Reflections on Scripture with Dr. Leins
| Time Stamp | Transcript |
| 0:00 | [Music] |
| 0:07 | it was |
| 0:08 | [Music] |
| 0:15 | hello |
| 0:17 | today |
| 0:18 | let’s talk about the compassion of Jesus |
| 0:24 | in Matthew 14 verses 13-28 Jesus |
| 0:28 | received some horrible news |
| 0:31 | his beloved cousin John the Baptist had |
| 0:34 | been beheaded why |
| 0:36 | John the Baptist had denounced King |
| 0:38 | Herod Antipas |
| 0:40 | Herod was divorced and he had married |
| 0:42 | his brother’s wife herodias who also was |
| 0:45 | divorced |
| 0:47 | John the Baptist had denounced their |
| 0:48 | marriage as a transgression against |
| 0:51 | Mosaic law |
| 0:52 | here’s the point |
| 0:54 | John had made herodias the object of |
| 0:57 | public humiliation by his preaching and |
| 1:00 | she was going to get even |
| 1:02 | herodias had a daughter Josephus the |
| 1:04 | historian names her Salome |
| 1:07 | when Herod had his next birthday party |
| 1:09 | herodias had her daughter dance for |
| 1:13 | Herod |
| 1:14 | the dance was so enticing and |
| 1:16 | provocative to King Herod that he |
| 1:17 | promised to give her up to half of his |
| 1:20 | kingdom |
| 1:21 | this was all part of the plan of |
| 1:23 | herodias |
| 1:24 | she told her daughter to ask the king |
| 1:26 | for the head of John the Baptist which |
| 1:29 | she did |
| 1:30 | Harry did not want to kill John |
| 1:33 | but he had made a public promise up to |
| 1:35 | half of his kingdom so |
| 1:37 | Herod got an exotic dance herodias got |
| 1:41 | the head of John |
| 1:43 | and Jesus got the awful news that his |
| 1:46 | cousin was dead |
| 1:47 | such was the story of salome’s Dance of |
| 1:50 | Death |
| 1:51 | at this point Our Gospel lesson picks up |
| 1:55 | Jesus has received the news about John’s |
| 1:57 | murder |
| 1:58 | and the Savior wants to have some time |
| 2:00 | alone |
| 2:02 | Matthew explains that Jesus withdrew by |
| 2:05 | boat and tending to have |
| 2:08 | some time in a lonely place |
| 2:11 | however the people heard that Jesus was |
| 2:13 | departing my boat and they began to run |
| 2:15 | along the Seacoast and as they ran when |
| 2:19 | they came to a village or a town they |
| 2:21 | told everyone that they were running to |
| 2:23 | meet Jesus |
| 2:25 | the fame of the Lord was already |
| 2:27 | widespread and so the numbers grew |
| 2:28 | quickly |
| 2:29 | the crowd ran through town after town |
| 2:32 | picking up hundreds and hundreds along |
| 2:34 | the way |
| 2:36 | it was I think like a giant human |
| 2:38 | snowball |
| 2:39 | finally there were thousands rolling to |
| 2:42 | meet Jesus |
| 2:43 | now point one |
| 2:45 | more than a tummy ache |
| 2:48 | Jesus and the disciples had sailed |
| 2:50 | across the northern tip of the sea and |
| 2:52 | when they landed and went ashore Jesus |
| 2:54 | saw a great multitude of people |
| 2:56 | approaching Matthew writes in Matthew 14 |
| 2:59 | 14 |
| 3:01 | and when he went ashore he saw a great |
| 3:03 | multitude and he felt compassion for |
| 3:06 | them |
| 3:07 | and healed their sick |
| 3:09 | now this word compassion is important |
| 3:12 | for a couple of reasons Christ’s |
| 3:14 | compassion is important because ancient |
| 3:17 | writers typically did not describe what |
| 3:20 | people were feeling actions were |
| 3:22 | supposed to speak for emotions but here |
| 3:26 | Matthew is very clear Matthew wants us |
| 3:28 | to know that Jesus had compassion |
| 3:31 | as you may know in the Greek New |
| 3:34 | Testament compassion comes from the |
| 3:35 | Greek word splagna |
| 3:38 | meaning bowels or intestines |
| 3:42 | to have compassion is to be moved to |
| 3:45 | one’s stomach |
| 3:47 | but Jesus had more than a stomachache |
| 3:50 | our Lord was suffering from the personal |
| 3:53 | loss of his dear cousin John and he was |
| 3:56 | looking at a great mass of humanity |
| 3:58 | suffering Humanity moving in his |
| 4:01 | Direction |
| 4:03 | also Christ’s compassion is important |
| 4:05 | because Matthew’s gospel provides us |
| 4:07 | with a recurring pattern of Miracles |
| 4:09 | that occur whenever Jesus has compassion |
| 4:14 | Matthew 9 Jesus heals every kind of |
| 4:16 | disease and every kind of sickness he |
| 4:19 | has compassion because the people were |
| 4:21 | harassed and downcast like sheep without |
| 4:23 | a Shepherd Matthew 14 this passage |
| 4:27 | Jesus has compassion and heals their |
| 4:30 | sick and feeds five thousand Matthew 15 |
| 4:33 | Jesus feels compassion and feeds four |
| 4:36 | thousand people Matthew 18 Jesus tells a |
| 4:40 | parable of a king whose slave owed him |
| 4:43 | an incredible sum of money the king had |
| 4:46 | compassion and forgave the entire debt |
| 4:49 | this was a parable about our sin debt |
| 4:52 | and God’s compassion and willingness to |
| 4:55 | forgive us our trespasses |
| 4:57 | and finally Matthew 20 Jesus is moved |
| 5:00 | with compassion and heals two men with |
| 5:02 | blindness Matthew’s point is this |
| 5:05 | when Jesus is moved with compassion |
| 5:07 | it is more than a child’s tummy ache |
| 5:10 | The Compassion of Jesus means that the |
| 5:13 | Son of God is about to display his power |
| 5:15 | and his love on a Monumental scale |
| 5:19 | Jesus has compassion |
| 5:21 | because of physical circumstances like |
| 5:23 | hunger and sickness and physical |
| 5:26 | suffering and |
| 5:28 | Jesus has compassion because of |
| 5:31 | spiritual circumstances like the power |
| 5:34 | of sin |
| 5:36 | demonization or spiritual suffering by a |
| 5:40 | person |
| 5:41 | or a group of people |
| 5:43 | now point two you give them something to |
| 5:46 | eat |
| 5:47 | the miracle of the feeding of five |
| 5:49 | thousand is told in all four of the |
| 5:52 | gospels and by reading and combining all |
| 5:54 | of the accounts it’s possible to get a |
| 5:56 | more complete picture |
| 5:58 | according to John chapter 6 it seems |
| 6:01 | that Jesus saw the multitude right away |
| 6:03 | and asked Philip where they might get |
| 6:06 | something for these people to eat |
| 6:09 | the response of Philip was that even if |
| 6:12 | they had one half years wages they |
| 6:14 | couldn’t possibly feed all of these |
| 6:15 | people |
| 6:16 | then it appears that Jesus drops the |
| 6:20 | issue the Lord went about healing and |
| 6:22 | teaching we have no idea how many hours |
| 6:24 | Jesus continued his ministry of healing |
| 6:26 | and teaching but when it was evening the |
| 6:29 | disciples went to the Lord |
| 6:31 | now one can imagine that Philip had been |
| 6:33 | thinking all day about the question |
| 6:35 | Jesus had asked where might we buy bread |
| 6:38 | that the people may eat |
| 6:40 | and I suspect that Philip had spoken |
| 6:42 | with the other disciples where do you |
| 6:45 | think we can find some bread |
| 6:47 | but after a whole day of ministry and |
| 6:49 | having located no Provisions except five |
| 6:52 | small Loaves and two fish the disciples |
| 6:55 | were now desperate |
| 6:57 | perhaps it appeared to the disciples |
| 7:00 | that Jesus was not aware of their |
| 7:02 | situation and perhaps he had gotten |
| 7:05 | distracted with all of the healing and |
| 7:07 | teaching |
| 7:09 | they saw the problem they knew about the |
| 7:12 | situation didn’t Jesus see the problem |
| 7:14 | didn’t Jesus know about the situation |
| 7:17 | and if he did not know why didn’t he |
| 7:19 | know |
| 7:20 | and if he did know why wasn’t Jesus |
| 7:23 | doing anything about it |
| 7:25 | the disciples needed help and they |
| 7:27 | needed it now have you ever felt that |
| 7:30 | way about God |
| 7:33 | things have gone wrong |
| 7:34 | you really wonder if God has his eye on |
| 7:36 | you |
| 7:38 | look Lord |
| 7:39 | don’t you see what’s happening to me |
| 7:42 | would you please do something to help me |
| 7:44 | Lord |
| 7:46 | I’m starting to get desperate |
| 7:48 | I need your help now |
| 7:53 | the First Response of the disciples was |
| 7:55 | to suggest that Jesus |
| 7:57 | just send the people home |
| 7:59 | the disciples didn’t know how to remedy |
| 8:01 | the difficulty so they just asked God to |
| 8:03 | make it go away |
| 8:05 | regardless of how sick they were or how |
| 8:08 | hungry the people might have been |
| 8:11 | regardless of |
| 8:13 | what good things God might have planned |
| 8:16 | the disciples just wanted things to get |
| 8:18 | back to normal |
| 8:20 | so often that’s our priority too |
| 8:23 | we’re facing an unexpected problem we |
| 8:26 | don’t know what’s going to happen and we |
| 8:28 | don’t know how to fix it |
| 8:29 | so we pray God won’t you please just |
| 8:32 | make this go away |
| 8:35 | I also think that typically we don’t |
| 8:39 | think that God is teaching us something |
| 8:42 | and we don’t care if God has designed |
| 8:44 | this to be a blessing we just want it to |
| 8:48 | end |
| 8:49 | surely we don’t typically thank God that |
| 8:52 | he will use all these things for good |
| 8:54 | for those who love him and are called |
| 8:55 | according to his purposes and we don’t |
| 8:57 | rejoice in our sufferings because |
| 9:00 | suffering produces patience and patience |
| 9:01 | produces character and character |
| 9:03 | produces hope and hope will not |
| 9:04 | disappoint us because the love of God |
| 9:06 | has been poured into our hearts no |
| 9:07 | mostly we just want the problem to end |
| 9:12 | so not not so surprisingly |
| 9:15 | that was what the disciples first |
| 9:16 | requested Jesus please send them home |
| 9:22 | but the Lord |
| 9:24 | is not distressed by the situation |
| 9:26 | he certainly was not taken by surprise |
| 9:30 | did Jesus have a plan well yes of course |
| 9:33 | Jesus had a plan |
| 9:35 | his plan would would be to demonstrate |
| 9:37 | the love and the power of God and the |
| 9:39 | compassion of the Savior at the same |
| 9:42 | time his plan would build the faith of |
| 9:44 | all who believe in him of course Jesus |
| 9:46 | had a plan |
| 9:48 | but his particular plan was not what his |
| 9:50 | followers had expected |
| 9:53 | you give them something to eat said |
| 9:55 | Jesus |
| 9:57 | what kind of a plan is that |
| 10:00 | we we can’t do that we don’t have |
| 10:02 | anything to give them Five Loaves and |
| 10:05 | two fish is not enough to feed five |
| 10:06 | thousand people |
| 10:09 | how often is it that our response when |
| 10:11 | Jesus wants to involve Us in his |
| 10:13 | ministry is to say we can’t |
| 10:18 | point three the bigger picture |
| 10:20 | Jesus asked the hungry people to sit |
| 10:23 | down they’re arranged in groups of 50 |
| 10:25 | and 100 they look like a garden with |
| 10:28 | plots of vegetables |
| 10:30 | Jesus Takes the bread |
| 10:32 | and He blesses it breaks it |
| 10:35 | gives it to the disciples to distribute |
| 10:37 | everyone eats five thousand people and |
| 10:39 | more all satisfied they gather the |
| 10:42 | leftovers and fill 12 baskets full |
| 10:46 | how is it possible that one minute |
| 10:47 | there’s depression anxiety and emptiness |
| 10:50 | and the next minute |
| 10:52 | there’s joy and relief and abundance |
| 10:54 | that beloved is the pattern of God whose |
| 10:58 | name is Yahweh yire God my provider |
| 11:01 | that’s always been his great salvation |
| 11:04 | story |
| 11:05 | the message of the feeding of the five |
| 11:07 | thousand is strangely reminiscent of the |
| 11:10 | feeding of the people of Israel with |
| 11:12 | Manna From Heaven they also received |
| 11:15 | miraculous bread in the wilderness |
| 11:18 | is Jesus pointing backwards to the |
| 11:21 | faithfulness of God my provider who |
| 11:23 | knows what his people need and for whom |
| 11:26 | nothing is impossible is Jesus pointing |
| 11:29 | backwards to Moses in order to teach his |
| 11:32 | disciples that they too are part of |
| 11:34 | God’s Great salvation history or |
| 11:38 | is Jesus pointing forward |
| 11:40 | with the feeding of the five thousand is |
| 11:42 | Jesus pointing forward to tell his |
| 11:44 | disciples what he is about to do |
| 11:47 | soon there will be another meal that |
| 11:50 | demonstrates the faithfulness of God God |
| 11:52 | my provider who knows what we need and |
| 11:56 | for whom nothing is impossible |
| 11:58 | is Jesus pointing to miraculous bread |
| 12:01 | and a holy Cup in his Lord’s Supper |
| 12:05 | once again the disciples will see the |
| 12:07 | power and the love of God to provide all |
| 12:09 | that they need |
| 12:10 | forgiveness salvation and eternal life |
| 12:13 | for all who believe or is Jesus looking |
| 12:16 | even beyond the cross and Resurrection |
| 12:18 | to show all of his disciples the Great |
| 12:22 | salvation story of God in the fullness |
| 12:26 | of time |
| 12:27 | the last day is coming soon and the |
| 12:29 | twinkling of an eye when all of the |
| 12:31 | disciples shall see God |
| 12:34 | there in his Heaven all of us will be |
| 12:36 | seated at a great glorious banquet table |
| 12:39 | the host of The Feast is Jesus himself |
| 12:42 | and we will be gathered with all the |
| 12:44 | saints in light people of every nation |
| 12:47 | and tongue will sing praises to the lamb |
| 12:50 | with Angelic choirs |
| 12:52 | and the Heavenly Host |
| 12:55 | see I can’t help but wonder if Jesus has |
| 12:57 | all of these things in mind as he takes |
| 13:00 | and blesses and breaks the bread to feed |
| 13:04 | the five thousand |
| 13:06 | conclusion |
| 13:07 | splagenon you see I think that Jesus our |
| 13:11 | savior |
| 13:12 | has real compassion for us he always has |
| 13:16 | he gets a stomachache when you hurt or |
| 13:19 | struggle or suffer he takes your sorrow |
| 13:22 | and suffers with you even as on the |
| 13:24 | cross he has suffered for you and I |
| 13:27 | believe that out of his wonderful |
| 13:28 | compassion he demonstrates that he is |
| 13:31 | still yahwehire God my provider |
| 13:34 | because Jesus has scooped you up into |
| 13:38 | his great salvation story |
| 13:40 | just as he provided Manna in the |
| 13:42 | wilderness for his people in the desert |
| 13:44 | he provides unexpected and undeserved |
| 13:47 | blessings from heaven for you and just |
| 13:49 | as he multiplied miraculous bread and |
| 13:52 | fish for the five thousand he provides |
| 13:54 | answered prayers of food and finances |
| 13:57 | and health and happiness for you |
| 14:00 | just as he spoke his powerful |
| 14:02 | sacramental word over the bread and cup |
| 14:05 | he provides his true body and blood for |
| 14:07 | forgiveness of sin and salvation and |
| 14:09 | eternal life for you |
| 14:11 | and just as Jesus promises his heavenly |
| 14:14 | banquet for all those who believe in him |
| 14:18 | he has made that same promise of holy |
| 14:21 | feast and eternal joy for you |
| 14:25 | all of this he does |
| 14:27 | because he is your compassionate Lord |
| 14:30 | Jesus Christ |
| 14:32 | and your life |
| 14:34 | is part of his great salvation story |
| 14:39 | amen |
| 14:46 | [Music] |
| 14:58 | [Applause] |
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