Luke chapter 9 and reading from
verse 7. Now Herod the Tetrarch heard
of all that was done by him, that is the Lord Jesus, and he
was perplexed because that it was said of some that John, that's
John the Baptist, was risen from the dead. and of some that Elias
had appeared, and of others that one of the old prophets was risen
again. And Herod said, John have I beheaded,
but who is this of whom I hear such things? And he desired to
see him. And the apostles, when they were
returned, that is returned from their missionary journey, the
Lord had sent them out at the beginning of this chapter. And
the apostles, when they had returned, told him, that's the Lord, all
that had been done. And he took them and went aside
privately into a desert place belonging to the city called
Bethsaida. And the people, when they knew
it, followed him. And he received them, and spake
unto them of the kingdom of God, and healed them that had need
of healing. And when the day began to wear
away, then came the Twelve, and said unto him, Send the multitude
away, that they may go into the towns and country round about,
and lodge and get victuals, for we are here in a desert place. But he said unto them, Give ye
them to eat. And they said, We have no more
but five loaves and two fishies, except we should go and buy meat
for all this people. And they were about five thousand
men. And he said to his disciples,
Make them sit down by fifties in a company. And they did so,
and made them all sit down. And he took the five loaves and
the two fishies, and looking up to heaven, he blessed them,
and break, and gave to the disciples to set before the multitude.
And they did eat, and were all filled, and there was taken up
of fragments that remained, to them twelve baskets. Amen. May the Lord bless to us this
reading from his word. Herod had slain John the Baptist,
so he knew that John the Baptist was dead. In his drunken revelry,
he had the head of the Lord's forerunner presented to Salome,
his illicit stepdaughter, on a plate. When Herod heard about Jesus'
powerful ministry, and maybe also Herod had heard something
about the missionary activities of the apostles, he was perplexed
because there were clear parallels between John's movement and his
message and the preaching and the ministry of Jesus Christ.
When rumours reached his ears that people were saying Jesus
was John raised from the dead or one of the old prophets come
back, he was filled with consternation and his conscience was stirred.
Out of curiosity and perhaps to some extent with a sense of
guilt, he desired to see Jesus. But it was a desire, we learn,
not to be satisfied until the morning of the day of the Lord's
death, when Pilate sent Jesus to Herod, hoping to be rid of
the problem of what to do with Jesus Christ, the other king
of the Jews. Herod grew angry at Christ's
fame and popularity. Personally, he wanted the Lord
to perform a miracle for him and he was disappointed. Herod's
guilt at murdering John would haunt him for time and eternity. He was blessed in many ways as
far as the world would consider looking on with power and riches. But he had neither peace in his
spirit nor quietness in his heart. Because guilt lies heavy on a
man's soul until either conscience is so suppressed as to render
him insensitive. or forgiveness is found in the
blood of Jesus Christ. And Herod never found forgiveness
and his name has come down to us as a mean, sad and despicable
antagonist against the truth and an enemy of Christ's church
and people. Ironically, had Herod really
wished to know something about Jesus, and even if he had really
wished to see a miracle for himself, all he had to do was follow the
crowd that sought the Lord. And in the second section of
our verses that we read today from Luke chapter nine, that
has to do with what has become known as the Lord's feeding of
the 5,000. And let me just say what Paul said
to King Agrippa when he was in trial, he said, This work, this
work of Christ wasn't done in a corner. This work of Christ
wasn't hidden away. The Roman governor knew about
the Lord Jesus Christ. Herod, king of the Jews, knew
about the Lord Jesus Christ. The chief priest in the Sanhedrin,
the large council, knew about the Lord Jesus Christ. This work
was not done in a corner. And here is an example of the
fact that the Lord Jesus Christ had a powerful ministry, not
just in the little villages in the back wildernesses of Judea
and Galilee. There were more than 5,000 people
here. It's called 5,000 men. How could
such a movement of upwards of 5,000 people, perhaps it was
seven, perhaps it was 10,000, be concealed from the authorities? How would the Romans not know
about 10,000 people on the move? And for three years Christ laboured
and ministered right under Herod's nose. And this murderous man
proved himself not too concerned about meeting the Lord, not too
concerned about having his questions answered, and more importantly,
not too concerned about having his sins dealt with. All four
of the Gospel writers give an account of this miracle. with Mark's being the fullest. We're in Luke's gospel here.
Mark's is the fullest account of the miracle. John supplies
many interesting details concerning the source of the fish and the
loaves and We're told that the occasion of this miracle was
after the disciples return from their own ministry, where they
had been sent out by the Lord, and at a time when the Lord seems
to wish to spend time alone with them, perhaps discussing what
had occurred, what they'd seen, what they'd heard, what their
response had been, and providing them with more direction. However,
the crowds who sought Jesus now followed him wherever he went,
and here even a boat journey did not thwart them. They followed
round the coastline, having heard that Jesus had taken to the water
and they followed the Lord to a desert place near Bethsaida
where he taught them again, he received them to himself and
he taught them again about the kingdom. He preached the gospel
and he healed the sick. And as evening was approaching,
the disciples became concerned about the large number of people
and that they ought to be dismissed to go and seek food and accommodation,
if need be, in nearby towns and villages. There was a lack of
facility where they now were. However, the Lord is reluctant
to dismiss the crowd, even as it's getting late in the day,
and he rather instructs the disciples themselves to provide what they
feel is lacking to this crowd of people. And there's a hint
of sarcasm, I think, in the disciples' reply. They've got five loaves
and two small fish from a lad whose mother likely gave them
to him for his dinner. And the disciples informed the
Lord that even if they'd money enough to buy, there was nowhere
locally to buy food for so many people. And the Lord's response
to his disciples is that they are to gather the crowds into
fifties and hundreds, for the better counting perhaps, for
the better management of the miracle that he was about to
perform. And taking the bread and the fish, the Lord blessed
the small portion. He broke it and he distributed
that amongst the disciples to be distributed in turn to the
thousands present. And the instruction is carried
out by the disciples. And all the people receive a
portion of food upon which they dine and 12 baskets of unconsumed
food are afterwards gathered. Verse 17 says again, they did
eat and were all filled and there was taken up of fragments that
remained to them 12 baskets. Now I suspect most of us have
been familiar with the account of this miracle since we were
young. It's a favourite Bible story for children and Yet, when
we pause to consider the wonder of what is claimed in this account,
it's a miracle of staggering scale and significance. It would take God himself to
convert two small fishes and five barley loaves into a feast
for a multitude of this size. and the fragments that remained
in the 12 baskets seems to intensify and amplify both the phenomenon
that occurred and the spectacle that it was. Now if I were to
seek a spiritual application for this miracle, It's certain
that the Lord Jesus once again proved his divinity and his power
over natural and physical matter with this miracle. And to all
those who would speak against this miracle for its implausibility
or its impossibility, I ask, how does it differ from the Lord's
power over the wind and the waves? How does it differ from his ability
to walk on water, or ascend into the air, or command demons, or
bring the dead to life? Not to mention all the other
healings and miracles that he performed. Truth is, the matter
of this world, the atoms and the chemistry of this world,
is subject to God the Creator. And we have no reason to doubt
that He who brought all things into being out of nothing can
bring a lot out of a little, as is described in this account. And that which is blessed of
the Lord, because he lifted up his eyes to heaven, which is
the source of all our blessings. He lifted up his eyes to heaven
and he blessed and he broke the bread and the fish. And that
which is blessed of the Lord is blessed indeed. And I suspect
that this meal of fish and bread was the best fish sandwich ever
tasted by men and women or boys and girls anywhere in the world.
And there is too, I think, a practical example of the Lord's tender
care exhibited in his pity and his concern. for the spiritual
needs of these people. Because Mark tells us, so it's
not in Luke's account, but it's in Mark's. Mark tells us that
when Christ saw the multitude, when he saw this mass of humanity,
these 5,000 men and the women and children that were along
with them, when he saw them, he was moved with compassion
toward them because they were as sheep not having a shepherd. And he began to teach them many
things. And I think in this there's a
blessed pattern for every preacher and indeed all the Lord's people.
The blind deluded by blind leaders and sheep without a shepherd
are to be pitied. And what a sad state men and
women are in without Christ in their lives. But I think, too,
that there's another strand here that was designed especially
for the disciples and perhaps especially for them returning
as they were from their practical experience of preaching and healing
in the name of the Lord Jesus. Remember, the Lord was preparing
them. Throughout this three years of
his own ministry, he was preparing them for their own apostolic
responsibilities. Now the first thought of these
disciples when they saw the need of the crowd was, in some respects,
also an exhibition of tender care and pity, just as it was
for the Lord. Because they said to the Lord,
send them away. They weren't just content to
watch the evening light fade away without at least pointing
out to the Lord that he needed to do something. Send them away
that they might go and find accommodation, might go and find food. We've
nothing for them and they have great need as night is approaching. But the lesson the Lord taught
his disciples was that on the contrary, the disciples in their
gospel ministry had everything that these people could possibly
need in Christ. And if the gospel of grace was
preached to them with God's blessing, the Lord was teaching his disciples
that in the gospel, is everything that a man or a woman requires. If we have Christ, we have everything.
And the church does not need to supply every kind of social
support and every kind of caring activity. It needs to preach
Jesus Christ crucified and forgiveness of sin by Christ's blood. Now this gospel that we preach,
it might seem thin and sparse and even mean compared to the
pomp and ceremony of so much man-made religion like we've
been seeing in recent weeks on our televisions. It might seem
like a few fish and loaves compared to a sumptuous meal as far as
the worldly man and woman who's looking on is concerned. But
the truth is the gospel nourishes parts that other servings and
other helpings cannot reach. The simple gospel message might
seem inadequate for the scale of the trouble of the world,
but when it is blessed in the hands of Christ, it is more sufficient. more than sufficient, sorry,
for every need. The gospel might be mocked as
basic and plain, but there is such rich, eternal power in Jesus
Christ crucified. There is such peace with God
to be found, as will cause the redeemed people to praise their
saviour forever and ever in eternity. And I think that the Lord is
telling us here, as he tells his disciples, you provide for
them. He is telling us that what we
have at our disposal, that if we have Christ, we have all. If we know the Lord, everything
else will follow its course and fall into place. And I don't
say that we won't make mistakes and get things wrong, but if
we can ask the Lord to bless any problem that we have, even
if it is 5,000 hungry men in the desert, he has the means
to make all things right and bring good from the toughest
of trials. And 12 baskets were submitted
at the end, gathered in at the end, one each for the disciples. Sometimes the Lord's people feel
as if they're constantly giving and getting little in return.
We don't have much but people seem to make demands on us and
situations arise where we want to help but they don't seem to
realise what it costs us to help. Well, God knows. And the disciples
were told to give up all that they had. Actually, it wasn't
even theirs, it was this little boy's meal. But they had to give
everything that they had. But brothers and sisters, the
Lord will not be indebted to us in this life or the next.
And when we spend all we have in his service and for his cause,
he will make sure that our baskets will be full. Even if it is just
fragments. And they will be the best fragments
in the world. We have the answer to the greatest
problem that every man and woman has. Such is the nature of the
problem that most don't even realise they have one. A few
short years in this world and an eternity of separation in
hell will be the lot of all those who despise the blood of Christ
and the message that we preach. And we will often be tempted
to say, well, if you don't care about your own soul, why should
I care for you? The truth is, we all were once
like them. And thank God he sent a preacher
and he told that preacher, give ye them to eat. It is our privilege
to break the bread of life and distribute it to those to whom
the Lord will lead us. And we may well feel as though
we are being asked to give all that we have. But what is given
away for Christ will return with surplus and the Lord will strengthen
and supply all our needs. May the Lord bless these thoughts
to us today. Amen.