Sharing Bread Matthew 15:32-39

SHARING BREAD

³² Jesus called his disciples to him and said, "I have compassion for these people; they have already been with me three days and have nothing to eat. I do not want to send them away hungry, or they may collapse on the way."

³³ His disciples answered, "Where could we get enough bread in this remote place to feed such a crowd?"

³⁴ "How many loaves do you have?" Jesus asked.

"Seven," they replied, "and a few small fish."

³⁵ He told the crowd to sit down on the ground. ³⁶ Then he took the seven loaves and the fish, and when he had given thanks, he broke them and gave them to the disciples, and they in turn to the people. ³⁷ They all ate and were satisfied. Afterward the disciples picked up seven basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over. ³⁸ The number of those who ate was four thousand, besides women and children. ³⁹ After Jesus had sent the crowd away, he got into the boat and went to the vicinity of Magadan.

Matt 15:32-39 (NIV)

Our Lord felt deep sympathy for the crowds He was ministering to in our verses for today.  Being fully aware His audience was both helpless and harassed like sheep without a shepherd, Jesus sought further than simply healing their diseases to meeting their need of hunger as well.  His desire was to come to their aid - providing for their weakened frames with sustenance.   Isaiah tells us our Lord is a tender Shepherd who gently and carefully leads and carries the weakest and helpless members of His flock:

¹¹ He tends his flock like a shepherd: He gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart; he gently leads those that have young.   Isaiah 40:11 (NIV)

Human reason dictated the disciple’s response to their Master’s desire to feed the crowd of four thousand plus.  How easy it is for flesh to resort to human abilities and reasoning.  God is looking for servants who are willing to believe that He desires to do “pala” things – wondrously great things, things beyond the bounds of human expectations, reasoning or powers – and all through our jars of clay btw.

“All the resources of the Godhead are at our disposal!”   Jonathan Goforth

It is His desire for us to depend on Him alone – content with His provision.  Relying solely on Him – on His sure sufficiency – this is the way of rich blessing even though it may lead us down difficult paths we perhaps would not have chosen.  Being content with His provision for us will keep us from being plagued with fear and anxiety which is so prevalent in our day.  This does not mean we do not work with all our hearts as unto the Lord but it does mean we leave the results in His very capable hands.  King David writes:

¹⁵ The eyes of all look to you, and you give them their food at the proper time. ¹⁶ You open your hand and satisfy the desires of every living thing. ¹⁷ The LORD is righteous in all his ways and loving toward all he has made. ¹⁸ The LORD is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth. ¹⁹ He fulfills the desires of those who fear him; he hears their cry and saves them. ²⁰ The LORD watches over all who love him, but all the wicked he will destroy.   Psalms 145:15-20 (NIV)

 

Jesus is the lover of our souls and desires our focus to remain upon Him.  He wants us to break free from being preoccupied with self – with our lame abilities - soaking in His presence, power and love.  It is His desire for us to cease striving and know that He is God.  When Jesus relates to His guys that He wants them to feed these throngs of hungry stomachs they immediately balk.  That is so human nature.  Jesus was going to teach them yet again the lesson of His sufficiency if they would but rely on His leading and power ever preparing them to be worthy of His use – just as He prepares each obedient soul who loves Him.  He is to be our sustaining strength and His peace is to ever garrison our minds.  He desires to do the miraculous – the finger marks of God – through our vessels – are always for our good and His glory.       

Christ takes the meager portion of food that was available, blesses it and satisfies all.  There is always enough mercy and grace with Christ to fill our largest desires with abundant satisfaction.  We are never at a loss in our Master’s company.  It behooves us to remember our past experiences with Him to keep us from present doubting.

¹⁰ I am the LORD your God who brought you up out of Egypt.  Open wide your mouth and I will fill it.   Psalms 81:10 (NIV)

To demonstrate that He not only provides but overflows our cups, there were seven basketfuls of food left over.  Never desirous of wasting anything, Jesus has the disciples pick up the broken pieces.  Isn’t it great that God can use the broken pieces of our lives for our good?

²⁸ And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.   Romans 8:28 (NIV)

  

“Faith in God will always be crowned.”  William S. Plummer

 

What I glean from this:

 

·       Jesus is my sufficiency – Jesus is my strength.

·       Jesus has compassion on my frail flesh.

·       I am to remember His past workings in my life to keep me from present doubting’s.

 

 

 

Sharing Bread Matthew 15:29-31

SHARING BREAD

²⁹ Jesus left there and went along the Sea of Galilee. Then he went up on a mountainside and sat down. ³⁰ Great crowds came to him, bringing the lame, the blind, the crippled, the mute and many others, and laid them at his feet; and he healed them. ³¹ The people were amazed when they saw the mute speaking, the crippled made well, the lame walking and the blind seeing. And they praised the God of Israel.

Matt 15:29-31 (NIV)

Hurting humanity constantly sought the Healer for healing.  The signs of Christ’s power and of His goodness were neither scarce nor scanty – they still are not.  In our verses for today we discover our Lord sitting on a mountainside so that He was both visible and accessible to all – so like Jesus.  Christ received all kinds of people – the poor as well as the rich, the ordinary as well as the opulent, those in bondage physically as well as those in bondage emotionally and spiritually – the souls of the lowly, the outcast, the “undesirables” being as precious to Him as the souls of the highest and greatest in the social strata.  We are all the same at the foot of the cross are we not?  It was as if Jesus settled in to do His gracious and good works.  Isaiah tells us:

¹⁸ Yet the LORD longs to be gracious to you; he rises to show you compassion. For the LORD is a God of justice.  Blessed are all who wait for him!   Isaiah 30:18 (NIV)

 

“Stayed upon Jehovah, hearts are fully blessed, finding as He promised, perfect peace and rest.”   Frances Havergal

We also discover in our passage for today the sick coming forth seeking Him like flies to honey.  People were continually bringing their infirmed relatives and friends and laying them at Jesus’ feet as objects of pity for His healing touch.  Their illnesses spoke for them much more eloquently and clearly than mere words could have ever accomplish.  Certainly, the only way to find peace and relief to all problems plaguing humanity is to lay them at Christ’s feet.  The physically sick being normally more eager to seek His healing than those trapped in spiritual diseases – those in bondage to sin and death.  Now, just as then, the Lord Jesus eagerly desires to heal all.

² When I came, why was there no one?  When I called, why was there no one to answer?
Was my arm too short to ransom you?  Do I lack the strength to rescue you?   Isaiah 50:2 (NIV)

Yet we all desire wholeness – peace like the river and righteousness like the waves of the sea.  If we are honest with ourselves we will agree that our dreaded rebellious streak – our persistence in going our own ways – paths which are against God and His ways have caused us much harm and futility.  Yet He holds out His arms to us ever wooing and drawing us back.

²⁸ “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. ²⁹ Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. ³⁰ For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”   Matt 11:28-30 (NIV)

 

“There are no disappointments to those whose wills are buried in the will of God.”   Frederick William Faber

¹⁷ This is what the LORD says--your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: “I am the LORD your God, who teaches you what is best for you, who directs you in the way you should go.”   Isaiah 48:17 (NIV)

Faith comes in believing what God says is true – that He has our best interest at heart and that His ways work out to our advantage in the end – not that they will be easy or painless but they will be for our best.  He always has our best interest at heart.  We can trust Him.  Similar to these physically sick people who were clamoring for His touch – obviously they believed He could and would help them.  The scene described today is very reminiscent of the one described just prior to the Sermon on the Mount.  Earlier in Matthew we are told:

²³ Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people. ²⁴ News about him spread all over Syria, and people brought to him all who were ill with various diseases, those suffering severe pain, the demon-possessed, those having seizures, and the paralyzed, and he healed them.   Matt 4:23-24 (NIV)

The work of our Savior was not limited to His merely preaching the Truth.  His miraculous deeds pointed to the fact that He was Who He claimed to be – His Words authenticated by His actions.  Indeed, Jesus came teaching, preaching and healing:

³⁵ Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness.   Matt 9:35 (NIV)

 

“His love in times past forbids me to think, He’ll leave me at last in trouble to sink.”   John Newton

 

“And they praised the God of Israel.”

 

What I glean from this:

 

·       Christ’s power and goodness are neither scarce nor scanty.

·       I desire wholeness in Him Who is the dispenser of peace like the river and righteousness like the waves of the sea.

·       Jesus put action to His Words – He not only preached Truth, He healed every disease and sickness.

 

       

 

Sharing Bread Matthew 15:21-28

SHARING BREAD

²¹ Leaving that place, Jesus withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon. ²² A Canaanite woman from that vicinity came to him, crying out, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me! My daughter is suffering terribly from demon-possession.”

²³ Jesus did not answer a word. So his disciples came to him and urged him, “Send her away, for she keeps crying out after us.”

²⁴ He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel.”

²⁵ The woman came and knelt before him. “Lord, help me!” she said.

²⁶ He replied, “It is not right to take the children's bread and toss it to their dogs.”

²⁷ “Yes, Lord,” she said, “but even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters' table.”

²⁸ Then Jesus answered, “Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted.” And her daughter was healed from that very hour.

Matt 15:21-28 (NIV)

Never underestimate the power of humble persistent prayer by those who approach in faith.  This Canaanite woman’s actions clearly demonstrate to us the faithful and continuous seeking of the Master until obtaining the joy for which our soul longs for (which is to be smack dab in the center of God’s will btw).  Fervent prayer avails much.  James tells us:

The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.   James 5:16 (NIV)

 

Addressing the Lord Jesus with a Messianic title, she begs for mercy for her demonically possessed daughter.  Boldly, without pleading any merit in herself, she cries out to Christ as one deeply serious in her petition.  The devil had her daughter in dire and dreadful straights and she comes humbly and persistently seeking the Master’s mercy for her child’s relief.

 

She first meets with our Lord’s silence – He answers her not a Word. When the answers of prayer are deferred, God is teaching us to pray all the more.  The more we feel the burden the more we should resolutely pray for its removal.  Evidently, she faithfully remains undeterred in her request by His silence as our Lord’s guys encourage Him to simply get rid of her - send her away for her continuous crying out to Him.  They were more concerned with their own comfort ready to silence her troublesome constant pleas rather than considering this poor woman’s difficult circumstances.  Thankfully, our Lord never turns any away who willingly seek Him.  I am reminded of the Prophet Jeremiah’s words:

 

¹² “Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. ¹³ You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. ¹⁴ I will be found by you,” declares the LORD, “and will bring you back from captivity.”   Jer 29:12-14 (NIV)

Next, Jesus responds to His disciples – yet within the Canaanite woman’s hearing - that His mission at that time was to the lost sheep of Israel.  While the sun and rain and fruitful seasons were and are given to all nations – even those permitted to walk in their own ways - there were special favors allowed for His distinctive people, the Israelites.  Now, however, praise Jesus, there remains no distinction for those who believe as He gave His life as a ransom for many.  Paul states in Colossians:

 

¹¹ Here there is no Greek or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all.   Col 3:11 (NIV)

    

Our protagonist breaks through this discouragement and kneels before Jesus yet again requesting His helping hand.  His response this time is not what we are used to hearing from His kind lips - “It is not right to take the children's bread and toss it to their dogs.” All who approach Christ must first realize their standing (or lack of it) before Him.  The reality remains - if He were to present Himself to us in all His glory, no flesh could raise their face from the ground.  Again, this woman argues not against the Truth of His statement of her standing rather considers that while she is not a child around his table of great grace and blessings she is His dog under it and even His dog is treated with kindness and mercy.  Any crumbs falling from our Lord’s precious bread will sustain.

“Christianity is one beggar telling another beggar where he found bread.”   D. T. Niles

In her humility, she was glad to receive the “crumbs”.  Nothing is gained by contradicting any Word from Christ – Who is Truth – even if His Word seems harsh to our hearing.  Wounds from a friend can be trusted the Proverb tells us.  A living and active faith will turn what appears to be against us, for us.

“The one sole thing in myself in which I glory, is that I see in myself nothing in which I can glory.”   Catherine of Genoa

Amazed at her great faith, the Lord Jesus commends her and further, grants her request.  The writer of Hebrews tells us that without faith it is impossible to please God and that He rewards those humbly and earnestly seeking Him:

 

⁶ And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.  Heb 11:6 (NIV)

 

“It was her faith that he commended.  Several other graces shone brightly in her conduct here – wisdom, humility, meekness, patience, perseverance in prayer – but these were the results of her faith.  Because faith, of all graces, honors Christ the most, he honors faith more than any other grace.”   Matthew Henry

 

What I glean from this:

 

·       Fervent prayer of the faithful avails much.

·       When silence is the answer to my prayer I must continue praying.

·       Faith in Him pleases God.

Sharing Bread Matthew 15:15-20

SHARING BREAD

¹⁵ Peter said, “Explain the parable to us.”

¹⁶ “Are you still so dull?” Jesus asked them. ¹⁷ “Don't you see that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and then out of the body? ¹⁸ But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and these make a man ‘unclean.’ ¹⁹ For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander. ²⁰ These are what make a man ‘unclean’; but eating with unwashed hands does not make him ‘unclean.’”

Matt 15:15-20 (NIV)

Confused over Jesus’ Words - though clear – the spokesman for the group - Peter – asks the Master to explain the parable.  Surprised by their dullness – their lack of ability to get it - Jesus tells them plainly Words similar to those He spoke to the Pharisees earlier in Matthew as well as those He spoke in Luke.  What comes out of the mouth comes directly from the heart.  What makes a man unclean, common, polluted or defiled is not found outside of him – external hand washing rituals never make one clean or unclean - rather it is found inside of him, in the condition of his inner being.  In reality, the mouth is merely the heart’s microphone.

³⁴ “You brood of vipers, how can you who are evil say anything good? For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks. ³⁵ The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him. ³⁶ But I tell you that men will have to give account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken. ³⁷ For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned.”  Matt 12:34-37 (NIV)

 

⁴⁵ “The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For out of the overflow of his heart his mouth speaks.”   Luke 6:45 (NIV)

 

Paul tells us clearly in Romans that it is impossible for those who are controlled by the sinful nature to please God.  The unbelieving heart cares only for his sinful interests with no regard for God and His ways of life and peace.  When our mindsets and aspirations are of the sinful nature it leads to death in all its forms – physical and spiritual.  There is no defilement in the products of God’s goodness only in the products of our corrupted hearts.  Every word or deed flowing from the mouth and hands – whether good or evil - finds their source from within the spring of the heart:

 

⁶ The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace; ⁷ the sinful mind is hostile to God. It does not submit to God's law, nor can it do so. ⁸ Those controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God.  Romans 8:6-8 (NIV)

 

“A baptism of holiness, a demonstration of godly living is the crying need of our day.”   Duncan Campbell

Further, Paul warns us in Galatians that those who consistently choose to live according to the sinful nature will not inherit the kingdom of God.  These are the things which defile a person.  Paul’s list is much akin to our Lord’s in our verses for today which Jesus states makes a man unclean:

 

¹⁹ The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; ²⁰ idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions ²¹ and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.    Gal 5:19-21 (NIV)

Yet, praise God, we no longer have to be enslaved in these ways – held captive in this death sentence of our own choosing.  Out of love, Jesus came to cleanse us from all unrighteousness and heal us of all our transgressions – saving us, as King David states, from being ensnared by the work of our hands.  He came to set the captives free from the death of these actions – purifying us by His blood and giving us life in abundance through the power of the Holy Spirit.  Paul writes in 1 Corinthians:

⁹ Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders ¹⁰ nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. ¹¹ And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.  1 Cor 6:9-11 (NIV)

 

“The heart is constituted such that the only way to dispossess it of an old affection is by the expulsive power of a new one…and when God stands revealed as an object of confidence to sinners—and where our desire after Him is not chilled into apathy by that barrier of human guilt which intercepts every approach that is not made to Him through the appointed Mediator…it is when released from the spirit of bondage…and admitted into the number of God’s children, through the faith that is in Christ Jesus, the Spirit of adoption is poured upon us—it is then that the heart, brought under the mastery of one great and predominant affection, is delivered from the tyranny of its former desires and  the only way in which deliverance is possible”.   Scottish Pastor, Thomas Chalmers, 1780-1847

 

“Make and keep me pure within.”   Charles Wesley

 

What I glean from this:

 

·       What comes out of my mouth is directly from my heart.

·       The sinful nature cannot please God.

·       Jesus came to set the captive free.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sharing Bread Matthew 15:12-14

SHARING BREAD

¹² Then the disciples came to him and asked, “Do you know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this?”

¹³ He replied, “Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be pulled up by the roots. ¹⁴ Leave them; they are blind guides. If a blind man leads a blind man, both will fall into a pit.”

Matt 15:12-14 (NIV)

We must give careful thought to our ways – put our hearts upon our conduct – have a firm resolve regarding who is our guide or whose words we choose to follow?  It can make a difference between being an “oak of righteousness” or being “pulled up by the roots.” Sinfulness can spread and increases in one’s life unless it is effectively combated by conscious effort.  Jesus alone has the Words of eternal life:

⁶⁶ From this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him. ⁶⁷ “You do not want to leave too, do you?” Jesus asked the Twelve. ⁶⁸ Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. ⁶⁹ We believe and know that you are the Holy One of God.”    John 6:66-69 (NIV)

 

⁵ This is what the LORD says: “Cursed is the one who trusts in man, who depends on flesh for his strength and whose heart turns away from the LORD. ⁶ He will be like a bush in the wastelands; he will not see prosperity when it comes. He will dwell in the parched places of the desert, in a salt land where no one lives.”   Jer 17:5-6 (NIV)

“The words of Jesus shall stand when heaven and earth shall pass away.  If you grasp only half of a promise, you shall still find it true….His lips are most sweet, and drop with honey still.”   Charles H. Spurgeon  

³⁵ “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.”   Matt 24:34-35 (NIV)

Isaiah prophesizes regarding the coming Savior who came seeking to make all oaks for His glory:

¹ The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, because the LORD has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, ² to proclaim the year of the LORD's favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, ³ and provide for those who grieve in Zion--to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the LORD for the display of his splendor.   Isaiah 61:1-3 (NIV)

 

In our verses for today the disciples were perplexed over Jesus’ offensive Words towards the Pharisees.  They thought it strange that their Master would say things that would cause rife.  While Jesus ever demonstrated care in His Words towards others – always sensitive in giving the right Word at the right time being fully aware of what every heart needed to hear, He never evaded Truth and duty for fear of offence either.  Truth must always be acknowledged and duty done and if Truth is offensive it is the fault of the hearer not the speaker of the Truth.

 

The disciples did not want the Pharisees to go away angry or displeased with Christ’s Words and sought to have Him modify or at least explain them.  Weak believers are sometimes more concerned than they should be not to see unbelievers offended by Truth.  In this fallen world, Truth will always offend.  Believers are not called to offend, but we are called to get God’s Word – true Truth – out.  In our day of tolerance, this of course is not readily embraced - to say the least.   Like Jeremiah, it should weary us when we hold God’s Word in:

 

“I am ridiculed all day long; everyone mocks me. ⁸ Whenever I speak, I cry out proclaiming violence and destruction. So the word of the LORD has brought me insult and reproach all day long. ⁹ But if I say, "I will not mention him or speak any more in his name," his word is in my heart like a fire, a fire shut up in my bones. I am weary of holding it in; indeed, I cannot.”   Jer 20:7-9 (NIV)

 

God gives Jeremiah (and us) the following Word:

 

²⁸ “Let the prophet who has a dream tell his dream, but let the one who has my word speak it faithfully. For what has straw to do with grain?” declares the LORD. ²⁹ “Is not my word like fire,” declares the LORD, “and like a hammer that breaks a rock in pieces?”   Jer 23:28-29 (NIV)

“Scripture is like a lion.  Who ever heard of defending a lion?  Just turn it loose; it will defend itself.”   Charles H. Spurgeon

Do we want to follow a blind guide or do we want to follow God?

What I glean from this:

·       God’s Word is True Truth – never changing - and is eternal.

·       I must not water down Truth to make it more palatable to hearing ears.  Jesus did not do this.

·       Scripture can defend itself.