Sermon Title: The Year of Popularity - The Feeding of 5000
The followers of Jesus came back to Him. They told Jesus all they had done and taught. He said to them, “Come away from the people. Be by yourselves and rest.” There were many people coming and going. They had had no time even to eat. They went by themselves in a boat to a desert. Many people saw them leave and knew who they were. People ran fast from all the cities and got there first. When Jesus got out of the boat, He saw many people gathered together. He had loving-pity for them. They were like sheep without a shepherd. He began to teach them many things. The day was almost gone. The followers of Jesus came to Him. They said, “This is a desert. It is getting late. Tell the people to go to the towns and villages and buy food for themselves.” He said to them, “Give them something to eat.” They said to Him, “Are we to go and buy many loaves of bread and give it to them?” He said to them, “How many loaves of bread do you have here? Go and see.” When they knew, they said, “Five loaves of bread and two fish.” Then He told them to have all the people sit down together in groups on the green grass. They sat down in groups of fifty people and in groups of one hundred people. Jesus took the five loaves of bread and two fish. He looked up to heaven and gave thanks. He broke the loaves in pieces and gave them to the followers to set before the people. He divided the two fish among them all. They all ate and were filled. After that the followers picked up twelve baskets full of pieces of bread and fish. About five thousand men ate the bread.
The miracle of the feeding of 5000 reminds us of the great compassion Jesus had on those around Him. His important work did not distract Him from the needs of others. Jesus loved others and this love was expressed over and over again in tangible ways.
Dr. Warren Wiesbe points this out when he writes the following: “Jesus sent the 12 Apostles out to minister because He had compassion on the needy multitudes (Matt. 9:36–38). This time, the needy multitudes came to them—and the disciples wanted to send them away! As yet, they had not learned to look at life through the eyes of their Master. To them, the crowds were a problem, perhaps even a nuisance, but to Jesus, they were as sheep without a shepherd.
When D.L. Moody was building his great Sunday School in Chicago, children came to him from everywhere. They often passed by other churches and Sunday Schools to be with Mr. Moody. When asked why he walked so far to attend Moody’s Sunday School, one boy replied, “Because they love a fella over there!” The children could tell the difference.”
God has this same great love for us today. He doesn’t sit in a distant place, too distracted from our needs and problems. Rather, He is involved in our lives, viewing us with great compassion and showing His love through tangible ways on a daily basis.
This coming Sunday we will talk about how Christ gave His followers rest, provision and miracles and how He does the same for us today as we continue the sermon series, “The Life of Christ.” Hope to see you then!
