The Dedicated Minister
Matthew 14:13-21
November 13, 2011
Well this morning as we continue our study through Matthew’s gospel,
We come across what may indeed be
The most famous miracle Jesus ever worked.
This is the one miracle that every gospel writer felt the need to include.
We really have to take a second to realize the magnitude of this miracle.
If there is a downside to being raised in church.
It is that the miracles of Jesus can seem to become “OLD HAT”.
We have a tendency to read miracles like this and say:
“Yeah, Yeah, I got it all.”
I wish we could read it again for the first time.
Instead of familiarity, there would be excitement.
Instead of skimming, our eyes would be glued to the page
Think about what He did for just a second.
He fed 5,000 men, not counting their wives and children,
With only 2 fish, and five loaves of bread.
That’s not enough to feed Leo, let alone a crowd of that size.
This is an amazing miracle that our Lord worked.
He supernaturally multiplied food and fed a crowd.
And there really is no shortage of angles
From which we could talk about this miracle.
We could see it from the perspective of the boy
Who gave a small meal and received a buffet.
We could see it from the perspective of the crowd
Who partook in an amazing miracle.
We could see it from the perspective of the disciples
Who actually took part in the miracle being worked.
Or we could even take the different emphasis
That comes with each gospel account.
When you read Mark
It is evident that Mark wants to demonstrate the compassion of Jesus.
Mark 6:34 “When Jesus went ashore, He saw a large crowd, and He felt compassion for them because they were like sheep without a shepherd; and He began to teach them many things.”
When you read Luke
Luke uses this miracle as a great apologetic proof of the deity of Jesus, for he uses this miracle to set up the great question of Jesus.
Luke 9:17-18 “And they all ate and were satisfied; and the broken pieces which they had left over were picked up, twelve baskets full. And it happened that while He was praying alone, the disciples were with Him, and He questioned them, saying, “Who do the people say that I am?”
When you read John
John uses this miracle as a platform to declare the deity of Jesus.
John 6:32-35 “Jesus then said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, it is not Moses who has given you the bread out of heaven, but it is My Father who gives you the true bread out of heaven. “For the bread of God is that which comes down out of heaven, and gives life to the world.” Then they said to Him, “Lord, always give us this bread.” Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me will not hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst.”
And so we could talk about this miracle from many different perspectives.
But since we are studying Matthew’s gospel,
Let’s look at it from Matthew’s angle.
And when you read this miracle in Matthew’s gospel,
One thing begins to really jump out at you,
And that is the DEDICATION of Jesus.
Jesus aim was always to do exactly what God wanted Him to do.
John 5:19 “Therefore Jesus answered and was saying to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, unless it is something He sees the Father doing; for whatever the Father does, these things the Son also does in like manner.”
His goal was His mission.
He never allowed anything to stop Him, or to slow Him down.
He was focused on ministry.
(Jesus was exactly the opposite of the rocky soil)
SO TODAY LET’S SEE THE DEDICATION OF JESUS.
This is something that is sorely needed in the Church today.
I truly believe that our churches have
• Many compassionate people.
• Many loving people.
• Many visionary people
We need more DEDICATED people.
Too often today, we see people who start off “hot” in ministry,
But when it doesn’t go quite like they planned, they are ready to quit.
And you know this cannot be how we do it.
WE NEED DEDICATION.
I’ve also told you that Matthew is using this section
To emphasize the parables of the kingdom that Jesus just gave us.
(This crowd will prove to be “rocky soil” just read John 6)
But I believe there is another parable Matthew is reinforcing here.
The last parable spoke of faithfulness.
Matthew 13:51-52 “Have you understood all these things?” They said to Him, “Yes.” And Jesus said to them, “Therefore every scribe who has become a disciple of the kingdom of heaven is like a head of a household, who brings out of his treasure things new and old.”
And obviously if we are to be faithful in our kingdom work
It will require dedication.
That is the example that Jesus gives us here.
Once He heard the Father’s will,
Nothing could stop Him, except the Father.
He was focused, and He was dedicated.
And it is clear that Jesus uses this miracle as a way
To pass that dedication on to His disciples.
So this morning, as Jesus shows His disciples what dedication looks like, let’s see if we can’t learn a thing or two as well.
#1 THE EXAMPLE
Matthew 14:13-14
“Now when Jesus heard about John, He withdrew from there in a boat to a secluded place by Himself;”
Think about that just for a moment.
WHO WAS JOHN?
• The cousin of Jesus.
• The forerunner of Jesus.
• The greatest man born of woman.
• A faithful witness.
There is no doubt in our minds that Jesus loved John.
Even beyond the loss of a relative…
Even beyond the loss of a ministry partner…
This must have produced a certain sting for Jesus,
Knowing that His death wasn’t too far away either.
Can we safely say this was a hard day?
And so we know why Jesus “withdrew from there in a boat to a secluded place by Himself;”
He wanted to grieve.
He wanted to reflect.
He wanted to rest.
Even after the disciples find Him, notice what He says according to Mark:
Mark 6:30-32 “The apostles gathered together with Jesus; and they reported to Him all that they had done and taught. And He said to them, “Come away by yourselves to a secluded place and rest a while.” (For there were many people coming and going, and they did not even have time to eat.) They went away in the boat to a secluded place by themselves.”
So Jesus wants and needs to get away.
This is “me time”.
This is the time when ministry “guru’s” tell you to protect yourself from burnout.
And Jesus departs.
“and when the people heard of this, they followed Him on foot from the cities.”
Jesus can’t escape.
The crowd is impatient.
Grieving or not, they want Jesus now.
(I’ve got a bicycling friend just like this)
AND BEFORE WE GET TOO DOWN ON THE CROWD
We are all like this.
EVER GO TO A DOCTOR’S OFFICE?
• I’m sorry your friend died, but we’re trying to keep me from dying.
• I’m sorry you missed your daughter’s basketball game, but this is about me
being able to play basketball.
The fact is that when we are hurting
We can be just as inconsiderate as this crowd.
What they did was selfish,
But it is the exact same thing we would have done.
And so here we are.
An exhausted Savior and a pushy crowd.
WHAT GIVES?
And you know the answer.
Jesus determined to be faithful to His ministry.
WHAT WAS HIS MINISTRY?
Luke 19:10 “For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.”
John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.”
We know that God sent Jesus to this world on a divine mission.
The people of His creation were lost, they had been separated from Him.
Jesus came in order to seek them out, and to reunite them with the Father.
He came to seek and to save that which was lost.
His ministry tactics certainly varied.
MIRACLES
Meant to draw attention.
Meant to meet peoples needs.
Meant to give proof
PREACHING
Clearly and accurately portrayed the truth of:
Righteousness, Heaven, and Hell
DISCIPLESHIP
Prepared others to work the same mission.
Discipled by teaching and example
He ministered in many different ways,
But His aim was always to seek and to save the lost,
Nothing could stop Him from doing that.
So when the crowd approaches Jesus,
It would have been real easy to say, “Hey folks, the clinic is closed today, I just don’t have it in Me at the present time.”
But He didn’t, He stayed the course,
And remained dedicated to His calling.
He “felt compassion for them and healed their sick.”
Luke 9:11 “But the crowds were aware of this and followed Him; and welcoming them, He began speaking to them about the kingdom of God and curing those who had need of healing.”
That is what dedication to ministry is all about.
His personal desires, His personal needs, His personal pleasures,
All came secondary to fulfilling the mission of God.
We are called to the same dedication.
Philippians 2:3-4 “Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others”
My how our ministry would change,
If we were more concerned about other people’s needs than our own.
If our neighbors happiness and comfort,
Was more important to us than our own.
That was the way Jesus did ministry.
His own Personal needs couldn’t delay Him.
He proved to be a great example to the disciples about dedication.
The Example
#2 THE EXHORTATION
Matthew 14:15-16
So thus far, Jesus has done it again.
And this isn’t shocking, no one is surprised at His compassion.
But, there is a problem:
“When it was evening, the disciples came to Him and said, “This place is desolate and the hour is already late; so send the crowds away, that they may go into the villages and buy food for themselves.”
What you may not realize is in Jesus day, the Piggly Wiggly closed at 5:00. Supermarkets didn’t stay open late to accommodate people.
And that posed a problem.
In fact the disciples saw four problems
1) This was a large crowd
2) They were hungry
3) The place where they were was desolate
4) The markets were about to close.
Now, I know how it appears.
It appears like the disciples are just super concerned
About the well-being of the people.
Don’t they sound sympathetic?
That isn’t it.
In fact, look at what happens the next time a crowd forms. (feeding 4,000)
Matthew 15:32 “And Jesus called His disciples to Him, and said, “I feel compassion for the people, because they have remained with Me now three days and have nothing to eat; and I do not want to send them away hungry, for they might faint on the way.”
There the disciples let the people go three days without caring for their food.
Don’t assume that the disciples
Are here concerned about the people’s hunger.
WHAT ARE THEY CONCERNED ABOUT?
Themselves!
The disciples are tired.
Their retreat away with Jesus got intruded upon.
And they want the crowd to leave.
So they come to Jesus, pretending to be concerned about their hunger thinking He will agree that the crowd needs to go.
WE KNOW WE’VE BEEN THERE.
(too selfish and too tired to care about ministry)
We’ve all had times when we just wanted people
To go bother someone else with their problem.
That is what the disciples wanted.
And that is why they received a rebuke from Jesus.
(16) “But Jesus said to them, “They do not need to go away; you give them something to eat!”
Mark’s gospel adds that they argued even with this.
Mark 6:37 “But He answered them, “You give them something to eat!” And they said to Him, “Shall we go and spend two hundred denarii on bread and give them something to eat?”
So it is obvious here that we have 12 people who are sick of the crowd
And one who cares about them.
One other thing you should know about this is that
Jesus used this event to test His disciples.
John 6:5-6 “Therefore Jesus, lifting up His eyes and seeing that a large crowd was coming to Him, said to Philip, “Where are we to buy bread, so that these may eat?” This He was saying to test him, for He Himself knew what He was intending to do.”
You see Jesus knew that the disciples
Still did not have the proper ministry mindset, and so this event
Was to provide a teaching point. (Or and Exhortation)
WHAT WAS THE TEACHING POINT?
The ministry of serving God
Is more important than your own personal desires.
There is no room for selfishness in the ministry.
People are needy.
People are rude.
People are pushy.
They never need help when it is convenient.
But if you think about it,
When in your life is helping someone convenient?
When do you want to see a person broke down on the side of the road?
On the way to work?
During your lunch hour?
On your way home from work?
While you are headed out to eat?
On the way to the basketball game?
Or would you rather them just call you from a cell phone
While you are watching television in your recliner?
MINISTRY IS NEVER CONVENIENT!
If you wait until you aren’t tired…
If you wait until you have extra money…
If you wait until you have too much time…
YOU WILL NEVER HELP!
The disciples needed to learn to be ministry minded, and so do we.
Hebrews 13:1-2 “Let love of the brethren continue. Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by this some have entertained angels without knowing it.”
Hebrews 13:15-16 “Through Him then, let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that give thanks to His name. And do not neglect doing good and sharing, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.”
We understand the point.
DO WE NEED NOW TO GO AND STUDY THE GOOD SAMARITAN?
“Which one proved to be a neighbor to this man?…Go and do likewise”
The disciples were selfish, and so Jesus exhorted them.
The Example, The Exhortation
#3 THE EXCUSE
Matthew 14:17-18
And so the disciples are still making excuses.
Only this time it isn’t out of selfishness, but genuine confusion.
They understand that they needed to minister to the crowd.
What they didn’t know is how they could possibly do it.
Now stay with me here for a minute,
Because we can real easily identify with the disciples on this one.
We already got caught wanting the crowd to leave.
And Jesus told US to feed them.
WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU DO?
You go through the crowd and find out who has their own food.
You find out exactly how many you have to feed.
The disciples did this, and what did they find?
“They said to Him, “We have here only five loaves and two fish.”
Now they are stumped.
WHAT DO YOU DO WITH THIS?
Would you have allowed this tiny little roadblock to stop you?
The disciples would have.
Jesus didn’t.
He could have said, “Oh, I wanted to feed these people, but we don’t have enough food, I guess I really wasn’t supposed to feed them after all.”
BUT THAT ISN’T JESUS.
• Personal Needs Couldn’t Delay Him.
• Private Influence couldn’t Distract Him.
• PROBLEMATIC CIRCUMSTANCES COULDN’T DISCOURAGE HIM.
So there was a crowd of 5,000 plus…
So it was getting late…
So they had no money…
So only one person packed a lunch…
THAT WAS NO BIG DEAL TO JESUS.
WHY?
BECAUSE HE IS GOD!
He is not asking the disciples to minister in their own strength.
He is not asking them to supply from their own riches.
HE MERELY WANTS THEM TO UNDERSTAND THAT IF
THEY WILL COMMIT THEMSELVES TO MINISTERING TO PEOPLE,
HE WILL PROVIDE THE MEANS.
He already taught them that in regard to their preaching:
Matthew 10:19 “But when they hand you over, do not worry about how or what you are to say; for it will be given you in that hour what you are to say.”
Now He teaches them that in regard to their ministry.
Are we not taught the same?
2 Corinthians 9:8-11 “And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that always having all sufficiency in everything, you may have an abundance for every good deed; as it is written, “HE SCATTERED ABROAD, HE GAVE TO THE POOR, HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS ENDURES FOREVER.” Now He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness; you will be enriched in everything for all liberality, which through us is producing thanksgiving to God.”
I wish everyone had the opportunity to be in charge of benevolence ministry for a time here at the church.
• For one it will teach you patience.
• But it will also teach you about God’s provision.
If you give of yourself, God will give what is needed.
Jesus wanted the twelve to know that.
So their excuses are really no excuses at all.
YOU DON’T HAVE TO MAKE EXCUSES FOR GOD
The Example, The Exhortation, The Excuse
#4 THE ENLIGHTENMENT
Matthew 14:19-21
And what a display!
Jesus fed the whole multitude with just “five loaves and the two fish”
But notice HOW He did it.
“He blessed the food, and breaking the loaves He gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds”
Jesus didn’t give it to the crowds, He gave it to the disciples.
THIS WAS FOR THE DISCIPLES!
He wanted them to know He can provide,
And He can provide through them!
“and they all ate and were satisfied. They picked up what was left over of the broken pieces, twelve full baskets.”
That is what we call a miracle!
And it was all meant to increase the disciples’ faith.
Now, go back to that final parable on the kingdom.
Matthew 13:51-52 “Have you understood all these things?” They said to Him, “Yes.” And Jesus said to them, “Therefore every scribe who has become a disciple of the kingdom of heaven is like a head of a household, who brings out of his treasure things new and old.”
Jesus wanted the disciples to be faithful ministers of the gospel.
And that meant:
• Ministering the gospel even when you are tired.
• Ministering the gospel even when others try to discourage you.
• Ministering the gospel even when circumstances are against you.
Jesus was a great example here.
• Personal Needs couldn’t Delay Him.
• Private Influence couldn’t Distract Him.
• Problematic Circumstances couldn’t Discourage Him.
• Pleasing His Father couldn’t Disappoint Him.
WE CALL IT DEDICATION.
John 4:34 “Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me and to accomplish His work.”
John 17:4 “I glorified You on the earth, having accomplished the work which You have given Me to do.”
And so Jesus didn’t quit, no matter what.
Let me encourage you church to minister like Jesus.
Put yourself on the back burner
And consider others as more important than yourself.
Understand the mission God has for you and put that mission first.
You just might find God doing something amazing!
1 Corinthians 15:58 “Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord.”
