1 00:00:00,320 --> 00:00:03,240 You can turn to Matthew chapter 14. 2 00:00:10,800 --> 00:00:13,000 What part do you think we're on in our Matthew series? 3 00:00:13,040 --> 00:00:19,400 Anybody know you're cheating? You know, you see it all the 4 00:00:19,400 --> 00:00:23,120 time. This is part 51 of, uh, of us 5 00:00:23,120 --> 00:00:24,720 walking verse by verse through Matthew. 6 00:00:25,040 --> 00:00:28,920 We're in no hurry to finish. And uh, yeah, we probably got 7 00:00:29,360 --> 00:00:37,000 another another year to go. So we're in Matthew chapter 14. 8 00:00:37,200 --> 00:00:39,400 Last time we were together. I missed you all last week. 9 00:00:39,400 --> 00:00:43,600 It's good to be back. But the week before that, we hit 10 00:00:43,600 --> 00:00:53,200 verses where, yeah, we we hit verses one through 14 or one 11 00:00:53,200 --> 00:00:56,200 through 12 rather. And then we today we're picking 12 00:00:56,200 --> 00:00:58,800 up here in verse 13. What do we need to know about 13 00:00:58,800 --> 00:01:01,320 the book of Matthew? I want to remind you, Matthew 14 00:01:01,320 --> 00:01:04,200 was a tax collector. So the Romans come in, they 15 00:01:04,200 --> 00:01:05,560 conquer everybody. And they say, hey, we're still 16 00:01:05,560 --> 00:01:07,200 going to let you have your little subculture, but we're 17 00:01:07,200 --> 00:01:08,400 still going to be dominant over it. 18 00:01:08,800 --> 00:01:11,800 But hey, who here would like to get rich and betray your own 19 00:01:11,800 --> 00:01:14,440 people at the same time? And Matthew raised his hand and 20 00:01:14,440 --> 00:01:16,960 said, that sounds good to me. I'm, I'm OK with that. 21 00:01:17,320 --> 00:01:20,200 So Matthew becomes a tax collector for the Romans, which 22 00:01:20,200 --> 00:01:23,120 means all the Jews now hate him because bro, you're working for 23 00:01:23,120 --> 00:01:24,560 the Romans. This is not cool. 24 00:01:24,840 --> 00:01:27,200 So not only did he work for the Romans and collect taxes for the 25 00:01:27,200 --> 00:01:31,320 Romans, but tax collectors were notorious for padding and lining 26 00:01:31,320 --> 00:01:33,680 their own pockets. The Romans paid you very well 27 00:01:33,680 --> 00:01:36,080 because they want to, because you are giving up a high cost. 28 00:01:36,080 --> 00:01:39,120 You're being completely kicked out of your society in one 29 00:01:39,120 --> 00:01:41,880 sense, and yet you know your society really well, which is 30 00:01:41,880 --> 00:01:43,440 why the Romans want you to do that job. 31 00:01:43,880 --> 00:01:48,240 So Matthew is the tax collector, and he wrote his Gospel for the 32 00:01:48,240 --> 00:01:50,240 Jews. So as we've gone through 33 00:01:50,240 --> 00:01:52,840 Matthew, we've seen over and over and over why Matthew says 34 00:01:52,840 --> 00:01:55,960 the things that he says and why he references things that he 35 00:01:55,960 --> 00:01:58,640 references compared to some of the other gospel writers who 36 00:01:58,640 --> 00:02:01,240 have a different audience. Matthew is writing to Jews and 37 00:02:01,240 --> 00:02:03,720 Matthew is saying, hey, you know, that Messiah we're waiting 38 00:02:03,720 --> 00:02:05,280 for. And they go, yeah, yeah, we're 39 00:02:05,280 --> 00:02:07,200 waiting on him. He goes, you know, this prophecy 40 00:02:07,200 --> 00:02:09,199 and this prophecy and this prophecy and this prophecy and 41 00:02:09,199 --> 00:02:10,400 this prophecy. And yeah, yeah, yeah. 42 00:02:10,400 --> 00:02:12,400 We know all about that. He goes, check this out. 43 00:02:12,760 --> 00:02:15,600 Jesus fulfilled that prophecy. Really. 44 00:02:15,640 --> 00:02:18,440 Yeah, he did. Hey, Jesus also fulfilled this 45 00:02:18,440 --> 00:02:20,360 prophecy. And Matthew does it over and 46 00:02:20,360 --> 00:02:23,160 over and over and over and showed he quotes the Old 47 00:02:23,160 --> 00:02:25,960 Testament and then says, and then Jesus did this. 48 00:02:26,240 --> 00:02:27,600 So the Jewish readers have to go. 49 00:02:28,360 --> 00:02:29,560 Now. I have to reconcile with this, 50 00:02:29,560 --> 00:02:32,520 right? The the classic Lord liar or 51 00:02:32,520 --> 00:02:34,760 lunatic. If I call myself a scrambled 52 00:02:34,760 --> 00:02:36,440 egg, you have a decision to make, don't you? 53 00:02:36,920 --> 00:02:38,280 Jim? Michael is a scrambled egg. 54 00:02:38,280 --> 00:02:40,240 It's true. That's one of your options. 55 00:02:40,400 --> 00:02:41,680 Jim. Michael is a liar. 56 00:02:41,680 --> 00:02:45,160 He knows he's not a scrambled egg and he's just lying to me or 57 00:02:45,160 --> 00:02:47,240 Jim Michaels crazy. Bless his heart, right? 58 00:02:47,920 --> 00:02:50,400 He thinks he's a scrambled egg, but he's not a scrambled egg. 59 00:02:51,080 --> 00:02:53,680 Those are your only options. You can't say he's a good guy. 60 00:02:53,680 --> 00:02:56,280 No, no, no, I didn't leave that on the table for you. 61 00:02:56,560 --> 00:02:59,480 Am IA scrambled egg or am I not? You've got to do something with 62 00:02:59,480 --> 00:03:02,200 that. Jesus, the Lord of all creation, 63 00:03:02,200 --> 00:03:05,240 the Lord of every man, the government is on his shoulders. 64 00:03:05,240 --> 00:03:07,440 Jesus is king over the government. 65 00:03:07,680 --> 00:03:11,480 Jesus is king over households. Jesus is king over the church. 66 00:03:11,480 --> 00:03:13,800 Jesus is king over everything, everybody, everywhere. 67 00:03:14,040 --> 00:03:15,720 And he's the claims he makes about himself. 68 00:03:15,960 --> 00:03:17,800 So you don't get to walk away from him and say he's a good 69 00:03:17,800 --> 00:03:19,600 guy. You don't get to walk away from 70 00:03:19,600 --> 00:03:21,120 him like every world religion does ago. 71 00:03:21,320 --> 00:03:23,560 I think he was a good prophet. He didn't leave you that option. 72 00:03:23,960 --> 00:03:26,240 You have to reconcile. You have to settle with what he 73 00:03:26,240 --> 00:03:31,240 says about himself. Jesus is king, Jesus is Lord, 74 00:03:31,520 --> 00:03:35,760 Jesus is master. And many even say, yes, I know, 75 00:03:35,880 --> 00:03:38,760 and I still won't worship him, which is a choice that he allows 76 00:03:38,760 --> 00:03:41,880 them to make. So we see that Matthew is 77 00:03:41,880 --> 00:03:44,040 writing to the Jews and he's opening up their eyes through 78 00:03:44,040 --> 00:03:47,880 the power of the Holy Spirit to say Jesus is the Messiah, Jesus 79 00:03:47,880 --> 00:03:50,280 is the king that we've been looking for, that we've been 80 00:03:50,280 --> 00:03:53,200 waiting for. So it's just a refresher of the 81 00:03:53,200 --> 00:03:54,520 context of what we're doing here. 82 00:03:54,920 --> 00:03:56,920 And now. Last week or two weeks ago, we 83 00:03:56,920 --> 00:03:59,320 looked at John, the cousin of Jesus. 84 00:03:59,480 --> 00:04:03,160 He's been brutally murdered for his faithfulness to God and his 85 00:04:03,160 --> 00:04:06,680 proclamation that everyone should obey God's laws. 86 00:04:07,280 --> 00:04:11,040 Everyone should obey God's laws, not just the people who believe 87 00:04:11,040 --> 00:04:13,280 in God's laws. It's no different from the 88 00:04:13,280 --> 00:04:16,160 parent telling the children, now it's time for bed, but the kids 89 00:04:16,160 --> 00:04:19,200 don't want to go to bed. That's just as stupid as 90 00:04:19,200 --> 00:04:21,839 whenever we think, well, the government should obey the laws 91 00:04:21,839 --> 00:04:24,160 of Jesus and they should seek to obey King Jesus. 92 00:04:24,160 --> 00:04:26,320 And people go, but they don't believe in Jesus. 93 00:04:26,720 --> 00:04:30,240 Where did I lose you here? Jesus is king over everybody, 94 00:04:30,680 --> 00:04:33,000 everywhere. But they have, they wrote 95 00:04:33,000 --> 00:04:35,000 something different down in their founding documents. 96 00:04:35,080 --> 00:04:37,720 Well, congratulation for your piece of paper and the ink that 97 00:04:37,720 --> 00:04:40,200 you put on it. But Jesus is still king over the 98 00:04:40,200 --> 00:04:43,680 United States Constitution, over the Declaration of Independence, 99 00:04:43,880 --> 00:04:45,440 and over anything the whole world. 100 00:04:45,440 --> 00:04:47,760 We could all unite, we could all March on the city of our 101 00:04:47,760 --> 00:04:50,560 choosing, all 8 billion of us, and we can raise our fists and 102 00:04:50,560 --> 00:04:53,120 say we declare and Jesus says I'm king. 103 00:04:53,760 --> 00:04:57,120 So This is why John boldly steps up to Herod and goes, what 104 00:04:57,120 --> 00:05:00,400 you're doing is wrong. And so last week we saw that 105 00:05:00,560 --> 00:05:04,440 Christians most definitely should be involved in everything 106 00:05:04,440 --> 00:05:07,120 in life, including politics. Why? 107 00:05:07,120 --> 00:05:09,440 Because Jesus is political. Why? 108 00:05:09,440 --> 00:05:12,480 Because Jesus established the authority that the government 109 00:05:12,480 --> 00:05:14,200 has. Where do they get it from? 110 00:05:15,040 --> 00:05:17,000 Where do they get it? You can't just make up 111 00:05:17,000 --> 00:05:19,920 authority. It is delegated from King Jesus, 112 00:05:20,080 --> 00:05:21,640 just like a man in his household. 113 00:05:21,840 --> 00:05:23,760 You didn't just get your own authority by yourself. 114 00:05:23,760 --> 00:05:26,920 That is delegated authority and you will answer for it just like 115 00:05:26,920 --> 00:05:29,600 the elders of the church. You don't just have authority 116 00:05:29,920 --> 00:05:32,440 because you wanted it. That is delegated authority from 117 00:05:32,520 --> 00:05:34,120 Jesus. That should keep the fear of God 118 00:05:34,120 --> 00:05:37,000 in you, and it should keep Jesus being glorified. 119 00:05:37,400 --> 00:05:39,280 So John made no apology for that. 120 00:05:39,280 --> 00:05:43,080 And yet, this kind of faithfulness has a consequence 121 00:05:43,080 --> 00:05:48,920 at times, of course, even government officials, even 122 00:05:49,440 --> 00:05:51,800 religious leaders can become corrupt. 123 00:05:51,800 --> 00:05:54,600 Even household leaders can become corrupt in those three 124 00:05:54,600 --> 00:05:58,520 spheres of government. And yes, speaking the truth has 125 00:05:58,520 --> 00:06:00,520 gotten many of the faithful killed. 126 00:06:00,920 --> 00:06:05,040 Most importantly, the King of all got killed for the same 127 00:06:05,040 --> 00:06:08,320 thing, the Lord Jesus Christ. So yes, the church should be 128 00:06:08,320 --> 00:06:09,840 involved in everything. Why? 129 00:06:10,000 --> 00:06:11,920 Because the church has a function. 130 00:06:12,120 --> 00:06:14,640 Remember, each sphere of government in the earth has a 131 00:06:14,640 --> 00:06:16,680 function. The household has a function. 132 00:06:16,880 --> 00:06:19,520 The church has a function. The civil magistrate has a 133 00:06:19,520 --> 00:06:21,640 function. There's some overlap between the 134 00:06:21,640 --> 00:06:24,600 three, but they are distinct. But the church's function is to 135 00:06:24,600 --> 00:06:26,480 be the pillar of the truth in the earth. 136 00:06:27,120 --> 00:06:28,680 That is not the function of the government. 137 00:06:29,040 --> 00:06:32,840 The function of the government as assigned by King Jesus is to 138 00:06:32,840 --> 00:06:35,280 reward the righteous and to punish the evildoer. 139 00:06:35,640 --> 00:06:37,720 Thank you for the speed limit. We appreciate it. 140 00:06:38,040 --> 00:06:41,120 Thank you for the border wall. That was a joke. 141 00:06:41,440 --> 00:06:44,080 They haven't done that yet. They should, but they haven't 142 00:06:44,080 --> 00:06:45,560 done it. Thank you for doing. 143 00:06:45,560 --> 00:06:47,560 Thank you for creating love your neighbor laws. 144 00:06:47,680 --> 00:06:51,280 That's your full jurisdiction. You don't have any jurisdiction 145 00:06:51,280 --> 00:06:52,800 beyond that. Could there be some overlap? 146 00:06:52,800 --> 00:06:54,280 Yeah, We can wisely navigate that. 147 00:06:54,280 --> 00:06:55,960 But you know who's going to be the truth teller about it all? 148 00:06:56,200 --> 00:06:58,320 The church. The church is the pillar of 149 00:06:58,320 --> 00:06:59,800 truth in the. The church is not the 150 00:06:59,800 --> 00:07:02,520 government, the government is not the church, the church is 151 00:07:02,520 --> 00:07:06,520 not the household. So we understand that the church 152 00:07:06,520 --> 00:07:09,040 is responsible to uphold a righteous standard. 153 00:07:09,360 --> 00:07:11,080 And we also learned that we should suffer well. 154 00:07:12,120 --> 00:07:14,800 When we are called to suffer, are we ever called to suffer? 155 00:07:14,800 --> 00:07:17,880 Well, we're going to suffer. I would say it that way. 156 00:07:17,880 --> 00:07:22,040 We're going to suffer maybe a lot, maybe a little, but 157 00:07:22,040 --> 00:07:24,240 suffering is a part of the Christian walk. 158 00:07:24,560 --> 00:07:26,960 So when we suffer, we should suffer well. 159 00:07:27,800 --> 00:07:33,000 So Jesus has just heard the news about John, him being killed by 160 00:07:33,000 --> 00:07:35,880 Herod, and now we come into verse 13. 161 00:07:36,280 --> 00:07:40,840 Now when Jesus heard this, he withdrew from there in a boat to 162 00:07:40,880 --> 00:07:44,200 a desolate place by himself. But when the crowds heard it, 163 00:07:44,360 --> 00:07:46,720 they followed him on foot from the towns. 164 00:07:47,400 --> 00:07:51,040 When he went ashore, he saw a great crowd and he had 165 00:07:51,040 --> 00:07:53,600 compassion on them and healed their sick. 166 00:07:54,640 --> 00:07:57,760 Now when it was evening, the disciples came to him and said 167 00:07:58,200 --> 00:08:01,160 this is a desolate place and the day is now over, send the crowds 168 00:08:01,160 --> 00:08:04,160 away to go into the villages and buy food for themselves. 169 00:08:04,680 --> 00:08:08,280 But Jesus said they need not go away, you give them something to 170 00:08:08,280 --> 00:08:10,840 eat. They said to him, we only have 5 171 00:08:10,840 --> 00:08:14,520 loaves here and two fish, and he said bring them here to me. 172 00:08:15,440 --> 00:08:18,840 Then he ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass, and 173 00:08:18,840 --> 00:08:22,880 taking the five loaves and two fish, he looked up to heaven and 174 00:08:22,880 --> 00:08:25,680 said a blessing. Then he broke the loaves and 175 00:08:25,680 --> 00:08:28,800 gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the 176 00:08:28,800 --> 00:08:32,760 crowds, and they all ate and were satisfied. 177 00:08:33,200 --> 00:08:37,640 And they took up 12 baskets full of broken pieces leftover. 178 00:08:38,240 --> 00:08:43,440 And those who ate were about 5000 men besides women and 179 00:08:43,440 --> 00:08:46,120 children. That we honor your word again. 180 00:08:46,680 --> 00:08:49,760 We thank you for the light and the life and the hope and the 181 00:08:49,760 --> 00:08:52,400 revelation and the correction and every bit of it. 182 00:08:52,560 --> 00:08:55,360 Every good, good thing that you want to give us, Father, we 183 00:08:55,360 --> 00:08:58,640 receive it with gratitude right now, in Jesus name, Amen. 184 00:09:00,280 --> 00:09:03,480 Jesus needed to be alone. Like many of you who are 185 00:09:03,480 --> 00:09:06,160 mourning, like many of our friends and family who are 186 00:09:06,160 --> 00:09:08,840 mourning right now, Jesus went to go mourn. 187 00:09:09,120 --> 00:09:10,680 He went to be alone. He got in a boat. 188 00:09:10,880 --> 00:09:14,000 He got the news of his cousin. They grew up together. 189 00:09:14,520 --> 00:09:18,560 They had conversations together. Their parents, aunt, uncle, 190 00:09:18,640 --> 00:09:20,760 there would have been there was that would have definitely been 191 00:09:20,760 --> 00:09:23,720 times where both sets of parents and both of those two little 192 00:09:23,720 --> 00:09:26,200 boys were being told here's how you were born. 193 00:09:26,800 --> 00:09:31,000 The Angel came and said this, remember, remember Jesus, you 194 00:09:31,000 --> 00:09:33,040 know, his uncle's talk, Uncle Zacharias talking to him. 195 00:09:33,040 --> 00:09:38,080 Remember I went into the temple that day and Gabriel, Michael, 196 00:09:40,120 --> 00:09:44,240 somebody, Gabriel, I think Gabriel, Gabriel appears to him 197 00:09:44,600 --> 00:09:46,920 in the temple. He appeared to me and he spoke 198 00:09:46,920 --> 00:09:49,920 to me about John. And John's whole life is to 199 00:09:49,920 --> 00:09:52,800 point to you, Jesus, these these little boys growing up together, 200 00:09:52,800 --> 00:09:55,960 hearing all the stories about what happened, all the prophecy, 201 00:09:56,120 --> 00:09:59,160 Mary telling both boys, I hadn't been married yet. 202 00:09:59,440 --> 00:10:02,320 I was still a virgin. And little boys and little girls 203 00:10:02,320 --> 00:10:04,640 throughout ancient history understood how where babies were 204 00:10:04,640 --> 00:10:06,720 made because they saw the barnyard animals. 205 00:10:06,920 --> 00:10:09,800 We've kind of like put that to like wait till they're 25 years 206 00:10:09,800 --> 00:10:11,040 old to have the birds and the bees talk. 207 00:10:11,400 --> 00:10:13,440 But throughout all of human history, everybody understood 208 00:10:13,440 --> 00:10:17,240 how mammals get their babies. So all of this, all this 209 00:10:17,240 --> 00:10:20,720 knowledge, Jesus loves John. They had spent a lot of time 210 00:10:20,720 --> 00:10:22,880 together. They're devoted to the call of 211 00:10:22,880 --> 00:10:26,040 God. And now Jesus has lost John. 212 00:10:26,960 --> 00:10:30,880 Jesus is going to miss John. Jesus probably doesn't have 213 00:10:30,880 --> 00:10:33,840 anybody he can relate to in the same way that he could have 214 00:10:33,840 --> 00:10:36,160 related to John. They had a calling. 215 00:10:36,160 --> 00:10:39,200 They had a purpose. John understood who Jesus was 216 00:10:39,200 --> 00:10:41,520 fully and completely. John said I'm not worthy to 217 00:10:41,520 --> 00:10:43,480 untie his sandals. Anybody. 218 00:10:43,480 --> 00:10:45,720 Anybody have a cousin talking about about you that way? 219 00:10:46,120 --> 00:10:48,360 A sibling or a friend? I'm not worthy. 220 00:10:50,480 --> 00:10:53,400 So he and John have a special camaraderie and Jesus saying I 221 00:10:53,400 --> 00:10:55,440 need to be alone. He's been giving to the masses 222 00:10:55,440 --> 00:10:58,560 over and over and over, but now he withdrew. 223 00:10:58,840 --> 00:11:00,240 Why? That's the right thing to do. 224 00:11:01,480 --> 00:11:04,120 It's OK to mourn. It's more than OK to mourn. 225 00:11:04,120 --> 00:11:06,120 It's the right thing to mourn. There's a way to mourn and 226 00:11:06,120 --> 00:11:10,080 there's a way not to mourn, but it is right to mourn and to 227 00:11:10,080 --> 00:11:11,720 grieve. He needs to go be with his 228 00:11:11,720 --> 00:11:13,320 Father. He needs to grieve. 229 00:11:13,440 --> 00:11:15,760 He needs to pray. He needs to process Herod's 230 00:11:15,760 --> 00:11:18,680 motives and Herod's plans. A lot of scholars think, you 231 00:11:18,680 --> 00:11:21,600 know, there there's debate actually as to why Jesus left in 232 00:11:21,600 --> 00:11:23,360 this moment. Did Jesus leave because the way 233 00:11:23,360 --> 00:11:26,000 it's written in the previous verses, did he leave just 234 00:11:26,000 --> 00:11:27,800 because he just found out the news about John? 235 00:11:28,080 --> 00:11:31,600 Or did he leave because John had been killed far earlier and now 236 00:11:31,600 --> 00:11:35,080 he gets worried about Herod's fear of Jesus because remember, 237 00:11:35,080 --> 00:11:37,360 Harry's afraid of Jesus because he's afraid that Jesus is John 238 00:11:37,360 --> 00:11:41,360 resurrected. Either way, Jesus is withdrawing 239 00:11:41,360 --> 00:11:43,000 to be alone. I think, I think the fact that 240 00:11:43,000 --> 00:11:44,880 he wants to be alone indicates he is mourning. 241 00:11:45,560 --> 00:11:47,920 So that's that's the conclusion I've arrived at. 242 00:11:47,920 --> 00:11:52,880 But he gets away. And now in verse 13, when the 243 00:11:52,880 --> 00:11:57,800 crowds heard of it, the crowds heard of it. 244 00:11:57,800 --> 00:12:00,800 They followed him on foot from the towns. 245 00:12:01,560 --> 00:12:04,000 These people are so desperate to be with Jesus. 246 00:12:04,240 --> 00:12:07,800 They don't have any expectation. He can feed them actual food. 247 00:12:08,320 --> 00:12:10,480 They just want to be with Him because they want to be with 248 00:12:10,480 --> 00:12:13,200 him. And Matthew makes a particular 249 00:12:13,200 --> 00:12:15,440 point to let us know that they traveled on foot. 250 00:12:15,920 --> 00:12:17,920 So these people are coming through the countryside. 251 00:12:18,000 --> 00:12:21,560 Jesus gets in the boat and he cuts through from here to there. 252 00:12:22,200 --> 00:12:24,880 I won't give you the geography on where where we think he went. 253 00:12:24,880 --> 00:12:27,080 But the point is these people are having to hoof it. 254 00:12:27,080 --> 00:12:28,880 They're hustling through the hills because they're going, 255 00:12:28,880 --> 00:12:31,240 where is he? And they might have even had a 256 00:12:31,240 --> 00:12:34,480 visual on him on the on the water as they're up on 257 00:12:34,480 --> 00:12:36,800 cliffsides and they're going, what town's he going to? 258 00:12:36,840 --> 00:12:39,920 Did you lose sight of him? So this is a massive, massive 259 00:12:39,920 --> 00:12:41,080 crowd. Of course, when you're reading 260 00:12:41,080 --> 00:12:43,520 the story for the first time, you're just like, oh, the crowds 261 00:12:43,520 --> 00:12:45,960 are following. Few dozen people maybe. 262 00:12:46,320 --> 00:12:48,800 Wouldn't that be a crowd? And we have a crowd this 263 00:12:48,800 --> 00:12:51,280 morning. You know, what if it was 100 264 00:12:51,280 --> 00:12:53,000 people? That's kind of, that's kind of 265 00:12:53,000 --> 00:12:54,640 crazy. A few 100 people. 266 00:12:54,640 --> 00:12:57,360 Wow, he really has quite the following at this point, doesn't 267 00:12:57,360 --> 00:13:00,000 he? 5000 men. 268 00:13:00,760 --> 00:13:03,720 Not to mention the women and the children. 269 00:13:04,560 --> 00:13:07,680 This is a scrappy group of people who are hungry and 270 00:13:07,680 --> 00:13:12,280 desperate to get to Jesus. These aren't people who have 271 00:13:12,280 --> 00:13:14,240 wealth. They can't just take off a week 272 00:13:14,240 --> 00:13:17,640 from work and go be with Jesus, but they're hungry and thirsty 273 00:13:17,640 --> 00:13:19,680 for him. They want to be where Jesus is. 274 00:13:19,920 --> 00:13:23,080 This pursuit that we see in them is a sermon in itself. 275 00:13:23,920 --> 00:13:25,920 What does your hunger for God look like? 276 00:13:27,080 --> 00:13:30,560 Is your love for Jesus the kind of love that can survive 277 00:13:30,680 --> 00:13:33,960 inconvenience? I hope so, because if your 278 00:13:33,960 --> 00:13:36,680 devotion can't survive even minor inconvenience, it's never 279 00:13:36,680 --> 00:13:39,360 going to survive persecution. These aren't, these people 280 00:13:39,360 --> 00:13:41,360 aren't saying, oh, if I had a chariot, then I'd go to see him. 281 00:13:41,520 --> 00:13:44,680 Or if he comes to my door and knocks on it, then I'll open it. 282 00:13:45,120 --> 00:13:48,680 But these thousands of people are coming from the villages and 283 00:13:50,080 --> 00:13:52,280 you can speculate how many people were actually there. 284 00:13:52,480 --> 00:13:54,120 You know when you have the men that you're going to have the 285 00:13:54,120 --> 00:13:57,880 women and the children as well. So I think you could say 286 00:13:57,880 --> 00:14:01,440 conservatively, you're looking at probably 10,000 people, some 287 00:14:01,440 --> 00:14:05,360 of estimated 20 to 25,000. But still, let's just, let's 288 00:14:05,360 --> 00:14:07,360 just stick exclusively with what's written. 289 00:14:07,520 --> 00:14:10,320 If we only had 5000. And then we've got to have 290 00:14:10,320 --> 00:14:12,480 women, plural. So two more women and children, 291 00:14:12,480 --> 00:14:15,160 two more kids. We've got 5004 people. 292 00:14:15,960 --> 00:14:17,440 I took my boys to the Hampton Coliseum. 293 00:14:17,440 --> 00:14:20,040 We went to Monster Jam. There was not 5000 people in 294 00:14:20,040 --> 00:14:24,480 there. Boys, it was not but 5000 people 295 00:14:24,640 --> 00:14:28,400 desperately traveling, pursuing, hungering for Jesus. 296 00:14:29,840 --> 00:14:34,160 So hunger looks like something. Hunger looks like pursuit, Love 297 00:14:34,160 --> 00:14:36,960 for God in your heart will always find an outward 298 00:14:36,960 --> 00:14:40,920 expression. Hunger and desperation will 299 00:14:40,920 --> 00:14:42,840 always find an outward expression with anything, 300 00:14:42,840 --> 00:14:45,160 frankly. Think about a guy who falls in 301 00:14:45,160 --> 00:14:47,560 love with a woman and he wants to propose to her. 302 00:14:48,240 --> 00:14:50,000 He doesn't. He doesn't get stuck, He doesn't 303 00:14:50,000 --> 00:14:51,920 get trouble and go, I just don't know how to do it. 304 00:14:52,360 --> 00:14:54,720 I just don't know how to do it. I need to get more information. 305 00:14:54,720 --> 00:14:56,640 I need to read more books on how to propose. 306 00:14:57,080 --> 00:14:58,920 I need to listen more podcasts on how to propose. 307 00:14:58,920 --> 00:15:00,920 Maybe there's a class I could take on how to propose. 308 00:15:01,320 --> 00:15:04,480 Now what does he do? The love that he has finds an 309 00:15:04,480 --> 00:15:06,560 outward expression. He comes up with some, I mean, 310 00:15:06,560 --> 00:15:10,200 some guys get really elaborate, but you, you find some way to do 311 00:15:10,200 --> 00:15:11,560 it. You find some way to express 312 00:15:11,720 --> 00:15:18,760 your love, your compassion that you have love for God will do 313 00:15:18,760 --> 00:15:20,440 the same thing. Let's keep going. 314 00:15:20,440 --> 00:15:23,800 We're in verse 14. When he went ashore, he saw a 315 00:15:23,800 --> 00:15:27,720 great crowd and he had compassion on them and healed 316 00:15:28,280 --> 00:15:30,680 all their sick. He's in the middle of mourning. 317 00:15:30,680 --> 00:15:32,560 He's in the middle of praying. He's getting some much needed 318 00:15:32,560 --> 00:15:35,680 time with his Father, and he's moved by love. 319 00:15:36,560 --> 00:15:38,760 Jesus himself is in need in this moment. 320 00:15:39,240 --> 00:15:42,400 But because Jesus is the Good Shepherd, he lays down his life 321 00:15:42,400 --> 00:15:44,000 again for the flock that he came for. 322 00:15:44,480 --> 00:15:47,480 The Shepherd needed to tend to his own wounds, but as the Word 323 00:15:47,480 --> 00:15:49,880 teaches us, all of his wounds are for us anyway. 324 00:15:49,880 --> 00:15:52,480 And now he turns his attention to his desperate flock. 325 00:15:53,840 --> 00:15:56,680 Jesus is gone. I finally got away for a minute, 326 00:15:56,680 --> 00:15:58,600 just to have some time to refresh, some time to 327 00:15:58,600 --> 00:16:01,200 recuperate, some time to mourn, some time to talk with the 328 00:16:01,200 --> 00:16:03,280 Father, to process how I'm feeling. 329 00:16:03,280 --> 00:16:05,560 And he gets on shore and he sees them. 330 00:16:05,600 --> 00:16:06,960 I don't know if they're coming out of the woods. 331 00:16:06,960 --> 00:16:10,560 I don't know if they're coming down the hill and he's going 332 00:16:12,160 --> 00:16:15,680 back to work. Not grin and bear it. 333 00:16:15,880 --> 00:16:17,400 But it was the compassion that bubbled up. 334 00:16:17,400 --> 00:16:19,280 Adam. He saw them again, like 335 00:16:19,480 --> 00:16:22,360 Matthew's already told us, like sheep without a shepherd. 336 00:16:23,560 --> 00:16:26,480 Jesus loved him deeply, completely, fiercely. 337 00:16:26,920 --> 00:16:32,080 He's angry at the corrupt Jewish leadership, the Jewish religious 338 00:16:32,080 --> 00:16:33,960 leadership. Is Jesus angry at religious 339 00:16:33,960 --> 00:16:34,800 people? Nope. 340 00:16:34,920 --> 00:16:38,040 Jesus is angry at prideful, stupid people, though, who harm 341 00:16:38,040 --> 00:16:42,400 his sheep. So Jesus is very compassionate, 342 00:16:43,320 --> 00:16:45,440 He's very tender, and he sees the flock coming to the 343 00:16:45,440 --> 00:16:46,520 shepherd. He goes, what will I do? 344 00:16:46,520 --> 00:16:47,880 Turn away? Will I do? 345 00:16:47,880 --> 00:16:49,400 Hop back in the boat and leave them again. 346 00:16:50,600 --> 00:16:52,800 So the compassion of Jesus moves. 347 00:16:53,000 --> 00:16:56,280 He had compassion on them and he healed their sick. 348 00:16:57,160 --> 00:17:00,200 I mean, at this point healing is just kind of like, it's just 349 00:17:00,200 --> 00:17:02,720 another thing, right? We're almost kind of over it at 350 00:17:02,720 --> 00:17:04,480 this point. Jesus heals everybody. 351 00:17:05,000 --> 00:17:07,560 Jesus heals everybody. Jesus heals everybody. 352 00:17:07,800 --> 00:17:10,400 But compassion from Jesus does something. 353 00:17:10,400 --> 00:17:12,800 Just another day with Jesus. But it doesn't say he had 354 00:17:12,800 --> 00:17:14,359 compassion on them and taught them. 355 00:17:15,160 --> 00:17:17,119 No, Christ the healer is at it again. 356 00:17:17,520 --> 00:17:21,599 What does the compassion of God do, I wonder, when you're sick, 357 00:17:22,359 --> 00:17:25,440 when you're ailing, when someone's struggling in their 358 00:17:25,440 --> 00:17:30,080 body, what would the compassion of God want to do in that 359 00:17:30,080 --> 00:17:31,040 moment? I don't know. 360 00:17:31,360 --> 00:17:35,000 Who knows, right? Of course we can, though. 361 00:17:35,640 --> 00:17:37,560 How can you know? Well, because Jesus is perfect 362 00:17:37,560 --> 00:17:40,120 theology. So we look to Jesus. 363 00:17:40,280 --> 00:17:42,120 Remember, church, as we've gone through Matthew, I've told you 364 00:17:42,120 --> 00:17:44,400 we're going to count up all the times Jesus turns somebody away 365 00:17:44,400 --> 00:17:46,480 for healing. We're going to add them all up. 366 00:17:46,480 --> 00:17:49,000 What's our total so far? We're still at zero. 367 00:17:49,080 --> 00:17:51,560 Yeah, So we're going to keep adding them up as we go. 368 00:17:51,560 --> 00:17:55,320 We're going to get to the total spoiler alert, chapter 15. 369 00:17:55,840 --> 00:18:00,120 Jesus tells somebody, no, we're going to come to that exception 370 00:18:00,840 --> 00:18:02,480 and I'm going to teach, teach it to you. 371 00:18:02,840 --> 00:18:06,600 But here the compassion of Jesus, He heals their sick, 372 00:18:06,800 --> 00:18:09,240 thousands of people. How many people were sick, how 373 00:18:09,240 --> 00:18:11,680 many people were ailing? We don't know, but that's how he 374 00:18:11,680 --> 00:18:15,000 spent his day. How many people came up to Jesus 375 00:18:15,000 --> 00:18:17,200 and he said hang on your lesson actually isn't finished yet. 376 00:18:17,200 --> 00:18:20,440 Two weeks from now after the Father is has worked that 377 00:18:20,440 --> 00:18:23,440 maturity in you and the patience that I wanted to accomplish, 378 00:18:24,240 --> 00:18:26,800 then it'll be time or actually you're going to get healed in 379 00:18:26,800 --> 00:18:30,040 heaven. Let's just stick with Jesus. 380 00:18:30,240 --> 00:18:31,560 Let's keep following what he's doing. 381 00:18:32,920 --> 00:18:34,840 He spends his entire day healing the crowd. 382 00:18:36,880 --> 00:18:39,800 The compassion of Jesus doesn't just bring you his pity. 383 00:18:40,120 --> 00:18:42,240 The compassion of Jesus brings you his power. 384 00:18:42,760 --> 00:18:45,720 Amen. This is a good news testimony 385 00:18:45,720 --> 00:18:47,600 for all of you. What does the compassion of 386 00:18:47,600 --> 00:18:50,000 Jesus lead to? Not I feel sad for them. 387 00:18:51,040 --> 00:18:54,080 I feel sad for them. Well, thank you Jesus, but that 388 00:18:54,080 --> 00:18:56,600 doesn't actually accomplish anything or or do anything. 389 00:18:56,760 --> 00:18:59,560 But the compassion of Jesus brings you the power of Jesus. 390 00:19:00,440 --> 00:19:04,880 Jesus sees you following and he has compassionate power for you. 391 00:19:04,880 --> 00:19:06,840 He loves you. He's sacrificed for you. 392 00:19:06,840 --> 00:19:11,800 He's attentive to you. Not only you though, because 393 00:19:11,800 --> 00:19:13,840 you're also moved by the compassion of Jesus. 394 00:19:14,080 --> 00:19:16,800 Haven't you felt that before? Haven't you felt the compassion 395 00:19:16,800 --> 00:19:18,640 of God rise up in you before you go? 396 00:19:19,080 --> 00:19:20,600 That was different. It's different from that. 397 00:19:20,600 --> 00:19:24,000 I feel sad for that person. There's a time where in an 398 00:19:24,000 --> 00:19:27,520 anointing, a supernatural empowerment comes upon you and 399 00:19:27,520 --> 00:19:31,040 it is the love of God through you for that person in that 400 00:19:31,040 --> 00:19:33,560 moment saying you're to do something with that. 401 00:19:34,240 --> 00:19:36,360 Don't stop there. In the same way that when you 402 00:19:36,360 --> 00:19:39,240 and I feel conviction during a sermon or you and I feel 403 00:19:39,240 --> 00:19:41,760 conviction when one of our brothers or sisters is sharing 404 00:19:41,760 --> 00:19:43,840 something with us, There's all kinds of things that we feel. 405 00:19:43,840 --> 00:19:47,480 And since that conviction is for a purpose, it's not to just go, 406 00:19:47,800 --> 00:19:50,960 Oh, that was convicting. And now make sure you take Step 407 00:19:50,960 --> 00:19:53,800 2 obedience. Oh, I'm so convicted. 408 00:19:54,080 --> 00:19:56,640 Don't be comforted, don't get, don't, don't be falsely 409 00:19:56,640 --> 00:19:59,240 comforted by conviction when you're not obedient to it, 410 00:20:00,120 --> 00:20:05,440 because that is a trap that. Gets you in a Pew for 60 years 411 00:20:05,560 --> 00:20:08,440 with no transformation, no renewal of your mind, and no 412 00:20:08,440 --> 00:20:12,200 growth because you know so much. You have such good information 413 00:20:12,840 --> 00:20:16,280 and even such great revelation. But if it did not take you all 414 00:20:16,280 --> 00:20:18,440 the way through to obedience, that is a dangerous place to 415 00:20:18,440 --> 00:20:21,640 live, a scary place to live. These people have been taking 416 00:20:21,640 --> 00:20:24,000 action and Jesus has compassion on them. 417 00:20:24,000 --> 00:20:26,960 When you see someone with the eyes of God, when you have 418 00:20:26,960 --> 00:20:29,960 compassion on somebody, that power supply is available for 419 00:20:29,960 --> 00:20:33,040 you to do the work of the ministry, the anointing, the 420 00:20:33,040 --> 00:20:36,400 power, the supernatural supply to make the Kingdom come in that 421 00:20:36,400 --> 00:20:39,880 circumstance. But what if that's the doubt 422 00:20:39,880 --> 00:20:42,200 that comes? But what you should do is 423 00:20:42,200 --> 00:20:43,560 respond to the word of God in faith. 424 00:20:44,280 --> 00:20:46,520 Oh, I just want to go pray for that person. 425 00:20:46,520 --> 00:20:48,320 Then do it. But that's a difficult 426 00:20:48,320 --> 00:20:50,240 situation. He's in a wheelchair. 427 00:20:50,760 --> 00:20:52,520 Jesus isn't scared of wheelchairs. 428 00:20:53,000 --> 00:20:57,400 Jesus isn't scared of the NICU. Jesus isn't scared of the ICU. 429 00:20:57,600 --> 00:20:59,320 Jesus isn't scared of the diagnosis. 430 00:20:59,560 --> 00:21:01,560 Jesus isn't scared of the 5000 people. 431 00:21:01,680 --> 00:21:03,360 He didn't have the disciples sort them out. 432 00:21:03,360 --> 00:21:05,280 Hey, give me like some head colds. 433 00:21:05,920 --> 00:21:08,720 Take all the tumors and stuff. Like tell them we'll get to them 434 00:21:08,720 --> 00:21:10,320 later. Who's next? 435 00:21:10,320 --> 00:21:11,280 What's up? What do you need? 436 00:21:11,280 --> 00:21:13,560 Talk to me. And Jesus is healing people. 437 00:21:15,160 --> 00:21:16,720 Why? That's how you make the Kingdom 438 00:21:16,720 --> 00:21:18,640 come. That's one of the ways that the 439 00:21:18,640 --> 00:21:20,520 Kingdom comes. That's why we pray at God. 440 00:21:20,520 --> 00:21:25,360 Your will be done here on earth as it already is being done in 441 00:21:25,360 --> 00:21:25,840 heaven. Amen. 442 00:21:29,040 --> 00:21:31,560 Respond in obedience to the conviction and the compassion of 443 00:21:31,560 --> 00:21:34,440 God. It will be a joy and a pleasure 444 00:21:34,440 --> 00:21:36,120 for you. And it's going to be a 445 00:21:36,120 --> 00:21:37,800 breakthrough for the person who receives it. 446 00:21:38,920 --> 00:21:42,320 Keep going. Verse 15 Now when it was 447 00:21:42,320 --> 00:21:45,920 evening, his disciples came to him and said, this is a desolate 448 00:21:45,920 --> 00:21:48,760 place and the day is now over. Send the crowds away into the 449 00:21:48,760 --> 00:21:51,760 villages and go by so they can go buy food for themselves. 450 00:21:52,640 --> 00:21:55,520 So the disciples here, they have the right motive, but they did 451 00:21:55,520 --> 00:21:58,680 it in the wrong way. Don't tell Jesus what to do. 452 00:21:59,520 --> 00:22:01,160 It's a pretty simple lesson for the church. 453 00:22:01,200 --> 00:22:04,320 We don't tell Jesus what to do. We remind him of his promises. 454 00:22:04,320 --> 00:22:05,600 We walk in obedience to his word. 455 00:22:05,600 --> 00:22:08,360 There's a lot we can say. Lord, remember you said, and 456 00:22:08,360 --> 00:22:10,960 he'll keep his word. Do all of that with boldness 457 00:22:10,960 --> 00:22:14,360 into the into approach the throne of grace with boldness. 458 00:22:14,360 --> 00:22:16,520 Why I'm bold in the blood of Jesus. 459 00:22:16,800 --> 00:22:19,720 I'm not bold because I've got a particular personality. 460 00:22:20,320 --> 00:22:23,360 I'm I enter into his presence with boldness because I go, 461 00:22:23,640 --> 00:22:26,800 Father, remember Jesus, what he's done that gives me great 462 00:22:26,800 --> 00:22:29,560 boldness. Now I know that I have access to 463 00:22:29,560 --> 00:22:31,720 you, Father, not I have to earn it. 464 00:22:31,720 --> 00:22:34,160 No, Jesus earned it. Jesus earned my place in this 465 00:22:34,160 --> 00:22:35,960 throne room. So I know I belong here. 466 00:22:35,960 --> 00:22:38,600 Now they've got the right motive, but they do it the wrong 467 00:22:38,600 --> 00:22:40,440 way. You can ask permission. 468 00:22:40,680 --> 00:22:42,160 You can share your needs with Him. 469 00:22:42,320 --> 00:22:45,920 You can ask God, may I, but don't tell Him what to do Why? 470 00:22:45,920 --> 00:22:50,120 Because that's not submissive. We should submit completely and 471 00:22:50,120 --> 00:22:51,560 fully to Jesus. Keep going. 472 00:22:51,560 --> 00:22:54,480 Verse 16. But Jesus said they don't need 473 00:22:54,480 --> 00:22:57,040 to go away. You give them something to eat. 474 00:22:58,080 --> 00:23:03,600 Jesus is testing His disciples. This is a test God will test his 475 00:23:03,600 --> 00:23:05,800 people. He's testing their faith just 476 00:23:05,800 --> 00:23:08,440 like he does with Abraham, just like he's going to do in chapter 477 00:23:08,440 --> 00:23:10,560 15 with the woman who's going to ask for healing for her 478 00:23:10,560 --> 00:23:13,120 daughter, just like he'll do with you. 479 00:23:13,680 --> 00:23:15,680 But he says you give him something to eat. 480 00:23:16,480 --> 00:23:18,400 He doesn't even correct them. The fact that they just told 481 00:23:18,400 --> 00:23:20,320 him, Hey, hey, Lord, it's been a good day. 482 00:23:20,320 --> 00:23:22,120 It's been a good day. You've done a great job. 483 00:23:23,200 --> 00:23:26,560 But now you know, we're, we're doing the wise thing. 484 00:23:26,560 --> 00:23:29,520 Lord, we love the people and and we're thinking about the people 485 00:23:29,520 --> 00:23:32,440 and Jesus says, tell you what, you give him something to eat. 486 00:23:34,840 --> 00:23:36,720 He's wondering what do they know about him still? 487 00:23:36,720 --> 00:23:38,360 He's still testing his disciples. 488 00:23:38,520 --> 00:23:41,120 Do his disciples really know who he is and what he's capable of 489 00:23:41,880 --> 00:23:46,160 or are they still limiting him? Do they still think that he can 490 00:23:46,160 --> 00:23:48,680 only do the things they've seen him do or do they now know that 491 00:23:48,680 --> 00:23:51,880 he can do anything as he's already told us? 492 00:23:52,160 --> 00:23:53,400 Remember, he corrected the Father. 493 00:23:53,400 --> 00:23:55,600 Lord, if you can do anything he said stop right there. 494 00:23:56,680 --> 00:23:58,760 There is an if, but it's not on me. 495 00:23:59,640 --> 00:24:02,880 If you can believe, then all things are possible. 496 00:24:02,880 --> 00:24:05,480 I want you to know there is an if, but it's not on me. 497 00:24:05,840 --> 00:24:08,640 Let's clarify that. And the Father said I believe, 498 00:24:09,200 --> 00:24:11,000 help my unbelief. And of course Jesus and his 499 00:24:11,000 --> 00:24:15,400 compassion again moves in power. So He's testing their faith. 500 00:24:15,800 --> 00:24:18,160 He'll test our faith. Keep going. 501 00:24:18,200 --> 00:24:22,080 We're in verse 17. They said to him we only have 5 502 00:24:22,080 --> 00:24:28,480 loaves here and two fish. And then he said, bring it here 503 00:24:28,560 --> 00:24:32,240 to me. Notice the disciples language 504 00:24:32,240 --> 00:24:34,520 they use. We only have, this is all we 505 00:24:34,520 --> 00:24:36,480 have. They see it as the small thing 506 00:24:36,720 --> 00:24:41,240 and Jesus sees it as enough. Jesus takes whatever you offer. 507 00:24:41,680 --> 00:24:46,480 Can we ever offer God enough? Well, I'll argue yes we can. 508 00:24:46,480 --> 00:24:49,080 And here's what I mean by that. You can give God enough when 509 00:24:49,080 --> 00:24:51,600 you've given God everything because that's all he asks for 510 00:24:51,600 --> 00:24:53,520 him. He said, Lord, all I have is 511 00:24:53,520 --> 00:24:55,880 this thing. He goes, that's all I want, but 512 00:24:55,880 --> 00:25:00,080 all I have is $20. He goes that's all I wanted the 513 00:25:00,160 --> 00:25:03,600 the widow and she puts in her 2 pennies the widow's mite she 514 00:25:03,600 --> 00:25:05,560 puts it in Jesus said she gave more than everybody. 515 00:25:06,520 --> 00:25:09,280 I don't measure, I don't judge, I don't weigh things that the 516 00:25:09,280 --> 00:25:11,840 way man weighs and judges and measures things. 517 00:25:12,440 --> 00:25:14,080 I weigh and measure things differently. 518 00:25:14,600 --> 00:25:16,840 And of course the scripture doesn't tell us what actually 519 00:25:16,840 --> 00:25:19,880 happened with that woman when she put in her last bit, but we 520 00:25:19,880 --> 00:25:21,120 know exactly what happened to her. 521 00:25:21,680 --> 00:25:24,600 We know exactly what happened. We know that when you give it 522 00:25:24,600 --> 00:25:27,640 will be given unto you. We know that she has a provider 523 00:25:27,640 --> 00:25:30,520 in heaven. So the Scripture doesn't have to 524 00:25:30,520 --> 00:25:32,400 go on and tell us what happened next. 525 00:25:32,400 --> 00:25:34,400 If you're ignorant of the Scriptures, you go. 526 00:25:34,400 --> 00:25:35,760 I wonder what happened to that old lady. 527 00:25:35,760 --> 00:25:39,480 Like what could have happened. Her provider provided for her. 528 00:25:39,560 --> 00:25:41,640 She had a shepherd. She said, Lord, this is all I 529 00:25:41,640 --> 00:25:43,920 have. Lord said, I'll take it, I'll 530 00:25:43,920 --> 00:25:44,920 take it. I'm worthy of it. 531 00:25:46,240 --> 00:25:47,200 Why? Because He's the great 532 00:25:47,200 --> 00:25:50,480 multiplier and He can do anything when you give him 533 00:25:50,600 --> 00:25:54,640 everything. He can do anything when you give 534 00:25:54,640 --> 00:25:57,400 him everything. But giving him partial is not 535 00:25:57,400 --> 00:25:59,720 enough. He never said it was. 536 00:25:59,720 --> 00:26:02,400 He never pretended it was. The invitation that Jesus gives 537 00:26:02,400 --> 00:26:05,840 to people is never A50 a 5050 proposition. 538 00:26:05,840 --> 00:26:09,160 Hey guys, I got a wonderful plan for your life. 539 00:26:11,080 --> 00:26:13,680 Come and follow me. And then a decade from now, he's 540 00:26:13,680 --> 00:26:16,480 going to sneak it in there and go, hey, there's also this take 541 00:26:16,480 --> 00:26:19,000 up your cross thing. That was never his invitation. 542 00:26:19,000 --> 00:26:21,080 He gave the whole truth and nothing but the truth from the 543 00:26:21,080 --> 00:26:24,280 very first invitation. If you won't hate your father 544 00:26:24,280 --> 00:26:27,160 and mother, if you want to take up your cross and follow me, 545 00:26:27,360 --> 00:26:29,320 you're not worthy to be my disciple. 546 00:26:30,320 --> 00:26:31,840 That doesn't sound very nice. Jesus. 547 00:26:32,080 --> 00:26:34,560 I'm worth it. Make your call. 548 00:26:35,160 --> 00:26:36,800 I'm all in. Good, good decision. 549 00:26:36,800 --> 00:26:39,040 I was hoping you would say that, but I wasn't going to beg you. 550 00:26:39,240 --> 00:26:41,400 I wasn't going to chase you. I was just going to tell you the 551 00:26:41,400 --> 00:26:45,160 whole truth of the situation. But Jesus wants everything. 552 00:26:46,120 --> 00:26:50,040 God is jealous for his people not to be confused with jealous 553 00:26:50,040 --> 00:26:53,600 of his people right as kids. I'm jealous of what my brother 554 00:26:53,600 --> 00:26:55,840 has. I want to have it and him not to 555 00:26:55,840 --> 00:26:58,760 have it. I'm jealous of my brother but 556 00:26:58,760 --> 00:27:02,040 jealous for is the way a husband and a wife feel about each 557 00:27:02,040 --> 00:27:05,840 other. I'm jealous for my wife will not 558 00:27:05,840 --> 00:27:11,560 share 0.0% how much more so God saying I'm jealous for my 559 00:27:11,560 --> 00:27:14,400 people. I don't want partial, I want all 560 00:27:14,400 --> 00:27:18,480 partial is not enough and I can do anything when you give me 561 00:27:18,600 --> 00:27:22,640 everything Abraham could have thought God, I've only got 1 562 00:27:22,640 --> 00:27:25,360 Isaac though, this is the son of the promise. 563 00:27:25,840 --> 00:27:28,280 This is the son of the promise between me and Sarah. 564 00:27:28,280 --> 00:27:31,600 This is our only boy that we had in obedience to your promise. 565 00:27:31,600 --> 00:27:35,640 And Jesus said you only got one one's all I'm asking for and 566 00:27:35,680 --> 00:27:38,920 I'll take him. And Abraham said all right, 567 00:27:39,640 --> 00:27:41,800 you're worth it and I trust your word. 568 00:27:41,800 --> 00:27:45,640 Abraham believed God and he's, he thought to himself, even if I 569 00:27:45,640 --> 00:27:48,200 as he sacrifice, God is able to raise him up from the dead. 570 00:27:48,760 --> 00:27:51,840 Abraham hadn't seen that before. The disciples are working off of 571 00:27:51,840 --> 00:27:54,560 what they'd only seen. But Abraham's just going God is 572 00:27:54,560 --> 00:27:58,520 God, he can do anything and it pleased the Lord and that was 573 00:27:58,520 --> 00:28:01,960 counted to him as righteousness. Faith, not his works, but his 574 00:28:01,960 --> 00:28:05,080 faith was counted unto him as righteousness because God is 575 00:28:05,080 --> 00:28:05,720 like this. God. 576 00:28:05,720 --> 00:28:08,400 Just trust me and let me test Abraham. 577 00:28:08,680 --> 00:28:11,960 Why would God test us for our benefit to draw us closer. 578 00:28:12,280 --> 00:28:14,520 The same reason Jesus always divides a crowd. 579 00:28:15,000 --> 00:28:17,920 Whenever you see the big crowd get ready, you know something's 580 00:28:17,920 --> 00:28:19,320 coming. We've seen it over and over 581 00:28:19,320 --> 00:28:21,720 through Matthew. The bigger the crowd got, the 582 00:28:21,720 --> 00:28:24,280 more ridiculous of a statement Jesus is getting ready to make, 583 00:28:24,280 --> 00:28:27,600 to divide and to separate. Because he knows everything here 584 00:28:27,600 --> 00:28:29,520 isn't pure. Everything here isn't right. 585 00:28:29,520 --> 00:28:31,600 And he doesn't want to drive anyone away. 586 00:28:31,760 --> 00:28:34,760 He wants to draw everyone near. But he's going to clearly set 587 00:28:34,760 --> 00:28:36,960 the terms. You don't come to Jesus on your 588 00:28:36,960 --> 00:28:38,200 terms. You come on his. 589 00:28:39,400 --> 00:28:41,520 Hey, yeah, I'd like to be in a great relationship with you. 590 00:28:42,120 --> 00:28:43,080 And it's going to look like this. 591 00:28:43,080 --> 00:28:45,120 He goes, hey, it actually doesn't work that way with me. 592 00:28:45,520 --> 00:28:49,080 I, I, I control everything. Everything goes my way. 593 00:28:49,240 --> 00:28:51,720 You submit to everything. You down with that. 594 00:28:52,160 --> 00:28:55,800 Oh, that's different. But Abraham was pleased to 595 00:28:55,800 --> 00:28:59,880 follow the Lord in this way. And when Isaac was truly given, 596 00:29:00,320 --> 00:29:02,720 what does Jesus do with Isaac? He multiplies them into many 597 00:29:02,720 --> 00:29:08,160 nations and and God fulfills his word to Abraham and he does the 598 00:29:08,160 --> 00:29:11,240 same thing here. The point has often been made 599 00:29:11,240 --> 00:29:15,120 with this passage, Bring, bring Jesus the little bit that you 600 00:29:15,120 --> 00:29:17,600 have. But I actually think the point 601 00:29:17,600 --> 00:29:19,600 is better stated. Bring Jesus everything that you 602 00:29:19,600 --> 00:29:22,280 have. Whether you consider a lot or a 603 00:29:22,280 --> 00:29:24,040 little everything is the standard. 604 00:29:24,600 --> 00:29:26,760 We can throw ourselves off and go just bring Jesus the little 605 00:29:26,760 --> 00:29:28,560 bit. No, bring Jesus everything. 606 00:29:29,280 --> 00:29:31,360 Bring Jesus everything. And until you've given Jesus 607 00:29:31,360 --> 00:29:34,120 everything, you don't get to hold a finger up to him in 608 00:29:34,120 --> 00:29:37,960 accusation. He never will because he'll 609 00:29:37,960 --> 00:29:41,240 always make good on his word, but bring Jesus everything. 610 00:29:41,240 --> 00:29:43,440 What are you saying, pastor? I'm saying the Holy Spirit will 611 00:29:43,440 --> 00:29:45,040 make your personal application for you. 612 00:29:45,640 --> 00:29:47,560 I don't know what it looks like and I'm not going to misguide 613 00:29:47,560 --> 00:29:51,480 you, but you know when you hear it, what is the everything that 614 00:29:51,480 --> 00:29:55,160 you haven't given? What is the thing that you're 615 00:29:55,160 --> 00:29:57,280 holding on to? He said I've given him partial. 616 00:29:57,480 --> 00:30:00,640 When I can trust him with that partial, then I can give him 617 00:30:00,640 --> 00:30:01,800 more. No, no, no. 618 00:30:01,800 --> 00:30:05,160 You're not the manager of Jesus. You're not managing your 619 00:30:05,160 --> 00:30:07,920 resources out to him saying be faithful with this Jesus and 620 00:30:07,920 --> 00:30:10,040 then I'll give you more. No, my friend, it's the 621 00:30:10,040 --> 00:30:13,000 opposite. You will be counted faithful. 622 00:30:13,000 --> 00:30:16,280 You're being measured right now. And he's saying give me more, 623 00:30:17,120 --> 00:30:20,200 give me more, give me everything, don't give me more, 624 00:30:20,200 --> 00:30:22,680 don't give me partial, give me everything. 625 00:30:23,560 --> 00:30:24,880 And yes, what will he do with it? 626 00:30:25,440 --> 00:30:28,440 He'll multiply it because that's what he does. 627 00:30:28,520 --> 00:30:31,640 Bring Jesus everything you have. Sure, it's still only a little 628 00:30:31,640 --> 00:30:34,360 bit, but as long as it's everything, it's just right. 629 00:30:35,600 --> 00:30:38,880 Keep going. Verse 19 Then he ordered the 630 00:30:38,880 --> 00:30:42,600 crowds to sit down on the grass and taking the five loaves and 631 00:30:42,600 --> 00:30:46,320 the two fish, he looked up to heaven and said a blessing. 632 00:30:47,200 --> 00:30:50,760 Then he broke the loaves and gave them to his disciples, and 633 00:30:50,760 --> 00:30:53,120 the disciples gave them to the crowds. 634 00:30:54,080 --> 00:30:57,000 What's Jesus doing here? Jesus bring order to chaos. 635 00:30:57,320 --> 00:31:00,320 It's getting late in the day. They've been there all day. 636 00:31:00,320 --> 00:31:01,760 They've been chasing Jesus all day. 637 00:31:01,760 --> 00:31:04,000 These people are tired. And then Jesus healed them all 638 00:31:04,000 --> 00:31:05,680 day. You know, all of us 639 00:31:05,680 --> 00:31:07,440 charismatics, you've been to some Pentecostal church 640 00:31:07,440 --> 00:31:09,080 services. Sometimes it gets long, don't 641 00:31:09,080 --> 00:31:10,560 it? As a little boy, I remember 642 00:31:10,560 --> 00:31:13,000 sitting there like people getting prayed for him, just 643 00:31:13,000 --> 00:31:14,800 sitting in the background. When are we going to leave and 644 00:31:14,800 --> 00:31:16,760 go to lunch? We got thousands of people 645 00:31:16,760 --> 00:31:20,440 waiting to just get to Jesus and people being ministered to. 646 00:31:20,440 --> 00:31:23,120 When you're the one who's with Jesus, you care a lot and you're 647 00:31:23,120 --> 00:31:25,640 very thankful. But sometimes it's easy to get 648 00:31:25,640 --> 00:31:27,320 distracted. So you got the whole Mass here 649 00:31:28,280 --> 00:31:29,920 and the disciples are going. We got to get these people out 650 00:31:29,920 --> 00:31:31,360 of here. Maybe they're getting angry. 651 00:31:31,560 --> 00:31:34,440 We don't know all the context, but it seems as though there's 652 00:31:34,440 --> 00:31:38,520 some disorder. So Jesus makes them sit down and 653 00:31:38,520 --> 00:31:42,720 then he prays and he thanks God. You should pray before you eat 654 00:31:42,720 --> 00:31:45,360 as well. You should thank God for your 655 00:31:45,360 --> 00:31:45,880 food. Why? 656 00:31:45,880 --> 00:31:48,320 Because it's a gift. And we want to praise him again 657 00:31:48,320 --> 00:31:51,320 for all of his blessings. Praise God, from whom all 658 00:31:51,400 --> 00:31:55,000 blessings flow. The flavor, the texture, the 659 00:31:55,000 --> 00:31:57,120 nutrient, all those good things come from God. 660 00:31:57,120 --> 00:31:59,400 The microplastics and the pesticides, those come from 661 00:31:59,400 --> 00:32:04,320 globalists who hate you. But when you pray, God will 662 00:32:04,320 --> 00:32:07,760 protect you. We can't protect ourselves from 663 00:32:07,760 --> 00:32:10,240 all this stuff, by the way. We're trying, and we should use 664 00:32:10,240 --> 00:32:12,280 wisdom. And I want to continue to grow 665 00:32:12,280 --> 00:32:15,080 and all that. And also, I have a shepherd. 666 00:32:15,600 --> 00:32:17,840 I'm not the top, I'm not the tip of the spear. 667 00:32:17,840 --> 00:32:22,520 I'm not the top of the food chain, but Jesus is King and I'm 668 00:32:22,520 --> 00:32:24,800 a lamb in his pasture, so that brings me comfort. 669 00:32:25,880 --> 00:32:27,640 You still probably shouldn't need tuna helper, though. 670 00:32:29,600 --> 00:32:33,080 Maybe a homemade version. Yeah, a homemade kind, but not 671 00:32:33,080 --> 00:32:37,240 the box kind. Keep going. 672 00:32:37,240 --> 00:32:40,080 Verse 20. And they all ate and were 673 00:32:40,080 --> 00:32:43,680 satisfied. And they took up 12 baskets full 674 00:32:43,680 --> 00:32:47,520 of the broken pieces leftover. And those who ate were about 675 00:32:47,520 --> 00:32:50,000 5000 men besides the women and children. 676 00:32:50,280 --> 00:32:52,880 Verse 20 says they were all satisfied. 677 00:32:54,720 --> 00:32:58,160 What a relief satisfaction. What a great word. 678 00:32:58,640 --> 00:33:02,560 To be satisfied is a blessing from a meal, to be satisfied, 679 00:33:02,720 --> 00:33:06,760 from a day of work to be satisfied, from quality time 680 00:33:06,760 --> 00:33:08,280 with your family, to be satisfied. 681 00:33:08,280 --> 00:33:10,680 There are many satisfactions that come in life, aren't there? 682 00:33:11,320 --> 00:33:12,960 You know, we got a beautiful weather today. 683 00:33:12,960 --> 00:33:15,480 Maybe you'll sit on your back deck this evening with your 684 00:33:15,480 --> 00:33:18,440 spouse or your kids or loved ones or whoever and with a 685 00:33:18,440 --> 00:33:19,760 friend. Or maybe you just go, I'm, I'm 686 00:33:19,840 --> 00:33:22,440 just satisfied in the Lord. I'm just pleased and thankful. 687 00:33:23,040 --> 00:33:27,360 Satisfaction is a delight, but nothing satisfies fully unless 688 00:33:27,360 --> 00:33:28,720 it comes from Jesus. Amen. 689 00:33:29,720 --> 00:33:31,920 Don't you remember? And don't you even know as a 690 00:33:31,920 --> 00:33:34,240 believer, times when you're pursuing things other than Jesus 691 00:33:34,240 --> 00:33:36,720 that don't satisfy? You can go on. 692 00:33:37,400 --> 00:33:44,880 I ate the whole thing and I'm full, but I'm not satisfied. 693 00:33:45,960 --> 00:33:48,720 I thought that was going to bring a pleasure, and it didn't 694 00:33:48,720 --> 00:33:51,440 bring the the pleasure. I thought it was going to give 695 00:33:51,440 --> 00:33:53,280 the thing, I thought, but it didn't give it. 696 00:33:53,280 --> 00:33:55,400 That's what sin always does to us. 697 00:33:56,160 --> 00:33:58,120 It always promises everything. Ho, ho, ho. 698 00:33:58,120 --> 00:33:59,720 If I could just sink my teeth into that. 699 00:34:00,960 --> 00:34:03,400 Until you do, until you've eaten, until you've digested it, 700 00:34:03,400 --> 00:34:06,800 and then you go. This isn't satisfying. 701 00:34:06,880 --> 00:34:09,639 But when it comes from Jesus, it's the right thing at the 702 00:34:09,639 --> 00:34:13,360 right time. When you follow Jesus, He will 703 00:34:13,360 --> 00:34:15,960 provide for you and you will be satisfied. 704 00:34:16,560 --> 00:34:19,960 That's our big arc here as we look at this, look at all these 705 00:34:19,960 --> 00:34:22,040 people. When you follow Jesus, this is 706 00:34:22,040 --> 00:34:25,159 what the 5000, the 10,000, the whatever thousand was that day. 707 00:34:25,159 --> 00:34:28,199 That's what they learned. When you follow Jesus, by the 708 00:34:28,199 --> 00:34:32,280 way, take some real effort hustling and bustling over some 709 00:34:32,280 --> 00:34:34,480 mountains and some rocks and come on, honey, and where's 710 00:34:34,480 --> 00:34:35,880 them? I heard he went this way. 711 00:34:35,880 --> 00:34:37,400 Well, then someone else said this village. 712 00:34:37,400 --> 00:34:40,480 We went to the wrong village. We're here 4 hours late. 713 00:34:40,920 --> 00:34:42,560 Following Jesus took effort that day. 714 00:34:43,120 --> 00:34:46,239 But when you follow Jesus, he will provide for you. 715 00:34:46,239 --> 00:34:49,719 And when you follow Jesus you will be satisfied. 716 00:34:50,679 --> 00:34:53,679 The question we should ask is what do you want Lord? 717 00:34:54,679 --> 00:34:59,600 What would please you? Lord, in the will of God we will 718 00:34:59,600 --> 00:35:02,160 be satisfied. In the will of God we will be 719 00:35:02,160 --> 00:35:05,120 cared for. When you follow Jesus, Jesus 720 00:35:05,280 --> 00:35:11,320 provides for you. I was young and now I'm old, but 721 00:35:11,320 --> 00:35:15,120 I've never seen the righteous forsaken or His children begging 722 00:35:15,120 --> 00:35:19,440 bread. God is perfect in His promises, 723 00:35:21,160 --> 00:35:26,960 and He is faithful at all times. Still, in verse 20, they all ate 724 00:35:26,960 --> 00:35:30,000 and were satisfied, and they took up 12 baskets full of 725 00:35:30,000 --> 00:35:35,160 broken pieces. Leftover Moses and the 12 tribes 726 00:35:35,160 --> 00:35:39,200 of Israel had bread in the wilderness, and Jesus, the bread 727 00:35:39,200 --> 00:35:42,600 of heaven, is the greater Moses who is providing for his people 728 00:35:42,600 --> 00:35:45,560 again as they follow him. And Matthew is making this 729 00:35:45,560 --> 00:35:47,800 plain. The 12 baskets would not be 730 00:35:47,800 --> 00:35:50,400 missed by the Jewish reader. The Holy Spirit wanted to 731 00:35:50,400 --> 00:35:53,240 emphasize this point. And there's 12 disciples. 732 00:35:53,560 --> 00:35:55,960 So look again at Jesus and his care for his people. 733 00:35:56,280 --> 00:35:59,360 Good job today boys. You worked hard and every 734 00:35:59,360 --> 00:36:04,480 disciple now has a basket full of bread and fish, which I'm 735 00:36:04,480 --> 00:36:06,280 sure Jesus would eat from as well. 736 00:36:07,560 --> 00:36:09,320 But this wouldn't be lost on the Jewish reader. 737 00:36:09,640 --> 00:36:12,720 They understand Matthew's always showing them the symbols that 738 00:36:12,720 --> 00:36:15,240 are not accidental that the Lord did on purpose. 739 00:36:15,560 --> 00:36:18,920 God provides for his people. And Jesus, of course, is the 740 00:36:18,920 --> 00:36:20,000 bread that comes down from heaven. 741 00:36:20,000 --> 00:36:22,560 We're going to partake of his body here in a moment together. 742 00:36:25,040 --> 00:36:30,120 Now we'll close in verse 21. And those who ate were about 743 00:36:30,120 --> 00:36:33,760 5000 men, besides women and children. 744 00:36:35,240 --> 00:36:36,920 So the first time you read it, of course, you don't know how 745 00:36:36,920 --> 00:36:38,400 many people it is until this moment. 746 00:36:38,720 --> 00:36:40,760 All four gospels record this miracle. 747 00:36:41,320 --> 00:36:44,480 This is the only miracle that the Holy Spirit decided to put 748 00:36:44,480 --> 00:36:48,120 into all four gospels. Multiple gospels carry multiple 749 00:36:48,120 --> 00:36:51,200 miracles, but there's no miracle that's covered in all four 750 00:36:51,200 --> 00:36:53,080 gospels, apart from the resurrection, of course. 751 00:36:53,960 --> 00:36:56,400 So this mattered. There was a lot here. 752 00:36:56,880 --> 00:36:58,400 There was a lot for us to feast on. 753 00:36:59,880 --> 00:37:02,240 This is massive. The original Jewish readers that 754 00:37:02,240 --> 00:37:06,280 Matthew wrote, we're seeing that Jesus is working miracles. 755 00:37:06,280 --> 00:37:08,560 They're seeing Jesus a working miracles, they're seeing Jesus a 756 00:37:08,560 --> 00:37:11,640 working miracles. But the Holy Spirit had Matthew 757 00:37:11,640 --> 00:37:13,560 put this in front of them over and over and over so that they 758 00:37:13,560 --> 00:37:16,720 would believe that Jesus was the king that they were waiting for. 759 00:37:18,080 --> 00:37:20,360 And the Holy Spirit puts it before you today so that you 760 00:37:20,360 --> 00:37:22,400 will have what? That you'll have hunger for God, 761 00:37:23,120 --> 00:37:26,360 that you'll have compassion for others, and that you will trust 762 00:37:26,480 --> 00:37:33,280 in His provision. So we're going to prepare our 763 00:37:33,280 --> 00:37:40,760 hearts now to receive communion together as we do. 764 00:37:41,320 --> 00:37:43,360 Obviously, we've already confessed to sin together 765 00:37:44,760 --> 00:37:47,200 through the Lord's Prayer. But if there's anything else 766 00:37:47,200 --> 00:37:50,040 that is stirring in you, if there's anything else that the 767 00:37:50,040 --> 00:37:53,360 Lord is bringing up in your heart as we prepare to receive 768 00:37:53,360 --> 00:37:56,200 the body and the blood, now's the time to pray. 769 00:37:56,600 --> 00:37:58,880 Now's the time to meditate on the goodness of God.