Matthew – God’s Purposes
Your promise still stands
Great is Your faithfulness, faithfulness
I’m still in Your hands
This is my confidence, You never failed me yet
I’ve seen You move, come move the mountains
And I believe, I’ll see You do it again
You made a way, where there was no way
And I believe, I’ll see You do it again
This is a small portion of the song, Do It Again by Elevation Worship that reminds us that God still cares, still loves, still fulfills His promises to us. This song plays in the background of my mind as I read this next passage.
Read and look closely how Jesus shows his loving compassion for all people who come to Him for help and healing, restoration and peace. Now they are hungry for physical food. Jesus sees their need before anyone else does! And He does it again…he feeds the multitudes once more showing the glory and power of God in Him! Amazing love! He also uses this miracle as a teachable moment for his disciples.
Matthew 15, NLT
Jesus Heals Many People29 Jesus returned to the Sea of Galilee and climbed a hill and sat down. 30 A vast crowd brought to him people who were lame, blind, crippled, those who couldn’t speak, and many others. They laid them before Jesus, and he healed them all. 31 The crowd was amazed! Those who hadn’t been able to speak were talking, the crippled were made well, the lame were walking, and the blind could see again! And they praised the God of Israel.
Jesus Feeds Four Thousand
32 Then Jesus called his disciples and told them, “I feel sorry for these people. They have been here with me for three days, and they have nothing left to eat. I don’t want to send them away hungry, or they will faint along the way.”33 The disciples replied, “Where would we get enough food here in the wilderness for such a huge crowd?”
34 Jesus asked, “How much bread do you have?”
They replied, “Seven loaves, and a few small fish.”
35 So Jesus told all the people to sit down on the ground. 36 Then he took the seven loaves and the fish, thanked God for them, and broke them into pieces. He gave them to the disciples, who distributed the food to the crowd.
37 They all ate as much as they wanted. Afterward, the disciples picked up seven large baskets of leftover food. 38 There were 4,000 men who were fed that day, in addition to all the women and children. 39 Then Jesus sent the people home, and he got into a boat and crossed over to the region of Magadan.
DIGGING DEEPER…
The feeding of the four thousand differs from the feeding of the five thousand. The five thousand were mostly Jewish people who had been with him only one day. The four thousand were mostly Gentiles who had been with him three days and had simply used up their supplies. This miracle taught a special lesson to the disciples. We wonder why the disciples forgot the previous feeding miracle, but most likely they wondered if Jesus would do the same miracle for Gentiles. He did!As in the feeding of the five thousand, this miracle took place in His hands. As Jesus broke the bread and gave it to His disciples, the bread multiplied. Everybody ate and everybody was satisfied.
Jesus did not preach a sermon to this crowd on “the Bread of Life” as He did to the Jews in Capernaum, following the feeding of the five thousand (John 6:22.). The facts about the Old Testament manna and the “bread of God” would have been foreign to these Gentiles. Jesus always adapted His teaching to the needs and the understanding of the people to whom He ministered. Jesus IS the Master Teacher!
What does this teach us? Jesus is for everyone! Jesus salvation is for everyone! God so loved the WORLD that He gave us Jesus. (John 3:16) WHOEVER believes is saved from death!
If you are struggling with a mountain to be moved. Trust in Jesus with all your heart, mind and soul. What He has done before, He will do again and again according to His promises.
Before leaving Matthew 15, let’s review several spiritual lessons that it contains for us.
(1) The enemies of truth are often religious people who live according to man’s traditions. Satan often uses “religion” to blind the minds of sinners to the simple truths of God’s Word. (2) We must beware of any religious system that gives us an excuse to sin and disobey God’s Word.
(3) We must also beware of worship that comes from the lips only, and not from the heart.
(4) If we major on the inner man, the outer man will be what God wants it to be. True holiness comes from within.
(5) It is difficult to break free from tradition. There is something in us that wants to hold to the past and make no changes. Even Peter had to learn his lesson twice!
(6) We dare not limit Christ to any one nation or people. The gospel came “to the Jew first” (Rom. 1:16), but today is for all men in all nations. “Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved” (Rom. 10:13).
Your promise still stands
Great is Your faithfulness, faithfulness
I’m still in Your hands
This is my confidence, You never failed me yet
I’ve seen You move, come move the mountains
And I believe, I’ll see You do it again
You made a way, where there was no way
And I believe, I’ll see You do it again…
Dear Heavenly Father,
Thank you for consistently moving the mountains or moving me. Your love never changes. Your compassion for us is forever. Your mercy and grace is new each morning as we rise up to greet you. Thank you, Lord, for meeting our needs before we know we needed help. Thank you for saving my soul and making me whole.
In Jesus Name, Amen
