Exodus 16:2-21/St John 6:1-15
In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.
He ransomed them from death by the offering of a lamb as the substitute. He freed them from slavery and oppression by drowning Pharaoh and his army in the Red Sea, while they passed through on dry ground. He satisfied their thirst with sweet water by means of a log. A month has passed since their exodus from Egypt, their cattle and livestock travel with them, along with their little ones, their families and possessions. They live free and walk in the mercy and protection of the Lord.
And the whole congregation of the people of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness, saying, “Would that we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt.” It is as if they were saying, “We were enslaved, treated as vermin, ruthlessly oppressed by Pharaoh, but at least we had bread and meat!”
They’d rather be forcibly enslaved and full, than know hunger and live free in the love of the Lord. They grave and covet their former life; their life of bondage and false hope. True freedom is unnerving to them. How tragic their priorities! Their flesh is repelled by act of breathing free and living by the countenance of the Lord.
Are we so different? The history of Israel is real history, whatever the cable channels may have to say about the Bible. The history of Israel is your history. The Law says, “You shall not covet.” But do you not long for the honor, the wealth, the happiness, the life of ease of others? Do we not wish and dream about those things that we do not have? How often have we in grudging discontent lived with what God has given, restless about what we do not have, all the while neglecting thankful generosity with what we do have?
When our Lord, in His wisdom, withholds from you that which is meant by daily bread, He does it according to His good and gracious will, in steadfast love for you; that you may repent of your covetousness, which is idolatry. He does it to teach you to rely evermore on His fatherly provision, to trust anew in His generosity and bounty, to look to Him for all that is needed in body and soul.
For what do you need that His hand does not provide? As you confess in hymnody, “He who to this day has fed me / And to many joys has led me / Is and ever shall be mine / He who ever gently schools me, / He who daily guides and rules me / Will remain my help divine.” (LSB 732:2)
And so it is that our Lord hears the murmuring of His people, and answers their prayer, selfish though it is. He rains bread from heaven for them. He gives them meat. By this you shall know that it was the Lord who brought you out of the land of Egypt. He again proves to them that their salvation is entirely by His hand, according to His good and gracious will, and not by any merit or worthiness in them.
Your salvation is entirely by His hand as well, not by any merit or worthiness in you. For He who acted in human history to redeem His people from slavery, entered into history, as a human, to redeem His people from slavery to sin, bondage to death, and oppression by the devil. Christ, the Living Bread, who is the Lamb of God, came down from heaven for you.
And all of history points to this reality. The Passover, the exodus from Egypt, the water from the Rock, the manna from heaven – these are all real history, they are your history, but they are also types, shadows of the reality that was to come. For God is always doing the same thing over and over again, never tiring to instruct His children, teaching them, teaching us, to see and hear and trust in Him alone.
When Jesus fed the 5,000 on the mountain on bread and fish in abundance, He was fulfilling what had been foreshadowed in the wilderness with Israel and what was done by Elijah with the widow’s oil and flour. Only with Christ there is an abundance – 12 baskets left over! It does not rot. It does not grow worms and stink. He gave before they asked, and He supplied more than was needed. This is the Gospel; the full and free forgiveness of sins that is yours by faith in Christ. Our Father in heaven supplies even before you ask and gives more than is needed, grace upon grace, until your cup runneth over.
What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare His own Son but gave Him up for us all, how will He not also with Him graciously give us all things? (Rom 8:31-32)
Your fathers grumbled against Moses and Aaron and the Lord’s mercy. Here He gives you His called and ordained servant to speak in His stead and by His command to forgive all your sins.
Your fathers passed through the sea and the cloud and drank from the Rock. Here the angel of death passes over as you are brought through the waters of Holy Baptism and given to drink from the well of salvation, even Christ Himself.
Your fathers ate manna in the wilderness and died. Here the true Bread from heaven is given, the flesh of the Son of Man, which gives life to the eater. Whoever eats His flesh and drinks His blood has life in him.
There is no need to hoard, no need to question His mercies, for they are new each morning. He continues to provide bread for the body and food for the soul. He is not your Pharaoh, your slave master. His yoke is easy, His burden light. He is your King and He has redeemed you with His precious blood that you may be His own and live under Him in His kingdom and serve Him in everlasting righteousness innocence, and blessedness,
Just as He is risen from the dead, lives and reigns to all eternity. This is history, and it is most certainly true.
In the Name of the Father and + of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.
He ransomed them from death by the offering of a lamb as the substitute. He freed them from slavery and oppression by drowning Pharaoh and his army in the Red Sea, while they passed through on dry ground. He satisfied their thirst with sweet water by means of a log. A month has passed since their exodus from Egypt, their cattle and livestock travel with them, along with their little ones, their families and possessions. They live free and walk in the mercy and protection of the Lord.
And the whole congregation of the people of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness, saying, “Would that we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt.” It is as if they were saying, “We were enslaved, treated as vermin, ruthlessly oppressed by Pharaoh, but at least we had bread and meat!”
They’d rather be forcibly enslaved and full, than know hunger and live free in the love of the Lord. They grave and covet their former life; their life of bondage and false hope. True freedom is unnerving to them. How tragic their priorities! Their flesh is repelled by act of breathing free and living by the countenance of the Lord.
Are we so different? The history of Israel is real history, whatever the cable channels may have to say about the Bible. The history of Israel is your history. The Law says, “You shall not covet.” But do you not long for the honor, the wealth, the happiness, the life of ease of others? Do we not wish and dream about those things that we do not have? How often have we in grudging discontent lived with what God has given, restless about what we do not have, all the while neglecting thankful generosity with what we do have?
When our Lord, in His wisdom, withholds from you that which is meant by daily bread, He does it according to His good and gracious will, in steadfast love for you; that you may repent of your covetousness, which is idolatry. He does it to teach you to rely evermore on His fatherly provision, to trust anew in His generosity and bounty, to look to Him for all that is needed in body and soul.
For what do you need that His hand does not provide? As you confess in hymnody, “He who to this day has fed me / And to many joys has led me / Is and ever shall be mine / He who ever gently schools me, / He who daily guides and rules me / Will remain my help divine.” (LSB 732:2)
And so it is that our Lord hears the murmuring of His people, and answers their prayer, selfish though it is. He rains bread from heaven for them. He gives them meat. By this you shall know that it was the Lord who brought you out of the land of Egypt. He again proves to them that their salvation is entirely by His hand, according to His good and gracious will, and not by any merit or worthiness in them.
Your salvation is entirely by His hand as well, not by any merit or worthiness in you. For He who acted in human history to redeem His people from slavery, entered into history, as a human, to redeem His people from slavery to sin, bondage to death, and oppression by the devil. Christ, the Living Bread, who is the Lamb of God, came down from heaven for you.
And all of history points to this reality. The Passover, the exodus from Egypt, the water from the Rock, the manna from heaven – these are all real history, they are your history, but they are also types, shadows of the reality that was to come. For God is always doing the same thing over and over again, never tiring to instruct His children, teaching them, teaching us, to see and hear and trust in Him alone.
When Jesus fed the 5,000 on the mountain on bread and fish in abundance, He was fulfilling what had been foreshadowed in the wilderness with Israel and what was done by Elijah with the widow’s oil and flour. Only with Christ there is an abundance – 12 baskets left over! It does not rot. It does not grow worms and stink. He gave before they asked, and He supplied more than was needed. This is the Gospel; the full and free forgiveness of sins that is yours by faith in Christ. Our Father in heaven supplies even before you ask and gives more than is needed, grace upon grace, until your cup runneth over.
What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare His own Son but gave Him up for us all, how will He not also with Him graciously give us all things? (Rom 8:31-32)
Your fathers grumbled against Moses and Aaron and the Lord’s mercy. Here He gives you His called and ordained servant to speak in His stead and by His command to forgive all your sins.
Your fathers passed through the sea and the cloud and drank from the Rock. Here the angel of death passes over as you are brought through the waters of Holy Baptism and given to drink from the well of salvation, even Christ Himself.
Your fathers ate manna in the wilderness and died. Here the true Bread from heaven is given, the flesh of the Son of Man, which gives life to the eater. Whoever eats His flesh and drinks His blood has life in him.
There is no need to hoard, no need to question His mercies, for they are new each morning. He continues to provide bread for the body and food for the soul. He is not your Pharaoh, your slave master. His yoke is easy, His burden light. He is your King and He has redeemed you with His precious blood that you may be His own and live under Him in His kingdom and serve Him in everlasting righteousness innocence, and blessedness,
Just as He is risen from the dead, lives and reigns to all eternity. This is history, and it is most certainly true.
In the Name of the Father and + of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
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