+ 8th Sunday after Pentecost – July 18, 2021 +
Series B: Jeremiah 23:1-6; Ephesians 2:11-22; Mark 6:30-44
Beautiful Savior Lutheran
Milton, WA
In the Name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
I had an Old Testament professor at seminary who said that everything after Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy was a divinely inspired commentary on the Torah.
After hearing Mark’s account of Jesus’ feeding of the 5,000 again, it’s easy to see the truth of that statement. When our Lord inspired Mark to write his account of this remarkable, miraculous event, it’s as if he had one eye on the Old Testament Exodus, and the other eye on the life and work of Jesus.
Israel wandered in the wilderness; now Jesus’ disciples and Israelite crowds find themselves in a desolate place. God sent his servant Moses to lead and shepherd his flock of Israel, now God sends his greatest servant, his only begotten Son, the Good Shepherd, who will lead and shepherd his flock by laying down his life for the sheep. Moses taught God’s word to the people in the wilderness; so too, Jesus the Prophet of prophets, the Word of God in the flesh, now teaches God’s Word in the wilderness of Galilee. God miraculously fed Israel with bread from heaven; now he miraculously feeds over 5,000 people bread and fish. Moses and the elders saw God and ate and drank with him on Sinai. Now in Jesus, God himself dines with his people once again.
With Mark’s account of Jesus’ feeding of the 5,000 it’s clear that a new exodus is under way. Jesus is none other than YHWH himself who stands in the presence of his people leading them and giving them all the blessings of the new creation – the promised eternal Sabbath rest even as he is on his own exodus to restore creation by his dying and rising.
When Jesus went ashore he saw a great crowd, and he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd.
Like sheep without a shepherd. It’s both a description of the crowds lostness and an indictment against Israel’s religious leaders. Much like Jeremiah blasted the wicked prophets in his day. They had been faithless shepherds. So the Lord himself comes to shepherd.
The same is true for us. Apart from Jesus, our Good Shepherd, we are like wandering sheep. Lost in the wilderness. Astray in our sinfulness. Stubbornly following our own selfish, sheepish ways. Unable to rescue ourselves. Faithless apart from the faithfulness of our Good Shepherd.
And yet, that is exactly why Jesus came. Tired though he was, Jesus came to the crowds. Had compassion on them. Taught them. Sat with them. Fed them. Jesus is the prophet greater than Moses who, not only speaks God’s Word, he is God’s Word in human flesh. Jesus is the Good Shepherd Psalm 23 so vividly proclaims. Jesus is the greater Joshua, whose very name means YHWH saves. Now he comes to lead, guide, and rescue his people on a new exodus through his dying and rising.
There’s just one problem. It’s late in the day. It’s a desolate place. And people are hungry. Realizing all of this, Jesus’ disciples say, “Send them away to go into the surrounding countryside and villages and buy themselves something to eat.”
Sounds like the reasonable, practical thing to do. Jesus, however, has something entirely different and far better in store.
“You give them something to eat.” You can imagine the look on the disciples’ faces as they look at each other. Scan the crowd of 5,000+ people. Then look back at Jesus in utter bewilderment. “Um…Jesus. You know we’re out in the middle of nowhere, right? No towns. No food. Denarii doesn’t exactly grow on sage brush, you know.”
“How many loaves do you have?” Jesus asks. Five. And a couple of fish we bummed from a kid. Now what?
Then Jesus commanded them all to sit down in groups on the green grass…by hundreds and fifties.
Hold on. Mark tells us this is a desolate place. And yet, we hear Jesus has everyone sit down on green grass. What’s going on?
This is Jesus fulfilling what Psalm 23 and Ezekiel foretold. Jesus is the Good Shepherd feeding His flock, leading them to good pasture. This is God in the flesh doing what Isaiah had said he would do when the Messiah came. Waters breaking forth in the wilderness. Streams in the desert. Abundance out of desolation. Freedom out of slavery. Life out of death. A new creation restored, redeemed, and rescued in Jesus.
And taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven and said a blessing and broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples to set before the people. And he divided the two fish among them all. And they all ate and were satisfied. And they took up twelve baskets full of broken pieces and of the fish. And those who ate the loaves were five thousand men.
Follow the verbs that Jesus is doing. He looks up to heaven. Blesses. Breaks bread. Gives to his disciples. Feeds his people. Sounds familiar doesn’t it? Jesus uses the same verbs later in Mark 14, not in the wilderness of Galilee but in an upper room in Jerusalem. Only this time the bread is his body. The cup of wine is the new testament in his blood. Blessed. Broken. Given for you.
The feeding of the 5,000 and the Last Supper, are entrées to the marriage supper of the Lamb that Jesus invites us to and gathers us to in his dying and rising. Here, as in Galilee, and as in eternity, Jesus dwells with us, to bless us, feed us, and forgive us. Both events, the feeding of the 5,000 and the Lord’s Supper give us a foretaste of the heavenly feast to come in the promised land he is preparing for you.
Whether it’s Jesus feeding the 5,000 in Galilee, the 12 in the upper room, or us here today, we are all dining at the same table where Jesus the Good Shepherd is both host and guest. His table is prepared for you. His grace is abundant and overflowing. Come. Eat. Drink. And be satisfied.
In the Name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment