Romans
6:19-23 * Mark 8:1-9
I
want to proclaim lessons to be learned from today’s Gospel reading.
1.
That the Lord provides
2.
That Jesus was the prophet like unto Moses
3.
That Jesus Christ is our spiritual food and drink to eternal life.
This
was one of two similar miracles that Jesus did. On the other occasion He fed
five thousand families with five loaves and two fishes. Here He feeds four
thousand – either individuals or families – with seven loaves and “a few small
fishes.” From both miracles we can learn the following things.
The Lord provides
"No
one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other,
or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God
and mammon. Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious
about your life, what you shall eat or what you shall drink, nor about your
body, what you shall put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than
clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather
into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value
than they? And which of
you by being anxious can add one cubit to his span of life? And why are you anxious about
clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil
nor spin; yet I tell you,
even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass
of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will
he not much more clothe you, O men of little faith? Therefore do not be anxious,
saying, `What shall we eat?' or `What shall we drink?' or `What shall we wear?' For the Gentiles seek all these
things; and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first his kingdom and
his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you. Therefore do not be anxious
about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Let the day's own
trouble be sufficient for the day.” – Matthew 6:24-34
First,
let us consider something very practical about our needs in this life,
including our material needs. In Genesis chapter 22, Abraham, after God
provided the ram in the thicket, called God by the name “Jehovah-Jirah,” which
means the LORD will provide. If we are believers who seek to do the will of
God, to the best of our understanding, then we have a promise that we will have
whatever we need. Maybe we will not have whatever we desire; but we will have
our needs provided for, even when times seem impossible.
Without minding too much the things of
the world, or laying up for ourselves treasures on earth (as the Lord warns
against in the same passage), we live with the constant awareness of our
weakness and our needs. Without water and food and sleep and housing and
clothing, we would be in severe depravation. We depend on having all these
things just to get by each day. Jesus’ command not to be anxious is only part
of what He said. He also made a promise concerning even earthly things. Worry
and anxiety about the things of this world can lead to bad health, and even
worse, to sin and erosion of faith.
I have often considered what makes
people greedy. Covetousness is a sin against the commandment to love thy
neighbor. Greed is the perpetual state of being covetous enough to deprive
others of their needs and their basic rights. But what causes greed to arise in
the human heart? With some the seeds of greediness are sown in simple selfish
covetousness. But beware of another cause, namely the very anxiety against
which Jesus teaches us here.
The felt need to acquire wealth in
this world can stem from unbelief, that lack of faith that God will provide. So
warns St. Paul
“But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we
brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out.
And having food and raiment let us be therewith content. But they that
will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and
hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the
love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they
have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows. But thou, O man of God, flee
these things; and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience,
meekness. ” – I Timothy 6:6-11
The
best way to avoid those dangers is to be content with what God has given you,
and not to lust for wealth with the desperation of unbelievers. Live in
contentment and in faith, not in anxiety; and be at peace.
A prophet like unto Moses
“And the LORD said unto me, They have well spoken that which they
have spoken. I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren,
like unto thee, and will put my words in his mouth; and he shall speak unto
them all that I shall command him. And it shall come to pass, that
whosoever will not hearken unto my words which he shall speak in my name, I
will require it of him.” - Deuteronomy 18:17-19
Much in the life of Moses foreshadows the life of Christ on earth,
beginning with the attempt of a worldly ruler to have Him put to death, and
going after several of His fellows in the attempt to kill Him. It was true of
Moses that Pharaoh ordered the deaths of the Hebrew male babies, and that he
was saved by his family. His sister Miriam placed him in an ark of bulrushes
and floated him on the river. When Christ was born into this world the mad king
Herod ordered the deaths of all the male children born in Bethlehem
Here in the eight
chapter of Mark, the people have followed Jesus into the wilderness, a desert
wilderness. Just as the Israelites who came out of Egypt
First, consider
well the warning, “whosoever will not hearken unto my words which he shall
speak in my name, I will require it of him.” Think of the words with
which Jesus closed the Sermon on the Mount:
“Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord,
shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father
which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we
not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy
name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I
never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity. Therefore
whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto
a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: And the rain descended,
and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell
not: for it was founded upon a rock. And every one that heareth these
sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which
built his house upon the sand: And the rain descended, and the floods
came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was
the fall of it.” Matthew 7:21-27
Jesus
is the One whose words we cannot afford to ignore, forget or disobey. He is the
Wisdom of God that is to be prized above all earthly riches. Without His words
to guide us, we wander off lost. This is God’s beloved Son: Hear Him.
Whatsoever He saith unto you, do it.
And we know what He has said, teaching
as one who has authority.
Jesus Christ is our spiritual food and
drink to eternal life.
In the desert wilderness this
multitude had nothing to eat. They were not able to keep themselves alive. Spiritually
and physically, that is true of everyone born into this world. Even if you live
as long as Methuselah himself, one day thou shalt surely die. Life in this
world will come to an end. Furthermore, in terms of what we read last week in
the sixth chapter of Romans, by our own power we could not be dead to sin and
alive unto God.
That desert wilderness is much like
this fallen world. Everyone born in trespasses and sins, which includes each of
us (indeed everyone but Jesus Christ Himself who is from above) has nothing to
eat. That is, this fallen world offers no true nutrition such as can keep our
souls alive. The people of the world are dead to God, alive only to sin, and
destined to die physically. We too are destined to physical death; but in
Christ we are alive unto God by grace. And our life unto God is eternal.
If we fall asleep in Christ today, we
shall remain in the presence of God. And, even then we would have something to
hope for, according to the clear teaching of Scripture, namely, to be clothed
again in the resurrection on the Last Day. Christ, who died for our sins as the
perfect offering to God, rose from the dead to make us like Him. And, as we
know, “Death hath no more dominion over Him.”
In the sixth chapter of the Gospel of
John, following the miracle so similar to this one, Jesus told the people that
Moses gave them not that true bread from heaven. He said, “I am that true bread
which comes from heaven. I am the bread of life.” He told us that His flesh and
blood are the food and drink of eternal life.
And he tied it in with believing in
Him. Please do not reduce feeding on Christ only to the outward sign. Christ is
our very life. We live in Him, in Him dead to sin and alive unto God. When
eating the sacrament today of His Body and Blood, realize that you must
believe. This partaking, this Communion, is for those who know hearty
repentance and true faith. When you partake it ought to be the expression of
your whole life, your daily life, your life in God, and all of what you believe,
hope for and live for. It is not a “religious duty” to please God and somehow
appease Him. It is fellowship with God and with His Son Jesus Christ, and with
all the Body of Christ. You declare by this action, in the presence of men and
of angels, that you live by Jesus Christ.
The
Lord provides. Be not anxious.
Jesus
was the prophet like unto Moses. Hear and obey Him.
Jesus
Christ is our spiritual food and drink to eternal life. Eat, drink, and be filled.
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