June 19, 2025; Matthew 14

Daily Dose of Hope

June 19, 2025

Scripture – Matthew 14

Prayer:  Abba Father, We come to you today in awe of your love for us.  Thank you, Lord, for your sacrifice.  Thank you for sitting high and looking low.  We give you all the glory and praise, Lord Jesus.  Help us to be less selfish and more like you.  On our own, we mess it up.  We need you, Jesus.  We need you minute by minute.  Guide our thoughts today, Lord.  Guide our words and guide our actions.  May we look more like you today, Lord, than we did yesterday.  In Your Name, Amen.

Welcome back, everyone, to the Daily Dose of Hope, a Deep Dive into the Gospels and Acts.  Today, we are diving into Matthew 14. 

We start with the murder of John the Baptist.  We read about this in Mark as well.  Herod was an evil guy.  We can see there is little value placed on human life in the Roman Empire. Herod is far more concerned about how he looks in front of his guests than how he looks in front of God. 

Then, we have the feeding of the 5,000.  This miracle is in all four Gospels so we need to lean in and really pay attention here.  After Jesus heard about his cousin John being killed, he decided to get away.  You can’t blame him; I’m sure he needed time to grieve and he just needed some solitude.  But the crowds followed him.  You would think he might get annoyed but he doesn’t. Verse 14 says, When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them and healed their sick. Jesus really doesn’t miss a beat.  No matter how physically tired he is, he keeps taking care of the people, giving them what he knows they need. 

Some people today might suggest that Jesus had poor boundaries.  He could have said, “You guys, we really need a break.  I’m off today.”  But that isn’t what he did.  He had compassion on the people.  He tolerated and even welcomed interruptions.  He would frequently be planning to do this one thing but pulled away in a different direction.  But it was in those interruptions, those distractions that Jesus did amazing work, that we get to see God at work in amazing, miraculous ways.  He heals the woman who had been bleeding for many years because she “interrupts” him on his way to the Roman official’s home.  Think of the man whose friends created a hole in the roof to lower their friend in front of Jesus and “interrupt” his teaching.  He was interrupted by a demon-possessed man at the synagogue and he heals him.  I counted something like 35 “interruptions” and it was in those interruptions that Jesus healed, taught, loved, and demonstrated God’s glory. 

Back to the miracle. There were roughly 5000 men there, which doesn’t include the women and children because at that time, women and children would not be in the official count.  So we are talking probably 10-15,000 people being present.  When the disciples wanted to send the people away, they were simply being practical, right?  They were on the outskirts of Bethsaida, and the closest village would have been a several hour walk.  It makes sense that they would immediately think to send them away.  And they were tired.  And they were probably a bit annoyed and wanted them to just go away.  But that isn’t what Jesus decided to do. 

Jesus tells the disciples “You give them something to eat.”  This is so interesting to me because Jesus is putting the responsibility on the disciples to solve the problem.  You do it.  In Mark, the disciples complain “but that would take half a year’s wages to feed all these people.”  So Jesus talks them through it.  What do you have?  Well, we have five loaves of bread and two fish.  Jesus takes the food multiplies it. 

I often wonder if Jesus knew he was going to do this all along or it just kind of happened in the moment.  Exactly how it happened, we don’t know.  What we know is that it happened.  Jesus took a little and turned it into a lot.  In that moment, we see God’s Kingdom in all it’s fullness.  In God’s Kingdom, there is no sickness so Jesus healed.  In God’s Kingdom, there is no hunger so Jesus fed.  Most of us are pretty well fed but that was not the norm in first century Palestine.  People did not get enough to eat.  Those 10-15K people that Jesus was caring for in Bethsaida, these were peasants.  They were hungry people.  The social structures of the day ensured that these people were always a little hungry, always a little desperate.  That way the Roman government could stay in control.  It was quite effective.

But Jesus was demonstrating a different way of life, one in which “God” is on the throne, one in which all people are valued and cared for and fed.  I love that line in verse 20, “they all ate and were satisfied.”  That would have been very unusual for that group of people, to eat and be satisfied.  And there were 12 baskets left over, a basket for each disciple to carry.  I wonder if Jesus did that so that as they were carrying these baskets home, they would continually be reminded that God is so much bigger than they ever could imagine, that Jesus will find a way no matter how impossible the situation might seem. 

Jesus can take five loaves of bread and two fish and feed 15,000 people.  He can defy the laws of nature.  I mean, he created the laws of nature.  I’m not sure how many of you are currently dealing with something that seems impossible, that seems like there is no solution – a health crisis, a broken relationship, a financial mess.  If you hear nothing else today, I want you to hear that NOTHING, no problem, is too big for our God.  God can and will make a way but we have to release it to him.  We have to allow him to take care of it the way he sees fit.  It might not be, it probably won’t be, the way we would do it.  But there is always a way. 

Finally, the chapter closes with Jesus walking on water and this fascinating interaction with Peter.  Jesus had been off praying, as he was apt to do, and he goes to find the disciples. They see him walking on water and at first, think he is a ghost. Peter, in his normal partly bold, partly impulsive way, asks Jesus if he can walk on the water too. Specifically, he says, “Lord, if it is you, tell me to come to you on the water.” So Jesus says to come and Peter steps out on the water. Can you even imagine what must have been going through Peter’s head at the time? For a while, Peter does fine. He is actually walking on water. But as soon as he takes his eyes off Jesus, he sinks.

Think about that–the very minute he looks away, gets distracted, and begins to doubt–he starts to sink. Think about your own life. How often have you taken your eyes off Jesus and begun to sink? The author of Hebrews tells us in chapter 12 to keep our eyes fixed on Jesus, the author and perfector of our faith. When we keep our eyes fixed on Jesus, we have confidence that we aren’t alone, that God is present, and that there is a purpose to all of this. The very minute we begin to look away, the sinking begins. We become stalled. We falter. We forget who and whose we are.

Blessings,

Pastor Vicki