You Give Them Something to Eat

Matthew 14:1-21
Key verse 14:16

Jesus replied, "They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat."

Through last Sunday's message, we learned that those who have found Jesus are like a person who found a great treasure. Personally, I can testify that this is true. After meeting Jesus, a glorious and inexpressible joy came into my heart and life. Although I don't have much money, God has made me rich with the treasures of the kingdom of heaven. Now, here's a question: what do I do with these riches? In today's passage, we learn that the treasures of the kingdom of heaven are meant not only for us to have and enjoy for ourselves, but also for us to share with those in need. In fact, only when we learn how to use the riches of the kingdom of heaven properly can we truly enjoy them. So let's take a look at the passage.

Herod and John the Baptist
First, in verses 1-12, we find an example of the misuse of wealth. King Herod was rich and powerful, but in reality he was a poor, pathetic, and evil man. As king, he should have used his position and power to make life better for his people. Instead, he used his status, power, and wealth to indulge his sinful nature. He even married his brother's wife!

In John the Baptist, however, we find a very different example. Outwardly, John live in poverty. He wore clothes made of camel skin, wore a leather belt around his waste, and ate locusts and wild honey. He didn't have a palace to live in--he lived in the desert areas. Yet, in truth, John was far richer than Herod. While Herod was a slave to his sinful nature and unable to do anything good with the wealth and power he had, John was filled with the Holy Spirit, and he used all he had to build the kingdom of God. Through John, many people were brought back to God in repentance. John was so rich in spirit that he was not afraid of what men could do to him, so he boldly and persistently rebuked Herod for marrying his brother's wife.

In order to shut John up, Herod had him arrested. Herod wanted to kill John, but he was afraid of the people. Yet, he ended up killing John because of his fear of looking bad in the eyes of his dinner guests. He got "played" by Herodias and her daughter. Later, when Herod heard about the miracles Jesus was doing, he feared that John had risen from the dead. Herod was supposed to be rich, but he was poor and pathetic. This shows us what happens when we use what God has given us to indulge in sin--we become truly poor.

Jesus and the Crowd
Now let's look at verses 13 and 14. When Jesus heard what had happened to John, he withdrew by boat privately to a solitary place. Jesus' actions show how important John the Baptist was.  Up to this point, John and Jesus had been partners in building the kingdom of God. John prepared the way by calling on all people, great and small, to repent and turn to back to God. Thanks to John's powerful ministry, the hearts of many people were prepared to receive Jesus. Now that John was dead, however, the full weight of the kingdom work fell on Jesus' shoulders. Verse 13 says, "When Jesus heard what had happened, he withdrew by boat privately to a solitary place." Jesus' actions show that the death of John the Baptist was a very big deal. Jesus probably withdrew so that he could get perspective on the situation and find God's direction going forward.

Yet, this was not to be. Verse 13 also says, "Hearing of this, the crowds followed him on foot from the towns." This is a remarkable scene. Jesus and his disciples got into a boat and set out across the lake, but the crowds ran around the lake on foot. Probably, they could see Jesus' disciples, way out on the lake, like a little speck on the water, and they followed along the shore, pointing, squinting into the morning sun, and even carrying sick people on mats, carts, and helping them with their crutches--not just a few people, but thousands--men, women, and children--all desperately following Jesus to wherever he was going. As are result, verse 14 says that the people were waiting for Jesus when he landed in what was supposed to be a "solitary" place. How did Jesus respond? Verse 14 says, "When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them and healed their sick."

Jesus' response to the crowd shows how rich he truly was. First, Jesus was rich in God's love. Even though he needed some personal, quiet time, he wasn't angry or annoyed at the crowds for not letting him take a short break. He could have at least decided to get back in the boat and focus on what he needed at that moment. But he didn't do any of these. Instead, in compassion, he welcomed them and took care of their needs. He saw how poor and needy they were and his heart was moved--he felt their pain and he wanted to relieve it. Second, Jesus was rich in God's power. He didn't just feel bad for the people, but he practically did something for them by healing their sick. Jesus' healing power came from his Father in heaven, and through faith in the Father he was able to address the serious problems that these people had.

So, from Jesus' actions we find his answer to the question, "What should I do with the riches of the kingdom of heaven?" Jesus answer: he served the crowd; he denied himself and took care of their needs first. In doing this, Jesus showed that the riches of the kingdom of God are not just for us to enjoy selfishly--we are to have compassion on those who are in need and practically do something about it. When we follow Jesus' example, we show that we are truly rich.

The Disciples and the Crowd
In verse 15, we see that Jesus' disciples came to him with a suggestion. They said to him, "This is a remote place, and it's already getting late. Send the crowds away, so they can go to the villages and buy themselves some food." At first, what the disciples suggested seems reasonable, but in light of what Jesus did in verse 14, we see that they had not yet learned what to do with the riches they had received through following Jesus.

First, let's think about the practical problem. The problem was that there was not enough food for the people to have dinner. It's interesting that the disciples saw Jesus healing many sick people by the power of God, but they didn't even think about the possibility that God could provide dinner. What's more difficult: making dinner or healing the blind? Yet this thought didn't seem to occur to the disciples.

Second, let's think about their suggestion. Why did they feel it necessary to recommend that Jesus send the crowds away. They could have just brought the problem to Jesus. They could have said, "Lord, this is a remote place and there is not enough food for the people. What should we do?" Instead, they went a step further and said, "Send the crowds away, so they can go to the villages and buy themselves some food." It seems that the disciples were not interested in taking responsibility for the crowds. In fact, they wanted to be free from the crowds. They wanted the crowds to take care of their own problem. Perhaps they were thinking about the fact that they didn't have a chance to eat dinner yet and they barely had enough food for themselves.

The disciples' suggestion shows that they didn't understand the riches they had access to through Jesus, let alone what to do with their riches. This was a big problem, because Jesus had invested so much in them already. They had the privilege of living together with Jesus. When Jesus taught in parables, he explained the meaning to his disciples. Jesus even said to them, "The knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them." Why did Jesus go through so much effort to teach them, train them, and even serve them? Of course, it was God's love to them, but it was not for them alone: Jesus had called them to be fishers of men; to be shepherds for God's flock. But their suggestion to send the crowd away shows that they were still thinking like poor men; they were poor love and poor in practical faith--despite all they had received from God through Jesus. When Jesus heard their suggestion, he challenged them to grow up and become givers. Look at verse 16:

Jesus replied, "They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat."

Jesus challenged his disciples to do a seemingly impossible thing. His purpose in doing so was to teach his disciples how to start living as truly rich men.

First, Jesus said to his disciples, "They do not need to go away." The first lesson in living as rich men was to stop reasoning like poor men. Based on the apparent facts, it seemed that the disciples were right--the people needed to go away if they wanted to eat. There was no other option because there was no food or money around to provide for the people. Yet, Jesus disagreed. Jesus said that the people did not need to go away. Jesus saw another option because he was not thinking as a poor man thinks. Jesus thought as a man who is rich, or at least as a man who has a rich Father.

Second, Jesus said, "You give them something to eat." This was perhaps the most important lesson Jesus taught his disciples in this passage about living as rich men. Here, Jesus taught them the purpose for which God had opened up the treasures of the kingdom of heaven to them: it was so that they could give others something to eat. Jesus challenged his disciples to no longer live as self-centered men, but instead to take responsibilities for the needs of others. This is what Jesus did at the beginning of the day when he landed and saw the crowds, and this is the purpose for which Jesus called his disciples and invested so much in them. God's purpose was to raise them up as spiritual leaders who could take care of the poor and needy people with God's compassion and power.

This also shows us the reason God has poured out the riches of his grace in our lives. Have you experienced the sin-forgiving grace of God through faith in Jesus? Have you been blessed by God with a personal, one-to-one Bible teacher and shepherd? Has God poured out his joy in your heart and blessings in your life? If so, then think about this: what are you doing with the riches God has given you? If you are just holding onto God's blessings for your self, you are missing a huge part of God's purpose, and you are not yet living as a truly rich person. That is why Jesus says, "You give them something to eat." When we take responsibility for the needs of those who are poor and in need, we finally start to spend the treasures of the kingdom of heaven in the way they were intended to be spent and in the way that allows us to fully experience the joy of the kingdom.

Third, Jesus taught his disciples how to practically meet the needs of the people.

Let's read verses 17-19:
17"We have here only five loaves of bread and two fish," they answered.
18"Bring them here to me," he said. 19And he directed the people to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then he gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the people.

The small amount of food the disciples had was not even enough for them, let alone the crowds of people. Yet, Jesus didn't complain about it. He didn't say, "That's all!" Look at verse 18: "Bring them here to me." Jesus asked them to bring what they had, even though it was so little. This was the first lesson in practically taking care of the people: bring what you have to God by faith.

In these verses, we see how Jesus worked together with the Father and his disciples to feed the crowd.

What was the result? Let's read verses 20-21:
20They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over. 21The number of those who ate was about five thousand men, besides women and children.

In the end, they had far more left over than they even started with. Through this, we see that using the riches God has given us to help those in need with God's compassionate heart is the way to be truly rich.

One word: You Give Them Something to Eat