St John 6:1-15/Exodus 16:2-21/Galatians 4:21-31
In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.
Our Lord tested the Israelites in the desert. Take only what is needed for each day. They failed. They horded and stockpiled; they feared that He wouldn’t provide again the next day. They didn’t trust God to take care of them. They failed. But still He fed them. Forty years, without fail, meat at night; bread in the morning. If we are faithless, He is faithful.
So too our Lord tested Philip in the wilderness, Where are we to buy bread, so that these people may eat? He said this to test him, for Jesus Himself knew what He would do. Philip failed. “Not even 200 days wages would be enough for each person to get a bite!” Andrew mentioned a boy with a few loaves and fish; but what is that? Might as well be a packet of saltines. Andrew failed. Philip failed. They didn’t trust that Jesus would provide; that He would care for them.
But our Lord does not chastise Philip or Andrew. He simply says, Have the people sit down. I will take care of you.
Jesus responds and provides even before the people grumble, even before they ask. It is written, Before they call I will answer; while they are yet speaking I will hear (Is 65:24). In the wilderness, the Israelites grumbled against Moses; but really their complaint was not with the servant, but with the Lord. They did not fear, love, and most of all, trust, in God above all things. They revealed their false gods – their bellies. They complained about meat pots and cucumbers. “We may have been in slavery, but at least we had food.”
Will He who brought them out of bondage in Egypt leave them to starve in the desert? Surely not! Will He who did not spare His only begotten Son, but gave Him up for us all, fail to give us all things?
I don’t know what the correct answer would have been. Maybe it was Abraham’s response to his beloved son, The Lord will provide. Maybe it was St John’s line to the angel, Sir, you know. Maybe Philip should have simply reverted to the old Sunday School answer, Where are we to buy bread, so that these people may eat? “Jesus.” In any case, that was the right answer. What they could not buy, what they could not grow, what they had not earned or deserved, and more than they could contain – Jesus provided. Baskets to overflowing!
Philip and Andrew failed the test because they were sinners, bent on themselves, deformed by their hungers and their lusts. They could not see or hear or think. But Jesus came to seek and to save sinners. And He declared them to be holy; to be His saints; to have His innocence and righteousness. He even made them Apostles. But more than that, He made them true sons of Abraham; children of the free woman; and inheritors with the only-begotten Son of God.
The answer that they could not provide, the miracle they could not imagine, was provided for them. They ate and were full. They were forgiven for their lack of faith; for their lack of fear, love, and trust in Christ above all things.
Our problem is that we are so infected with sin, so obsessed with the mundane reality and details of our work-a-day lives that we forget that it is God who provides. We add up our debts: mortgages, credit cards, student loans, car payments, kids’ tuition. We add in the cost of the stuff we think we want: new cars, college educations, vacations, a new kitchen, several large gifts to our favorite charities. We add something for our futures; for our life of leisure. And the total is unbelievable! It’s far greater than 200 denarii! Greater than 200 days work; than $20,000. That’s just the beginning; just the interest. What will we do? Where will we obtain it? A half million dollars worth of bread wouldn’t be sufficient!
Repent. Your mind is on the wrong things. Where the Israelites failed, where Philip and Andrew failed, is precisely where we also fail.
The Lord will provide. Sir, you know. Jesus. These are the answers to life’s troubles and worries. Does your Father in heaven not delight in your prayer? Has He not taught you to pray, Give us this day our daily bread? This day. Daily. Enough for right now. Today. Tomorrow will worry about itself.
Now daily bread includes everything that has to do with the support and needs of the body. Everything. And in case you need a little elaboration on everything: “food, drink, clothing, shoes, house, home, land, animals, money, goods, a devout husband or wife, devout children, devout workers, devout and faithful rulers, good government, good weather, peace, health, self-control, good reputation, good friends, faithful neighbors,” and in case anything has been left out, “and the like.”
The Lord will provide. Sir, you know. Jesus. These are the answers to life’s troubles and worries.
Gather a day’s portion every day. That was the rule under Moses; under the Law. But with Christ there is bread to abundance. Twelve baskets full leftover! And it does not spoil. It does not rot. Why? Because the bread that rained down from heaven in the wilderness was just that, bread. But Jesus is here to give something else; something more. He is the Living Bread come down from heaven.
And so closely connected to the utterance for daily bread – what is needed to sustain the body – is the request for that which sustains the soul – forgive us our trespasses; daily, each and every day. And to teach us that they are intimately connected, our Lord puts them together in His prayer with that simple word, “And.” Give us this day our daily bread AND forgive us, this day, our daily trespasses – today, tomorrow, each and every day until eternity.
This, dear friends, is the fulfillment of what our Lord promised the Israelites – He has rained Bread from heaven for you. Jesus Christ, the Living Bread from heaven has come down to feed you on His own flesh and blood – true food and true drink. He is the Bread by which man alone lives and He also is the very Word that proceeds from the mouth of God!
The words of Isaiah have come to pass: Come, buy and eat! He who has no money. Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your labor for that which does not satisfy? Listen diligently to Me, and eat what is good, and delight yourselves in rich food. Incline your ear, and come to Me; hear, that your soul may live (55:1-3).
For as impossible as feeding a million in the wilderness with bread and quail from heaven; as impossible as feeding 15,000 on the mountainside from five loaves and two fish – so it is as impossible that one Man die for the sins of the whole world; that God should love those who despised and hated Him; and give His life to those who killed Him. Impossible. But still it happened. And still Jesus is saying, Sit down. I’ll take care of it.
He doesn’t explain or argue. He rebukes neither Philip nor Andrew. He just tells them to have the people sit down. Then He passes out bread and fish, as much as they want. And when they are full, the disciples gather the fragments. Each of the twelve fills his basket. The Lord saw their need better than they did. Before they asked, He answered. And He provided such that they could not contain the bounty.
He does the same for you. You, brothers and sisters, are like Isaac, children of promise; begotten from above, from the heavenly Jerusalem. You are free. Why are you anxious about tomorrow? Which of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?
Our Lord knows better than you what you need. You say, “I can’t pay my bills,” He says, Take, eat, this is My Body. You say, “My kids are a disaster,” He says, I forgive you. You say, “I’m weak, dying; my family is gone; my life is a mess;” He says, I remember you. I confess you before My Father.
He is the Prophet come into the world; the King of the Jews who rules by grace and makes men saints by the power of His Word. He provides. He knows what you need. He will give you all things. He loves you. He died and rose for you. He is coming back.
So rejoice with Jerusalem, and be glad for her, all you who love her; that you may nurse and be satisfied. You have come up to the House of the Lord; be glad. His mercies are new every morning. And the true Passover, that is, the day of our Lord’s sacrifice, is nearly at hand. And your eternal Sabbath rest draws nearer. Amen.
In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.
Our Lord tested the Israelites in the desert. Take only what is needed for each day. They failed. They horded and stockpiled; they feared that He wouldn’t provide again the next day. They didn’t trust God to take care of them. They failed. But still He fed them. Forty years, without fail, meat at night; bread in the morning. If we are faithless, He is faithful.
So too our Lord tested Philip in the wilderness, Where are we to buy bread, so that these people may eat? He said this to test him, for Jesus Himself knew what He would do. Philip failed. “Not even 200 days wages would be enough for each person to get a bite!” Andrew mentioned a boy with a few loaves and fish; but what is that? Might as well be a packet of saltines. Andrew failed. Philip failed. They didn’t trust that Jesus would provide; that He would care for them.
But our Lord does not chastise Philip or Andrew. He simply says, Have the people sit down. I will take care of you.
Jesus responds and provides even before the people grumble, even before they ask. It is written, Before they call I will answer; while they are yet speaking I will hear (Is 65:24). In the wilderness, the Israelites grumbled against Moses; but really their complaint was not with the servant, but with the Lord. They did not fear, love, and most of all, trust, in God above all things. They revealed their false gods – their bellies. They complained about meat pots and cucumbers. “We may have been in slavery, but at least we had food.”
Will He who brought them out of bondage in Egypt leave them to starve in the desert? Surely not! Will He who did not spare His only begotten Son, but gave Him up for us all, fail to give us all things?
I don’t know what the correct answer would have been. Maybe it was Abraham’s response to his beloved son, The Lord will provide. Maybe it was St John’s line to the angel, Sir, you know. Maybe Philip should have simply reverted to the old Sunday School answer, Where are we to buy bread, so that these people may eat? “Jesus.” In any case, that was the right answer. What they could not buy, what they could not grow, what they had not earned or deserved, and more than they could contain – Jesus provided. Baskets to overflowing!
Philip and Andrew failed the test because they were sinners, bent on themselves, deformed by their hungers and their lusts. They could not see or hear or think. But Jesus came to seek and to save sinners. And He declared them to be holy; to be His saints; to have His innocence and righteousness. He even made them Apostles. But more than that, He made them true sons of Abraham; children of the free woman; and inheritors with the only-begotten Son of God.
The answer that they could not provide, the miracle they could not imagine, was provided for them. They ate and were full. They were forgiven for their lack of faith; for their lack of fear, love, and trust in Christ above all things.
Our problem is that we are so infected with sin, so obsessed with the mundane reality and details of our work-a-day lives that we forget that it is God who provides. We add up our debts: mortgages, credit cards, student loans, car payments, kids’ tuition. We add in the cost of the stuff we think we want: new cars, college educations, vacations, a new kitchen, several large gifts to our favorite charities. We add something for our futures; for our life of leisure. And the total is unbelievable! It’s far greater than 200 denarii! Greater than 200 days work; than $20,000. That’s just the beginning; just the interest. What will we do? Where will we obtain it? A half million dollars worth of bread wouldn’t be sufficient!
Repent. Your mind is on the wrong things. Where the Israelites failed, where Philip and Andrew failed, is precisely where we also fail.
The Lord will provide. Sir, you know. Jesus. These are the answers to life’s troubles and worries. Does your Father in heaven not delight in your prayer? Has He not taught you to pray, Give us this day our daily bread? This day. Daily. Enough for right now. Today. Tomorrow will worry about itself.
Now daily bread includes everything that has to do with the support and needs of the body. Everything. And in case you need a little elaboration on everything: “food, drink, clothing, shoes, house, home, land, animals, money, goods, a devout husband or wife, devout children, devout workers, devout and faithful rulers, good government, good weather, peace, health, self-control, good reputation, good friends, faithful neighbors,” and in case anything has been left out, “and the like.”
The Lord will provide. Sir, you know. Jesus. These are the answers to life’s troubles and worries.
Gather a day’s portion every day. That was the rule under Moses; under the Law. But with Christ there is bread to abundance. Twelve baskets full leftover! And it does not spoil. It does not rot. Why? Because the bread that rained down from heaven in the wilderness was just that, bread. But Jesus is here to give something else; something more. He is the Living Bread come down from heaven.
And so closely connected to the utterance for daily bread – what is needed to sustain the body – is the request for that which sustains the soul – forgive us our trespasses; daily, each and every day. And to teach us that they are intimately connected, our Lord puts them together in His prayer with that simple word, “And.” Give us this day our daily bread AND forgive us, this day, our daily trespasses – today, tomorrow, each and every day until eternity.
This, dear friends, is the fulfillment of what our Lord promised the Israelites – He has rained Bread from heaven for you. Jesus Christ, the Living Bread from heaven has come down to feed you on His own flesh and blood – true food and true drink. He is the Bread by which man alone lives and He also is the very Word that proceeds from the mouth of God!
The words of Isaiah have come to pass: Come, buy and eat! He who has no money. Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your labor for that which does not satisfy? Listen diligently to Me, and eat what is good, and delight yourselves in rich food. Incline your ear, and come to Me; hear, that your soul may live (55:1-3).
For as impossible as feeding a million in the wilderness with bread and quail from heaven; as impossible as feeding 15,000 on the mountainside from five loaves and two fish – so it is as impossible that one Man die for the sins of the whole world; that God should love those who despised and hated Him; and give His life to those who killed Him. Impossible. But still it happened. And still Jesus is saying, Sit down. I’ll take care of it.
He doesn’t explain or argue. He rebukes neither Philip nor Andrew. He just tells them to have the people sit down. Then He passes out bread and fish, as much as they want. And when they are full, the disciples gather the fragments. Each of the twelve fills his basket. The Lord saw their need better than they did. Before they asked, He answered. And He provided such that they could not contain the bounty.
He does the same for you. You, brothers and sisters, are like Isaac, children of promise; begotten from above, from the heavenly Jerusalem. You are free. Why are you anxious about tomorrow? Which of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?
Our Lord knows better than you what you need. You say, “I can’t pay my bills,” He says, Take, eat, this is My Body. You say, “My kids are a disaster,” He says, I forgive you. You say, “I’m weak, dying; my family is gone; my life is a mess;” He says, I remember you. I confess you before My Father.
He is the Prophet come into the world; the King of the Jews who rules by grace and makes men saints by the power of His Word. He provides. He knows what you need. He will give you all things. He loves you. He died and rose for you. He is coming back.
So rejoice with Jerusalem, and be glad for her, all you who love her; that you may nurse and be satisfied. You have come up to the House of the Lord; be glad. His mercies are new every morning. And the true Passover, that is, the day of our Lord’s sacrifice, is nearly at hand. And your eternal Sabbath rest draws nearer. Amen.
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