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INJ
St John 6:1-15
'From Heaven Above to Earth I Come'
Divine Service
Laetare, the 4th Sunday in Lent | March 18th, 2007
Dear Saints,
St. John ends his Gospel with these words, “There are also many other things that Jesus did, which if they were written one by one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that would be written. Amen.” [John 21:25]
The things that our Lord Jesus did, the people He delivered, the sick He healed, the sermons He preached, St John is telling us that these are certainly not limited to the things recorded in the Gospel texts. There is much more about Jesus, enough to fill the world with books, marvelous stories and events that we will never know of until the Lord invites us to His throne through our death. This is a helpful thought to keep in mind when we are considering the Gospels, for this means that the events that are recorded for us were selected by the Holy Spirit for the church, to be hear and read and studied. Of all the things that Jesus did, the things put before us in the Gospel are what the Lord would have us know and consider for our salvation.
“And truly Jesus did many other signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name.” [John 20:30-31]
Let us then consider the miracle of the feeding of the five thousand, why the Lord has this text for us, and let us believe and have life in Jesus' name.
First, Jesus is teaching us not to worry. Look at what a desperate situation this is. Five thousand men plus women and children out in the wilderness, if they leave they will faint along the way. They have nothing, no food, no provisions, nothing but hungry bellies, nothing but a growing worry and an anxious looking at the sun as it begins to set over the Galilean hills, nothing but Jesus. and look, that is enough, more than enough. Five loaves and two fish, sit down in groups of fifty, eat and be full. Look at verse 12: “they were filled.”
With Jesus there is nothing to worry about. Oh yes, our eyes and our bellies might tell us to worry, our bank account and our mailbox stuffed with bills might tells us to worry. The doctor might tempt us to worry, or the newsman, or the politician. But not Jesus. “Do not worry.” That's how Jesus talks. “Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more that food and the body more than clothing?” [Matthew 6:25] That's how it is with Jesus; it's that simple.
When we are hungry or poor or in need the devil tempts us to worry, and which of us is free of it? Of worry? Of anxiety? Of the rumbling doubts and fears of the future? Repent. With Jesus there is no place for worry. You are His. He will take care of you. He has died for you, given His life for you, how much more then will He also give you all things. Seek first His kingdom, His righteousness, His forgiving you all your sins, and all the rest will be added to you. He opens His hands and satisfies the desire of every living thing. Open your mouth wide, says the Lord, and I will fill it. Jesus feeding the five thousand teaches us that there is no place for worry.
Second, Jesus in the wilderness teaches us that we are not to be wasteful or ungrateful of His gifts. “Gather up the fragments that remain, so that nothing is lost.” And then twelve baskets full of crumbs, an abundance, more than they started with. When we are stuffed full and satisfied we become careless with the Lord's gifts, just like if you've eaten too much and can't take another bite, then it doesn't matter how good the piece of pie that's put in front of you. You despise it. Ugh, get it away.
This, dear saints, is the particular sin that besets us in these United States. We have homes and food and drink a plenty. We can get around from here to there. We have schools and roads and libraries and quite a bit of peace and safety. We, as a nation, are rich. Materially speaking, we are perhaps the richest people that have ever lived in the history of the world. And more, the church is left at peace. There is no one preventing us from worshiping; no one threatening to kill us if we speak the name of Jesus. There's not a mob standing outside waiting to stone me if I preach that Jesus is the only way to heaven. It hasn't always been so, and it will not always be so. We must be thankful, and rejoice in God's gifts, and not squander them, or waste them because they are normal, or let them go unnoticed.
When Dr Luther preaches on this texts he notes how in Wittenberg there are pulpits and churches and books filled with the Gospel, in every church and home the Gospel might be heard, but it is wasted, left lying on the desert floor, no one picks up the fragments, no one comes to hear the preaching of the Lord's Word. The Gospel was so common, they were so rich with it, that it was neglected or despised or forgotten. Lord forbid that this would happen to us, that we would become so bloated with the Gospel that we want no more of it. May the Holy Spirit continue to show us our wretchedness and idolatry so that we hunger and thirst for the Lord's forgiveness and righteousness.
The third thing the Lord might teach us this morning is related to the second, namely the Lord would teach us to pray. Jesus says, “When you pray, say, 'Give us this day our daily bread.'” Again the devil is tempting us to think that our daily bread comes from ourselves, our hard work and effort. “I've earned it.” But dear saints, don't believe the devil. Every good gift comes from God. He causes the rain to fall, the field to yield its harvest, the earth to bring forth life.
Look at Jesus feeding the five thousand, that's who answers this prayer and gives us our daily bread. Do you think the seed becomes wheat on its own strength? Do you think that you are alive because of your health? The Lord Jesus alone gives us our breath, sustains our life, feeds us and gives us all that we need. We are completely and utterly dependent upon Him and His goodness. And we have all these things because we ask, “Dear Lord Jesus, give us this day our daily bread.”
So the feeding of the five thousand teaches us not to worry, to not be wasteful but full of thanks for the Lord's gifts, and finally to pray, knowing that all things come from God, to ask Him as dear children as their dear Father for all that we need.
Every year Lent begins with Jesus in the wilderness, alone, forty days hungry and thirsty. Then there is no bread, no even a bite. Jesus does not provide for Himself. But when He is surrounded by the five thousand plus it is a different story. Jesus does for them what He does not do for Himself. Everything He does is or us and our benefit. He feeds us, takes care of us, He loves us, He dies for us. He promises us that our sins are forgiven, and in the midst of the wilderness of our sin and doubts, He spreads this, His Table before us, feeding us more than bread, even His body and blood, broken and shed for the forgiveness of all of your sin.
Come. Take and eat. Be filled with His mercy. Believe, and believing, have life in His name. Amen.
And the peace of God which passes all understanding, guard your hearts and minds through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
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Pastor Bryan Wolfmueller
Hope Lutheran Church | Aurora, CO
