They Need Not Depart

Q: What does the Bible say about Jesus' compassion for people?

The Bible shows that Jesus was deeply moved with compassion for the needs of people, as seen in Matthew 14:14. Throughout the Gospels, we see multiple instances of Jesus being moved with compassion. In Matthew 14:14, He sees the great multitude and, despite knowing their lack of faith in Him, He responds to their physical and spiritual needs by healing their sick and feeding them. Jesus’ actions illustrate His deep empathy and care for humanity, signifying that as God incarnate, He is not detached but emotionally invested in our welfare. This portrays the character of God as merciful and gracious, one who delights in showing compassion to those in need.

Q: How do we know the miracle of feeding the 5000 is true?

The miracle is corroborated by all four Gospel writers, emphasizing its significance and authenticity. The feeding of the 5,000 is a miracle documented in detail by all four Gospel writers—Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John—which serves as a powerful testament to its truth and importance in the biblical narrative. Each account provides unique details that collectively reinforce the authenticity of the event, showing not only Jesus' divine power but also His ability to meet human needs in miraculous ways. This miracle, therefore, stands as a vital demonstration of Christ's omnipotence and the overflowing compassion He possesses towards the hungry and needy. As believers, we draw assurance from these inspired accounts that affirm our faith in Jesus as not only a historical figure but the living God.

Q: Why is the miracle of the loaves and fishes important for Christians?

This miracle illustrates God's provision and Christ's compassion towards humanity. The miracle of the loaves and fishes is significant for Christians as it exemplifies Christ's ability to provide abundantly for His followers, highlighting His divine nature and compassionate heart. In this event, Jesus took limited resources—five loaves and two fish—and multiplied them to satisfy a vast multitude, symbolizing His power to supply our needs, even when circumstances seem hopeless. Moreover, it serves as an allegory for the Gospel itself, representing the truth that, as believers, we bring our small offerings to Christ, and He graciously magnifies them for His glory. The leftover fragments translate into the infinite sufficiency found in Christ, teaching us that He meets all our spiritual and physical needs. Thus, this miracle encourages believers to trust in God's providence and to bring their lives, as offerings, to be used by Him.

Q: What does it mean that 'they need not depart'?

'They need not depart' reflects God's provision and sufficiency for His people, emphasizing that believers can rely on Him for their needs. The declaration 'they need not depart' spoken by Jesus in the context of the feeding of the 5,000 carries profound implications for believers. It signifies that there is no necessity for those who follow Christ to look elsewhere for their sustenance, both physically and spiritually. In this statement, Jesus underscores His readiness to meet their needs, representing the spiritual reality that Christ Himself is sufficient for all situations and trials we may face. This assurance invites believers to cling to Christ without fear of lack or inadequacy and reminds them that His grace is enough to sustain them throughout their journey. For Christians, this serves as an encouraging call to remain steadfast in faith and dependency upon God, hence eliminating the need for compromise or wandering from His presence.

Let's turn to Matthew chapter 14. Matthew chapter 14. Now we have before us in this text, verses 13 through 21, the miracle of the feeding of the five thousand, with five loaves and two fish. Now this miracle being so bountifully, bountifully display of our Lord's grace and power, so that he, by his power, by his will, took these five loaves of bread and two pieces of fish and fed five thousand men. Will you stop and think about that for a minute? Five thousand men, and we'll read in a moment, beside women and children. That means there were at least 20,000, perhaps 25,000 or more, who were fed with five pieces of bread and two pieces of fish. Now that's an astounding miracle. It's an astounding miracle. It's a demonstration of our Lord's great power as God so much so that this is the only one of all our Lord's miracles that is described in detail by all four of the Gospel writers. Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, all four of them, described for us this miracle, giving us, each one giving a little slightly different flavor to the miracle for the purposes of displaying what they want to display by the Spirit of God. But each of the Gospel writers was inspired by the Holy Spirit to record this miracle that we're going to read.

Now read with me beginning at verse 13. When Jesus heard it, that is, when he heard about the death of John the Baptist, he departed thence by ship into a desert place apart. And when the people had heard thereof, they followed him on foot out of the cities. The Lord took a ship and went out in a place of isolation, and the people on foot followed him out into this desert place. 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. It was sometime between three and six o'clock in the evening. The Jews classify their days a little differently than we do. they had two evening parts. One was from six to nine, one was from three to six, and this being toward the dusk, toward the onset of nightfall, it was sometime between three and six o'clock in the evening. And they said, this is a desert place. The time is now past. Send the multitude away, that they may go into the villages and buy themselves victuals, that is, buy themselves something

And Jesus said unto them, They need not depart. What an astounding statement. They need not depart. Give ye them to eat. And they say unto him, We have here but five loaves and two fishes.

Now, I recognize we're reading this with hindsight, but reading it with hindsight They ought not to have even considered the five loaves and two fishes. The master said, give them these. And they said, well, we can't. We just got five loaves and two fishes. 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 gave the loaves to his disciples, and the disciples to the multitude. And they did all eat, and were filled."

They ate plenty. They got done eating, and nobody wanted any dessert. They had plenty. They were all filled, satisfied completely. And they took up of the fragments that remained twelve baskets full. So they had more when they got done than they did when they started. considerably more than they did when they started. And they that had eaten were about 5,000 men, and his five women and children.

Now when you read that story, you kind of scratch your head and you come to one of two decisions. Either this is the Word of God and it's true, or it's all a lie. That's all you can say. This is the Son of It's genuine. It's true. The Lord Jesus took five loaves of bread. Not pound loaves, I'm sure. The kind of loaves a fellow takes for his lunch. Five loaves and two pieces of fish and fed upwards of 20,000 people with it.

Now the Holy Spirit inspired the evangelist Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John to record this story and others like it. of our Lord's dealings with men upon the earth, so that we might read them often, study them carefully, and learn from them continually. His miracles have not yet been passed. His words and His ways have not yet been comprehended by man's puny brain.

I read the Word of God and I'm often reminded that it is, it's like the cloud that Elijah's servant saw. The more often he looked at it, the bigger it got. And the more often I look at this book, the bigger it gets. The more often I look at this miracle, the bigger it gets, the more profound it seems, and the more instruction I find in it. Like the widow's barrel of meal, there's an inexhaustible fullness of instruction in this holy book.

Now let's seek by God's grace to recognize the infinite, infinite wealth of instruction that's to be found here. I read a good many books. I read a good bit. And I haven't yet found a book except one on mathematics, about which I have very little interest, and consequently I don't read them. But I have yet to find a book that I had to read more than once or twice to comprehend what was in it. the books generally are fairly easy to comprehend. After all, they're just written by men. But this book, oh man, this book, the more I read it, the more I see how little I understand of it.

Shelby, as you know, goes up to the rest home, she and Bob, every Monday afternoon, and they read the folks there, visit with them. And this one gal, she's been visiting with us there every week, she asked me, said, would you like me to read to you from the Bible? She said no. She always says no. Yesterday she told her wife. She said, I know all about that stuff. I know all about that stuff. Well, the fact is, not many folks would say that, but most folks are convinced, I know all about that stuff. I know all there is to know about God and the Bible and all those things. All that reveals you don't know anything about God or anything about his books.

This book is an infinite treasure chest of truth. It is the living word of the living God. So that it is constantly, constantly fresh and new as we open it and search for the mind of God revealed in it.

Now I've said all that because I want you to understand that when I get done preaching this evening, There'll be a whole lot more that needs to be said concerning this miracle that I'm going to say. I recognize that right off the bat. I'm not here to try to show you how much I've learned or to show you what profound studies I have made concerning this passage of Scripture. I'm just going to show you certain things from the text, and we'll come back and look at it another time. I'll try to find some other things to show you. But here is a deep, deep mine of gospel truth. Spiritual instruction, and I want to just show you four nuggets I found in it. Just four nuggets of gold as far as spiritual things are concerned. The first one is this. Our text gives us a display of our Savior's deep, deep compassion for men upon this earth. We read here in verse 14, Jesus saw a great multitude and was moved with compassion. toward them. How often we read those words describing the Son of God in Scripture. He was a man. He was every bit a man. 100% a man. But being 100% a man, this man who is God, was moved with compassion at the plight of men. He was not a stone-faced, cold-hearted stoic that could not be moved. He who is our God, our Savior, and our Redeemer, when He beheld the needs of men, was moved with compassion upon those men.

Listen to this. You can look them up later. In Matthew 9, verse 36, our Lord saw the people scattered about as sheep, having no shepherd. In the Scriptures it says He was moved with compassion when He saw them. In Matthew 20, in verse 34, two blind men called for him to have mercy upon them, and he asked them what they wanted, and they said, we want to have our sight. And the scripture says, he was moved with compassion, and he touched them, and they received their sight. In Mark 1, 41, a leper came to him. And the Lord Jesus said, what do you want? And he said, Lord, if you will, you can make me whole. And the Lord Jesus was moved with compassion, and he said, I will. Be thou quick. And the leprosy was taken from him. In Luke 7, our Lord walking by, a woman was coming out with a casket, burying her only son, taking him out to bury him. And the Lord stopped the funeral and was moved with compassion toward that woman. And he touched the beard and commanded her son to get up and walk home with her. Oh, he was moved with compassion. That's the character of our Savior.

These words are not given simply to fill up space. Written in the book of God because the Lord God intends for us to understand that He who is our God is a God full of compassion toward men. Turn to Psalm 78. Psalm 78. Listen to what Scripture says. Our God is a God full of compassion. I recognize God's immutability, and I recognize God's independence, and God's superiority over things, but please understand me. The Lord our God is not an idea, and He's not an ideal, He's God. He's God, and that God is a real person, and that God is moved with compassion upon men. Read what He says. Psalm 78, verse 38. Go on, look at verse 37. Back up one more, verse 36. Nevertheless, they did flatter him with their mouth, and they lied unto him with their tongues. For their heart was not right with him, neither were they steadfast in his covenant. But he, look at it now, being full of compassion, what a word, full of compassion, forgave their iniquity, and destroyed them not. Yea, 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.

" Back here in our text when our Lord saw the sick, he was moved with compassion toward them and healed them. When he saw these thousands of people standing out before him, he was moved with compassion again. And those people who were ready to faint with hunger, he fed from his bountiful power and his bountiful provision. This word compassion, moved with compassion, is very suggestive and expressive. C. H. Spurgeon describes it like this. He said, his whole being was stirred to its lowest depth and therefore he proceeded at once to work miracles of mercy among them. That's just about what it means. His whole being was stirred to its death. When Rex and Debbie, a few years ago, got a call in, had fallen through the ice out there, and their boy's life was hanging on the edge of ice, They were moved with compassion. That's exactly what it was. That's exactly what it was. He was stirred to the depths of his soul because of their need. Oh God, teach me to imitate him. Teach me to be so gracious. Teach me to be so caring.

He knew. He knew full well that many out there in that crowd had no faith in him. He knew that the vast majority of them were not interested in Him. He knew that they had no love for Him. He knew that they followed Him because the crowds followed Him. And there was a great stir going on at this time because of Him. They followed Him out of curiosity. They followed Him because they wanted to see Him perform some miracle, like other folks had told them they had seen. And yet, for all that, the Master pitied them. And they were all fed by his hand. And all their sick ones were healed. And all of them who had knees had their knees relieved. And they all went home filled by his hand, because he was moved with compassion.

I say all of that because I want you and me never, never, never the questioned and gracious character of our God toward men. Listen to what he says about himself, back in Exodus chapter 34. Exodus chapter 34. He's showing Moses his glory. That is, he's showing Moses who he is. And the scripture says in verse 6, as the Lord descended and passed by, the Lord passed by before him and proclaimed, the Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, long-suffering and abundant in goodness and in truth. Micah describes him in Micah chapter 7 verse 18 as God who delighted in mercy. That's the character of God. That's the character of God. He is love. He is love. Don't, don't ever, don't ever let yourself get caught into the trap. When you're trying to defend the truth of God's sovereignty and the truth of divine election and the truth of predestination and all those things, don't be caught in the trap of failing to recognize that God Almighty is moved with compassion. toward men. He is love. Understand that? He is love. Recognize that with regard to yourself, and recognize that with regard to others. And let all who profess to be followers of Christ, follow him in his example of mercy and compassion.

Let's look at some Scripture. John chapter 13. John chapter 13. We used to take the kids to camp, and we taught them to sing various choruses that were good choruses. One of them I recall distinctly, just came to mind. Beloved, let us love one another for love is of God. Beloved, let us love one another. And this is what our Savior teaches us.

Here at John 13, he took a towel in a basin of water and washed his disciples' feet. That is, they being men who had walked along a dusty, dirty road on a hot day over in Palestine, when they came in and sat down, he served them according to their needs and according to the custom of the day with humility. He just treated them graciously. That's all. No great thing. No. No stupendous act. Oh, it was a stupendous thing for God, who came in human flesh, to wash Bob Ponce's feet. But that's just exactly what he says he did there. He didn't do it to you personally, he did it to one of your brothers. Peter, James, and John. And the other, even to Jesus. Wash their feet. Wash their feet.

And he says in verse 13, is it? Yeah, you call me master and lord, and you say, well, for so am I. If I, being your lord and master, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet. That doesn't mean he established an ordinance. He didn't do that. The church never practiced that in the early days, this ordinance of foot washing.

What he's saying is you ought to serve each other. You ought to meet one another's needs. If somebody comes in in a hungry, feed them. Somebody comes in and they just need a little encouragement, give them a little encouragement. Somebody comes along and they need a little help, give them a little help. Love one another, wash one another's feet.

For I have given you an example that you should do as I've done to you. Look in Galatians chapter 6. What does that mean? Wash one another's feet. Galatians 6 will tell you what it means.

Brethren, If a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual restore such one in the spirit of meekness. But boy ought to have known better. That's so self-righteous. That's so mean. Don't behave like that. Well, if you just knew how they'd act internally, don't be so self-centered. Don't be so self-centered. But rather, in the spirit of meekness, restore them, considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted. Bear ye one another's burdens, carry each other's load, and so fulfill the law of Christ."

What does this mean? Watch one another speak. Look in Ephesians 4, verse 32. Be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God, for Christ's sake, hath 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 savor."

What does this mean, wash one another's feet? Let's read one more text. James chapter 1. James chapter 1. A lot of times young idealists get the notion they want to reform the church, get the church back to pure religion, pure doctrine, all that stuff. Here's the way you start. Here's the way you start. Not locked up in a study somewhere, but pure and undefiled before God and the Father is this, to visit the fatherless and the widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world. That's what it's all about.

As our Lord Jesus was moved with compassion, let us be moved with compassion one toward another and toward those around us as well. We have before us in this text, in this miracle of the loaves and fishes, an undeniable proof of our Savior's omnipotence as the mighty God. Now, Isaiah spoke and said two things about the Messiah in chapters 7 and 9. He said, first, this one who comes, the Messiah, he will be a virgin-born man. He'll be a man, just like you. Secondly, he'll be the mighty God. And here our Lord Jesus demonstrates both of those things. He is a man moved with compassion toward men, and at the same time he shows himself to be the mighty God.

For he takes these five loaves and two fishes, and breaks them, and breaks them, and breaks them, and breaks them, and breaks them, he feeds five thousand men beside women and children. Now, this task was manifestly impossible for anyone other than God himself, who alone has created power, who alone giveth food to all flesh. No one else could do it. Now, some charlatan, some huckster, some, one of our modern charismatic preachers who claims to be God's servant with God's authority and apostolic gifts, he might come along and say, now, I can heal you of your glaucoma. Nobody knows. And he might say, I'll heal you of that pain you've got in your back. You've got a little twitch in your back. I can take care of that. He might say, I can heal you of those constant headaches you've got. Nobody knows. Nobody knows. He might even by some trickery be able to persuade you that he has raised a man from the dead. But I defy anybody in history to come along and start breaking five pieces of bread and two pieces of fish and feed 5,000 people with it. Nobody ever thought of doing such a thing. Nobody ever imagined doing such a thing. Why, David Copperfield wouldn't get this. No, this is something that could be done only by one who is himself, God Almighty, who has power to create something from nothing. And he takes the loaves and fishes and multiplies them and multiplies them and multiplies them and multiplies them.

Oh, then let every believer treasure in his heart these blessed facts. Our Savior, who is full of compassion toward us, is himself the mighty God. Jesus Christ is God. He whose heart is fixed on you, he whose heart is devoted to you, he whose heart is touched with those things that touch you, is himself God. More than that, He is the Creator and the Sustainer of all things. Now that ought to have gone without saying, because if He is God, He is the Creator and Sustainer, Ruler and Disposer of everything. But we need to understand clearly and distinctly that our God, full of compassion, is in total control of everything. Nothing, nothing is too hard for the Lord. I wish we just kind of halfway believed that. Nothing's too hard for Him. Nothing's too hard for Him. Nothing causes Him trouble. Nothing causes Him difficulty. He's my God, my Savior. His heart His heart is devoted to me infinitely more fully than my heart's devoted to that lady. Infinitely more fully. His heart is devoted to me. He rules everything. Everything. Nothing is too hard for Him. What do you reckon I ought to be afraid of? What do you reckon I ought to fear? What do you reckon I ought to be concerned about? He's my God! His heart's devoted to me! He rules everything.

Let us then believe Him, who is God our Savior Almighty, and move with compassion toward us. That brings me to this third thing. This miracle is intended to give us a lesson about faith. Read with me verses 15, 16, 17. When it was evening, his disciples came to him, saying, This is a desert place. As if they had to inform him where they were. And the time is now past. Send a multitude away, that they may go into the villages and buy themselves victims. But Jesus said unto them, They need not depart, give ye them to eat. And they say unto him, We have here but five loaves and two fishes. And he said, Bring them hither to me.

The disciples wanted to send the multitudes away. You see, they were to limit the Holy One of Israel. They were saying just what the Jews of old had said, can God furnish a table in the wilderness? They measured the Lord Jesus by their own standards. They looked upon the Son of God as they even looked upon the river Jordan with Syrian eyes. Let us learn from their mistakes and be warned. When we think of God, We must put down Hagar and raise up Sarah. That is to say, we must silence human reason and act according to God-given faith. Beliefs without evidence, and faith beliefs even contrary to evidence, that all things which are impossible with men are possible with God. all things possible with God. Now, I can't expand these things to you like I want to, but I want you to get these two sentences. If you don't get anything else I say tonight, get these two sentences, and you'll get something that'll help you.

First, Jesus said to them, 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, there can never be a necessity for redeemed saints, such as you and me, to depart from him. There is no need for the bride of Christ to wander from beneath his banner of love. Mary may sit forever at his feet. They need not depart.

Let me tell you briefly what that means. That means there's never an excuse for compromising the gospel. Never an excuse. You don't know our situation. No, but I know our God. But you don't know what I'm facing. No, but I know our God. But you don't know what consequences are going to be noticed. But I know God! And I know there's never an excuse for compromise. If I'm God's servant, if you are God's servants, we must never, for any reason, for any circumstance, compromise the character and the glory and the truth of God Almighty for anybody.

The truth of God stands. If preachers would behave like men who believe God. The Church of Christ and the churches in this world would not be in the miserable shape they're in today. But preachers get their back against the wall and they're afraid of losing their pension, or afraid of losing their salary, or afraid of the church being split, or afraid of losing their cushy job, or afraid of folks not hearing them, afraid of not being popular, and so they start to tone down the message. There's never a need for compromise. Never! God will not be honored by it, and God will not use it. We must stand firmly true to our God.

Secondly, there's never a reason for disobedience to Christ. I've heard just about every excuse that men and women can give for doing exactly opposite of what they know God requires them to do. I've heard just about every excuse people can give for disobeying the gospel, for disobeying the word of God, for disobeying the manifest will of God in their lives. I've heard just about every excuse folks can give. But I've never heard one who justified. Not even one. Not even one.

You don't know my wife? No, but I know God. You don't know my husband? No, but I know God. You don't know my circumstances? No, but I know God. I know God, and there's no need to compromise. There's no need. Neglecting his worship, neglecting his service, never a cause.

We've seen this so many times in our experience together in this place. When you called me here as your pastor, you had no idea how you'd support me and I didn't either. It didn't matter, God was in it. Here we are. We started building this building, had no idea on this earth how we'd build it. You didn't, I didn't, but God was in it. Here we are. Here we are. We have opportunities to extend the arm of the ministry to this place and that. How on earth are we going to do it? I don't know. But God's been in it. Here we go. Here we go.

God meets our needs. He's always met our needs. We've not had to go begging. We're not going to go begging. We've not had to go without. God takes care of our needs. For everything he's put in our hands to do, he takes care of our needs. And I guarantee you, I guarantee you, we're not going to compromise his message. It's not going to happen. We're not going to be disobedient to his word. We're not going to fail to do that which he sets before us as a congregation for the service of his kingdom. Whatever we need, Our Savior is ready to give, and to do for us, and to do with us.

Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need. Children of God, trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not unto your own understanding. In all your ways, acknowledge him. and he shall direct your paths." He'll do it.

And then our Savior said in verse 18, bring them hither to me. The fellow said, we don't have anything except five loaves and two fishes. What's that? What's that? Nothing. That's what he wants. That's what he wants. You're Bring them hither to me. Bring me your nothing. I'll remove the curse from it, and I'll add my blessing to it, and your pulps and loaves and fishes." What's what I'll do with it?

Oh, sons and daughters of God Almighty, bring your loaves and fishes to Him. Bring yourself and all that you are to Him. So I'm nothing. That's the reason I'm calling for you to bring I've got nothing, bring it on. You see, little is much in the master's hands. It has always been God's delight and God's glory to use that which men consider to be nothing and insignificant and useless. Always has been.

Let me give you a few things. When God set about to deliver Israel out of Egyptian bondage, You know how he began to deliver them? He used the cry of a baby to catch the ear and the heart of Pharaoh's daughter to protect his delivery. When God wanted to bring Israel out of Egypt, he used a shepherd's crook to bring judgment down upon the Egyptians, time and time again, performing miracles.

The Lord God used a boy with a slingshot to bring down Goliath and the Philistine army. When his prophet was in need, God used a poverty-stricken widow to feed his prophet as long as he needed. He used a little girl, just a little teenage girl, I reckon teenage, maybe not that old, to bring a mighty Syrian soldier, who was a leper, to the prophet Elias. Elijah, or Elisha, rather, that prophet might heal that, that girl. Just a little, just a little girl. That's that. That's it. Nobody.

When Balaam was stubborn and wouldn't pay any attention to God, God used his ass to direct him in the way of obedience. He took Samson with the jawbone of an ass to slay a thousand He used a little child to teach his disciples humility. They said, Lord, we just want, we want to send one on your left hand and one on your right hand when you come into your kingdom. And the Lord Jesus brought a little child, sat him on his knees and said, now this is what it is to say that you serve me and my kingdom.

He used a boy's lunch here to feed 5,000 men. They're wired. and their children on a hungry day. I was reading this today and studying it, and I thought to myself, of all the people in this crowd, I'd sure like to have been that little boy. I'd sure like to have been one of those, Lord give my lunch, you can have it if you want it. You can have it if you want it. Oh, did you see what he gave my lunch? What a privilege.

And he's pleased to this day to take the nothings and nobodies of this world, such as you and me, and call out his elect through the preaching of the Word. We have this treasure, the gospel of God's grace in these earthen vessels, just cardboard boxes. Maybe I'd get worse than bad, not even good cardboard boxes, like these things in bags they use in the store now, just nothing, just nothing. But we've got this treasure of grace in the gospel in it, that the excellency of the power may be of God and not of us.

Why on this earth would God use such people as we are as instruments in his hands? for the saving of chosen sinners. Why on this? Why us? Why us? Well, I'll tell you why. Because this ragtail group here is just the least likely ones to be used. That's why. So that the excellency of the power may be of God, not of us. Now if we ever get above that, You can bank on it. You won't be using it. You won't be using it.

One last thing. This miracle, sirs, is a beautiful and clear allegory of the gospel of God's grace. Now, we must be careful, reverence the scriptures, and not make the scriptures say what the Holy Spirit never intends that they should say. But just as the Apostle Paul used Sarah and Hagar as an allegory to teach us the distinction between the law and the grace of God, so the Holy Spirit has given us these recorded miracles of Christ to teach us spiritual gospel truths.

Let me just give you some hints of this, and I'll let you expand on them for yourself. The hungry multitudes in this desert place represents lost mankind in this dark, dark, empty world. All the sons of Adam are an assembly of perishing souls, lost, helpless, and starving on the verge of eternal ruin without the gospel of Christ. There is but a breath between them and eternal destruction. Their only hope, their only hope, is that somebody will bring on the Word of Life, the Gospel of God's free trust.

And will you do it? Take it to where you live, where you work. Take the Word of Life and proclaim the grace of God to you. By whatever means God gives you the ability to do it. The loaves and the fishes so readily despised as being inadequate to meet the needs of so many, represent the doctrine of the gospel of Jesus Christ and Him crucified, which God has ordained for the saving of His elect, for the life of His people. The preaching of the cross, the preaching of a crucified substitute, the preaching of life by the blood of Christ, life by His death, righteousness by divine invitation, salvation by his free grace, the preaching of such things, is to the world foolishness.

"What's that? To everybody who experiences it, it's the power of God. The power of God for salvation to everyone that believes. This is the bread of God which cometh down from heaven and giveth life to the world." The disciples passing out the holy gifts, what a picture they are of the sphere of human instrumentality. What can I do? If he gave me the dough and the yeast and all the stuff to go with it in the right measurements. I don't believe I could make bread. And I wouldn't even attempt fried fish unless I was outside and had plenty of room to splatter grease. I don't think I'd even attempt it.

But I'll tell you what I can do. I can bring my lunch to the master. Here it is. Taste it and use it if you will. I can't multiply the bones and fishes. I can't do that. I can break them and pass them as long as they last. But they ain't gonna last as long as me breaking them out. But I tell you what I can do. If he'll multiply them, I can pass them out. And I can't find a way of life without preaching. I can't do anything to save a man's soul without telling the truth. I can proclaim the gospel to him. I can point him to Christ. One last thing, the satisfaction of all this crowd and the baskets full that were left over represent the infinite fullness of grace to be found in Christ Jesus. So infinite is he in all the fullness of grace that he gives all his grace He gives all His grace to every sinner who trusts Him. All of it. And He's never diminished. Never less. Never less. All who come to Him have all that they want and all that they need, so that they're fully satisfied with Him.

Having Christ, I've had all. He's enough. And yet, the storehouse of grace is never diminished. The prodigal said, in my father's house is bread and nothing to spare. And I'm telling you, in Jesus Christ is bread and nothing to spare. There's plenty. Come to Him. You'll find in Him everything you need, day after day, week after week, month after month, year after year.

What do we do with this? Learn that you need not depart from Him for anything, for anything, not even for a minute. You need not depart from Him. And bring your, your paltry little lunch, your loaves and fishes, yourself, what you are, bring it to Him. Lord, here it is. Now watch Him work. Oh, nothing, nothing, nothing is too hard for the Lord.

Let's stand together for prayer. Thank you, our God and our Father, for this miracle recorded in the Scripture. for this display of Christ's compassion and his omnipotence and his fullness of grace. Teach us by your grace to commit and consecrate ourselves to the glory of our Redeemer, to the service of your kingdom, to serve our generation by the will of God faithfully. We acknowledge our sin, we confess to you our horrible unbelief. We ask that you will forgive us of our evil, correct us from our evil ways, and by your grace we ask that you'll use us for much good in this generation. We acknowledge that the work of our hands, what we do, is insignificant, meaningless, altogether useless, vanity, vanity. Will you take that which we bring to you, ourselves, our gifts, our labors? And as you multiplied the loaves and fishes so long ago, will you graciously continue to multiply these loaves and fishes today for much good? We thank you for what you have done for us and with us, and we ask that you will yet continue to make us useful in your kingdom for the glory of your son. Amen.

You have a seat.

They Need Not Depart

Key Quotes

What does the Bible say about Jesus' compassion for people?

How do we know the miracle of feeding the 5000 is true?

Why is the miracle of the loaves and fishes important for Christians?

What does it mean that 'they need not depart'?

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They Need Not Depart

Key Quotes

What does the Bible say about Jesus' compassion for people?

How do we know the miracle of feeding the 5000 is true?

Why is the miracle of the loaves and fishes important for Christians?

What does it mean that 'they need not depart'?

Sermon Transcript

About Don Fortner

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