Sunday, Aug 14 Jesus Feeds the 5000

August 14, 2022 · Harmony of the Gospels

Series · Harmony of the Gospels · Week 14 of 36

Scripture referenced 11 passages

The passage this message was preached from, in full, with every other passage it reached for.

Hebrews 13:8 quoted to open the prayer: Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever

8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.

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Deuteronomy (unspecified verse)

quoted in prayer: the Lord your God is the God of gods and the Lord of lords, great, mighty, and awesome, shows no partiality and cannot be bribed

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1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

quoted before the offering song: rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will in Christ Jesus

16 Rejoice always.

17 Pray without ceasing.

18 In everything give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus toward you.

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Philippians 1:6

mentioned as key verse for Monday night study: confident that God who began the good work will continue and finish it

6 being confident of this very thing, that he who began a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ.

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Luke 9 (implied, unspecified verse)

read as the Luke account of the feeding of the five thousand

1 He called the twelve together, and gave them power and authority over all demons, and to cure diseases.

2 He sent them out to preach God’s Kingdom and to heal the sick.

3 He said to them, “Take nothing for your journey—neither staffs, nor wallet, nor bread, nor money; neither have two coats each.

4 Into whatever house you enter, stay there, and depart from there.

5 As many as don’t receive you, when you depart from that city, shake off even the dust from your feet for a testimony against them.”

6 They departed, and went throughout the villages, preaching the Good News, and healing everywhere.

7 Now Herod the tetrarch heard of all that was done by him; and he was very perplexed, because it was said by some that John had risen from the dead,

8 and by some that Elijah had appeared, and by others that one of the old prophets had risen again.

9 Herod said, “John I beheaded, but who is this, about whom I hear such things?” He sought to see him.

10 The apostles, when they had returned, told him what things they had done. He took them, and withdrew apart to a desert region of a city called Bethsaida.

11 But the multitudes, perceiving it, followed him. He welcomed them, and spoke to them of God’s Kingdom, and he cured those who needed healing.

12 The day began to wear away; and the twelve came, and said to him, “Send the multitude away, that they may go into the surrounding villages and farms, and lodge, and get food, for we are here in a deserted place.”

13 But he said to them, “You give them something to eat.” They said, “We have no more than five loaves and two fish, unless we should go and buy food for all these people.”

14 For they were about five thousand men. He said to his disciples, “Make them sit down in groups of about fifty each.”

15 They did so, and made them all sit down.

16 He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to the sky, he blessed them, and broke them, and gave them to the disciples to set before the multitude.

17 They ate, and were all filled. They gathered up twelve baskets of broken pieces that were left over.

18 As he was praying alone, the disciples were with him, and he asked them, “Who do the multitudes say that I am?”

19 They answered, “‘John the Baptizer,’ but others say, ‘Elijah,’ and others, that one of the old prophets is risen again.”

20 He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter answered, “The Christ of God.”

21 But he warned them, and commanded them to tell this to no one,

22 saying, “The Son of Man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders, chief priests, and scribes, and be killed, and the third day be raised up.”

23 He said to all, “If anyone desires to come after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me.

24 For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever will lose his life for my sake, the same will save it.

25 For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses or forfeits his own self?

26 For whoever will be ashamed of me and of my words, of him will the Son of Man be ashamed, when he comes in his glory, and the glory of the Father, and of the holy angels.

27 But I tell you the truth: There are some of those who stand here, who will in no way taste of death, until they see God’s Kingdom.”

28 About eight days after these sayings, he took with him Peter, John, and James, and went up onto the mountain to pray.

29 As he was praying, the appearance of his face was altered, and his clothing became white and dazzling.

30 Behold, two men were talking with him, who were Moses and Elijah,

31 who appeared in glory, and spoke of his departure, which he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem.

32 Now Peter and those who were with him were heavy with sleep, but when they were fully awake, they saw his glory, and the two men who stood with him.

33 As they were parting from him, Peter said to Jesus, “Master, it is good for us to be here. Let’s make three tents: one for you, and one for Moses, and one for Elijah,” not knowing what he said.

34 While he said these things, a cloud came and overshadowed them, and they were afraid as they entered into the cloud.

35 A voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is my beloved Son. Listen to him!”

36 When the voice came, Jesus was found alone. They were silent, and told no one in those days any of the things which they had seen.

37 On the next day, when they had come down from the mountain, a great multitude met him.

38 Behold, a man from the crowd called out, saying, “Teacher, I beg you to look at my son, for he is my only child.

39 Behold, a spirit takes him, he suddenly cries out, and it convulses him so that he foams, and it hardly departs from him, bruising him severely.

40 I begged your disciples to cast it out, and they couldn’t.”

41 Jesus answered, “Faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you and bear with you? Bring your son here.”

42 While he was still coming, the demon threw him down and convulsed him violently. But Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit, and healed the boy, and gave him back to his father.

43 They were all astonished at the majesty of God. But while all were marveling at all the things which Jesus did, he said to his disciples,

44 “Let these words sink into your ears, for the Son of Man will be delivered up into the hands of men.”

45 But they didn’t understand this saying. It was concealed from them, that they should not perceive it, and they were afraid to ask him about this saying.

46 There arose an argument among them about which of them was the greatest.

47 Jesus, perceiving the reasoning of their hearts, took a little child, and set him by his side,

48 and said to them, “Whoever receives this little child in my name receives me. Whoever receives me receives him who sent me. For whoever is least among you all, this one will be great.”

49 John answered, “Master, we saw someone casting out demons in your name, and we forbade him, because he doesn’t follow with us.”

50 Jesus said to him, “Don’t…

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2 Kings 4:42-44

quoted as Old Testament parallel to the feeding miracle, Elisha and the twenty barley loaves feeding a hundred men with leftovers

42 A man from Baal Shalishah came, and brought the man of God some bread of the first fruits: twenty loaves of barley and fresh ears of grain in his sack. He said, “Give to the people, that they may eat.”

43 His servant said, “What, should I set this before a hundred men?” But he said, “Give the people, that they may eat; for Yahweh says, ‘They will eat, and will have some left over.’”

44 So he set it before them, and they ate, and had some left over, according to Yahweh’s word.

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Matthew (unspecified chapter)

read as the Matthew account of the feeding of the five thousand

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Mark (unspecified chapter)

read as the Mark account of the feeding of the five thousand

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John 6 (referenced by name)

read as the John account of the feeding of the five thousand, including Andrew, the boy, and the people declaring Jesus the prophet

1 After these things, Jesus went away to the other side of the sea of Galilee, which is also called the Sea of Tiberias.

2 A great multitude followed him, because they saw his signs which he did on those who were sick.

3 Jesus went up into the mountain, and he sat there with his disciples.

4 Now the Passover, the feast of the Jews, was at hand.

5 Jesus therefore lifting up his eyes, and seeing that a great multitude was coming to him, said to Philip, “Where are we to buy bread, that these may eat?”

6 This he said to test him, for he himself knew what he would do.

7 Philip answered him, “Two hundred denarii worth of bread is not sufficient for them, that everyone of them may receive a little.”

8 One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said to him,

9 “There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish, but what are these among so many?”

10 Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.” Now there was much grass in that place. So the men sat down, in number about five thousand.

11 Jesus took the loaves; and having given thanks, he distributed to the disciples, and the disciples to those who were sitting down; likewise also of the fish as much as they desired.

12 When they were filled, he said to his disciples, “Gather up the broken pieces which are left over, that nothing be lost.”

13 So they gathered them up, and filled twelve baskets with broken pieces from the five barley loaves, which were left over by those who had eaten.

14 When therefore the people saw the sign which Jesus did, they said, “This is truly the prophet who comes into the world.”

15 Jesus therefore, perceiving that they were about to come and take him by force, to make him king, withdrew again to the mountain by himself.

16 When evening came, his disciples went down to the sea,

17 and they entered into the boat, and were going over the sea to Capernaum. It was now dark, and Jesus had not come to them.

18 The sea was tossed by a great wind blowing.

19 When therefore they had rowed about twenty-five or thirty stadia, they saw Jesus walking on the sea, and drawing near to the boat; and they were afraid.

20 But he said to them, “It is I. Don’t be afraid.”

21 They were willing therefore to receive him into the boat. Immediately the boat was at the land where they were going.

22 On the next day, the multitude that stood on the other side of the sea saw that there was no other boat there, except the one in which his disciples had embarked, and that Jesus hadn’t entered with his disciples into the boat, but his disciples had gone away alone.

23 However boats from Tiberias came near to the place where they ate the bread after the Lord had given thanks.

24 When the multitude therefore saw that Jesus wasn’t there, nor his disciples, they themselves got into the boats, and came to Capernaum, seeking Jesus.

25 When they found him on the other side of the sea, they asked him, “Rabbi, when did you come here?”

26 Jesus answered them, “Most certainly I tell you, you seek me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate of the loaves, and were filled.

27 Don’t work for the food which perishes, but for the food which remains to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you. For God the Father has sealed him.”

28 They said therefore to him, “What must we do, that we may work the works of God?”

29 Jesus answered them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.”

30 They said therefore to him, “What then do you do for a sign, that we may see, and believe you? What work do you do?

31 Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness. As it is written, ‘He gave them bread out of heaven to eat.’”

32 Jesus therefore said to them, “Most certainly, I tell you, it wasn’t Moses who gave you the bread out of heaven, but my Father gives you the true bread out of heaven.

33 For the bread of God is that which comes down out of heaven, and gives life to the world.”

34 They said therefore to him, “Lord, always give us this bread.”

35 Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will not be hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty.

36 But I told you that you have seen me, and yet you don’t believe.

37 All those whom the Father gives me will come to me. He who comes to me I will in no way throw out.

38 For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will, but the will of him who sent me.

39 This is the will of my Father who sent me, that of all he has given to me I should lose nothing, but should raise him up at the last day.

40 This is the will of the one who sent me, that everyone who sees the Son, and believes in him, should have eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day.”

41 The Jews therefore murmured concerning him, because he said, “I am the bread which came down out of heaven.”

42 They said, “Isn’t this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How then does he say, ‘I have come down out of heaven?’”

43 Therefore Jesus answered them, “Don’t murmur among yourselves.

44 No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him, and I will raise him up in the last day.

45 It is written in the prophets, ‘They will all be taught by God.’ Therefore everyone who hears from the Father, and has learned, comes to me.

46 Not that anyone has seen the Father, except he who is from God. He has seen the Father.

47 Most certainly, I tell you, he who believes in me has eternal life.

48 I am the bread of life.

49 Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died.

50 This is the bread which comes down out of heaven, that anyone may eat of it and not die.

51 I am the living bread which came down out of heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. Yes, the bread which I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.”

52 The Jews therefore contended with one another, saying, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?”

53 Jesus therefore said to them, “Most certainly I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his…

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Deuteronomy (unspecified verse)

quoted as Moses telling the people God will raise up a prophet like me from among you, to him you shall listen

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1 John 4:7

quoted in the benediction: dear friends, let us love one another for love comes from God and everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God

7 Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves has been born of God, and knows God.

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Recap

The message in order, in a few minutes of reading.

Pastor Ray walked the congregation through all four Gospel accounts of the feeding of the five thousand, reading them in sequence and letting the details of each one speak for themselves. The sermon landed on a simple, recurring observation: what looks like far too little, placed in Jesus' hands, is enough.

What was said

The setup in all four accounts is the same. The disciples see a crowd that needs to eat, they do the math, and the math does not work. Five loaves and two fish cannot feed five thousand men plus the women and children nobody counted. Two hundred denarii worth of bread, Mark and John both note, would still not be enough for each person to get more than a little. The disciples' conclusion is reasonable: send them away.

Jesus does not send them away. In each account he turns the problem back to the disciples: you give them something to eat. Pastor Ray pointed out that Jesus does not command them to do something they cannot do. He makes it possible, but the giving passes through their hands. They recline the crowd, they carry the baskets, they distribute what Jesus breaks and blesses.

The detail that John adds, which the other three leave out, is the boy with the lunchbox. Andrew finds him and brings him forward, the way Andrew always brings someone to Jesus. The boy was not important enough for Matthew, Mark, or Luke to name. But his five barley loaves and two fish are what Jesus works with. Pastor Ray sat with that for a moment: one boy who planned ahead, willing to hand over what he had.

Looking up toward heaven and giving thanks before breaking the bread is something all four accounts agree on. Pastor Ray drew a straight line from that to the ordinary blessing said before a meal. Jesus was publicly thankful for a tiny amount of food in front of a crowd that had no reason yet to believe it was enough. The giving of thanks came before there was any visible reason to give it.

The parallel from Second Kings 4 came in here: Elisha, twenty loaves for a hundred men, the attendant saying it is not enough, and the leftover that remained after they were filled. The miracles were authenticating the message, Pastor Ray said, but they were also marking Jesus as the one Moses had promised in Deuteronomy: the prophet who would come, the one to whom the people were to listen.

John tells the story with the Passover near, one year before the crucifixion. Pastor Ray returned to something he has said throughout this Harmony of the Gospels study: the Gospels are passion narratives with long introductions. The crowd's response in John, calling Jesus "the prophet who has come into the world," signals where the final year is heading. Opposition will spike, and so will dedication. The two tend to go together.

The sermon closed without a formal application section. The points were already in the text: be thankful for what you have been given, hand it over, and trust what God does with it from there. The commissioning of Florine and Violetta Geletai and their daughters for missionary work in Romania had taken place earlier in the service, and Pastor Ray noted that the timing was not planned. A family going out with what they have, trusting God to multiply it, fit the passage exactly.

Doing a Bible study?

Here is a guide we have prepared for you: the passages in order, questions for the group, and room to write.

Pastor Carl mentioned that the disciples' first instinct was to send the crowd away rather than help them. When have you felt the urge to send a problem away rather than bring it to Jesus, and what happened?
The sermon pointed to the parallel between Elisha feeding a hundred men with twenty loaves in 2 Kings and Jesus feeding thousands with five loaves and two fish. What does that connection tell you about who Jesus is, and how does it affect the way you read the Old Testament?

and 3 more questions in the guide

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Good

morning, church. How are we doing? It's good to see you. It's good to see you. Hey.

Would you stand and sing with me? One of my favorite songs, Psalm 34. It's taste and see that the Lord is good. Oh, the joys, the joys of those who take refuge in him. Let's start by saying, taste and see.

Alright. I saw the boat.

Amen. Y'all can have a seat. I have a few announcements. We'll roll through here. First of all, there's Monday nights at first b.

That's happening tomorrow night.

Yep. We're on. 06:00 meal music message. Naomi is gonna make stromboli and homemade brownies. Good.

And we're starting the book of Philippians and it is such a great book to study. Philippians one six is a key verse tomorrow that I'm confident that God who began the good work will continue the good work and he'll finish the good work. Be assured that God is writing the story of our

lives. There's so much joy in the book. So much joy. That's good. So, Monday nights at first B, meal, music, a message and a meaningful conversation after the message.

We are going to be having a memorial service this weekend, Saturday, August 20 at 1PM for Maureen Fates. Please feel free to come and attend but one 1PM. It won't be at the normal eleven but Maureen was dear dear sister in Christ. We love her dearly. Would you come and support the family for that?

Connect hour is down the hall between services. There's free food and the chance to connect. I like that. It's just as straightforward as it can be and I saw the ladies bringing it in this morning. It's quite a bit of free food and quite a chance to connect.

So, plan on going down to connect hour. There is a fall Bible study, the Jackson Hole Women's Bible Study. This is across a lot of different churches but it will be meeting here at First B. Wednesdays, ten to twelve. Deborah Buckingham will be presenting.

I think Lisa is doing the music. So, fall study starts September 7. That's Wednesday, 10AM, ten to twelve right here at First ministry to the church. Nick is up there today. Blake has been up there.

You know, Blake has been serving for years and years and years. We used to have a couple of people in the booth at the time. It's a lot of work, but we will train you and we will train you to know what you're doing for sure before you ever have to do it in front of people. Okay? Does that make sense?

It's a great, great ministry. And mentioning that, I can tell you right now without there even being a slide up there, I guarantee you there are spots for nursery care because that is always, always, always in churches, A way that you could help out but so few actually do. So, if you would, sound booth volunteers. If you're technical or if you are just relational and you love kids, please see us about either one

of those volunteer positions. I have mentioned The Chosen from time to time in sermons because I think it's probably as far as film, you know, movies go, this is the best depiction of Jesus that I personally have ever seen. It's so good and they're about three seasons deep now But Nancy Terraziano asked if it'd

be alright if on Friday evenings, she came in and kind of set up, set the table, made it available so that y'all could watch together, we could watch together. So The Chosen season one, it'll be starting at 6PM on Fridays in the fellowship hall. We already have a women's fellowship. This is the first Friday craft night. And most of the women who know about that are there every first Friday.

But other than those, Nancy will be here and kinda setting up The Chosen. If you wanna join, we'll let you know how and then, the Eon family, Florine and Violetta and the girls are going to be launching towards Romania today. So, I'm mentioning that. Do you want to do this now or just before the sermon? Okay.

Let's do it right before the sermon.

Okay.

Okay. Perfect. But I want you to be praying for him. If you would, y'all know what a ministry this family has here in this community but they have been looking forward with some anticipation under God's direction for a long time and today is kind of official launch here and they maybe have to bounce for a little while to other churches in the area to share the ministry that they're going to but we'll tell you a little bit about it today and then I've asked Florine to preach in a couple of weeks and he'll probably tell you a little more then. So, but please be praying for them.

As a family who left home and has gone out, I know what it's like during the deputation phase and all of that. It's not an easy time. Would you be praying for that family? Oh, also, old bills. So these things are sitting around out in the vestibule and down the hall.

These little pamphlets. This is a hard copy way of doing this. The giving season started day before yesterday, but it goes through September 16. If you would, grab one of these on your way out or you can go online. The online experience has been a little bit more difficult, I thought, than most giving, but it's worth it to go through with it.

Our benevolence fund here at Firstbeat is funded, at least the giving is amplified through Old Bills. But if you want to give to First Be or to Turning Point or to Good Samaritan, you can do that through Old Bills Fund Run. You all know what that's about. I'm seeing lots of people that look like, yeah, yeah, we know. But that is coming up.

There is a giving link at firstbjackson.org. That should be easier, I think, than the hard copy, but grab one of those on your way out. That'd be good. Always. I think that's it.

Would you stand with us and let's celebrate a god who is always, always, always faithful. In Jesus name, lord, we ask you. Give us a clarity this morning unlike any we've ever had before. Amen.

That's straight out of scripture. Hebrews thirteen eight, that Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. God, thank you for your unchanging nature even though our lives there is constant change, and yet you remain the same. You're the solid rock, the bed the bedrock, the foundation of our faith. God, that we would stand firm on Jesus' name.

From Deuteronomy, here's a good word. For the Lord your God is the God of gods and the Lord of lords. He is the great God, the mighty, and awesome God who shows no partiality and cannot be bribed. You can have a a seat here for a moment. This is the worship through giving part of the service.

I'll invite the ushers to come on for we're gonna sing a song called gratitude. And from first Thessalonians, it says, rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances. Why? Because this is God's will for us in Christ Jesus. Before we sing, Ray, would you pray?

Sure. God, we thank you for so much, Lord, that we have to be thankful for. It's it's overwhelming. Strange, Lord, how we'll look at negative things and they'll occupy our time when there is so much, so much, so much, as the song says, to be thankful for. God, would you allow us the the appreciation of your grace?

Would we dwell in it, Lord? I thank you for what you've given. I thank, Lord, for the way that you multiply what we give to you. I'm thankful for, your willingness to extend grace to others, through a spoken word or a kind gesture, through the resources we put in these plates, Lord, that you are doing your work in this valley, but you're doing it and extending it to the very uttermost parts. Lord, may we be seeking first the kingdom of God like those who followed you around, Lord, even when you, I'm sure, were tired.

May we be seeking after you and the truth that you bring, Lord, looking to you for all. And Lord, may we be contributing to that. In Jesus' name, I pray that you'd bless the efforts of your children here in this valley and to the uttermost parts. May your will, Lord, be done in your way, and may it never lack your supply. Amen.

Amen. Amen. Alright. Florine and Violetta, would you come forward? And the girls.

Good morning. You probably almost all of us know us here, but for those who don't know us, Florin, Geletai, and the girls, Brianna, Melissa, Andrea, the cute family. We we have been in Jackson for over sixteen years, originally from Romania. We have come to love this place. We have come to love this church.

It feels like family, and it probably always will feel like family. But we have, we have felt that God could use us to go in Romania and be missionaries there. We would like we would like to put our lives at God's disposition so he can use us in his ways and in his time. And for a very long time, we have prayed that God could use us in his time, and the time is now. We're ready.

We're ready that we're ready to go. It's a little hard to leave. We know that, here has been our home for so long, but in obedience to God, we'd like to go to Romania and work with maybe existing churches in Romania. Main goal will be to evangelize, work with existing, youth group organizations to spread the gospel. Also, my heart has always been in the children's ministry, so I see that's where I will be helping a lot.

Florian will be helping with what he knows and what God has gifted him. We would like to ask for you to humbly support us in prayer. It's what we'll need so much. If you have any questions, we'll be here at the end of the service.

I thought you're gonna say more. Dear church, we love you as a family very much, and, it has been a privilege so far. Always be a privilege to be part of this beautiful family. Thank you to Mr. Steve Landis, to the Elder Board, to Pastor Ray, Pastor Carl for your patience, goodness, and kindness, and investing in us, oh my goodness, so much.

I love you with all that I am as a family, I think. Right? And thank you for, giving us an opportunity to serve here in this church, but also preparing us for what God is calling us to do. And our desire is to go to Romania, back to Romania, home, in the place where I can, speak the language. That'll be I'll feel like a fish in the water.

I will have to ask you to translate for me. She might have to correct me in Romanian sometimes because, obviously, she speaks even Romanian better than me. As you know, I come from a Gypsy family. Never ever was expressed loud that we are a Gypsy because you don't say that. If you say that, people would judge you immediately.

So my level of education might not be very high, but I had the privilege to serve with some awesome good missionaries that came to Romania. And not only that they invested in me, teaching me the Bible and anything that I have to do as a as a missionary, but also they feed they fed me fed me as well. So those hands that has been so good to me, I will never forget those hands. And and I'm thankful for what they did for me. And having that seed in my heart, in my mind, it would always I will always be a missionary no matter what I am.

I could be at Smiths or whatever God would put me, I feel like I'm a missionary. Whatever God has bestowed on me from his love, it's it's like a river in my heart to share it with others around me. So I'm thankful to that. But, also, I'm thankful to for this beautiful church. Because when I came here and I won't be shy to say that, and I'm not afraid to say that either.

I had a a valley in my life where I thought I knew what I was doing, and I followed my own idea and path and kinda said, God, I know what I'm doing. And it was it became a mess. So this church, I felt like it took me from the lowest level mentally and spiritually and slowly give me an opportunity to to to play the piano. And I promise you, there were many times sitting in that piano and play my life right over there in those few chords, and that really helped me so much. And and I know you what you were doing.

You gave me that chance so I can heal my heart, my soul. So thank you. Thank you with all my heart for taking us from the Lowest Valley, and and now we are ready to go and serve God and apply whatever God did in our lives to spread it out. And what's what's gonna be my main main purpose is to tell people that Jesus Christ is the answer. Because he said, I am the way, the truth, and the life.

No one comes to the father except by me. So it'd be a privilege to go back home to speak the truth, to spread the gospel, and you will be part of whatever we do over there. This is this is so beautiful. I know I do not like to stand in front of a church and ask for financial support, but it's true, and it's that's the way God intended and works. So when you invest in us financially and spiritually, you will be part of the call that God is calling us in Romania or wherever we're gonna visit.

Because we have churches. We have friends sorry if I talk too much. We have we have friends in England and Spain and France and whatever I'll be invited to speak, to preach, and that's my passion to do. You will be part of our ministry. But mainly, we're gonna serve in Romania, and we're gonna reach Romanian people and also gypsy people where nobody wants to say it out loud, I'm a gypsy.

But because I've been there and I know how difficult it is, I can reach those people with the love of God. That's my passion.

Out in the back in the foyer, we have a prayer card for our family with more information and also typed up paper that has more information on it as well.

Can I get the elders to come forward? Can I get all the elders, past, present? If you would, this is the launch. It's sort of a a commissioning right here. Now, they've already received the seal, kind of the seal of approval from all of y'all and all of us but we are kind of just want to pray over them.

And, Nick, I'll turn my mic off and just use this yellow one. Okay? God almighty, we're thankful for this family, for the way that they are surrendered to your will, Lord, here and they have been. And, Lord, as you have been making course corrections along the way, we do all support them and believe that this is in your timing, lord. Though it will be a huge loss for this church and this valley.

I pray lord that you would that you would fill in the gaps that will be left here but I pray lord that the church there in Romania would be as blessed as we have been. In Jesus name, lord, we lay hands on them and send them out into the gospel ministry. Dedicated servants, Lord. It's gonna take me a minute to recover. Sorry.

All four gospels. All four gospels have this story. Now, we've been doing Harmony of the Gospel study and it's been through the Synoptics seen with the same lens or seen through the same eyes. Matthew, Mark, and Luke. Oh, the kids are ready.

It's time. Yes, we didn't put the slide up there. Yes, it was looking mighty full in here. It will be like Swiss cheese. There are holes.

If you're standing in the back and you want to move forward, you can take a warm seat. Thank you. In this, this is something that you've probably heard since Sunday school. It's a pretty popular pretty popular pericopia, pretty popular story from all four gospels. It tells a story of the feeding of the 5,000.

It's feeding of the 5,000 men. They didn't count women and children at the time, but 5,000 men. So that's a big crowd. If you consider that some of those men would have been married, some of them would have had children, that could be a crowd 10,000, maybe more. That's a big crowd.

So, all four gospels recorded. If you look back in, art history, you'll see this one in every era since the the Christian era started. Even in the catacombs, this is something that's pretty common to see Jesus blessing, breaking, and giving this bread, these loaves and fishes out. It's pretty common. All four of the gospels, that's what we'll cover today.

And mostly, I'm just gonna read it. I'm not going to go into great, great detail on it. But I do want to bring out the things that are brought out in each of them. We'll start with Luke and here it is. Now, the day was ending.

I think we covered this last week. And the 12 came up to him and said, dismiss this crowd. Dismiss this crowd so that they may go into the surrounding villages and countryside and find lodging and get something to eat because here, we are in a secluded place. Now, if you remember last week, they withdrew to a secluded place partially because the disciples had just gotten back from their ministry in the Jewish places up in Galilee and they had gotten back and they were wanting to tell Jesus about that first hand ministry. What they were doing under his authority and his power and they're getting back and Jesus, oh, had just received news of John the Baptist beheading, right?

That's a tough, tough thing and he was going out and the day was in and the 12 came up to him. Dismiss this crowd. They had thought about it and they said, just get rid of em, Jesus. Just tell em to go home. All you have to do is tell em to go home.

They'll listen to you. Dismiss the crowd. We're in a secluded place. He says, no, y'all give them something to eat. They're hungry.

Probably closing in on hangry. Y'all give them something to eat, but they said, we don't have any more than five loaves and two fish. In Luke, this is the way it is. Each one of them breaks it down a little bit different, but five loaves and two fish, very consistent. They remember it.

You give them something to eat, but they said, we don't have more than five loaves and two fish unless perhaps we could go and buy food for all these people but we're in a secluded place. There's the walk there. There's the walk back and it'd be expensive. There are about 5,000 just the men here. Come on, Jesus.

And he said to his disciples, have them recline. They're milling around. He says, have them lay down. Have them sit down. Have them recline to eat in groups of about 50 each.

And they did so. The disciples listened to Jesus. That's good. Y'all just have a seat. Have a seat.

You may be seated. And they sat down and he took the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he blessed them and he broke them and he gave them to the disciples again and again to serve the crowd. Wow. And they all ate and they were all satisfied. Think of that crowd.

Man, this is good. And they keep eating until they're filled, it says. And the broken pieces, Jesus broke them and he blessed them and he gave them and the broken pieces which they had left over were picked up and there were 12 baskets full. Wow. Now, five loaves and two fishes doesn't fill 12 baskets full just at the start but that's what happened.

That's according to Luke. This may sound familiar if you're an Old Testament person. I've had several people lately that said, I'm reading through the Old Testament. I'm up to second Kings or Ezekiel or wherever you are. This one, second Kings four forty two to 44.

Now a man came from Baal and brought the man of God bread of the first fruits, 20 loaves of barley. 20 loaves. It's the same kind of bread actually. This is a poor person's bread. It's 20 loaves though.

So four times as much of barley and some fresh grain in the sack. And Elisha, that's the man of God mentioned above said, give them to the people that they may eat. But his attendant said, how am to serve this to just a 100 men? So 20 loaves was not enough, he felt, for a 100 men. Nevertheless, he said, give them to the people that they may eat for this is what the Lord says, they shall eat and they shall have some left over.

So he served it to them and they ate and they had some left over in accordance with the word of the Lord. It says they were filled again. That's almost everything that Jesus is doing during this time. All of the miracles, I always say the miracles were authenticating the message, but the miracles were also showing that he was Messiah. This is something that they were looking for.

And just in the paragraph before this, it says some of the people were saying that he was like one of the prophets of old. Well, it makes sense because he's doing some of the stuff that the prophets of old were doing. Let's see what Matthew says about it. Now when it was evening, the disciples came to him and said, this place is secluded and the hour is already past time to eat. It's past supper time.

Send these crowds away, Jesus. We've looked at this. We've studied it. We figured out there is no way that we can do this. So that they may go into the villages, 5,000 to 10,000 people into the surrounding villages.

You all know what it's like in summertime here, right? I had 16 people at my house all week this week. That's not normal, but it's kinda normal. You know, we do that. We absorb people and we try to feed them.

And I tell you what, 16 people is not an easy crowd to feed. 5,000 men. Wow. So that they may go into the village themselves. Thin for yourselves.

Food for yourselves. But Jesus said to him, they don't need to go. You give them something to eat. Y'all, disciples, give them something to eat. But they, the disciples, say to him, we have nothing here except five loaves and two fish and Jesus said, bring em here to me.

Amen. Amen. Doesn't sound like much but when you put it in Jesus's hands, ordering the crowds to sit down on the grass, he took the five loaves and the two fish, and he looked up toward heaven, and he blessed the food. And breaking the loaves, he gave them to the disciples. That's almost exactly the same verbiage of stories, very consistent.

It was important for Jesus to bless the food. He was the one that was doing the dividing of the loaves. And he was giving it to his disciples to hand out, the disciples were the ones giving them to the crowds. Now Jesus had said to them, you give them something to eat to the disciples. And then it turns out Jesus made a way for it to be possible that they could give them something to eat.

He's not gonna command us to do something that we flat can't do with his help. They all ate and they were all satisfied and they picked up what was left over of the broken pieces. 12 full baskets. And there were about 5,000 men who ate besides women and children. Matthew does include them but doesn't count them.

So that's Matthew. Let's see what Mark has to say. It's a little longer. Okay. When Jesus went ashore, he saw a large crowd.

We did cover this last week and he felt compassion for them. He felt compassion for this large crowd because they were like sheep without a shepherd and he began to teach them many things. And when it was already late, his disciples came to him and said, this place is secluded and it is already late. Send them away so that they may go into the surrounding countryside and villages and buy themselves something to eat. That makes sense, doesn't it?

I mean, it feels like it being in position. We tend to be from a somewhat cold culture where you don't go over without being invited. You don't go over without mentioning it at least. I hardly ever go to a home without letting them know I'm coming because this is Wyoming and I don't want to get shot. But it was fairly normal in the time for strangers and passers by.

And we have been commanded and the Jews were commanded to be kind to the stranger and the outsider and the foreigner because we were foreigners and outsiders in Egypt. So somewhat normal. This is the disciples thinking it through and saying, yeah, we're gonna have a problem on our hands here. So send them away, Jesus. But he answered them, You, y'all, give them something to eat.

And they say to him, Shall we go and spend 200 denario? Okay. Mark is including how much he thinks it might cost. Should we spend two hundred days wages just on bread? Just something that they can eat.

Two hundred days wages. So I mean, I don't know what your days wage is, but I looked up from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, days wages, depends, can go from $18 an hour times $8 no, no, no, no, do the math, about $150 a day to average being about $240 on average. So $240 times 200 is what they're thinking it'd take just to buy them bread. Two hundred days wages. And you know this is an itinerant ministry where they're accepting donations from the people and Judas is carrying the money back.

And Mark mentions it and says, should we go and spend 200 denarii? There's the walk there. There's the walk back. And give that to them to eat is probably still not gonna be enough. But he says to them, how many loaves do you have?

Go look. Mark says a little longer. He tells a little more of the story. And when they found out, they went out through the crowd and they said, We've got five loaves. We've got two fish.

And he ordered them all to recline by groups on the green grass. And they reclined in groups of hundreds and in fifties. Luke agrees that he told them in fifties but that's the way people do. He took five loaves and the two fish and looking up toward heaven, he blessed the food. Says it in all three of them so far.

He blessed the food. He can bless the food. We ask a blessing on the food. Right? Jesus says, a blessing for the food.

He blessed food and he broke the loaves. He divided them. He gave them to the disciples and it says, again and again, it was a continuous action. I imagine it would be since it was 5,000 men and their families there. He gave them to disciples over and over.

He kept on giving them. It's a good translation of that to the disciples to set before the people and he divided those two fish among all of those people. That sounds like a minuscule little portion. But he kept on and this is the same one that John says, there's not a thing made that was made except through him. He's the only one that can produce something out of nothing.

In this, he has what was given to him. It was what was given to him and he multiplied it. He divided the two fish among them all. This reminds me of an old song. Do y'all know little as much when God is in it?

It's gonna take me a minute. In the harvest field now ripen, there's a work for all to do. Hark the voice of God is calling to the harvest calling you. Little is much when God is in it. Labor not for wealth or fame.

There's a crown and you can win it if you go in Jesus name. In the mad rush of the broad way, in the hurry and the strive, tell of Jesus' love and mercy. Give to them the word of life. A little is much when God is in it, labor not for wealth or fame, There's a crown and you can win it if you go in Jesus' name. Does the place that you're called to labor seem too small and little known?

It is great if God is in it and he'll not forget his own. Little is much when God is in it. Labor not for wealth or fame. There's a crown and you can win it if you go in Jesus' name. Are you laid aside for for service, body worn from toil and care?

You can still be in the battle in the sacred place of prayer. Little as much when God is in it, labor not for wealth or fame. There's a crowd and you can win it if you go in Jesus' name. When the conflict here is ended and our race on earth is run, he will say, if we are faithful, welcome home, my child. Well done.

Little is much when God is in it. Labor not for wealth or fame. There's a crown and you can win it if you go in Jesus' name. That one's one that's rattled around in my head for so long and it's really helpful. The widow's mite, you know, has held up that this lady gave what she had.

It's held up as the greatest gift that day. And sometimes it feels like, What can I do? But what you have is a gift from God and when he leads and you give back what he directs, it is amazing what he can do with it. They all ate and they were all satisfied, Mark says. And they picked up 12 full baskets of the broken pieces of bread and of the fish, and there were 5,000 men who ate the loaves.

Wow. Alright. Last one is John this time. In John, we call it the gospel of belief. John wrote later than the other gospels and he he tends to include things that are about belief.

He also tends to include things that he sees are obvious signs of Jesus' messiahship, and so John's is the longest one. I saved it for last, but we'll go into it right here. And after these things, Jesus went away. We covered these first three verses last week. After these things, Jesus went away to the other side of the Sea Of Galilee, Tiberian Sea.

A large crowd was following him because they were watching the signs which he was performing on those who were sick. They were getting it. They were understanding that this could be Messiah. But Jesus went up on the mountain. There he sat with his disciples.

Now the Passover, the feast of the Jews was near. So this indicates a time. John gives us time where nobody else had. They all agree it happened, but we didn't know the time until now. They did say green grass.

There was plenty of green grass, so it had to be around the time where there would have been rain. But now the Passover, the feast of Jews was near spring. This is one year before the crucifixion. I've told you over and over that the gospels are passion narratives with long introductions. We've got two years, maybe two and a half behind us, and we are going into the last year before the cross.

So, after raising his eyes and seeing that a large crowd was coming to him, he said to Philip, hey, where are we going to buy bread so that these people can eat, Philip? I like how John probably was already exposed to the other gospels and he was there and he tells the story and he give it's a it's a little bit more personal. It seems to me to be just a little bit more personal. He says to Philip, Where are we going to get the bread so all these people can eat, Philip? But he was saying it only to test him, for he himself knew what he intended to do.

And Philip answered him and said, 200 denarii worth of bread, same amount that we just saw in Mark. It's not enough for them, for each to just receive a tiny little bit. And one of his disciples, Andrew I love Andrew. Andrew, when you every time you see Andrew, he's bringing somebody to Jesus. Every single time.

He brings Peter to Jesus. He brings someone else that's suffering and sick. He brings this little boy, one of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, said to him, there is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish. One guy planned ahead and he's a little boy. 5,000 men had nothing.

All the women and children other had nothing and this little boy has his lunchbox with him. There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish. Now a boy would not have been really all that important. I mean, he's not even mentioned in the other three gospels. Little guy.

But there's a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish. But what are these for so many people? This comes up a lot in art. Like I said, Feeding the Multitudes by Bernardo Strozzi in the early seventeenth century. I like this because it's got this little boy.

Andrew's right there next to him and he's got this little boy and he's holding it up like, uh-uh. And that was his lunch. You know, that was his supper, I guess. He he maybe he could have shared it with his family. Maybe he's just the one who carries the bread.

Maybe he helps with that. I don't know. But I like that. I I mentioned that you see this. This is actually in the catacombs.

This is early. Loaves and fishes. And Jesus said, have the people recline to eat. Now there was plenty of grass in the place. So the men reclined about 5,000 in number.

And Jesus then took the loaves and after giving thanks, he distributed them, broke them to those who were reclining. Likewise, also of the fish as much as they wanted. So they ate and were filled. Does this remind y'all of seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness? And all of these things that you need, your lord knows what you need.

They'll be added to you. Earnestly seeking to be in God's will, in his timing, in his righteousness. Seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and he will add all these things. They ate and they were filled as much as they wanted. And when they had eaten their fill, he says to his disciples, y'all gather up the leftover pieces so that nothing will be lost.

It's not wasteful. So they gathered them up and they filled 12 baskets with the pieces from the five barley loaves which were left over by those who had eaten. That's an amazing, miraculous story. Therefore, the people saw the sign which he had performed, that's the second time John had mentioned signs about Jesus. This is John six.

We've already seen a few of the signs. There are seven of them total most people point to. One of them is that Jesus is the bread of life. Therefore, when the people saw the sign which he had performed, they said, truly this is the prophet who has come into the world. So in this last year, we're gonna see opposition spike, and we're gonna see dedication to Christ spike.

Those tend to

together. If you don't know what the prophet means, this is something all the way back to Deuteronomy, to the Pentateuch, to the books of Moses. And Moses said in Deuteronomy, before they were to enter into the promised land, he said to them, the Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet, probably should be a capital p right there. Like me from among you, from your countrymen, and to him, you shall listen. Pay attention to this guy.

And that's what the people were doing, and they were fed. Now, I'd love to have an application slide here at the very end. I think it's just gonna turn black though. But what I saw over and over in there is Jesus was thankful. He blessed the bread, and he gave thanks for it.

And it was just a tiny itty bitty little amount, but he was very thankful for it and publicly in front of the people. So when you say your blessing, don't feel ashamed. Are you thankful for your food? Yeah. Sometimes it feels like, do we really need to do this?

Well, we wanna follow the example that we have. Yeah. I think we should recognize the gift that God has given and be thankful for it like Carl mentioned. This is God's will for you in Christ Jesus, right, to be thankful. So, blessed it and he broke it.

He's the one who divides and gives to his disciples so that they can give to others. Looking to him, I mean, we try to figure it all out. I'm sure y'all have tried to figure this whole thing out for a long, long time. Right? And there there are disciples of Christ who go out and as missionaries, they say, we're gonna be tent makers.

I'm gonna get a job in a grocery store and we're gonna support ourselves. And there is nothing wrong with that. That's wonderful. There are others that go out, and God has set them aside for gospel ministry. There's no doubt about it.

A workman is worthy of his wages. And that's what we are sending these this family out to do. It just happened to coincide with this day. I didn't think about it ahead of time and go, what's the way we can gouge this the best? This is always true.

We don't spend a lot of time there because when it comes up, it's just on time. The little boy's willingness to give of his he didn't have to. Right? He he didn't have to, but he was willing. And when we are willing and we give over whatever it is, our resources to God, he uses them.

He distributes them as he sees fit. There's one more point that I should have made the slide for. Catch it next time. Carl, can I invite the band back up? Song service today, everything that we sang about, to me, just matched this portion so well.

And it feels like we don't have a whole lot to give. But when we do, it's amazing what God will do with it. God, would you help us to trust you? Would you give us direction on what you would have us hand over into your hands? What you would have us divide that you have given to us that you're asking for us to distribute among the people?

Lord God Almighty, I pray that you'd give us a heart that is open to you. I pray that you'd forgive us where we fall short. I pray that you would help us, Lord, when we are absolutely destitute. That's what you were doing. I pray that we would be, as a group, seeking first the kingdom of God and your righteousness, lord, that by your spirit, we'd be able to walk out that humble path that you walk before us.

In Jesus name, lord, I ask for your blessing here And Lord, that you would, break us and divide us and that you would give us to the community surrounding us up to and including the very uttermost parts. I pray a specific blessing on Florine and Violetta and the girls as they seek to go forward, trusting in you. I pray that, their ministry would expand in Romania to all, of the countryside around where they'll be. And Lord, I pray that you will receive all of the glory. In Jesus' name, amen.

Would you stand with us?

Would you mind if I called an audible on this

one? Sure.

And I it just won't let me go. The Lord is faithful yesterday, now, and always. Can we go back and you gave sight to love I believe

Amen. Dear friends, let us love one another for love comes from God and everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. In Jesus name, I pray that we'd go out loving one another and the community around us, extending the grace of God, Extending the love that he has given and divided among us to give to others. In Jesus name, amen. Amen.

Don't forget down the hall there's connect hour. There's plenty down there for all of you.

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