Matthew 14:13-21

[0:00] We'll begin in Matthew chapter 14 starting at verse 13. It says, When Jesus heard of it, he departed then by ship into a desert place apart.

[0:12] And when the people had heard thereof, they followed Him on foot out of the cities. And Jesus went forth and saw a multitude and was moved with compassion toward them, and He healed their sick.

[0:24] And when it was evening, His disciples came to Him saying, This is a desert place, and the time has now passed. Send the multitude away that they may go into the villages and by themselves victuals.

[0:36] But Jesus said unto them, They need not depart, Give ye them to eat. And they say unto Him, We have here but five loaves and two fishes. He said, Bring them hither to me.

[0:48] And He commanded the multitude to sit down on the grass, and took the five loaves and the two fishes, and looking up to heaven, He blessed and break, and gave the loaves to His disciples, and the disciples to the multitude.

[1:03] And they did all the eat and were filled, and they took up of the fragments that remained twelve baskets full, and they had eaten more than five thousand men beside women and children.

[1:16] And that finishes up that passage of Scripture in Matthew 14 verses 13 through 21 here, the account of Jesus Christ feeding the multitude of five thousand men beside women and children.

[1:31] We don't know how many women there were, we don't know how many children there were, but all we know for certain is that there were five thousand men, and there were others there as well.

[1:42] But back to verse 13, it says, When Jesus heard of it, He departed this by ship into a desert place, a part of which the people had heard thereof, they followed Him on foot out of the cities.

[1:53] And Jesus went forth and saw a great multitude, and was moved with compassion toward them, and He healed their sick. So here we have Jesus Christ, regardless of the reason that you think that He may have went into this desert place, or this wilderness area, regardless of what you may think or what I may say, Jesus Christ departed.

[2:13] It says that He went to a place, a party, He went to a place that was away from other people, but folks, Jesus Christ had addressed it himself in the Sermon on the Mount, in a city that you cannot hide a city that is set upon a hill.

[2:28] It cannot be hidden wherever Jesus Christ went. There were droves of people that were searching for, there were droves of people that were following Him, some of them for spiritual means, some of them for physical means, some of them for this, and some of them for that.

[2:44] Some were just curious and they wanted to see what this miracle man from Galilee would perform next, but some of them, I believe, were genuinely seeking the Son of God.

[2:55] They were genuinely seeking something that was spiritual, something that they had avoid in their lives, something that they had never felt before in their life, and they felt that this man could feel that void.

[3:07] And it says that Jesus Christ went into this desert place and that the people they followed, and as I've already said, no matter where Christ went, the people followed folks.

[3:18] In today's times, nowadays, it doesn't matter where the people of Almighty God are going, it seems like the world isn't interested in the things of God. It seems like it doesn't matter how much the Word of God is preached or how much the people of God testify of the goodness of God and the graciousness of God and the forgiveness of God.

[3:41] People are indifferent to the things of God. They're indifferent to the Bible. They're indifferent to heaven. They're indifferent to hell. Me and Burn have spent a lot of time on street corners.

[3:53] We've spent a lot of time talking to people and in out tracks. It amazes me that the people, it doesn't matter what you preach, it doesn't matter how loud or how soft that you're preaching or that you're teaching or that you're telling them a taxi of people will walk by you like you're not even there, like nothing is going on.

[4:15] This is the indifference of people to the things of God and to the Word of God that tells me that they're indifferent to the state of their soul. They don't care one way or the other.

[4:27] It doesn't matter to them. All they're concerned about is what they're going to do with the time that they have right there at that moment in time, in that minute in time. What's going to go on with their life, what they're going to do later on that evening, what they're going to do the next day and the things of God do not matter to them.

[4:49] Jesus Christ, he departed somewhere and these people follow regardless of why they went, regardless if they were just seeking miracles, regardless of if they were genuinely seeking something spiritual, regardless of if they were seeking healing for themselves or for other people, for family members, maybe for spouses or for children, regardless of why it was the people followed him, but people now in 2022 could care less about the things of God, could care less about Jesus Christ and folks have a feeling that that number is getting fewer and fewer of the people that really do care about the things of God and they want to see people saved, they want to see people repent, they want to see people believe the gospel, they want to see people look on the cross and live and receive life and life more abundantly.

[5:46] Two thousand years ago, people followed Jesus wherever he went. There's multiple accounts of this going on in the scriptures. Why was it when the four friends carried their sick friend unto Jesus, why was it that they had to let him in through the roof because the crowd was so massive and it was packed so tight around Jesus' cross they couldn't carry him through so they carried him up to the rooftop and they removed a part of the roof and they let him down there.

[6:18] People were anxious for Jesus, people, hey, and like I said, it may have just been their own curiosity or wanting to see a healing or experience a healing for themselves but regardless they were reinterested in the things of God.

[6:35] To one extent or another, folks nowadays they like that. Jesus went forth and saw a great multitude whose movement of compassion raised God toward them and he healed their sick.

[6:48] He was moved with compassion toward them. I know I taught on the compassion of God and the compassion of Christ and I know that I preached on the compassion of Christ. I understand all these things, folks.

[7:00] Almost every time you see Christ move in the scriptures, not every time you see Him move toward someone that needs healing or moves toward someone that needs a demon cast out or moved towards someone regardless of their situation.

[7:15] I'm persuaded, it was with compassion that Jesus Christ healed the woman with the issue of blood. I'm persuaded, it was with compassion that Jesus Christ healed the man barter mayors.

[7:28] I'm persuaded that when Jesus Christ came to where I was and saw me in my sick state, saw me in my sinful state, saw me laying there dead at the bottom of the barrel.

[7:40] It was with compassion that He reached down and saved my unworthy soul. It was with compassion that He lifted me up and it's with compassion that He is carrying me home.

[7:52] Hallelujah. He looked at me in the crowd, this huge crowd, at least 5,000 men and a number of women and children as well. He looked out on this crowd and he looked on them with compassion.

[8:06] They had followed Him. Hey, listen, He had sailed across the lake. These people had followed Him by foot. This shows their earnestness, regardless of their motives. It shows their earnestness to get to where Jesus was.

[8:19] It shows their want and it shows their desire to go to where the Son of Man was. It shows that what they wanted was a touch or what they wanted was to see something.

[8:31] But regardless, it shows that they were interested in Jesus Christ. And what He could do, and He looked over with compassion when God saved your soul.

[8:42] It was out of compassion. God's not obligated. God is not obligated to save one of us. I praise God that the Scripture says what they do. I praise God that the Scripture says that if we confess with our mouth and we believe in our heart that we shall be saved.

[8:58] I thank God for the Old Testament Scriptures that's quoted there in Joel chapter 2. It says, When whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be delivered.

[9:12] The post we are delivered out of compassion. We are delivered out of love. We are delivered out of grace. We are delivered from all these things. Praise God. Jesus Christ said himself, it was His meat to do the Father's will.

[9:27] What was the Father's will? It was for Christ to come and uprope Himself. A living, perfect sacrifice to offer Himself. Ask the sacrifice that we needed as the perfect Lamb of God because the perfect Lamb didn't exist other than Him.

[9:45] Hallelujah. And it was His meat to do the Father's will. He looked over with compassion. Jesus hung on the cross for us in compassion. Thank you Lord. In compassion He hung there.

[9:57] Yes, it was to do the Father's will. And I praise God for that. But it was with compassion that cross hung there. And He suffered and bled and died. It was with compassion. And even as He hung there, even as He hung there bleeding to death with the last bit of physical life going out of His body, He had compassion.

[10:17] When He looked down and He saw His mama, He looked down and He saw John. And He said, He told John, He said, Behold your mother. And He told His mother, He said, Behold thy son. And He told John, Hey, take care of her.

[10:29] You take care of Mary there. Hey, that was with compassion that Jesus Christ made that statement in the Scriptures. It was with compassion that He done that. Jesus Christ has all compassion.

[10:42] He has all power to destroy. He has all power to heal. He has all power to save. He has all power to cast in the hell. But praise God. He has all power and all compassion to save our unworthy souls.

[10:58] Hallelujah. Thank you Lord. He looked down with compassion and went with evening. His disciples came to Him saying, This is a desert place. And the time has now passed. Send the multitude away that they may go into the villages and by themselves victors.

[11:14] This shows the difference between Christ and the disciples. Christ had compassion. What did the disciples say? Well, these are the people that have been following Jesus around during His ministry.

[11:27] These are the people that would have heard the sermon on the mountain. These are the people that would have seen the sick people heal. That would have seen lepers' clings. That would have seen deaf ears open. Seeing blind eyes open.

[11:39] They would have seen these things. And yet they come to Jesus. They say send the multitude away. Send them away. Let them go buy their own food. Let them go get their own victors.

[11:50] Let them go do this book. And once again, I know we've already hit 2022 once this thing will end again though. Hey, the disciples of Christ ain't a whole lot different now than what they were 2,000 years ago.

[12:02] We need to have the same compassion that our Savior has. When we look out and we see someone in need, I'm not talking about a brother or sister in Christ in need. I'm talking about anyone in the community.

[12:15] I'm talking about one of your neighbors. The Bible says I love thy neighbor. As thyself it doesn't say what kind of neighbor, what color of neighbor, or anything else. It says to love your neighbor.

[12:27] And if you're not showing compassion for your neighbor, if you're not showing these things of your neighbor, and especially if we are not sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ with our neighbor, we are not being compassionate.

[12:43] We've got to be compassionate, sir. We are no different than these disciples here. They didn't show much compassion. They said this is a desert place. I'm pretty sure Jesus knew what kind of place they were in.

[12:55] They said this is a desert place. And time has now passed. They said the multitude of the way they may go into the villages by themselves, I think they were doing this out of their own want.

[13:06] They had gone across there with Jesus, looking for rest, looking for solace of some kind, looking for a place to lay their head for just a little while, and they hadn't found it yet.

[13:18] That's why they crossed the lake, but they hadn't gone there yet. They hadn't gone to the rest. They're saying send these people away so that we can accomplish what we came over here to do, to rest, to regenerate, to rejuvenate, to recharge, if you want a phrase like that.

[13:35] Send these folks away and by themselves, victims. But Jesus said unto them, they need not depart, give ye them to eat. They need not depart.

[13:46] They don't need to go away. You need to feed them folks. We need to feed the world. We need to feed our neighbors. We need to feed people lost or saved. We need to feed them with the gospel of Jesus Christ.

[13:59] Yes, the lost people need to hear the gospel so that they can believe and repent and be saved. But the saved people need to feed up with the same gospel that saved my soul.

[14:10] I don't need the gospel any less now than I needed it 13 and a half years ago, and God Almighty saved my soul from the hell that it deserves.

[14:21] Amen, brother. They don't need to depart. You feed them, God. You feed them. They say unto him, we have here but five loaves and two fishes.

[14:32] Now in the gospel of John, you see, it was a young lad that came. I don't know where this lad came from. I don't know. I have no idea. He just kind of walks over the pages of Scripture.

[14:45] And God Almighty does over in 1st Kings. It says it's a young lad, and he has five loaves and two fishes and the disciples here. It says they say unto him, we have but five loaves and two fishes.

[14:58] We have but five loaves and two fishes. And he said, bring them hither to me. Bring them hither to me. You can't do anything with those.

[15:09] Yes, you've been walking around with me. Yes, you've been listening to me preach. Yes, you've heard me teach. And yes, you've seen me perform miracle after miracle. But you obviously don't have the faith.

[15:20] And you certainly don't have the power to do with these five loaves and these two fishes. What the Son of Man is capable of doing. You bring those five loaves.

[15:31] You bring this miniscule amount of food unto me. And I will show you what the Son of Man can do. I will show you what Almighty God can do. And He, and they brought these five loaves and these two fishes.

[15:44] And it says He commended the multitude to sit on the grass and took the five loaves and the two fishes. And looking up to heaven, He blessed and breathed and gave the loaves to His disciples and the disciples to the multitude.

[15:59] After Jesus Christ Himself, after Jesus Christ, who is all-powerful, who is omniscient, who is omnipotent, after Jesus Christ, you have gathered this bit of food.

[16:11] He looked up toward the heaven and He thanked the Father that the Father had provided. Hey, Paul, should it be any different for me or for you, regardless of what we're eating, what time we're eating, what we're doing, if God has provided, you should look up toward the heaven and give Him thanks for He is under no obligation to do so.

[16:35] Amen. God will sustain us, yes. Thank you, Paul. This was Jesus looking to the Father. As I said in the intro to this thing, Jesus done a lot of things He done in a human way to teach the disciples how they should do.

[16:54] Disciples, they need to take this little bit of food and they would need to look up toward heaven and they would need to thank God. They would need to ask God to bless it. They would need to break it.

[17:05] They would need to disperse it. It says that Jesus Christ done these things. He looked up toward heaven. He blessed and He break and He dispersed it to the disciples and they to the multitude.

[17:17] Folks, when we get a little bit of the manner from heaven, when we get a little bit of the word of God, that you flip back over or flip forward ahead to John chapter 6, you'll see Jesus Christ after this account here and after He's done walked upon the sea, He makes it to the other side and He starts having a discussion with some people on the other side of the lake and He says, you labor for the meat that perishes.

[17:42] But hey, I'm here to tell you about the meat that doesn't perish. I'm here to tell you about the meat that gives life and life everlasting. Hey, Jesus Christ is the one that offers that.

[17:54] Jesus is the one that is, that meat He is, that bread He is, the bread from heaven. He's the manna that fell down in the wilderness. He's the manna that falls on our spiritual tables day by day.

[18:07] Jesus Christ is the bread of life. He's the water of life. He is life. Hallelujah to the Lamb of God. Thank you Lord. Praise God.

[18:18] Glory to God. He blessed and break it to those to the disciples and the disciples to the multitude. When we get that little bit of the manner from heaven, we need to spread it out to the multitude.

[18:32] Regardless, regardless of their motives, regardless of who they are, regardless of if they're a lifelong enemy of yours, regardless if it's someone that's talked about you or talked about your family, you spread that manner to the multitude.

[18:49] I don't see anywhere in this account, nor Mark or Luke or John's account. I don't see anywhere that the disciples went around to the ranks of the people that were sending down.

[19:01] Some of them were about 50, some of them were about hundreds, hundreds according to the scriptural accounts. But I don't see the disciples asking them where they were the night before. I don't see them asking what sins have you committed today.

[19:13] I don't see them asking any of those days. Cross did not tell them to do that. He said that you should feed them. He told them you will feed them. He said bring the things to me.

[19:24] I will multiply them. I will make a way, but you will be the ones to feed them. Hey folks, Jesus Christ has multiplied salvation over and over and over.

[19:36] I'm not saying someone could be saved more than I am, but there's been a lot of people saved since this account was written 2,000 years ago. Salvation has been multiplied.

[19:48] Redemption has been multiplied. And why is that? Because someone somewhere down the line has seen the bread of life and they didn't keep it to themselves.

[20:00] But they went out and they spread it among the multitude. They preached, they taught, and they shared the good news of Jesus Christ. Therefore, salvation has been multiplied.

[20:13] We need to do this. As an individual church, here I was three-pointered. And as the church worldwide, the church needs to do this.

[20:27] The church must evangelize. I'm not saying you have to go out every day and run up and down the sidewalks. I'm not saying that at all. But share the gospel with whomever you come into contact with.

[20:39] And however you might come into contact with them, share the gospel, share this bread. Share this bread that falls from heaven. Jesus Christ has shared it with you.

[20:50] You go and you share it with the multitudes. You share it with the people. You share it with the friends. You share it with the enemies. Share it with your family.

[21:01] Share it with neighbors. Share it with everyone that you can possibly come into contact with. And that you can possibly share it with. Share this bread that comes down from heaven.

[21:12] And they did all eat and were filled. And they took up all the fragments that remain. 12 baskets full. They did all eat and they were filled. And these are the things that we need to share.

[21:25] I've read it in study vows. And I've heard other people teach it that the real miracle and all of this is that Jesus Christ was able to take five loaves and two fishes and 5,000 plus people were able to eat from just those five loaves.

[21:40] And those two fishes, hey folks, that is not the miracle here at all. The miracle was that Jesus Christ multiplied the food that went out. baskets of fragments that were lifted up and taken back with them. There were 12 baskets full, five loaves and two fishes, with enough to build one basket full. The miracle is not that 5,000 people could share in such little food. The miracle was that the Creator was here with the disciples and He was multiplying His own creation to feed another part of His creation. That was the miracle and I've heard that talk folks that the miracle was that 5,000 plus people could eat off of five loaves and two fishes. Five loaves and two fishes, five loaves of people. That's not the miracle at all. They took up the fragments that remained and there were made 12 baskets full. And they that had eaten were about 5,000 men beside women and children. Most God is able to provide anything that we need. God will sustain us as long as God wants to. If God's got work for us here, I promise you

[22:56] He will sustain you. You may not be large, you may not eat on a stake every night, you may not have a dictator every night, but God will sustain you one way or another He didn't send a seven course meal out here in the wilderness for these folks. He didn't have fine dining, He didn't have chairs and tables and all these other things. He didn't have to find his wine glasses or anything along those lines. In fact, I don't even see here that there was water available, but folks never close enough to a water source where they would have had to worry about that. But Jesus Christ provided for them. I praise God that when He saved me, He didn't just leave me for dead. He didn't just say, okay, you're saved now, go on out there and you take care of yourself. No God will take care of His creatures. And He will take care of His chosen. He will take care of the elect. He will take care of those that have been born again. Most He took care of me even before I was saved. Even now I would be in hell right now. God will take care of us and He will provide for us. Why didn't He tell Elijah? Go back to Elijah for a second. 1st

[24:10] Kings 17. He told Elijah. Elijah, once again, he just kind of waltzes out over the pages of Scripture when he's introduced to the book of 1st Kings. But he told Elijah, he said, go down the honorgond the brick chair. He said, go down there.

[24:25] I've commanded ravens. Not look toward those ravens, not try and coach those ravens in. He said, God said, I have commanded the ravens to feed you. They're going to bring you meat. They're going to bring you what will sustain you. He was right there at the brook chair. He had a water supply, but it took God to command the ravens to bring the meat unto him. But hey, when the brook started driving up, he had dried up. Yes, God could have used supernatural means to do that, but to teach Elijah to depend on God and not depend upon himself. He said, you need to get down to Zerah, but there's a widow woman down there, and I have commanded her to sustain you. I've commanded her to feed you. And when Elijah gets down there, he says, bring me a little bit of water and a vessel. And when you're on your way back, give me a little bit of bread. Bring me back a morsel of bread. We all know the account that there with a woman. It was her and her son. And she said, I was just gathered up this little bit. I was going to make one cake. And my son and I were going to die, but hey, Elijah told her he said the barrel would not go empty.

[25:36] Well, the clues will not go empty. Hey Christian brother and sister, I promise you, regardless of how bad it gets, regardless of how desperate you get, if you can crawl back to the clues, if you can get back to the barrel, there will be something there to sustain you. That's God's promise. It ain't mine.

[26:02] That is God's promise. He said, he'd go with us always. He'd go with us all the way, even to the end. And he's the same yesterday, today, forever. If he said it then, it applies now.

[26:13] Praise God. What did God say to Isaiah? And Isaiah 43, he was speaking to Isaiah about an adulterous people, his own people, Jacob, Israel. He said, tell them to fear not.

[26:28] He said, fear not, fear not, for I have redeemed thee. I have called thee out by name. When thou passes through the waters, I will be with thee. And through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee. When thou wakest across the fire, thou shalt not be burned. Neither shall the flame kindle upon thee. That was a promise to the Israel life. But hey, I've got basically the same promise through Jesus Christ, with God the Father, because I belong to him. Regardless of how thick the water gets, regardless of how hot the fire gets, regardless of how hungry I think I might be, God will sustain me, God will keep me.

[27:11] That is his promise and his word. When we get the gospel, when we get the man, when we get the bread, distribute that bread to the multitude, to as many as you possibly can. And don't get discouraged. Not everybody's going to be receptive. Like I said earlier, it amazes me the people that just walk by and pretend that you're not even there. The people that'll throw a hand up, or the people will say, no, I'm good. They knew how not good that they were. If they understood that, most of them would stop and want to talk. Most of them would be interested, but they're indifferent.

[27:52] Share the gospel. Share this manna. Share this bread with the indifferent world that you live in, that you are not all, but that you are in. Share the gospel with these people. Share the goodness of God with them. Share the word of God with them. This word, it fades this word. It sustains, it'll quench thirst, it'll cure hunger, it'll do all these things spiritually. I'm speaking here, it'll cure these things. Every man is born with the hunger inside of him to worship something.

[28:23] The problem is that most of the world nowadays is a worshiping God. They're worshiping self, they're worshiping spouse, worshiping children, worshiping things, they're worshiping everything, but the Creator. Everybody, everybody worships something. Even atheists worship something.

[28:43] They'll worship music, they'll worship poetry, they'll worship musicians, they'll worship everybody, worship something. I believe that's something that God put in every one of us, but it is up to us where that worship is directed. It is up to us, Christians, it is up to us Christians to direct people to whom that worship should be directed to. It should be directed toward the Creator.

[29:12] It should be directed toward God the Father. It should be directed toward Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is the one that gave His life, that we could have life and have it more abundantly. Jesus Christ is the one that suffered and died and suffered the wrath of God that you and I would never know what the wrath of God would feel like on our bodies and we would certainly never know what it felt like for all eternity. Jesus Christ suffered that so that you and I wouldn't have to, the world needs to know these things, the multitude needs to know these things. You've got the spread of life, you've got the man from heaven, you've got the word of God, get out there and share it with the multitudes. And that preaches just as much to me as it does anybody. Share it with the multitudes.

[29:57] Folks Christ performed an incredible miracle here. The five loaves and two fishes, thank you, Lord. And that 5000 plus people, we don't know what the plus was. They had to pass through Christ's hand and remember why He done it, remember why the multiplication took place to begin with.

[30:20] He looked on them with compassion. We need to look on this world that we live in with compassion. We need to look on the lost with compassion. Look on the wicked. Look on the prostitute. Look on the pill heads. Look on the drugs with compassion. Look on them all with compassion. Folks, I know I told Burger in time and time again, I told other people as well. We seem so surprised when we hear the news, when we listen to the news and we read the newspaper and we read about rape, we read about murder, we read about addicts and how they just can't keep the habit. We read about all these things.

[31:01] And it shouldn't surprise us because from the beginning, from the beginning, heathens have been heathens and pagans have been pagans and heathens will do what heathens will do and pagans will do what pagans will do. We as the children of God, we as the Blood Vault Church of Christ, we're the ones that are to be peculiar. We're the ones that are to be separated from the world. We're to be separated from them. We're not the act like they do. And folks, I promise you, those are the people that are not going out and spreading the bread. They're not going out and spreading to the multitudes. What do they spread? They spread wickedness. They spread their own desires. They spread their own lust. They spread their own things around. It is not the bread of God that these people spread around. It is not the word of God that they spread around. It is a higher job. No one else is going to do it. According to time and time again, Paul wrote to the Corinthian church that the gospel be hid. It's hidden to those that are lost. It's not hid from me. I've got the gospel. I've received the gospel. I've received Jesus Christ. But if I hide it, I'm hiding it to no one but those that are out there lost and sinned and on their way to hell. And if that's the case, shame on me. Spread the gospel. Spread it to the multitudes. Spread the bread around. God bless you. Go ahead.