Please turn your Bibles to Matthew chapter 14.
! Matthew chapter 14 verses 13 to 36.
!
We have gathered because we have trusted in your Son, Jesus Christ, as our Lord and Savior.
And we ask that in our present gathering, in this time when we hear from you in your Word,
that you would increase our faith to behold your Son, Jesus Christ, in all of His glory,
majesty, power, and love, and grace.
That you would exalt His name and that you would humble us.
That we might be more dependent and more prayerful on you as we leave from this place.
And we ask that you will amaze us afresh.
That you have given to us in Christ the bread of life.
That nourishes unto eternity.
Fill us with more of Yourself.
Your Spirit.
And with the love of Christ.
Right now, Lord, in the reading and preaching of Your Word.
In Jesus' name we pray.
Amen.
Please stand if you are able.
So that we can honor God as we read.
Amen.
Matthew 14, 13 to 36.
Now when Jesus heard this, He withdrew from there in a boat to a desolate place by Himself.
But when the crowds heard it, they followed Him on foot from the towns.
When He went ashore, He saw a great crowd, and He had compassion on them and healed their sick.
Now when it was evening, the disciples came to Him and said,
This is a desolate place, and the day is now over.
Send the crowds away to go into the villages and buy food for themselves.
But Jesus said,
They need not go away.
You give them something to eat.
They said to Him,
We have only five loaves here and two fish.
And He said,
Bring them here to Me.
Then He ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass,
and taking the five loaves and the two fish,
He looked up to heaven and said a blessing.
Then He broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples,
and the disciples gave them to the crowds.
And they all ate and were satisfied.
And they took up twelve baskets full of the broken pieces left over.
And those who ate were about five thousand men,
besides women and children.
Immediately He made the disciples get into the boat
and go before Him to the other side,
while He dismissed the crowds.
And after He had dismissed the crowds,
He went up on the mountain by Himself to pray.
When evening came, He was there alone.
But the boat by this time was a long way from the land,
beaten by the waves,
for the wind was against them.
And in the fourth watch of the night,
He came to them walking on the sea.
But when the disciples saw Him walking on the sea,
they were terrified and said,
It is a ghost.
And they cried out in fear.
But immediately Jesus spoke to them,
saying,
Take heart, it is I.
Do not be afraid.
And Peter answered Him,
Lord, if it is You,
command me to come to You on the water.
He said,
Come.
So Peter got out of the boat
and walked on the water
and came to Jesus.
But when he saw the wind,
he was afraid.
And beginning to sink,
he cried out,
Lord, save me.
Jesus immediately reached out His hand
and took hold of him,
saying to him,
O you of little faith,
why did you doubt?
And when they got into the boat,
the wind ceased.
And those in the boat worshipped Him,
saying,
Truly, you are the Son of God.
And when they had crossed over,
they came to land at Gennesaret.
And when the men of that place recognized Him,
they sent around to all that region
and brought to Him all who were sick
and implored Him
that they might only touch the fringe of His garment.
And as many as touched it were made well.
This is God's holy and authoritative word.
Please be seated.
Acts chapter 8 records
that in the first century,
there was a man named Simon.
He says that he practiced magic in the city
and amazed the people of Samaria.
And he claimed to be somebody great.
People all paid attention to what he said
and they said of him,
This man is the power of God
that is called great.
And so they called him Simon Magus.
Simon the Magician.
This is the same man who,
in Acts 8, 18-20,
was amazed by the power of the Holy Spirit
falling upon God's people
as the apostles laid hands on them,
that he sought to buy that power with money,
offer the apostles money,
give me also the ability and power to do that.
And Peter, of course, rebuked Him,
saying,
May your silver perish with you
because you thought you could obtain
the gift of God with money.
And so his name has come down in infamy now
because that practice of seeking to
or buying a sacred thing
like an office of an elder or pastor
with money is now called simony.
Later tradition says that Simon Magus
tried to prove that he is divine
by staging a flying demonstration.
But then he fell and broke his legs
and then died shortly thereafter.
This later story is told
in a sensationalized account
in an apocryphal book
that's not part of the biblical canon,
so it's possible that that never happened.
But nonetheless,
Simon Magus fits the stereotype
of many throughout history
who have claimed to be God
but were exposed later on.
There have been other powerful men
throughout history
who have claimed divine status
like Roman Emperor Domitian
in the first century AD
who told people to dress him
as Lord and God.
Or Alexander the Great
of fourth century BC
who claimed to be the son of Zeus.
But neither of these men
garnered any enduring worship
after their death.
And today,
no one claims
that these men were God
or worshiped them as such.
No magical ability,
no political authority or power,
no military dominance or charisma
could sustain these men's claims
to divinity.
How then did Jesus Christ,
whom we saw in the preceding chapter
in chapter 13
as a carpenter's son
whose mother was called Mary,
who had common ordinary brothers
in James, Joseph, and Simon, and Judas,
who hailed from a small,
unremarkable town of Nazareth
and was born of a conquered
and subjugated people, the Jews,
how did he sustain his claim
to be the son of God?
People believed him.
During his generation
and right up to our present generation,
millions upon millions,
billions upon billions
have proclaimed that Jesus
is the son of God.
If you think of it
in a historical sense,
it really is a remarkable phenomenon.
In our passage this morning,
we see Jesus' disciples
worship Jesus saying,
truly you are the son of God.
We've seen up to this point
in the Gospel of Matthew,
spiritual beings,
demons acknowledging
that Jesus is the son of God.
But we have yet to see humans
acknowledge that Jesus
is the son of God.
This is the first time.
And that acknowledgement poses
to us in the 21st century
the same question.
What say you?
What do you make of Jesus?
Who do you say that he is?
Do you believe that Jesus
is the son of God?
And on this third Sunday of Advent,
that's the main point of my sermon,
to trust in Jesus,
for he is the compassionate son of God
who saves us.
First, we're going to look at
how he is the bread in the wilderness.
And second, we're going to look at
how he is the tamer of the sea.
Verse 13 begins,
now when Jesus heard this,
he withdrew from there in a boat
to a desolate place by himself.
We took a break from Matthew last week,
so you might not remember
what it is that prompts Jesus
to remove himself
to a desolate place by himself.
But he's referring to Herod Antipas,
a beheading of John the Baptist
in the preceding passage.
Earlier in chapter 12, verse 15,
when Jesus noticed
that the Pharisees were conspiring
against him how to destroy him,
he also withdrew from there.
And we're seeing now the same pattern.
It's not yet the time for Jesus
to go to the cross and die.
It's not yet the time for Jesus
to have that overt confrontation
with the Jewish religious authorities
or with the kings of the earth.
Herod Antipas killed John the Baptist,
and now he has heard about the fame of Jesus,
he said in Matthew chapter 14, verse 1.
He fears that Jesus is John the Baptist
raised from the dead,
and he believes that's why
miraculous powers at work in him.
And so that doesn't bode well for Jesus.
Jesus avoids the overt confrontation
at this time.
He withdraws to a desolate place.
That's another translation for a desert
or the wilderness.
So it may not be the exact same place.
It's probably not the exact same place
that John the Baptist ministered in.
He ministered in the wilderness,
in a desolate place in the desert.
But the verbal parallel still hearkens
that parallel, the connection
between John the Baptist's ministry
in the wilderness
and Jesus' withdrawal now
into the wilderness.
The servants and prophets of God
are often found not in the palaces of kings,
but in the desolate wilderness.
Marginalized.
Persecuted.
So don't be surprised if in the future
you find yourself in a similar place.
But like a celebrity
who can't get away from the paparazzi,
Jesus cannot get away from the adoring crowds.
He says in verse 13,
but when the crowds heard it,
they followed him on foot from the towns.
And they must have been very fleet on foot
because they get there before Jesus does
with the boat.
He says that when he gets there in verse 14,
there's a great crowd already waiting for him there.
Imagine being in Jesus' shoes for a moment.
He has been traveling all over the place.
He's an itinerant preacher.
He's teaching and healing all over the place.
He's probably exhausted.
On top of that,
he has just heard that his friend
and forerunner, John the Baptist,
was murdered.
He wants some time away from the crowds
to be alone.
So he withdraws to a desolate place
where he can be alone.
But these unconcerned, heedless people
just will not leave him alone.
They follow him even to that desolate place.
What would you feel if you were in that situation?
Annoyance?
Frustration?
Perhaps even anger
at people's selfishness
and lack of consideration.
But that's not what we see
in this portrait of Jesus.
He says that when Jesus saw a great crowd,
he had compassion on them
and healed their sick.
When people see others in need,
they can respond with a cold indifference.
It's none of my business.
Or they can respond with presumptuous judgment.
Oh, they're needy because it's their fault.
They deserve what they got.
But a compassionate person
doesn't respond in either of those ways.
A compassionate person feels sympathy.
He feels pity for the person in need.
He desires to meet that need.
This is a wonderful attribute
of our Savior Jesus Christ
that we see over and over again
in the Gospel of Matthew.
Early in chapter 9, verses 35 to 36,
when Jesus saw the crowds
that were helpless and harassed
like sheep without a shepherd,
he says that Jesus had compassion on them.
Same word.
Later in Matthew 15, verse 32,
when Jesus sees a crowd that is hungry,
he says that they had nothing to eat.
And he says that Jesus had compassion on the crowd.
In chapter 20, verse 34,
when two blind men cry out to Jesus,
saying, please open our eyes,
it says that Jesus had compassion on them,
and therefore he healed them.
It's translated pity there in the ESV,
but it's the same exact word in the Greek.
And then in the parable of the unforgiving servant
that Jesus tells in Matthew 18,
God is represented as the master
who then has compassion on the servant
who owes him a large debt and forgives his debt.
This is what God is like.
The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God.
And that's what Jesus is like.
But because we're used to dealing with people
who are not compassionate,
who are sinful like us,
we are conditioned not to expect God and Jesus
to be compassionate as they actually are
when we are needy.
When we come to God as empty-handed beggars,
when we come to God as impoverished debtors,
debtors, when we come to God as sorry sinners,
seeking his forgiveness,
God does not scoff or scorn.
He has compassion on us.
When we acknowledge our weakness
and turn to him in prayer
and seek his power in prayer,
God does not turn away
and tells us to figure it out on our own.
When we acknowledge our sinfulness
and seek God's forgiveness,
he does not condemn us.
He has compassion on us.
And because of his compassion,
Jesus continues to interact with the crowd
and it says in verse 14
that he healed their sick.
We see Jesus doing this later
in verses 34 to 36 as well
after he has crossed over to Gennesaret.
It says that they hear of his coming
and they bring all their sick.
It's quite the welcome, right?
Bring all the sick people.
Let's go see Jesus.
And they're so eager.
They just want the sick people
to touch the fringe of his garment,
knowing that even then they will be healed.
And it did happen that way.
It's similar to what happens in Acts 19
when people touch the handkerchiefs
and aprons that Paul had touched
and then they're healed through that as well.
It seems that when God is so powerfully
at work in and through someone,
even that kind of indirect contact
can lead to extraordinary healing.
But let's return to verse 15.
As Jesus is healing and ministering to people,
the day wears away
and his disciples anticipate
a very practical problem.
He says,
Now when it was evening,
the disciples came to him and said,
This is a desolate place.
And the day is now over.
Send the crowds away
to go into the villages
and buy food for themselves.
With the sun setting,
the disciples think
Jesus has surely lost track of time.
Jesus, this is a desolate place.
There's no place to get food around here.
So before it's too late,
you better send them off
so that they can disperse into the villages
and buy food for themselves,
lest they be stranded without food
in the middle of the nowhere,
in the middle of the night.
It's a thoughtful and sensible concern.
But Jesus responds in verse 16,
They need not go away.
You give them something to eat.
The sentence structure
is actually emphatic.
So you can read it exactly the way I read it.
They need not go away.
You give them something to eat.
But the disciples object in verse 17,
We have only five loaves here
and two fish.
The meager portions of food that they have
is not quite enough
even to feed Jesus and his 12 apostles.
How can it possibly feed 5,000 men
besides the woman and the children?
In 2 Kings 4,
we see a similar situation
when prophet Elijah
needs to feed 100 men
and it says that they only had
20 loaves of barley
and fresh ears of grain.
And Elijah tells his servant,
Give to the man that they may eat.
And then the servant responds,
How can I set this
before 100 men?
20 loaves for 100 men,
not enough.
5 loaves for 5,000 men,
how can that be possibly enough?
It says specifically 5,000 men
and women and children besides.
It was common in the ancient world
to estimate the size of large crowds
by simply counting the men
and then you can guess
how many women and children
there might be in addition to that.
So conservative estimates say
that this is in the tens of thousands of people.
The math is insurmountable.
Jesus' command,
You give them something to eat,
must have sounded to the disciples
like a joke.
You're funny, Jesus.
Me?
But as they look into Jesus' eyes,
they realize,
Oh, he's serious.
And then they become incredulous.
You're kidding, right?
You're kidding.
We have one loaf of bread
for every thousand men.
How can we possibly set this out
before this great crowd?
But this is how God likes to work, isn't it?
He gives us missions
with their odds stacked against us.
In Judges 7,
God takes the 32,000 soldiers of Gideon
and then he whittles them down
and down and down
until there's 300 left
before he sends them out
in war against the Midianites.
In 1 Kings 18,
why does God send Elijah
by himself
to confront the 450 prophets of Baal?
To show that nothing can hinder
the Lord from saving,
whether by many or by few.
As God tells the Israelites
in Deuteronomy 7, 7,
it was not because you were more numerous,
more in number than any other people
that the Lord set his love on you
and chose you,
for you were the fewest of all peoples.
God didn't choose the Israelites
because they were a great enumeration.
He chose them
even though they were the fewest.
Compare that to 1 Corinthians 1, 26 to 29.
For consider your calling, brothers.
Not many of you were wise
according to worldly standards.
Not many were powerful.
Not many were of noble birth.
But God chose what is foolish in the world
to shame the wise.
God chose what is weak in the world
to shame the strong.
God chose what is low and despised in the world,
even things that are not,
to bring to nothing things that are.
Why?
So that no human being
might boast in the presence of God.
God often sends his people out
with intentional defects and deficits
so that they have no choice
but to depend on him
and so that in the end,
no human being might boast
in the presence of God.
At the end of this event,
no disciple is going to say
after feeding of the 5,000,
wow, look at me.
I really underestimated
!
I really underestimated
how gifted I am at dividing bread.
But,
we are sent out with needs
that only God can fill
so that in the end,
only God receives the glory.
Do you remember
what Pastor Ed said last week
at the ordination service?
That this is what he feels like?
He feels like a disciple
with five loaves
and two fish in his hand
being commanded to feed a multitude.
His resources and abilities
like that of any other pastor,
it's meager compared
to the great task before him.
But that deficit is intentional.
Likewise,
when some of you return
to your unbelieving family members
this Christmas,
wondering how you're going
to bear witness to Jesus
and share the good news
of Jesus Christ with them,
and feeling inadequate,
remember that the deficit
is intentional.
It is an invitation
to come to Jesus
in your weakness
and in need
and to plead
for his help and power.
Look at what Jesus says
in verse 18.
Bring them here
to me.
Jesus doesn't say,
okay,
send them out
into the villages
in that case
so that they can buy
bread for themselves.
There are many shops
not far from here
so go quickly
and buy more bread
for the crowd
and come back.
No,
Jesus does not expect
the crowd
to feed themselves
nor does he expect
his disciples
to rely on their own resources
and their own resourcefulness.
No,
he invites them
to depend on him.
Bring them to me.
Bring those loaves
to me.
As the hymn famously says,
what a friend
we have in Jesus.
All our sins
and griefs to bear.
What a privilege
to carry
everything to God
in prayer.
Are we weak
and heavy laden
cumbered with
a load of care?
Precious Savior
still our refuge.
Take it to the Lord
in prayer.
Imagine that you're
in a pottery studio
and you just
shaped a nice
concave bowl
and you told your friend,
hey,
look at my bowl
and then
your friend goes,
oh,
that's misshapen.
That's a misshapen,
useless ball.
What's up
with that hollow cavity
in the middle?
Let me help you.
And then he remolds it
and turns it into a ball.
Right?
He has profoundly
misunderstood
your intent.
But that's what
we often do
with God.
God put
the cavity there.
He put
that empty spot
there
intentionally.
He put
that deficit
there.
It's there
because God
intends to fill it
with himself
and with his grace
and with his power.
Our need is there
because God
intends to meet it
but we run
ourselves haggard
trying to be
self-sufficient.
trying to be
self-righteous.
Trying to prove
ourselves
to ourselves
and to all those
around us
that we are not
as needy
and weak
and sinful
as we actually
are.
But we must
stop living
like that.
Don't try to
fill the deficit
that God has put
inside your life.
So the disciples
bring the five loaves
and the two fish
to Jesus
and he says
in verses 19 to 20
then he ordered
the crowds
to sit down
on the grass
and taking the five
loaves and the two fish
he looked up to heaven
and said a blessing.
Then he broke
the loaves
and gave them
to the disciples
and the disciples
gave them
to the crowds.
Notice the sequence
of events here.
Jesus is still
requiring
by doing this
requiring
and asking
and inviting
his disciples
to put their
trust in him.
After Jesus
prays
the five loaves
of bread
do not start
multiplying
by themselves
and overflowing
the baskets
like the treasures
in Lestrange's
vault
in Gringotts
or something like that.
Every time
Jesus touches
one bread
it turns into
ten more bread.
That's not what happens.
It's the same
five loaves
of bread
that Jesus
hands to his disciples
to distribute
to the crowds.
So imagine
yourself
in the disciples'
shoes.
He just took it
he just prayed
for it
and then
wait for it
oh it's still
five loaves
of bread.
Okay?
And then
he hands it
to him.
Alright
go.
Okay.
Alright.
I mean
if I'm
one of the
disciples
I'm not
giving away
very much
you know?
It's like
it's like
most churches
communion sized
wafers
you know?
It's like
but
it's in
the act
of
in their
act of
faith
and obedience
as they
trust Jesus
and start
distributing
this bread
the meager
portions of bread
that the
miracle happens.
And
as they're
giving this
out
soon
any
remaining
doubt
and unbelief
turns into
disbelief
what?
We're still
going?
And then
as they
keep obeying
as they
keep believing
they grow
in confidence
they grow
in faith
and now
they're
giving out
big chunks
of bread
here you
go.
There's
still more
there's
still more
it says
in verse
20
they all
ate
and were
satisfied
and they
took up
twelve
baskets
full of
the
broken
pieces
left
over.
Jesus
didn't
just
wet
people's
appetites
just
enough
to
stave
off
their
hunger
until
their
next
meal
no
Jesus
satisfied
them.
And
how
kind
is it
of
Jesus
to
use
his
disciples
in
this
setting?
Jesus
could
have
cut
the
disciples
out
of
the
equation
altogether.
He
could
have
distributed
the bread
himself.
He
asks
instead
his
disciples
to
distribute
the
bread.
To
have
the
privilege
of
being
employed
in
God's
service.
To
experience
the
joy
of
seeing
God
work
powerfully
and in
doing so
building up
their
faith.
And
how
kind
also
of
Jesus
to
use
the
five
loaves
that
his
disciples
had
to
begin
with.
Jesus
could
have
cut
that
out
of
the
equation
too.
He
could
have
just
prayed
and
then
he
could
have
rained
manna
from
heaven
like
he
did
in
the
wilderness.
He
didn't
have
to
use
the
disciples
five
loaves
of
bread
but
Jesus
doesn't
do
that.
Instead
the
disciples
experienced
the
privilege
of
having
their
meager
ordinary
resources
multiplied
by
God
to
accomplish
extraordinary
things.
Isn't
that what
God
does
with
every
single
one
of
us?
God
used
my
stumbling
mumbling
gospel
witness
to draw
that
person
a little
closer
to
Christ?
God
you
used
my
imperfect
example
to
challenge
a
brother
or
sister
in
Christ
onto
greater
obedience?
You
used
my
five
loaves
of
bread
to
feed
the
five
thousand.
How
kind
is our
Lord?
I
mentioned
to you
that this
miracle
mirrors
the one
performed
by
prophet
Elijah
but
there
is
a
still
older
miracle
that
the feeding
of the
multitude
in the
wilderness
alludes
to
a
millennia
and a
half
before
this
event
at the
time
of
Israel's
exodus
!
God
used
Moses
to
rain
bread
down
from
heaven
to
feed
his
people
in
the
wilderness
likewise
here
in a
desolate
place
in the
wilderness
Jesus
provides
bread
for
his
people
and
I
don't
think
it's
coincidence
that
they
end
up
with
twelve
baskets
full
of
leftover
broken
bread
why
twelve
because
of course
there's
twelve
apostles
and because
there's
the twelve
tribes
of Israel
this is
God's
way of
showing
us
that
in
Christ
he
satisfies
all
of
his
people
!
Jesus
is
gathering
together
a
people
of
God
to
himself
and
sitting
at
the
head
of
that
dining
table
in a
parallel
passage
of
this
account
in
John
6
after
performing
this
miracle
Jesus
says
truly
I
say
to
you
it
was
not
Moses
who
gave
you
the
bread
from
heaven
but
my
father
gives
you
the
true
bread
from
heaven
for
the
bread
of
God
is
he
who
comes
down
from
heaven
and
gives
life
to
the
world
then
Jesus
says
something
remarkable
he
says
I
am
the
bread
of
life
whoever
comes
to
me
shall
not
hunger
and
whoever
believes
in
me
shall
not
thirst
we
spend
our
lives
working
and
working
and
working
for
what
Jesus
calls
the
bread
that
perishes
Food
that
perishes
!
But
he
tells
us
to
seek
the
food
that
endures
to
eternal
life
which
the
Son of
Man
will
give
you
John
6
27
and
this
bread
of
life
is
nothing
less
than
the
eternal
life
imparting
Jesus
Christ
the
Son
of
God
himself
note
well
the
sequence
of
verbs
used
to
describe
Jesus
actions
in
verse
19
what
does
he
do
first
he
took
the
bread
what
does
he
do
next
he
blessed
he
said
a
blessing
this
is
probably
him
giving
thanks
to
God
for
his
provision
and
then
third
he
broke
the
bread
and
fourth
he
gave
it
to
his
disciples
it
is
also
no
coincidence
that
this
exact
sequence
of
these
exact
four
words
are
used
in
every
single
one
of
the
synoptic
gospels
Matthew
Mark
and
Luke
during
the
Passover
meal
during
Jesus
last
supper
when
he
is
instituting
the
Lord
supper
he
takes
bread
and
after
blessing
it
he
broke
!
it
!
and
then
he
gave
it
to
the
disciples
and
said
take
eat
this
is
my
body
the
Lord's
supper
points
to
Jesus
as
the
spiritual
bread
of
life
that
gives
us
sustenance
unto
eternal
life
we are
all
desperate
sinners
woefully
!
inadequate
in our
own
righteousness
but
God
in his
love
sent
his
only
son
Jesus
Christ
to die
on the
cross
to
appease
the
just
wrath
of
God
the
father
and
to
atone
for
our
sins
and
then
he
was
raised
from
the
dead
on
the
third
day
for
our
justification
Jesus
gave
himself
his
very
life
his
own
body
to
be
the
spiritual
food
the
bread
that
nourishes
us
unto
eternal
life
that
is
the
ultimate
miracle
that
this
relatively
small
miracle
compared to
that
is
pointing
to
and
they
all
ate
and
were
satisfied
apart
from
the
two
instances
of
the
feeding
of
the
multitude
that
we
find
in
the
gospel
of
Matthew
there's
only
one
other
place
in
the
gospel
of
Matthew
where
we
see
that
word
satisfied
you
might
remember
if
you've
been
with
us
through
this
series
in
the
gospel
of
Matthew
in
the
Beatitudes
Matthew
5
6
blessed
are
those
who
hunger
and
thirst
for
righteousness
do you
hunger
for
righteousness
a
hunger
implies
two
things
first
a
lack
of
something
you
don't
have
food
so
you're
hungry
and
it
implies
a
second
thing
you're
longing
for
something
you
long
for
food
so
you
are
hungry
you
need
both
in
order
to
be
hungry
do
you
recognize
your
hunger
for
righteousness
you
lack
righteousness
you
and
I
lack
the
righteousness
that
God
requires
of
us
we
cannot
be
righteous
enough
we
cannot
satisfy
the
standards
of
God's
law
and
having
recognized
that
hunger
do
you
long
for
do
you
hunger
for
that
righteousness
not
your
own
righteousness
but
an
alien
righteousness
that
comes
from
God
the
righteousness
that
Christ
imputes
to
us
because
of
his
substitutionary
death
on the
cross
on our
behalf
that's
the
promise
implicit
in this
miracle
that
if you
come
to
Jesus
and
if
you
take
hold
of
Jesus
by
faith
and
faith
is
the
hand
and
mouth
of
our
souls
by
which
we
consume
the
bread
of
life
Jesus
Christ
if
you
do
that
if
you
come
to
Jesus
if
you
trust
in
Jesus
because
he
is
the
compassionate
son
of
God
who
saves
us
you
will
be
satisfied
so
Jesus
is
the
bread
in the
wilderness
and
we
also
see
that
he
is
the
tamer
of
the
sea
he
says
in
verses
22
to
24
immediately
he
made
the
disciples
get
into
the
boat
and
go
before
him
to
the
other
side
while
he
dismissed
the
crowds
and
after
he
had
dismissed
the
crowds
he
went
up
on
the
mountain
by
himself
to
pray
when
evening
came
he
was
there
alone
but
the
boat
by
this
time
was
a
long
way
from
the
land
beaten
by
the
waves
!
Jesus
still
wants
some
time
alone
to
be
by
himself
in
prayer
toward
God
his
father
so
after
feeding
the
multitude
he
says
that
Jesus
immediately
made
the
disciples
get
into
the
boat
and
to
go
ahead
before
him
to
the
other
side
while
he
dismissed
the
crowds
the
disciples
are
not
leaving
on
their
own
accord
they're
leaving
because
Jesus
made
them
then
after
the
crowd
dispersed
Jesus
went
up
on
the
mountain
by
himself
to
pray
so
the
fact
that
Jesus
intentionally
sent
them
out
ahead
of
time
is
illuminating
and has
some
important
lessons
for us
in this
passage
it
says
in
verse
25
that
at
the
fourth
watch
of
the
night
Jesus
came
to
the
disciples
walking
on
the
sea
in
Jewish
reckoning
the
night
is
divided
into
four
watches
four
sections
6
to
9
p.m.
the
first
watch
and
then
9
to
12
9
p.m.
to
12
a.m.
and
then
12
a.m.
to
3
a.m.
and
then
3
a.m.
to
6
a.m.
so
the
fourth
watch
is
3
a.m.
to
6
a.m.
is
around
the
time
that
Jesus
comes
to
them
walking
on
the
sea
and
we
know
that
the
feeding
of
the
multitude
happened
in
the
first
watch
between
6
p.m.
and
9
p.m.
because
that's
from
about
you know
at
least
9
p.m.
to
3
a.m.
that's
6
hours
6
hours
Jesus
is
praying
to
God
the
Father
if
the
Son
of
God
sees
fit
to
pray
to
his
Father
for
six
hours
throughout
the
night
how
much
more
desperately
do
we
need
to
pray
how
much
more
should
we
be
aware
of
our
own
need
for
God's
help
and
if
Jesus
has
been
praying
for
six
hours
his
disciples
have
been
rowing
for
six
hours
if
you've
never
rowed
before
is
Annabella
here
she's
probably
traveling
already
you guys
could
talk to
Annabella
one of
our
church
members
who
rows
it's
something
that
requires
entire
bodily
exertion
you
could
go
on
the
ERG
machine
and
do
it
for
two
minutes
I
guarantee
you
you'll
be
spent
maybe
not
all
of
you
sorry
for
you
know
imagine
doing
that
for
six
hours
you
could
take
breaks
you
could
take
turns
it
doesn't
matter
by
the
end
of
six
hours
you're
done
you're
spent
it's
such
a
this
is
really
not
the
point
of
!
this
passage
but
it's
just
such
a
helpful
contrast
and
illustrative
contrast
to me
I try
sometimes
like
oh
I'm
so
busy
I
can't
pray
right
now
I
have
so
much
work
to do
I
need
to
get
ahead
on
my
work
and
you
try
to
get
ahead
on
your
work
and
you
know
what
happens
you
just
run
into
headwind
and
you
don't
get
ahead
at
all
would
have
much
better
spent
praying
seeking
!
God
first
but
I
don't
blame
the
disciples
because
Jesus
made
them
go
in
there
Jesus
made
the
disciples
get
into
the
boat
and
go
before
him
to
the
other
side
Jesus
is
the
one
who
is
sovereignly
orchestrating
this
he
knows
they're
going
to
run
into
the
headwind
he
knows
he's
going
to
come
to
them
and
he's
!
going
to
!
Again
this
illustrates
what I
was
saying
earlier
that
God
sends
us
out
with
intentional
deficits
so that
we
must
depend
on
him
and
so
that
no
man
may
boast
even
the
headwinds
that
we
face
in
our
lives
resistance
opposition
persecution
hardship
and
suffering
none
of it
comes
outside
of the
sovereign
hand
of our
heavenly
father
do you
believe
that
God
says
in
Isaiah
45
7
and
9
I
form
light
and
create
darkness
I
make
well-being
and
create
calamity
I
am
the
Lord
who
does
all
these
things
shower
heavens
from
above
and let
the
clouds
rain
down
righteousness
let
the
earth
open
that
salvation
and
righteousness
may
bear
fruit
let
the
earth
cause
them
both
to
sprout
I
the
Lord
have
created
it
woe
to
him
who
strives
with
him
who
say
to
him
who
forms
it
what
are
you
making
where
your
work
has
no
handles
where
do
you
see
the
headwinds
of
your
life
where
in
your
life
do
you
find
yourself
rowing
against
the
wind
and
against
the
current
trust
in
God
trust
that
even
your
unfavorable
circumstances
he
will
work
together
for
your
good
as
it
says
in
Romans
8
28
that
you
might
be
conformed
!
to
the
image
of
his
son
it
was
through
this
event
that
the
disciples
came
to
see
Jesus
as
the
tamer
of
the
sea
it
was
through
this
event
that
the
disciples
came
to
declare
that
Jesus
is
truly
the
son
of
God
all
the
headwinds
that
come
into
your
life
into
your
way
will
serve
to
magnify
Jesus
Christ
the
son
of
God
before
your
eyes
that
you
might
see
him
for
who
he
really
is
how
big
he
really
is
and
how
small
we
really
are
this
is
no
trite
platitude
it
is
a
profound
life
transforming
truth
if
you
believe
it
when
Jesus
comes
over
to
his
disciples
walking
on
the
sea
imagine
that
that's
they're
understandably
terrified
they cried
out in
fear
it's
a
ghost
but
Jesus
calms
them
in
verse
27
take
heart
it
is
I
do
not
be
afraid
and
then
in
verse
33
the
self
same
disciples
that
had
just
called
Jesus
a
ghost
starts
worshiping
him
saying
truly
you
are
the
son
of
God
how
does
that
dramatic
shift
happen
in
their
perception
of
Jesus
there
are
a
couple
things
first
walking
on
water
is
no
ordinary
miracle
because
in the
Old
Testament
only
God
is
described
as
walking
on
water
describing
how
God
split
the
Red
Sea
and
rescued
the
Israelites
at
the
Exodus
it
says
in
Psalm
77
verse
19
of
God
your
way
was
through
the
sea
your
path
through
the
great
waters
yet
your
footprints
were
unseen
and
here
if you
know
your
Bible
if you
know
Old
Testament
like
some
of
these
disciples
did
Jesus
just
did
what
only
God
does
according
to
the
Bible
second
the
phrase
translated
it is
I
is
rendered
more
literally
an
emphatic
I
am
the
other
significant
occurrence
of this
emphatic
formulation
I
am
occurs
in
the
Gospel
of
Matthew
22
32
where
Jesus
cites
Exodus
3
I
am
the
God
of
Abraham
and
the
God
of
Isaac
and
the
God
of
Jacob
and
that's
the
very
same
chapter
of
Exodus
where
God
reveals
his
name
as
Yahweh
I
am
who
I
am
tell
them
that
I
am
has
sent
you
to
them
and
what
the
Lord
God
himself
uses
as
his
name
Jesus
implicitly
claims
that
for
himself
when
he
says
do
not
fear
take
heart
I
am
that's
why
in a
similar
instance
in
John
8
58
59
when
Jesus
says
to
the
Jews
truly
I
say
to
you
before
Abraham
was
I
am
what
did
the
Jews
try
to
do
they
try
to
stone
him
to
death
saying
that
he
just
blasphemed
no
wonder
the
disciples
worship
him
in
verse
33
say
truly
you
are
the
son
of
God
this
word
worship
occurs
in the
infancy
narratives
in the
Christmas
narratives
of the
early
chapters
of
Matthew
when
the
wise
men
come
to
what
to
worship
Jesus
and
then
in
his
temptations
in
Matthew
chapter
4
Satan
tells
him
I
will
give
you
all
these
things
if
you
will
bow
down
to
me
and
worship
me
and
then
Jesus
rebukes
Satan
and
he
says
be gone
Satan
for it
is
written
you
shall
worship
the
Lord
your
God
and
him
only
shall
you
serve
every
good
Jew
knows
you're
only
supposed
to
worship
God
what
are
they
doing
they
worship
in
Jesus
because
he
is
God
because
truly
he
is
the
son
of
God
and
what
is
the
intended
effect
of
Jesus
saying
I
am
it's
the
two
phrases
that
proceed
and
succeed
that
take
heart
take
heart
to
do
not
be
afraid
that's
the
exact
same
reason
why
God
revealed
his
name
to
Moses
in
Exodus
3
take
heart
do
not
be
afraid
I
will
be
with
you
I
am
who
I
am
so
when
we
are
afraid
when
we
feel
weak
and
inadequate
when
we're
facing
the
headwinds
of
life
when
God
sends
us
into
missions
and
situations
where
we
feel
our
deficiencies
keenly
God's
answer
is
always
this
it's
always
the
same
he
said
in
verse
18
bring
them
to
me
here
in
verse
27
Jesus
says
I
am
it's
not
the
change
in
the
present
circumstances
that
should
calm
our
souls
or
assure
us
but
it's
of
the
living
God
I
am
that
transforms
our
perspective
Peter's
experience
in
verses
28
to
31
serve
as
a
helpful
illustration
of
this
spiritual
reality
Peter
works
up the
courage
works
up his
faith
and he
answers
to
Jesus
Lord
if it
is
you
command
me
to
come
to
you
on
the
water
he
said
come
so
Peter
got
out
of
the
boat
and
walked
on
the
water
and
came
to
Jesus
but
when
he
saw
the
wind
he
was
afraid
and
beginning
to
sink
he
cried
out
Lord
save
me
Jesus
immediately
reached out
his hand
and took
hold of
him
saying
to
him
oh
you
of
little
faith
why
did
you
doubt
it's
so true
to our
experience
isn't
it
when we
fix
our
eyes
on
the
wind
when
we
fix
our
eyes
on
how
the
wind
in
our
lives
are
turning
up
the
sea
around
we
in
fact
that
little
faith
that
phrase
is
almost
like
a
refrain
that
occurs
again
and
again
throughout
the
gospel
of
Matthew
early
in
chapter
630
God
said
if
God
so
clothes
the
grass
of
the
field
which
today
is
alive
and
tomorrow
is
thrown
into
the
oven
will
he
not
much
more
clothe
you
oh
you
of
little
faith
again
in
Matthew
8
26
he
said
to
the
disciples
in
the
midst
of
a
storm
why
are
you
afraid
oh
you
of
little
faith
and
then
in
Matthew
16
8
Jesus
says
oh
you
of
little
faith
why
are
you
discussing
among
yourselves
the fact
that
you
have
no
bread
some
Christians
struggle
in their
Christian
walk
because
they
believe
they
have
such
little
faith
some
people
doubt
even
their
own
salvation
because
of
their
little
faith
I
have
such
little
faith
look
at
that
man
over
there
look
at
that
woman
over
there
they
have
great
faith
I
have
such
little
faith
am I
even
a
Christian
I
have
such
little
faith
and
my
obedience
is
so
meager
how
can
I
even
be
a
Christian
do
I
even
have
faith
am
I
even
saved
I
just
want
to
remind
you
all
if you
are
like
that
this
morning
that
faith
is
something
that
grows
over
time
in
2
Thessalonians
1
3
it says
we ought
always to
give
thanks to
God
for your
brothers
as is
right
because
your
faith
is
growing
abundantly
and
the
love
and
the
love
of
every
one
of
you
for
one
another
is
increasing
your
faith
is
meant
to
be
growing
constantly
and
will
grow
and
grow
and
grow
until
the
day
we
die
other
passages
of
scriptures
speak
of
God
testing
our
faith
and
us
having
a
tested
genuineness
of
faith
in
our
lives
don't
be
disheartened
that
your
faith
is
little
even
the
apostles
started
exactly
there
when
their
faith
was
little
and
remember
that
it's
not
the
strength
of
our
faith
that
saves
us
but
the
strength
of
our
savior
Jesus
Christ
when
you
are
in
a
pit
of
the
debt
of
sin
and
then
you
in
faith
reach
out
your
hand
in
faith
ask
Jesus
to
save
you
it's
not
going
to
be
the
strength
of
your
grip
that
makes
sure
that
you
are
coming
out
of
that
pit
I
assure
you
it
is
the
almighty
hand
of
God
who
grabs
you
and
does
not
let
go
and
no
one
can
take
you
snatch
you
out
of
his
hand
so
brothers
and
sisters
remember
when
you
are
prone
to
doubt
when
you
are
discouraged
in
your
walk
with
God
don't
fix
your
eyes
on
the
unfinished
work
of
the
Holy
Spirit
in
giving
you
more
and
more
faith
that
work
will
continue
till
the
day
you
die
fix
your
eyes
on
the
finished
work
of
Jesus
Christ
on
the
cross
on
your
behalf
let
that
breathe
fresh
faith
into
your
life
let
that
help
you
to
persevere
and
strengthen
you
as you
roll
in your
head
winds
let's
pray
pray for
this
together
oh
God
we
delight
and
rejoice
and we
give
thanks
to
you
that
you
are
a
compassionate
God
thank
you
God
that
even
as
you
that
even
as
your
son
Jesus
chided
Peter
for
his
little
faith
he
didn't
leave
him
there
to
drown
or
cut
him
off
from
the
roster
of
your
twelve
apostles
no
you
grabbed
him
you
overcame
his
little
faith
you
overcame
his
doubt
and
so
you
have
done
for
all
of
us
over
and
over
again
because
you
are
a
compassionate
God
so
Lord
we do
believe
help
our
unbelief
increase
our
faith
increase
our
love
increase
our
hope
in
you
every
day
that
until
that
day
when
all
will
see
Jesus
is
the
great
I
am
and
confess
his
name
and
bow
their
knee
before
him
in
Jesus
name
we
pray
amen