We're going to begin in reading
our scriptures from your Bibles. If you would, turn in your Bibles
to the book of Matthew. And we left off considering the
fall of man and how deep that is. And we saw a picture of the
depth of that in Herod, in how Herod took the life of John the
Baptist because of the lust in his heart for his stepdaughter. You'll recall the story. told her daughter to go before
Herod the King and ask for John the Baptist's head. And because
he was so enthralled with her dancing before him, he gave her
her wish. And it's just a picture. It's
a picture of how deep man has fallen. You see, that's a picture
that men miss. We miss the point on how deep
We have fallen, the depth of our depravity. We think there's
a little bit of goodness in each and every, that's the way we
come into this world. Oh, look at little Johnny, he's
so cute, he's so innocent, he's so perfect. Or my grandma, she's
just the sweetest, wonderful person there is. No, no, Johnny's
not sweet, he's not innocent, and grandma's not just the sweetest
person ever. She might have been the sweetest
person to ever walk this earth, yeah. But in God's eyes, she's
just like you and I, sinners. We just don't understand the
depth of our fallen. Tonight, I've titled tonight's
study, He Was Moved With Compassion. And what a picture we're about
to see in our Lord in how He looks at all of mankind. Let's
read with me beginning at verse 13, if you would. When Jesus
heard of it, He departed thence by ship into a desert place. Now, I want to stop there for
just a second. A desert place. That's the world
that we walk in. That's the shadow. That's the
valley of death that we go through. You can picture bones over here,
skulls of whatever over there because it's so dried out. It's
such a desert, a dry desert. And the Lord went into a desert
place by ship. What a picture of the world we
see here. And when the people had heard thereof, they followed
Him on foot out of the cities. And Jesus went forth and saw
a great multitude and was moved. with compassion toward them,
and he healed their sick. And when it was evening, his
disciples came to him, saying, this is a desert place, and the
time is now past. Send the multitude away, that
they may go into the villages and buy themselves vituals or
food. But Jesus said unto them, they
need not depart. Give ye them to eat. And they said unto him, we have
here but five loaves and two fishes. And he said, bring them
hither to me. And he commanded the multitude
to sit down on the grass and took the five loaves and the
two fishes. And looking up to heaven, he
blessed and break and gave the loaves to his disciples and the
disciples to the multitude. And they did eat and were filled. And they took up the fragments
that remained 12 baskets full. And they had eaten. And they
that had eaten were about 5,000 men besides women and children.
Now, if you'd like to turn to your handout, we have the rest
of tonight's study in that. Paragraph one of the top of page
one. There's much to glean. And I
use that word glean because every time I think about gleaning through
the scriptures, A brother, Norm, has shared with us, those of
us who were able to attend his services, he shared how when
he was growing up, and I think I get the story straight, correct
me sometime if you want, Norm, but it has to do with when he
was growing up he was going out in the field and turning the
field over or something to that effect. He tells a story about
how turning the field over and then you go back and you turn
it over again and there's more rocks. You get all the rocks
out of the field and there's more rocks and you go back and
you turn it over and there's more rocks and it seems like
you never get all the rocks out of the field. Well that's what
this is all about. That's what I'm talking about
here. We're gleaning There's so much to glean from these words,
more than we could if we spent a lifetime of gleaning. So tonight
we'll spend our time focused on these words, speaking of our
Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, the Eternal Son of the Living
God, the Deliverer of His people. It says in verse 14, He was moved
with compassion toward them, and He healed their sick. That's our subject for tonight.
He was moved with compassion. The Lord of Glory, the Creator,
has chosen to have compassion on a people, not all people,
but a people chosen from before the foundation of the world to
be loved by Him in spite of their rebellion against Him. It says,
but God, who is rich, wealthy, More than we can imagine, in
mercy. He's rich in mercy. For His great
love, wherewith He loved us, even when we were dead in sins,
hath quickened, that's made alive, us together with Christ, by grace
ye are saved. That's Ephesians 2, verses 4
through 5. Great love for great sinners. I've preached on that before.
Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death
by sin, so death passed upon all men, for that all have sin."
That's what Roman 5.12 tells us. Why is the fact of election
so important to declare? I want to stop there for a moment.
I want to share with you. Why is election so important
to declare? Folks, if we don't preach election,
If we don't preach that it is God's purpose to be merciful
to those for whom He will be merciful to, then the world would
overcome us with their free will, I chose Christ, I love God because
I wanted to love God, and their determination that it was by
their works, and that's nothing more than raising themselves
up above God. I had a conversation with a free
will religionist, my aunt back in Arkansas. She just couldn't
accept the fact that it's not our decision. It's not our will. Is salvation, I can't remember what she said
now. Is salvation a choice? Absolutely it is, but it's just
not yours or mine. It's God's. It's God's choice. And she just couldn't, she said
to me, are you telling me that God saves people against their
will? Absolutely not. Absolutely not. He made you willing in the day
of his power. He comes to us and shines his
love in our dead, in what we had in new hearts, hearts that
he, after he had taken the old dead heart out, He gives us a
new heart, and he shines his light of his love in our hearts.
Why is election so important to declare? Because it's part
of God's word. That's why. In Romans 9, and
let me read that instead of trying to quote it from memory. For
the children being not yet born, speaking of Jacob and Esau, neither
having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according
to election might stand not of works, but of him that calleth."
Anything less than God's chosen right to choose a people gives
the glory to man and takes it away from God. That's what I
told her. I told her when she said, I'm thankful that I decided
to follow Christ and say, you've taken the glory away from God.
Last paragraph, page one. It is our very nature. the nature
of the flesh, our instinct to glory, to make more of ourselves
than what we are before a thrice holy God. Page 2. Though we all
have shook our fist and declared we would not have this one to
rule over us, he, in the day of his power, The day of His
love passes by each of His elect, each of those for whom He died.
He passes by us in our blood and degradation, and with the
power of the Almighty, He commands live, and He gives His people
life. Listen to the words of John 17,
verse 2. As thou hast given Him, the Lord
Jesus, power over all flesh, that He should give eternal life
to as many as thou hast given him." Being chosen of God, we
know we would not have chosen Him. We love Him because He first
loved us, as it says in 1 John 4, 19. This knowledge of Him
and all dealings between Him and His elect is Him having compassion
on us. Now, I want you to picture what
we've read so far in our text. Our Lord looked out and He was
moved. with compassion. Well, 5,000
people is nothing to God. He's eternal. There are billions,
maybe even trillions of people that have walked this earth.
Our Lord looks out over all, and He is moved by compassion
for His people. Continuing on, it says there
in Ephesians 2, verse 8, for by grace are you saved through
faith, and not of yourselves. It is a gift of God. Compassion
is God having pity. God being moved by pity to be
merciful to those whom he has everlastingly loved. Yea, I have
loved thee with an everlasting love, he says in Jeremiah 31
3. Therefore, with loving kindness
have I drawn thee. Election is God's glory. For he saith to Moses, I will
have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion
on whom I will have compassion. What a picture we have of the
Lord looking out over the multitude of folks that were there in that
day and looking out over all the people of the world throughout
all time and having compassion. You know, He didn't have to do
that. Our Lord could have done all kinds of things. He's the
Creator. He could do things that you and I wouldn't even be able
to think of. But He chose. He chose to have mercy. and compassion
on some. Do you see the grace in that?
Do you see the mercy in that that God has upon you and I?
That He had chosen us before the world was to send His Son
as our propitiation, as our substitute? This passage, last paragraph
of page 2, is a display of our Savior's deep compassion for
men. Jesus went forth and saw a great
multitude, and was moved with compassion toward them, and He
healed their sick. A great feature of our Lord's
character that can never be remembered too often, or esteemed too highly,
or declared too frequently. The movement of his heart toward
the sick and the needy before him shows us how tender and affectionate
our Savior is. How often we read our Savior's
compassion toward men. His heart was moved with compassion
toward those whom he beheld, as stated in Matthew 9.36. Remember the last time he fed
a great multitude? He looked upon them as sheep
having no shepherd. Oh, the Lord looked upon us as
sheep who had no shepherd and revealed himself unto us. Page three. Or the two blind
men that he saw when he left Jericho, spoken of in Matthew
20, 34. And we'll get to that when we
get there to Matthew. Or the leper who worshipped him in Mark
1, verses 40 and 41. Or the widow of Nain who was
going to bury her son In Luke 7.13, truly, truly our Lord is
the Good Samaritan that we read about in Luke 10.33. Folks, these words are not given
to just fill up space. They're written in the book of
God because the Lord intends for us to understand that He
who is our God is full, full of compassion. He's not hard. People look upon us when we talk
about God and His elect, His right to choose, and they say,
how could God be so hard? Our God is not hard. He has compassion
on whom He will have compassion. And He intends for us to see
that, that He's full of mercy and He's full of graciousness.
God, the Holy Spirit, intends for us to know and to be assured
of His tenderness and Christ's love for His own. His are the
mercies and compassions of a man who is himself God. the tender
mercies that flow to chosen sinners through the God-man, Christ Jesus. The mercies and compassions of
our God and Savior are the mercies and compassions of God, for He
is, over all, God-blessed forever. But they are no less the mercies
and compassions of the man Christ Jesus, for verily He took not
on Him the nature of angels, But he took on him the seed of
Abraham, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in the
things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins
of the people." Hebrews 2, 16 through 17. In Christ the God-man,
our Savior. Being full of compassion, He
forgives our iniquity. Oh, and He destroys us not. His compassion turns away His
anger and stirs not up His wrath. Listen to these words. But He,
speaking of the Lord, God Almighty, full of compassion, Forgave their
iniquity and destroyed them not. Yea, yea, not only that. Many a time turned he his anger
away and did not stir up all his wrath. For he remembered
that they were but flesh, a wind that passeth away and cometh
not again. That's Psalm 78, 38 through 39. Or how about this one? He says,
for I am the Lord. I change not. Therefore, ye sons
of Jacob are not consumed. Malachi 3, 6. When our Lord saw
the sick, He was moved with compassion towards them and healed them.
When the Lord God Almighty looked out upon His people, those that
He would reveal their sickness to them, how sinful they are
to them, He healed them. When he saw this multitude of
people out in the desert place, ready to faint for hunger, he
was moved with compassion for them and fed them. The word compassion,
last paragraph, page three, is a word of expression. It means,
as Spurgeon put it, his whole being was stirred to the lowest
depth. and therefore he proceeded at
once to work miracles for mercy of mercy among them. Page four.
He knew all who were in the crowd that had no faith in him and
had no love for him. He knew those who followed him
because of curiosity, because the crowd that went after him
or because they wanted to see miracles. Yet our master pitied
them He was moved with compassion. He fed them. He relieved their
need. He filled them. Let no one ever
question the gracious character of our God and Savior. Listen
to Exodus 34 6, and the Lord passed by before him and proclaimed,
the Lord God merciful and gracious, long-suffering and abundant in
goodness and truth. He delighteth in mercy, as it
says in Micah 7, verse 18. Let all who profess to be believers,
followers of Christ, follow Him with our heart, looking to Him
as our example of mercy and compassion. Brethren, if man be overtaken
in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such as one in the spirit
of meekness, considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted. Bear
ye one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ,
Galatians 6, 1 and 2. Or how about this, and being
ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as
God, for Christ's sake, has forgiven you. Be ye therefore followers
of God as dear children, and walk in love, as Christ also
hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and
a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling Savior." That's Ephesians 4,
verse 32, all the way through Ephesians 5, verse 2. This lesson
for us is not just to guide us in our dealings with the elect,
those who appear to be followers of Christ, but for all men. It is a lesson to teach us faith
in Him, teach us to trust in Him. Now, I want to stop there
for a moment. Think about this. We don't know. I'm going to use
an example. of me. I'm not very fond of people
like Nancy Pelosi. I'm really not very fond of her
at all, but how do I know whether she's a child of God or not?
I don't. I should be merciful to her as
my God has been merciful to me. I can't see the hearts of people. I can't determine whether you're
wheat or tares. That's what we studied just a
couple of weeks back. Remember that? Just not too long
ago, just back in chapter 13 of Matthew. We studied the sower
that planted the seed, and some grew up, and another came along
and planted the tares, and the tares grew up. And the Lord said,
don't worry about those things. Don't separate them. You'll disturb
the wheat. Let them grow and I'll send my
angels to do the separation at the end of time. Our Lord is
telling us now through this very story of him feeding the 5,000,
of him looking out upon these people who hated him just like
you and I did. And he had compassion on them. God help us. God help me to be
as compassionate as my Lord is with me. He's teaching his followers. to be compassionate. It is a
lesson to teach us faith that our Lord is the one who saves
his people, teaching us to trust in him. Last paragraph at page
four. Notice the disciples tried to
send them away. In verse 15, they were ready
to limit the Holy One. They knew they had a couple of
fish and a couple of loaves of bread. They knew they didn't
have enough to feed everybody. Send them away, Lord. They're
talking to God Almighty, who created everything. As Peter
said, the Son of the living God. And yet, they limited him. They
were ready to limit the Holy One. By their actions, they were
saying, like Israel of old, can God prepare a table in the wilderness? They were asking that. Can God
save anyone here in rescue? Oh, how dare us limit our God. They measured the Lord Jesus'
ability by their own ability, or rather, inability. They looked
upon the Son of God as Naam, looked upon the Jordan River
with Syrian eyes as unable. You want me to go get in the
Jordan, that filthy, dirty river? How can it clean me? Let us learn
from their error and be warned. His ways are not our ways. Page five. Brother Don wrote
this. He said, when we think of God,
we must put down Hagar and raise up Sarah. Silence human reason
and act according to God-given faith. Faith believes without
evidence, and even contrary to evidence, that things which are
impossible with men are possible with God. Now, two sentences
in these verses are bursting with spiritual instruction. So
hear these words from the lips of the Son of God, and ask for
grace to trust in Him. Verse 16, Jesus said unto them,
They need not depart. Remember, we're talking about
Him having compassion on the multitude, on all of mankind,
Him having compassion. They need not depart. What a
blessed word of grace and assurance. If there was no necessity for
these hungry souls to depart from Christ for food, can there
ever be a reason for you and I to depart from Him as well?
All the Marys sit at the feet of Jesus always. They need not
depart. That means that there's never
an excuse for compromising the gospel. There's never a cause
for neglecting Christ, His worship, or His service. Whatever our
need, our Savior is ready to move with compassion towards
us. Let us therefore come boldly, as it says, unto the throne of
grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in the
time of need. Hebrews 4, 16. Or trust in the
Lord with all thine heart, and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge Him,
and He shall direct thy paths. Be not wise in thine own eyes. Fear the Lord, and depart from
evil. It shall be health to thy navel,
and morrow to thy bones. Proverbs 3, verse 5 through 8. And then in verse 18, he said,
bring them hither to me. Bring all that you are and all
that you have to Christ. Only he can remove the curse.
add his blessings, and make our small loaves and fishes instruments
of great usefulness and spiritual benefit to chosen sinners. Only he can do that. A little
is much in the master's hands. And I don't know who wrote that,
but I put it down as copied. It wasn't me. It has always been
God's delight. Last paragraph, page five. It
has always been God's delight and glory to use that which men
consider useless. He used a baby's cry to move
the heart of Pharaoh's daughter. He used a shepherd's staff to
work miracles in Egypt. He used a boy and a slingshot
to bring down Goliath. He used a poverty-stricken widow
to feed his prophet. He used a little girl to lead
Naaman to Elisha, page six. He used Balaam's ass to teach
him obedience. He used the jawbone of an ass
to slay 1,000 Philistines. He used a little child to teach
his disciples humility. He used a boy's lunch to feed
20-some-thousand people. And he uses men who are in themselves
useless sinners. to call out his own. Listen to
these words from 1 Corinthians 1, 26-29, For you see your calling,
brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many
mighty, not many noble, are called. But God hath chosen the foolish
things of the world to confound the wise, and God hath chosen
the weak things of the world to confound the things which
are mighty, and the base things of the world, and the things
which are despised hath God chosen, yea, and the things which are
not to bring to naught things that are, that no flesh should
glory in his presence." Or how about this from 2 Corinthians
4, 7, but we have this treasure in earthly vessels. that the
excellency of the power may be of God and not of us. Think about this for a moment.
Think about the Lord giving these two fishes, these few fishes
and a couple of loaves of bread to his ministers and sending
them out into the multitudes throughout time. It's not them
who are creating the miracles. It's God Almighty himself that
is feeding all of his people throughout all of the time with
what he has given them, so little. Back in our handout again, mid-page,
yet the compassion of God is much more than any mere man can
phantom of the meaning. For God sent His only begotten
Son, because He saw a great multitude, and was moved with compassion
toward them, and He healed their sick. Listen to these words,
if you would, please. I've quoted several scriptures
here. It pleased the Lord to bruise
Him. Speaking of this one that He
sent, because He was moved with compassion. It pleased the Lord
to bruise Him. he hath put him to grief. When
thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed,
he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall
prosper in his hand. He shall see the travail of his
soul and shall be satisfied. By his knowledge shall my righteous
servant justify many, for he shall bear their iniquities. God moved with compassion, and
he sent his son to bear our iniquities. Isaiah 53, verses 10 and 11. Or how about this one? And she
shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name Jesus,
for he shall save his people from their sins. Now all this
was done that it might be fulfilled, which was spoken of. of the Lord
by the prophet, saying, Behold, a virgin shall be with child,
and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name
Immanuel, which being interpreted is God with us. Matthew 1, 21, 23. Another one,
if you would, 1 Timothy 3, 16, and without controversy. Great is the mystery of godliness. God was manifest in the flesh,
justified in the spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the
Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory. Page seven. Can you make this
statement from your heart? I am so thankful. God is a merciful and compassionate
God. Because of his compassion, I
believe him. Faith, a gift of God, lest I
should boast. I believe all of his record of
himself in his word. Because of his compassions, I
believe I have life in him. He says, my sheep hear my voice,
and I know them, and they follow me. And I give unto them eternal
life, and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them
out of my hand. My Father which gave them me
is greater than all, and no man is able to pluck them out of
my Father's hand." John 10, 27 through 29. The Apostle Paul,
he puts it this way in Romans 8, 38 through 39. He says, for
I am persuaded that neither death nor life nor angels, nor principalities,
nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height,
nor depth, nor any other creature shall be able to separate us
from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." God
was moved with compassion Consider this in closing, if you would.
This hungry multitude in a desert place is a representation of
lost mankind in this world. All the sons of Adam are an assembly
of perishing souls, lost, helpless, starving, and upon the verge
of eternal ruin without the gospel of Christ. There is but a breath
between mankind and everlasting ruin. Our only hope of salvation
is the gospel of Christ. Romans 1 verse 16, I am not ashamed
of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God unto salvation
to every one that believeth, to the Jew first and also to
the Greek. Again, I quote from Brother Don's
commentary, the loaves and fishes so readily despised as being
inadequate to meet the needs of so many might well be looked
upon as representing the preaching of the gospel. Jesus Christ and
him crucified, which God hath ordained for the saving of his
elect. Isn't that what we read in 1
Corinthians 1, 21 through 24? For after that, in the wisdom
of God, the world by wisdom knew not God. It pleased God by the
foolishness of preaching to save them that believe. For the Jews
require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom. Page 8. But
we preach Christ crucified unto the Jews, a stumbling block,
and unto the Greeks foolishness, but unto them which are called,
both Jews and Greeks, Christ, the power of God, and the wisdom
of God. Listen to John 6, verse 33, for
the bread of God is he which cometh down from heaven and giveth
life unto the world. That bread that was sent out,
that's our Lord Jesus. The very manna that was sent
from heaven is our Lord Jesus. We feast on Him. Like the loaves
and the fishes in this passage, the preaching of the cross of
Christ is nourishment to the spiritual needs of sinners of
this world. I pray in my prayers when I ask
for the Lord to bless the food that we're to eat, I try to mention
in every one of those prayers, may the food that we're about
to enjoy be a nourishment to our bodies as your word. is a nourishment to our souls.
The satisfaction of all the crowd and the baskets full left over
seems a picture to me, a picture that says Christ and Him crucified
is enough. I can add nothing to it and neither
can I take anything away from it. On Christ the solid rock
I stand, all other ground is sinking sand. It is enough that
Jesus died, and that He died for me. The Lord Jesus freely
gives all to all who trust Him. All who come to Him have all
that they want and need, finding all in Him. We find satisfaction
for our souls. Drinking the water that He gives,
we never thirst again. Yet the storehouse of grace is
never diminished. In our Father's house, there
is bread enough and to spare. Amen.