The Crowd, Jesus, and Seven Loaves
Mark 8:1-8
July 14, 2024 anno Domini
What was Martin Luther’s favorite question? You heard it often as your pastor taught you the catechism. What does this mean? This morning that will be our question as we study the characters in the text namely, the crowd, Jesus, and the disciples.
The crowd had been with Jesus for three days. They had followed Him into the wilderness. Their coolers were empty. Their lunches were gone. Their wine skins were dry. What does this mean? It means they wanted to be with Jesus. They wanted to hear His Word. Their love of His Word was so great that they didn’t think about walking into the wilderness. They drove their cars right past the last gas station before they hit Nebraska. They didn’t stop at the last Kwik Trip to load up Glazers and bacon for breakfast.
You should pray for that sort of faith. Maybe the crowd didn’t realize how far they had come into the desert. Maybe they wanted to be with Jesus so much that it didn’t really matter what happened to them. Either way, wouldn’t that be a great faith to have? That you aren’t worried about filling the up the car with gas, and stocking up on groceries, and checking to see how full the freezer is. Or that you were so confident in Jesus that even if you were dehydrated, starving, and exhausted, you would say, “So what, I’m with Jesus. I’ll be fine even if I die out here.”
We should repent of our little faith. We are so easily distracted by the cares of life that an hour of Jesus is all we can take. We want to be so safe and secure that we are afraid to go with Jesus into politics or education or even our families. We don’t want to risk our temporal security.
This text reminded Martin Luther of a little proverb from his day, “One loses no time by going to church.” You will never lose anything by coming to church. But if you’re anywhere else then you’re losing Jesus. Here is the gate to heaven and a taste of eternity. Where God’s Word is purely preached, and the Sacraments given according to Christ’s Word there you find a unique place on earth. Eternity breaks into time and God’s Spirit descends to give you everlasting gifts. Forgiveness for your sins. The resurrection of Jesus from the dead. Conversation with your heavenly Father. Pray for the faith of that crowd, who thought of nothing but being with Jesus, and repent of the times you couldn’t wait for church to be over, or you were afraid to follow Jesus because it might put your livelihood or popularity at risk.
The crowd’s faith put them in peril. Fathers and mothers dragged their little ones into the wilderness. Old people walked too far in pursuit of Jesus. They sought the things eternal and lost sight of their temporal needs. Do you remember when the Israelites complained to Moses, that the Lord had led them out into the wilderness to die? That it would have been better if they had remained slaves in Egypt than die free in the wilderness? Jesus is the new and greater Moses because before anyone realizes they are hungry or in peril, Jesus knows.
He said to his disciples, “I have compassion on the crowd, because they have been with me now three days, and have nothing to eat. And if I send them away hungry to their homes, they will faint on the way. And some of them have come from afar.” What does this mean? It means that before you know what you need, Jesus knows what you need, and He will care for you.
If the Lord rescued Israel by breaking Pharoah’s will through the 10 plagues and then drowning Pharaoh’s army in the Red Sea, would the Lord let them die in the wilderness? If Jesus let the crowd follow Him three days into the desert to taught them the truth so they could be free of their sins and live forever, would He let them die out there? Would He not let them return to their homes and live in that freedom and truth? Of course not.
If Jesus has set you free from sin, if He has given His life for you on the cross, if He has paid the debt you owed God by suffering hell in your place, do you think He can’t provide you with a sack lunch in the wilderness of this world? Or protect you when you follow Him into a school board meeting or a family discussion? Not only does Jesus know what the crowd needs, but since He is God in the flesh, He can provide it.
To do that He uses His men and their bread. How many loaves do you have? The disciples know they don’t have enough bread. They’ve already stated that. How can one feed these people with bread in this desolate place. Judas probably knew exactly how much bread they had. He was the bookkeeper, the counter. He may have been rationing the bread so he and his disciples would have enough for the journey home. He certainly wouldn’t want to give it up for the crowd. It would do nothing for many, but something for a few. But the disciples knew better than to be selfish around Jesus. They didn’t answer, “We have just enough for us.” They answer, “Seven loaves.”
What does this mean? It means that Jesus isn’t a magician. He used seven loaves of bread and multiplied them for the people. He blessed the few fish and they multiplied. He handed the bread and fish to the disciples who distributed them to the people.
How does Jesus provide for you? He doesn’t use magic. He uses means. He uses the gifts of creation to multiply His gifts to you. In the Church He uses water, bread, wine, and the mouth and hands of a man to deliver to you the forgiveness of sins. He pours it on your head, puts it in your mouth, plants it in your ears. If you can come to church and don’t – you’re testing God and asking Him to do magic.
It would be no different if you were able to work and you stayed home waiting for money to appear in your checking account. Or sitting at your table with a full cupboard of food expecting God to make you a sandwich. God uses means to provide for your body and soul. He has given you a mind to think and hands to work and feet to seek out a job. He gives seed to multiply fruit and created animals to reproduce and multiply meat. The God of Scripture isn’t a magician. He is the Creator. He uses creation to care for you, because creation was made for you. He used the flesh of a man and the wood of a cross to take away the sin of the world.
What does this text mean? It means you should love the Word of Jesus and follow Him wherever He takes you, even into the wilderness. It means He knows what you need and will provide it. He has won eternal life for you, so certainly He’ll tide you over here in time with bread and fish. It means God isn’t a magician. He uses His creation to provide, and you should too. Use your mind, hands, and feet to work. Use the Word, the water of Baptism, and the bread and wine of His Supper for your faith. Don’t look for magic, use God’s means. In the name of Jesus. Amen.