the maimed made whole, the lame walking, and
the blind seeing. And they glorified the God
of Israel. Now Jesus called his disciples to
himself and said, I have compassion on the multitude
because they have now continued with me three
days and they have nothing to eat. I don't want
to send them away hungry lest they faint on the
way. His disciples said to him, Where can we
get enough bread in this wilderness to fill such
a great multitude? Jesus said, well, how many
loaves do you have? And they said, seven, and
a few little fish. So he commanded the multitude
to sit down on the ground, and he took the seven
loaves and the fish and gave thanks. He broke
them and gave them to his disciples, and the
disciples gave to the multitude. So they all
ate and were filled, and they took up seven large
baskets full of the fragments that were left.
Now those who ate were 4 ,000 men. besides women
and children. And he sent away the multitude
and he got in the boat and he came to the region
of Magdala. Let's ask God to help us to understand
the text. Father, this is your word, the living
word, inerrant, inspired, infallible, God -breathed.
It is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for
correction. for instruction in righteousness.
Lord, would you open the word of God to us this
morning. Father, help us to see the divine intention
for which you have placed this inspired text
before us this morning. Show us Jesus and his
glory. And we want to thank you for that in advance.
And we ask this petition in the name of your
son, Jesus Christ. Amen. I was at a wedding last
night, Faith Lambert's wedding, and I was sitting
at the table just talking with John Paul. And
he said, what are you preaching on tomorrow?
And I told him this text. And I said, it's probably
one of the ones I've been more excited about
than in a long time. Not because of the text
in itself, but this is one of the many reasons
I absolutely love the Word of God. Because as
much as you study the Bible, as many times as
you read it, there's always something new. I've
read through the Gospel of Matthew many times
in my life. But I will tell you, I learned something
new this week that I have never, ever seen before,
nor had I heard it before. And it's really the
point of the text this morning. So we're going
to read about Jesus feeding 4 ,000. Now that
may sound awfully familiar to us because we just
looked in chapter 14, the previous chapter, about
Jesus feeding the 5 ,000. Perhaps you're wondering,
well, what's the difference between the feeding
of the 5 ,000 and the feeding of the 4 ,000?
Well, it's obvious, right? It's 1 ,000. That's
my corny math joke. That's it. We're done with
that. So in all seriousness, though, when we
look at this, there is a reason that these two
events are recorded so closely together. First
of all, their proximity serves as a contrast.
And it's going to highlight something that is
very important, particularly to us, that I will
talk about a little bit later. But I'll be honest,
I always wondered, why did Matthew and Mark,
because Luke and John did not, why did they record
both of these events where Jesus fed thousands?
It seems like a little overkill at the time it
did. Why would they include both? I mean, is
there anything that we're learning from this
account of Jesus feeding the 4 ,000? Or is it
simply another miracle showing the power and
authority of Jesus? And I suggest that there's
something more that God intended to show. Now,
how do we know this? Well, studying Scripture,
context is key. So what's the context? Beginning
in chapter 15, there is a confrontation between
Jesus and the leading religious officials, particularly
the Pharisees, because they were the gatekeepers
of the law. So this confrontation had to do with
ceremonial laws that Jesus and his disciples
refused to keep. Now this debate between Jesus
and the Pharisees serves as the backdrop to understanding
our text today. The Pharisees believed that ritual
defilement came from outside. If you went to
unclean places, touched unclean things, or had
contact with unclean people. They said those
particular things were defiling. And because
of that, they developed and enacted many laws.
So these are the ways that you can keep yourself
from being defiled. For example, have limited
contact with Gentiles. Or better yet, have no
contact with Gentiles or their lands. But if
you do, if you do visit those places, or in business
transactions you have to interact with them,
Then there were certain elaborate ceremonial
washings that you underwent, and then you would
be ceremonially clean again. Jesus Christ comes
on the scene, and he contradicted their claim.
He said, you guys have it all wrong. Defilement
does not come from without. True defilement comes
from within. It's from your heart. In fact, he
said, it's not even what goes in a person. It's
not about what you eat. It's not about what you
touch. He said, rather, it's what comes out of
you that truly defiles you. That's what really
makes you unclean. In fact, he said, it's your
heart that is already defiled that leads you
to sin. So that was the debate. So Jesus leaves
that argument with them, and he purposely headed
to a place called Tyre and Sidon, which we looked
at last week. Well, Tyre and Sidon is Gentile
land. He purposely leaves Israel, goes to the
area of the Gentiles. Keep in mind, the background
of the Pharisees over defilement. And while he
was there, there was a Canaanite woman that we
looked at last week. She came to Jesus begging
him to heal her daughter who was severely demon
-possessed. Initially, Jesus almost seemed cruel.
He denied her request. He said it was not right
to take food from the children. That is Israel.
And give to the dogs, that is Gentiles. What
surprised us was the woman's response. She agreed
with Jesus. She said, you're correct. It wouldn't
be proper. It's not fitting to take food from
your child to feed your pet. No, you would never
do that. However, she said, but even the dogs
who sit under the table, they eat the crumbs
that fall from the children's plate. The Lord
was so impressed by her answer. That he agreed
to heal her daughter. And we see that in verse
28. Jesus answered and he said to her, O woman,
great is your faith. Let it be to you as you
desire. And her daughter was healed from that
very hour. The Messiah of Israel had granted
a miracle to a Gentile woman. Was that any indication
or maybe some preview that there... Would be
more crumbs falling from the children's food
and given to the Gentiles? Verse 29. So Jesus
departed from there. He left Tyre and Sidon.
That's the place where he had the interaction
with the Canaanite woman. He skirted the Sea
of Galilee and he went up on the mountain to
sit down and pray. To sit down there. So he left
those two cities. And it just says in Matthew,
he skirted the Sea of Galilee. So we don't know
where he is. But Mark, in the parallel passage,
tells us that he went to the Decapolis, which
is on the east side of the Sea of Galilee. Mark
7 .31, you can see it on the wall behind me.
So departing from the region of Tyre and Sidon,
he came through the midst of the region of Decapolis
to the Sea of Galilee. Why is that important?
Why do we care where Jesus is? Because the Decapolis
was predominantly a Gentile region as well. This
meant Jesus did not immediately return to go
back to Israel. He stayed in the land of Gentiles
for a while. Now, who's writing this gospel?
Matthew. To whom is he writing? Primarily, not
exclusively, primarily to a Jewish audience.
The Jews of his day would have been very, very
interested in God's dealings with the Gentiles.
Because by and large, Jewish people... chose
to have as little contact with the Gentiles as
possible. Keep in mind what the Pharisees thought.
Contact with Gentiles made you unclean. So much
so that if a Jew who lived in the south, in Judea,
needed to go to Galilee in the north, instead
of taking this direct route and go right through
the center of Israel, they would walk around
Samaria. Why? Why didn't they just go straight
through and pass through Samaria? Because the
Samaritans were not fully Jewish. And the Jews
believed them to be unclean. So you start to
see this dynamic that's at play. Jews and Gentiles
pretty much ignored one another. They had very
limited interaction with one another. What about
in the church? Would there only be Jews as well?
I mean, the Gentiles were not included in the
old covenant. What about their place in the new?
Was there any place for non -Jews, that is Gentiles,
in the new covenant which would be ratified by
the blood of Jesus Christ? And the answer is
unequivocally yes. Now Paul wrote about that
in Ephesians 2. He said, speaking of Jesus, for
he himself, that is Jesus, is our peace. He has
made both Jew and Gentile one. And he has broken
down the middle wall of separation, all those
kosher laws, having abolished in his flesh that
is the law of commandments contained in ordinances,
so as to create in himself one new man from the
two, thus making peace. And that he might reconcile
both Jew and Gentile, because the Jews need to
be reconciled to God as well. He reconciled them
to God in one body through the cross. thereby
putting death enmity. All the division, all the
hostility that was always present between Jew
and Gentile was eliminated at the cross of Jesus
Christ. Now therefore, you, us, Gentiles, you're
no longer strangers. You're no longer foreigners.
What are you? You're fellow citizens with the
saints. And friends, this is precious. And you're
members of the household of God. So in the text
today, there is a beautiful, wonderful foreshadowing
that the Gentiles will be included in God's kingdom.
So let's go back to the text in verse 30. Great
multitudes came to him, having with them the
lame, the blind, the mute, and many others. Many
other types of diseases that are not listed.
And they laid him down at the feet of Jesus.
And it says he healed. them. The Lord chose to
stay in Gentile territory and he was bombarded
by large crowds just as he always was in Israel.
So the Lord went up on a mountainside to sit,
presumably to teach because that was how he normally
would do this. But when he was sitting and teaching,
multitudes came to him but they were bringing
with them the sick and disabled among them because
they were hoping to be healed. You had men and
women who have never seen. You had men and women
who could not walk or speak. They were brought
to Jesus and they were hoping for a miracle.
They were hoping for some crumb that might fall
from the children's plate. Maybe, perhaps, like
that Canaanite woman, they too would receive
God's mercy. So imagine the scene. You have great
crowds of sick people and you have great crowds
of handicapped people. And they're all brought
to Jesus' feet. And it says he healed them. Think
of that scene. Those who had just been unable
to speak, they were mute. They began to speak
clearly, sing clearly. I believe no doubt they
were lifting their voice in praise and worship
to God. God had loosed their tongue. They were
speaking for the first time. Imagine the crippled.
They're unable to walk. And suddenly they're
laid at the feet of Jesus and he has mercy on
them and they get up and they're walking. And
I don't think they're just walking. I think they're
running, skipping, jumping, dancing in glorious
praise to the one who just healed them. What
about those who had never seen, lived their lives
in complete darkness, had never seen the beauty
of a sunrise or sunset, never knew what a flower
looked like? And suddenly they're laid at the
feet of Jesus and he heals them and they have
complete, perfect, 20 -20 vision. And the very
first view they have is the face of Jesus who
just healed them. All that was wrong was being
made right. And we see this is a fulfillment
of the prophecy of the Messiah. In Isaiah chapter
35, Isaiah wrote this about 700 years prior.
Say to those who are fearful hearted, be strong,
don't fear. Behold, your God will come with vengeance.
With the recompense of God, he will come and
save you. What's that going to look like? Then
the eyes of the blind will be opened. The ears
of the deaf will be unstopped. The lame shall
leap like a deer. And the tongue of the dumb
shall sing. What's happening in Matthew 15? Isaiah
35. This messianic prophecy is being clearly
fulfilled in the Lord Jesus Christ. And the text
in Matthew says this, and this is very important,
and they glorified the God of Israel. Why is
that important? That's a Gentile way of referring
to God. Had these been Jewish men and women who
were healed, it would have simply said, and they
glorified God. But these people were outside
of Israel, and they were praising the God of
Israel. What's that tell us? That at least some,
if not the majority of these people who were
healed were Gentiles. The dogs sitting under
the table, they're getting more than just crumbs
falling from children's plates. They're getting
a full meal handed out to them. Again, prophesying
of the Messiah. Isaiah wrote this, I the Lord,
I Yahweh, I have called you in righteousness,
speaking the Messiah. And I will hold your hand.
I will keep you and give you as a covenant to
the people, as a light to the Gentiles. Now keep
in mind the backdrop. The Pharisees believed
that Gentiles were unclean people, pagans, best
avoided, have no contact with them. And now Matthew,
the Jewish evangelist, is giving us a preview
that these unclean people, are going to be part
of God's kingdom. But the question still remains.
Are these Gentiles, are they going to be second
-class citizens in the kingdom of God? Are they
going to merely receive table scraps as a dog
sitting under the table? Well, let's keep reading.
Verse 32. Now Jesus called his disciples and
said, I have compassion on these people. They've
been with me the better part of three days. In
Jewish counting of days, if you spend any part
of a day, they consider it a full day. So at
least 50 hours here. And they've had nothing
to eat. And they now have nothing to eat, I should
say. Jesus, I don't want to send them away hungry
lest they faint on the way. So the better part
of three days are spent listening to Jesus, people
being healed. And they probably did not come
preparing to stay that long. So the food that
they had brought with them would naturally be
gone by this point. It's been a while since they've
eaten, and Jesus, ever being the tender shepherd
he is, he did not want to send them away hungry.
People had traveled a great distance to see him.
They're in a remote area. If he sends them home,
the trip could prove dangerous. They could faint
from being so weak and hungry. But once again,
the disciples, those blessed disciples, they
still don't get it all. Was Jesus expecting them
to feed this large crowd? So they look at him,
and I imagine incredulously are saying, Jesus,
I mean, what do you want us to do? Where could
we get enough bread in the wilderness to fill
such a great multitude? They're right, though.
They're in a remote place. It's called a wilderness,
a desert place. There are many people, food supply
very small. But I believe they're saying, well,
didn't they remember the feeding of the 5 ,000?
Yeah, I think they did. But who's this crowd?
Gentiles. I believe they did not expect for Jesus
to miraculously feed these people as he did those
in Israel. Clearly, whatever the reason, we don't
know, they were not expecting a miracle feeding
as before. So Jesus asked them, how much food
do you have? And they're like, well, there's
seven loaves of bread and a few little fish.
That's it. That's all we can come up with, Jesus.
Seven loaves of bread, little fish, that's not
going to do anything. That's not even going to
feed two people in a crowd this large. And yet
God is never limited by our resources. What's
amazing then, if you go back and read about the
history of Israel, the true people, okay, the
covenant people, when they were in the desert
wondering, they asked this question in Psalm
78. Can God prepare a table in the wilderness?
What's that question mean? Can God provide in
times of extreme hardship? They didn't think
he could. That's why they kept grumbling and
murmuring against him. Can God provide? Can he
provide food in the wilderness? Look at verses
35 -37. He commanded the people to sit. He took
the bread. He took the fish. He gave thanks.
He broke. He gave to his disciples. The disciples
started to distribute out to the crowd. And look
at verse 37. They all ate. All of them. And they
were filled. And they took up seven large baskets
full of the fragments that were left. That's
almost verbatim. I was going to read it, but
I'm not going to. You can go back to Matthew
14, verses 19 and 20, and reading about the feeding
of the 5 ,000, just one chapter earlier, verses
19 and 20. Almost verbatim, same verbiage. But
in both cases, you have the Lord here. He takes
whatever bread and fish. He gives thanks. He
broke it. He distributes to disciples, and his
disciples hand out to the crowds. And in both
cases, there was food left over afterwards. Now
I want you to understand something. When you
read this text, you can't help but hear the overtones
of the word supper. There at the Passover meal,
Jesus took bread and wine. What did he do? He
gave thanks. He broke the bread. He gave to his
disciples, same language, and they ate together
that covenantal meal. These feedings, the feeding
of the 5 ,000, the feeding of the 4 ,000, both
of them are pointing to a greater meal that Jesus
will one day provide. Yes, Jesus can provide
bread for his people. But don't miss the lesson.
Most importantly, he is the bread for his people.
In John chapter 6, the context is the feeding
of the 5 ,000. Verse 51, Jesus speaking to his
fellow Jews. I am the living bread which came
down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread,
he will live forever. And the bread that I shall
give is my flesh, which I shall give for the
life of the world, referring to the atoning sacrifice.
Verse 54. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my
blood has eternal life, and I will raise him
up at the last day. For my flesh is food indeed,
and my blood is drink indeed. See, the Lord just
doesn't provide food for his people. He is the
food. We call him our great high priest, and
he is. As the great high priest, he offers the
sacrifice. But he's also the lamb who is the
sacrifice. And in the very same way, Jesus is
the one who provides food, but he also is the
one who is the food. that is provided. This is
why Jesus in John 6 .35 said, I am the bread
of life. Whoever comes to me will never hunger,
and he who believes in me will never thirst.
Jesus is the true bread from heaven, and he will
save and satisfy his people. Now as we consider
these two events, there are a couple differences
between them that I think are absolutely worth
noting. In the feeding of the 5 ,000, do you
remember how many baskets were left over? Twelve.
Now the word for basket is even different, and
that's going to be important here. The word for
basket there refers to a small basket that was
for personal use. In fact, it was a word that
was used for the basket that Jews would carry
around, and it would hold kosher food. So it's
just a small little basket, and they would put
their food in there. So it's just ceremonially
clean food, kosher food. But in chapter 15, Gentile
setting, there are seven baskets left. But the
word basket here is not. This means a huge hamper
-like basket. These are not the small kosher
baskets. These are really large baskets, so large
that a grown man could fit in them. In fact,
the Apostle Paul was put in a basket and let
down over the wall. That's what this is. So you
have seven huge baskets. Not kosher, which lets
us know we're still in Gentile territory. But
there's seven of these huge hamper -like baskets
left over. There's an extraordinary surplus.
Jesus did not provide these people a snack to
hold them over. This is a feast. A table that's
provided in the wilderness. Do you remember the
Canaanite woman? She said, Lord, just give me
crumbs and I'll be happy. Jesus didn't give crumbs.
He's giving a feast. Matthew tells us they all
ate and were filled. No one was admitted. No
one left hungry. In fact, everyone ate as much
as they wanted to their heart's content. But
notice the difference in numbers. And you're
saying, is that important? And yes, I absolutely
believe it is. And these are some things that
I did not know before. When you have the meal
provided for the Jews. Now, we knew this. We
looked at this when we studied it. Twelve baskets
left. Twelve. I think we need to be careful.
Now, let me give a caveat right now. There are
some people who are very big on speculation,
and they look for numerology in Scripture, and
they take the Greek and Hebrew and assign number
value to it, and they look for hidden codes.
Don't do that. That's foolishness. It really
is. But there are times that numbers are emphasized
throughout, and we get a picture of why that
number is being used. Twelve. Well, I mean, it's
pretty obvious, right? Twelve was the number
that signified what? You have twelve tribes of
Israel. Jesus chose twelve apostles. So you have
these 12 sons of Jacob. So 12 baskets left over.
He's feeding Jews at this time, representing
12 tribes of Israel. Jesus feeding Israel. He's
reinterpreting the law for them. He is the new
and better Moses. He's the new deliverer. He
is reconstituting the true Israel. Not just those
circumcised in body, but rather those circumcised
in heart. But we come over to the Gentiles. Seven
baskets left. Why seven? Well, seven in Scripture
is the number of completion. It's the number
of fulfillment. For example, we look at Creation
Week. There were seven days, and then God finished
His work. If you go to Revelation 2 and 3, you
can see there are seven churches in Asian Minor
to which John wrote. Now those seven churches
were literal, existing, actual churches at the
time. But because there were seven of them, it
meant that the message that was given to them
is meant to apply to the entire church at all
times and all places. If you read through the
book of Revelation, you see seven everywhere.
There are seven seals, seven bowls, seven trumpets,
seven vials. All this judgment. Why seven of
these? Because God's judgment is complete. It's
finished. So, we have seven baskets left over.
What's that mean? With the feeding of the Gentiles,
the mission is brought to its completion. Yes,
the Gentiles will be brought into God's covenant.
And God will fulfill that promise he made to
Abraham. But notice the order. The feeding of
the Jews came first. And then, the feeding of
the Gentiles. Salvation is always what? To the
Jew first. And then to the Greek, Paul says in
Romans, or to the Gentile. You have these two
feedings side by side, chapter 14 and 15, to
show the flow, the order of salvation. The gospel
begins with Israel, but it doesn't remain in
Israel. It extends outward to all the nations.
I put together a small little chart. I hope you
can see it. So you have the feeding of the 5
,000 versus the feeding of the 4 ,000. Matthew
14 versus Matthew 15. The first one's primarily
Jews. The second one, primarily Gentiles. In
the first one, you have five loaves that are
broken. With the Gentiles, seven loaves. We'll
talk about that in just a moment. You have 12
baskets left over with the feeding of the Jews.
You have seven huge baskets left over with the
Gentiles. What's the message? The Messiah feeds
Israel. The Messiah feeds the nations. But why
five and seven loaves? Now, admittedly, I don't
know. Many commentators in the five loaves, now
I think this is speculation, they say, but I
think it's a good speculation, they say the five
loaves in the feeding of the Jews represents
the Pentateuch, the first five books of the Bible
known as the law, Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus,
Numbers, Deuteronomy, the Pentateuch. So that's
the law. So it shows the law given. But seven
again, we just talked about seven is? It's showing
that the mission of God is completed as the gospel
reaches the nations. But regardless if you buy
into that, don't miss the point. God promised
Abraham that he would have an heir, a seed. And
in this heir, this one singular heir, all the
nations of the world would be blessed. We come
now to Matthew 15 and we start to see the feeding
of the Gentiles is foreshadowing that very promise
being fulfilled. Because now, how did the chapter?
You have a Gentile woman, Canaanite, begging
for crumbs. But by the end of this chapter, there
is a great feast where multitudes of Gentiles
are fed to the full. God's generosity knows no
bounds. The gospel of Jesus Christ is for all
people in all nations at all times. It's going
to be fulfilled, folks. In Revelation chapter
7, verses 9 and 10, we read this. After these
things I looked, and behold, a great multitude
which no one could number. And I love this part.
Of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues.
And what are they doing? They're standing before
the throne and before the Lamb. They're clothed
with white robes. That's the righteousness of
Christ given to them. They've got palm branches
in their hands. That's that poem Sunday singing
victory to Hosanna. And they're all together,
this great throng of people. They're crying out
with a loud voice. And what are they saying?
Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the
throne and to the Lamb. Here's the fulfillment,
folks. Jesus Christ is the true bread of life.
And he is not only sufficient for Israel, but
there is enough bread to feed the entire world.
All nations. The bread of life, Jesus will feed
as many as come to him in repentant faith. I
don't think there's any better way to respond
to this particular text than by coming to the
Lord's table. Christ has provided for our hunger.
But not merely, folks, by giving us bread, but
by giving us... That's the point. At the table
of the Lord, we receive bread and the cup. And
there we remember the body and blood of Christ.
The body that was broken and the blood that was
shed for the forgiveness of our sins. In the
sacrament, though, we also see that God's grace
is abundant. Any sinner who comes to Jesus in
faith will be received. No one's excluded from
this table. But I think there's something even
more beautiful, and I said particularly to us,
this is how. Anyone Jewish in here? We're all
Gentiles. But even as Gentiles today, we do not
come to the table of the Lord as dogs expecting
crumbs. You and I come as sons and daughters
who, as Paul said now, belong to the household
of God. God did not bring you in as a slave.
He did not bring you in as a second class citizen.
He brought you in as a full heir with Jesus Christ
as a son or daughter of his. It's wonderful.
Already in the text, Jesus said, I have compassion
on the multitude. And he said these words, I
don't want to send them away hungry. The Lord
Jesus, he never sends anyone away hungry who
will come to him in faith. So my appeal to you,
as we come to the table of the Lord, we come
hungry, and let's be satisfied by the body and
blood of Christ. Let's feast upon him, and let's
commune with him in this particular meal that
he has designed for his people. It's a glorious
truth, church. God, you are never, ever a plan
B or a second thought in his mind. All this glorious
plan of salvation, God would show mercy on the
world, both Israel and Gentiles. through His
one and only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, who
bore our sins. Praise Him. Thank Him. As the
almonds are distributed today, worship Him. Give
Him praise and glory in your inner thoughts as
you meditate and contemplate on the body that
was broken and the blood that was shed that you
might be brought in to the kingdom of God. Let's
pray. Father, we thank You for Your Word. I'm
astounded by it, Lord. The depth, the... to how
profound the profundity, Lord, of your word is
extreme. Lord God, no one can fully understand
it. I believe in eternity we'll still be, Lord,
mining its depths and, Lord, just marveling at
your mind that has inspired this sacred text.
Lord, we thank you. We thank you for Jesus, Lord.
We are a hungry people, Lord God. We are a starving
people apart from him. But, Lord, we are satisfied
with what he gives us. Praise be to your glorious
name. Father, help us this morning, Lord, Lord,
to be repenting of our sins, confessing them
before you, but receiving the forgiveness that
is found in your Son. Lord, glory be to God.
We thank you for this in Jesus' name. Amen. Deacons,
would you come and distribute the elements?