The Weekend Word

Matthew 15:29-39

Jesus Heals Many

²⁹ Jesus went on from there and walked beside the Sea of Galilee. And he went up on the mountain and sat down there.

• Is Jesus just out for a stroll or is he out trolling (fishing for men)?
• Goes up, sits down and just waits.

³⁰ And great crowds came to him, bringing with them the lame, the blind, the crippled, the mute, and many others, and they put them at his feet, and he healed them,

• Great crowds – not just a crowd.
• What is this crowd made of?
• These are hangers on – the New Israel. These folks are not coming to give Jesus something – they have nothing.
• They are coming to get something from Jesus.
• Why are we here this morning? We bring nothing – we are here for the one purpose of receiving God’s good gifts of grace and forgiveness.

³¹ so that the crowd wondered, when they saw the mute speaking, the crippled healthy, the lame walking, and the blind seeing. And they glorified the God of Israel.

• Now the crowd is seeing all of this – and it makes an impact on them.
• Here they see that the kingdom of God has actually, as in really come in the flesh in Jesus Christ.
• He is truly Jesus THE Christ who has come to save them from their sin.
• He is Emmanuel – who is God with us.
• Just as the Canaanite woman knew ‘He has come to have mercy.’
• I repeat, When we read the NT and we hear the reports of Jesus healing the people – the lame, the blind, the crippled, the mute etc —
• This tells us truly that the kingdom of God has come.
• All the promises in the OT are being fulfilled in Jesus. Repeat – ALL!!!
• Because these are exactly the things that were promised.
• So, are you one today who asks – “why don’t we see this”?
• You do – when you see someone baptized, someone converted to faith in Jesus Christ – when you hear someone saying amen to the preaching of the gospel.
• THIS is a true miracle – Why? Because dead people are being raised, the old Adam is being killed; a new creation is being created.
• How do you spell new creation? – FAITH

Jesus Feeds the Four Thousand

³² Then Jesus called his disciples to him and said, “I have compassion on the crowd because they have been with me now three days and have nothing to eat. And I am unwilling to send them away hungry, lest they faint on the way.”

• Jesus just had a great group called to him, of sick and lame …His Church
• Now he calls back to his other congregation – his disciples.
• This sounds much like Israel out of the wilderness and God caring for his people.
• Now as we have been saying, these people, through Christ are the New Israel — Jesus will provide for HIS Israel.
• Take note – Jesus has dismissed the old Israel in his confrontations with the Pharisees etc. Old Israel is no longer in existence or valid – gone – done.

³³ And the disciples said to him, “Where are we to get enough bread in such a desolate place to feed so great a crowd?”

• Similar to the Feeding of the 5,000 – why the doubt?

³⁴ And Jesus said to them, “How many loaves do you have?” They said, “Seven, and a few small fish.”

• A different quantity than the previous account.

³⁵ And directing the crowd to sit down on the ground,

• Note who is in charge here. No matter where Jesus goes, even to the cross, he is in charge and is directing events.

³⁶ he took the seven loaves and the fish, and having given thanks he broke them and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds.

• Note the verbs, wording
• He gives thanks – He breaks – He distributes
• I think he does this on purpose as a foreshadow of his fellowship with us today – at the Lord’s Table
• He is going to feed his New Israel with a meal as he fellowships with them & us.
• On the night he was betrayed, he takes the bread, he gives thanks, he breaks it, and he gives it to them and says take and eat, this is my body / my blood.
• And there you have Holy Communion – where Jesus feeds and fellowships with us.
• Where else do we see this? Look at Luke 24:30-32
• ³⁰ When he was at table with them, he took the bread and blessed and broke it and gave it to them. ³¹ And their eyes were opened, and they recognized him. And he vanished from their sight. ³² They said to each other, “Did not our hearts burn within us while he talked to us on the road, while he opened to us the Scriptures?”

³⁷ And they all ate and were satisfied. And they took up seven baskets full of the broken pieces left over.

• As in the feeding of the 5,000 we see that there were leftovers – 7 baskets
• As with the other story – Jesus gives and we are satisfied and there is more to come.

³⁸ Those who ate were four thousand men, besides women and children.

• Again I repeat
• Jesus establishes His own Israel
• Jesus has an Israel for himself and he has fellowship with them
• Jesus is with them and he is for them.
• Jesus delivers them from their / our bondage and leads them / us in the wilderness
• Jesus keeps them from perishing, he provides for them, feeding nourishing, providing – until he brings them / us into the Promised Land.

³⁹ And after sending away the crowds, he got into the boat and went to the region of Magadan.

• Back on the move.