes off of you – onto our own resources, or look to others instead. Have mercy on us Lord – expose the darkness in us – cause us to flee to your light.

[i] Barclay suggests the possibility that the huge interest in Jesus around the Decapolis was because of the testimony of the Gerasene Demoniac, which seems at least an interesting possibility. (Mark 5:19-20)

[ii]

[iii]

[iv] Matthew 15:29

[v] Matthew 15:38

[vi]

[vii]

[viii]

[ix] They were in Gentile territory though, so maybe yeast-risen bread would have been available?

[x] Sardines are the smallest “clean” fish that are commercially harvested in Galilee

[xi] This is someone else’s phrase, but I can’t remember whose. Probably from a commentary.

[xii] Genesis 1!

[xiii] Rather begs the question why there would be 7 huge baskets lying around at a preaching convention. Maybe they belonged to bakers, keen to sell their bread on day 1!

[xiv]Acts 9:25. This is in contrast with the 12 small baskets that were used at the feeding of the 5000. Different Greek word.

[xv] Romans 1:21, Ephesians 4:18

[xvi] That much is clear from the parallel passage in Matthew 16:12.

[xvii] That’s how Barclay sees it anyway, and I think he’s right.

[xviii] “like one who tries to lead a slow child to a self-evident truth” – William Barclay.

[xix] My paraphrase of “we ate and were satisfied” (v8)!

[xx] Psalm 73:2