The Seventh Sunday after Trinity – Pr. Anderson sermon
St. Mark 8:1-9 “Sent Away Full”
July 14, 2024 | Christ Lutheran Church
In Nomine Iesu
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Lord God, heavenly Father, in the wilderness by Your Son You abundantly fed four thousand men, besides women and children, with seven loaves and a few small fish: We beseech You, graciously abide among us with Your blessing, and keep us from covetousness and the cares of this life, that we may seek first Your kingdom and Your righteousness, and in all things needed for body and soul, experience Your ever-present help; through Your Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one true God, now and forever. Amen. (Evangelical Lutheran Hymnary, by Veit Dietrich, p. 160)
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. (Rom. 1:7, etc.)
The sermon text for today is taken from the 8th chapter of the Gospel according to St. Mark. We read selected verses in Jesus’ name:
In those days, when again a great crowd had gathered, and they had nothing to eat, [Jesus] called His disciples to Him and said to them, “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 far away.”
And His disciples answered Him, “How can one feed these people with bread here in this desolate place?”
And they ate and were satisfied. And they took up the broken pieces left over, seven baskets full. And there were about four thousand people. And He sent them away.
These are Your words, heavenly Father. Sanctify us by Your truth, Your Word is truth. Amen. (Joh. 17:17)
In Christ Jesus, who we give all praise, as He is the king of creation; giving us our daily bread and never neglecting us, dear fellow redeemed:
With the excessive heat that has been plaguing our area for the last few weeks, it is not that hard to see how dead the grass is. Near our apartment the only thing that is growing out of the dirt are the weeds. With everything dead, it is hard to believe the animals can find things to eat. I wondered that until I watched a mule deer eating one of those giant weeds. I’ve wondered about the same thing back in the Midwest when the snowbanks are so high it looks like everything will starve. Well, the animals manage to survive the harsh climates. It is easy to go to Scripture and see how God provides for the animals He created to inhabit the earth. As the times change, it is easy to get wrapped up in the topics and wonder if we will ever have any issues getting food on our tables. We are not sitting on a hillside in the middle of a desert right now, but in this world we will survive. We will survive because Jesus tells us so. He sends us away into the world filled with food that satisfies us forever.
For us to be sent out, we must dive into our text for today and hear how Jesus is able to accomplish this. In those days, when again a great crowd had gathered, and they had nothing to eat, [Jesus] called His disciples to Him and said to them, “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 far away.” There is a lot happening in this text. With the first three words, St. Mark is starting a shift in His Gospel. Jesus is around the height of His ministry. He not only has His followers, but large crowds have been forming. Even now, they are in Gentile territory and after performing some miracles, word has spread about Jesus and His actions.
The disciples are away from home and as our text says, it looks like they aren’t even close to civilization. Jesus only has the people on His mind. He has been supplying them with His Word, the best part of this huge gathering, and He also knows their physical needs. They are hungry. So hungry in fact, that Jesus tells us they will not be leaving here to get food. Some have sat and listened to Jesus for three days, not breathing a word of complaint, and their hunger sits at an extreme level. This should be an easy test for the disciples. They are with the Lord, who has the power over two thousand demons, heals the sick and infirm, and has fed over five thousand people. They shouldn’t be able to underestimate the mercy of the Lord when He tells them of His great compassion. They should know what this means. Let’s take the disciples’ knowledge and apply it to our lives.
To set the tone, we hear the disciples to the Savior, “How can one feed these people with bread here in this desolate place?” Is it because of who the people are? Is it because of where the people are? I’m sure it was daunting when you looked out into the vast wilderness and there you are with a group of over four thousand people. Should we be with them? This is Jesus’ second miracle of feeding. We have this great book, God’s Holy and blessed Word that we hear from every single week. How do we do, when we think about the mercy that God has on us? It can sometimes be “woe is me. Nothing can possibly make my situation better. God can’t help me.” The list of excuses goes on. It sounds harsh, but there are times we need to hear and see the unbelief we fight with every day. Here is Jesus, out in the wilderness with all these people, with no reason to be out there as God from above. He has everything, and yet He said to them, “I have compassion on the crowd, because they have been with Me now three days and have nothing to eat.”
How do we fight the thoughts that we can have and how do we put our hope in the one who has this great compassion? St. Paul offers us some great advice. “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect” (Romans 12:2). It sounds simple but even I can admit there are times it is not. We wish so much to have that heaven on earth feeling. Scripture warns us about being lazy, and it is this mindset that we can fall in with the rest of the world. As we stray and get caught in the comforts of this world which don’t provide much comfort at all, it is hard then to turn and see with our eyes the care and compassion our Lord has for us. When we are slow with our faith, thanks be to God He is ever so patient with us. Jesus with patience reveals how great His compassion is. He sends this crowd away full.
With great compassion and of course knowing what is going to happen, He directed the crowd to sit down on the ground. And He took the seven loaves, and having given thanks, He broke them and gave them to His disciples to set before the people; and they set them before the crowd. And they had a few small fish. And having blessed them, He said that these also should be set before them. And they ate and were satisfied. The people’s needs were met. They were not going to collapse on the road. Jesus once again performed a great miracle of multiplying bread and fish for the masses. Their most basic need was food. He provides this food after first feeding them with what is most important, His Word.
The people are going to leave this desolate place knowing the truth. There is only one place they can search out to get everything they need. All that the world has for basic survival comes from God. We confess, “God certainly gives us daily bread without our prayer, even to all the wicked” (The Fourth Petition of the Lord’s Prayer), so it is without doubt that Jesus will send the people away full. He fills their stomach and their souls. There is no denying how God takes care of all His creation and sends His one and only Son into the world. So as the food that caused the fall was “a delight to the eyes” and it made us sick, the food that Jesus gives, brings restoration.
God knew all along that He would restore you with His food. “For I will satisfy the weary soul, and every languishing soul I will replenish” (Jeremiah 31:25). This is God’s providence, to care for your every need. In the moments where you want to look elsewhere, He reveals to you His patience. He doesn’t give up on this desolate, sinful, and barren world. “The LORD is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit. Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the LORD delivers him out of them all” (Psalm 34:18-19). This Psalm continues with the words in verse twenty, “He keeps all his bones; not one of them is broken.” Jesus knows your afflictions. He knows exactly what you need to survive this life. He will send you away today full.
He fulfilled those words of Psalm Thirty-four for you. He had faith the Father was the provider and knew the plan for the world’s salvation. So, the Savior fed the world with His life on the cross where none of His bones were broken. You can have faith as you witnessed a miracle already this morning. You have forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation. The world is desolate, but as He tells you in Scripture how He provides for His creation, you are worth so much more. There will be times where you think you are suffering the worst of all, and in that moment, Jesus tells you to look at Him. In His great compassion for the world, He died and rose, so your needs are met in this life and in the world to come.
To teach you how this is possible, Jesus reveals how great His power is. People were not just fed. And they took up the broken pieces left over, seven baskets full. And there were about four thousand people. And He sent them away. They witnessed the power He has. The world witnesses this power as they see how God takes care of His creation. He waters, feeds, and for the jewel of His creation He sends the Savior. “For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. But what fruit were you getting at that time from the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death. But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life” (Romans 6:20-22). The world pushes the fruit of sin, and Jesus feeds you with His righteousness. He had perfect faith in the Father’s plan so you can have faith that He looks out for you today, tomorrow, and the next day. How do you know you are fed? You receive your bread through the prayer that He taught you to pray and the Word you are hearing right now. This divine service is for your nourishment. Prayers for strength, Word for guidance and comfort, and elements that you feel and taste on your tongue.
Here is your food and what glorious food it is. If God did not care for your well-being, you wouldn’t be here today. The Lord cares so much for you. He knows it is tough to live in this world yet, the world is blessed to have the creator it has. He never gave up on it even when He had every reason. By the taking of forbidden fruit, He sends His Son who is food. With His great power, you will never be forgotten. You will leave today full. He feeds you physically. He feeds you spiritually. And He feeds you eternally as our epistle lesson today concludes, “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 6:23). Amen.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost; as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, forevermore. Amen.
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