The Lutheran Hour
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"I Can’t Do It"
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Text: Matthew 14:16
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Christ is risen! He is risen, indeed! A living Lord Jesus Christ regularly does for us that which we cannot do for ourselves. Centuries ago, He fed thousands with a few loaves and fish. Today, He takes care of us; forgiving our sins, restoring our souls, allowing us to face life’s pain and problems with complete confidence in a final victory. May this living Lord come and do for us all. Amen.
I don’t know where I got this story. I don’t know if it’s true or not. If it’s not true, it ought to be. The story begins with a young girl who had been shopping with her mother at one of those large superstores. While they were in the store the sky had darkened, the lightning had ignited, and the thunder had boomed. The heavens opened up in a downpour and by the time they made their exit, there was a crowd of people waiting for the rain to let up so they could get to their cars. After a few minutes, the little girl volunteered, “Mom, let’s run through the rain!” Mother heard herself say, quite practically, “I think we’d better wait for things to slow down. I don’t want to get soaked.” The little girl said, “We won’t get soaked. You said so.” That last line from her daughter caused mother’s gears to turn. She searched the day’s conversations to see if she had, anywhere along the way, talked about rain and getting wet. She hadn’t. Finally she asked, “Darlin’ when did I say we wouldn’t get wet in a rainstorm?”
The little girl quickly answered, “You remember – this morning – when you were talking to Daddy about his cancer. You said, ‘If we can get through this, we can get through anything.'” I suppose it’s not necessary for me to tell you that by now, the conversation between mother and daughter had the interest of the ever-growing crowd. Knowing this was a moment of truth and of teaching, they listened with silent respect. They, along with the little girl, waited to see if the mother’s heart would be practical or if the two would run through the rain. With your permission, I’d like to leave the mother and daughter for a few minutes. We can come back to them a little bit later.
A moment of truth and teaching, that’s what was happening between mother and daughter, which causes me to point out that every once-in-a-while the astute observer of human nature will get a glimpse into a truth which is being conveyed by a master teacher. For instance, a good many years ago I heard of a warden who was faced with a difficult situation. In those days, when a criminal misbehaved, it was customary to punish him with solitary confinement and put him on a diet of bread and water. The punishment was supposed to bring about repentance and reformation. The reality was, it did just the opposite. Not only weren’t the criminals deterred from future wrongdoing, they actually increased their violent and rebellious behavior.
It became a matter of pride, “I just did 12 days on bread and water.” “Really?” would come the reply, “Last year I did an entire month eating and drinking nothing but.” The warden knew nothing would be accomplished by increasing the penalty’s time or severity. He had to come up with something different. He did. He became more than a warden; he became a master teacher, and you will understand his lesson when I tell you his new punishment. The warden ended the bread-and-water diet for the disobedient and gave them baby food instead. That’s right; he gave them well-balanced, nutritious, gushy, ground-up baby food. Truth is, it’s tough to be tough when you’ve just finished off a few jars of strained peas and carrots.
A moment of truth conveyed by a master teacher. I could go on with other such stories, but I’d prefer to speak of a truth which was once shared by the world’s greatest teacher – God’s Son, the Savior Jesus Christ. Almost 20 centuries ago, there was a time when Jesus’ ministry enjoyed some considerable public approval. It’s not hard to see why that might be. In a day before antibiotics and successful surgeries, when the smallest of infections could prove fatal and death was the end result for a whole host of illnesses, Jesus healed the sick. The blind were given sight, the crippled were restored so they could walk, run, and jump. The deaf had their hearing returned, those who were possessed by an unclean spirit were made pure, and the dead – even the dead – were brought back to life. In payment for His healing, Jesus asked for no insurance card or name of the patient’s HMO. He healed the sick and He did it for free.
But Jesus’ popularity was based on more than His ability to cure that which everyone else thought to be incurable. Jesus was also a Master Teacher – an interesting Master Teacher. He told stories – parables – which made a point. He used simple things like seeds and shepherds and disobedient sons to punctuate the lessons He was trying to convey. When Jesus finished His talks, never again would His listeners look upon a seed without thinking about how God’s Word can be received. For the rest of their lives, every time Jesus’ followers saw a shepherd they would remember their heavenly Shepherd’s sacrifice and how He searched for the wanderers. Every prodigal son became a reminder that they should be glad when someone is welcomed back into the family of faith.
Yes, Jesus was popular. His words were genuine because they stood on the solid foundation of God’s revealed Word. That’s why, when someone felt he could substitute his thoughts for the Lord’s – his schemes for the certainty of Scripture – Jesus was more than ready to take a stand. When the Pharisees came up with all kinds of rules which couldn’t be found in the Bible, Jesus called those men “hypocrites who shut the door to heaven in people’s faces” (Matthew 23:13). When others felt justified in teaching, “an eye for an eye,” Jesus countered with, “love your enemy, and pray for those who persecute you” (Matthew 5:44). Where others had taught, “If you make an oath, and you say it just right, you don’t have to keep it” Jesus set aside the dishonest and deceitful mumbo jumbo and told His hearers to be honest and truthful in everything they said (Matthew 5:37). A real call to repentance, a gracious gift of forgiveness, is what Jesus taught and it made sense to young and old, freeman and slave, men, women, and children.
Sadly, no one knew better than Jesus Himself that He was often popular for the wrong reasons. He had come to heal sick and sinful souls, but most who came to Him were concerned only with their body’s wellbeing. He had been born to free humanity which had, since the fall, been enslaved by sin, Satan, and death; but most who looked on Him thought He might free them from the rule and rape of royal Rome. He had come to bring light to our darkness, but people loved the darkness (John 3:19). He had come to be food for starving souls, drink to slake the thirst of parched spirits; but those who followed Him didn’t understand. In Nazareth, He came to bring salvation but they could only see a carpenter’s son. The ruling religious authorities considered Him to be competition; the Roman procurator saw Him as an upsetter of the status quo, and the ruler of His homeland wanted Him to be an entertainer who could do some tricks to pass the time. Jesus was popular and in demand; but He knew public acclamation had come to Him for the wrong reasons.
That’s why, after the tetrarch Herod had Jesus’ cousin and forerunner, John the Baptist, beheaded, the Savior thought it was time to leave the pressure of the unrelenting and misunderstanding crowd. To that end, Jesus, with His disciples, got in a boat and set sail for a semi-private place on the shore of the Sea of Galilee. The crowd, realizing what their hero of the hour was doing, followed on foot. By the time the Lord made landfall, the crowd, composed of thousands, were on their way to greet Him, to listen to Him, to be healed by Him, and to pick up exactly where they had left off.
Jesus had come to seek and save the lost and He could plainly see these people were lost. The Gospel writer Matthew says, “When Jesus surveyed the crowds He had compassion on them.” The Gospel of Mark adds, “Jesus saw them as sheep without a shepherd.” True, the multitude may not have understood Him or appreciated the sacrifice Jesus was making for them; but that didn’t stop Jesus from loving them.
And so the day passed. I cannot tell you how many of the sick were healed, but many were; I cannot share with you the total text of what Jesus said, but I know He would have spoken words which called sinful people to God’s salvation. I cannot even tell you how long Jesus spoke to the masses that day on the shore of Galilee’s lake. All I can tell you is that as the shadows started to lengthen and the day began to wear down, Jesus was still doing what Jesus alone could do. And the enraptured and enthralled crowd made no move to leave Him and go home.
That doesn’t mean everyone was happy. There was a group of men who had watched the day’s events with some degree of distress. With the passing of time, the disciples became concerned with the logistical nightmare created by the gathering of thousands of ill-prepared people. Looking out on the crowd, they hadn’t seen any hawkers wandering among the masses selling peanuts, popcorn, and hotdogs. They hadn’t seen any ancient entrepreneur setting up a nacho cheese stand or an ice cream booth. Surveying the faces of Jesus’ followers, the disciples saw – nothing.
With concern, they approached Jesus. You can almost see them slowly, inconspicuously, trying to sidle up to the Savior and as unobtrusively as possible, whisper in His ear, “Lord, don’t you think it’s time to send these folks home for supper? If we don’t do something soon it will be too late, too dark, too dangerous. Somebody’s going to faint or get really sick. Lord, let’s call it a day, all right?”
In the time they had been with their Master, the disciples were used to Him saying many strange, shocking, surprising things. Even so, I don’t think any of them were prepared for what Jesus said next. In answer, Jesus said, “Boys, I don’t think we have to send them home; I’ve got a better idea. Why don’t you guys give them something to eat?” I wish I could have been there to see the faces of Jesus’ disciples. I’m sure, in turn, they would have shown alarm, confusion, a feeling of shock and total inadequacy. The crowd held 5,000 men, and that’s not counting the women, or the children. Now Jesus had casually told them to get food for the thousands. Was He kidding? Was He pulling their legs? In a panic, the disciples started to calculate:
“McDonald’s, Burger King, and White Castle haven’t been invented yet, and even if they had been invented, where would we get the cash which would enable us to feed a crowd this size?”
The flustered disciples looked at things from every angle, except the one angle Jesus wanted. You see; Jesus was trying to teach His boys something. He was trying to teach – and they were supposed to be learning – to trust and rely on Him. If the crowd didn’t understand who He was, the disciples should have. If the masses didn’t see Him as the all-powerful Son of God, the twelve should have. If the hungry hordes didn’t realize He had come to do for them what they could not do, the disciples should have known. They didn’t.
They didn’t realize Jesus was testing them and trying to teach them. They didn’t understand Jesus already knew what He was going to do. They didn’t have the faith which should have turned them to their Master and encouraged them to say: “Lord, we believe, help our unbelief. Lord, we know when our forefathers wandered in the wilderness for 40 years, You fed them and You will do the same today.” They didn’t say, “Lord, since You take care of the lilies of the field and the sparrows of the air, we are confident You will also take care of these hungry folk.” They didn’t confess, “Lord, You are the Christ, the Son of God. You have come to save these souls from sin and we’re absolutely positive You will save their bodies from hunger. Trusting You, we place this crowd into Your hands.” It was a moment of truth, a time of teaching, but the disciples didn’t learn – at least not that day. Instead of trusting Jesus, they took it on themselves to go out and canvass the crowd. Eventually they came back to Jesus with a boy who had a few loaves and fish – loaves and fish which the Christ multiplied and used to feed the hungry.
After the passing of no little time, on Pentecost, the Holy Spirit did give the disciples the faith which allowed them to understand what had really happened the day when the thousands were fed; a faith which would allow them to trust Jesus as their Savior every day. Between their time of testing and understanding, the disciples saw many things – things both terrible and glorious. They were there when Jesus knelt in the Garden of Gethsemane; when He sweat, as it were, great drops of blood because the sins of the entire world had been laid upon Him. They were there when Judas, a deserter from their ranks, betrayed the Savior with a kiss; they were there when Jesus was led off to be arrested; and they, most certainly, heard how Jesus’ flawless reputation had been stained by the twisted words of paid perjurers.
Too afraid to show their faces in public, the disciples would have been given a full account of what had happened to Jesus. They, along with all Jerusalem, heard how Pontius Pilate had buckled before the pressure of the crowds calling for Jesus’ crucifixion. One of the disciples had been there, the others soon heard how Jesus had been nailed to a cross; how He had forgiven those who placed Him there; how He, having lived a perfect life on our behalf, having resisted any and every temptation placed before Him; having done all the Father asked Him to do, had breathed His last – a fact which had been reinforced by the thrust of a Roman spear into His side.
Christ’s death and burial is the last anyone should have heard of the Savior. But it wasn’t. There is more – far more – to Jesus’ story; there is still the best part. Three days after Jesus’ cold corpse had been placed into a borrowed tomb, He rose from the dead. Some of the disciples went to see the empty grave; all of them met the living Lord face-to-face. Again and again, they saw Him and talked with Him. Then, on Pentecost, with the coming of the Holy Spirit and the revelation and faith which was brought, they eventually understood what Jesus tried to teach them the day He fed the thousands with a few loaves and fish. They learned that when they are helpless, Jesus is not. They learned the Lord’s love which can feed thousands with earthly bread and fish, can also feed hungry souls. They learned that when you see the risen Savior with eyes of faith, the impossible is not only possible, it becomes reality. Eyes of faith see how Jesus forgives sins; how He changes lives; how He comforts those who mourn, and grants eternal life.
They learned that when you have Jesus as your Savior, God can get you through anything; which takes us back to the story of the little girl and her mother. Did you think I forgot them standing in the rain? I haven’t. If you remember, the little girl had encouraged her mother to have faith, saying, “If God can get dad through his cancer, He could get them through anything.” It was a time of learning – learning for the mother, the daughter, the crowd. And what happened; how does the story end?
I can tell you, the mother, having thought for a split second about whether she would be practical or not, said this, “Darlin’ you are absolutely right. Let’s run through the rain. If we get wet, maybe that’s the Lord’s way of telling us that we just might need a little cleaning.” Hand-in-hand they ran. With plastic bags over their heads they ran through the rain, they jumped over the puddles and once or twice a foot landed right in a puddle. They got wet, but they didn’t drown. But there’s more to the rest of this story. Many of the crowd which had been listening to the conversation between mother and daughter also started running through the rain. The ones who didn’t, smiled, and the ones who did, laughed. Yes, they got wet, but they didn’t drown. The Christ who saves souls, and who feeds thousands with a few loaves and fish, had managed to change a nasty storm into a wonderful moment of faith fun.
And if you think that is an exaggeration, read Scripture and hear Paul singing in his earthquake-shaken jail cell; turn to history and listen to the martyrs who, with music, faced the flames of Roman persecution; stand by the bedside of a dying Christian who knows He is, because of Jesus, not really dying at all. Listen to his widow at the funeral home as she, through tears, rejoices that Jesus has taken her loved one home. All of them have learned, all of them believe the Spirit taught truths of Scripture. All of them believe a living Lord can feed thousands with a bit of bread and a few fish; and if He can do that, He can bring us through the rains of life. If this is a Savior you believe you should know, please call us at The Lutheran Hour. Amen.
LUTHERAN HOUR MAILBOX (Questions & Answers) for August 3, 2008
Topic: Jesus KnewANNOUNCER: Now, Pastor Ken Klaus responds to questions from listeners. I’m Mark Eischer.
KLAUS: Hi, Mark.
ANNOUNCER: A listener writes, “All my life, I have believed that Jesus Christ is true God. However, today in church our pastor read the story about the raising of Lazarus, and it prompts this question: When Jesus finally arrived at the home of Lazarus, He asked, ‘Where have they laid him?’ (meaning Lazarus).” Our listener would like an expert opinion as to why Jesus apparently didn’t know where Lazarus was buried. If Jesus is the perfect, all-knowing Son of God, shouldn’t He have known a simple thing like where His friend was buried? Our listener says this prompted her to wonder if Jesus didn’t apparently know this little thing, how can she trust Him to know the answers to life’s big questions?
KLAUS: So, she wants an expert to explain why Jesus asked, “Where have you laid him?”
ANNOUNCER: That’s right.
KLAUS: And were we able to find an expert?
ANNOUNCER: I think it falls to you, sir.
KLAUS: Fair enough. Let’s try to give her an answer. First, let’s begin by saying that when Jesus was born in Bethlehem, He was, through His mother, true man and because of His conception by the power of the Holy Spirit, He was also true God. When theologians describe Jesus’ earthly ministry, they sometimes say it was Jesus’ “state of humiliation.”
ANNOUNCER: Now, by “humiliation” that doesn’t mean Jesus was embarrassed to be a human?
KLAUS: No, the state of humiliation means Jesus didn’t always use all of His Divine powers, all of the time. For example, Jesus walked on water, but He didn’t always walk on water. He quieted a storm, but He didn’t silence every storm that came along.
ANNOUNCER: So if you were to apply this to our listener’s question, you’d say Jesus could have gone directly to the tomb of Lazarus, but He chose not to.
KLAUS: Exactly. Jesus didn’t have to ask. According to tradition, Lazarus’ burial spot was pretty close to his home. Jesus, in all probability, would have known where His friend had been buried.
ANNOUNCER: And I can picture that place. You and I were there several years ago during our recording tour in the Holy Land.
KLAUS: That’s right. But there is another way we could answer the question, Mark. One that I think probably fits better.
ANNOUNCER: And, what’s that?
KLAUS: When I see Jesus performing miracles, I see that He always kept in mind the people for whom He was doing the miracles. For example, in Mark 7, Jesus could have healed the deaf man there without ever having met him. Indeed, if you read the story, you see Jesus using sign language to let the man know what He was doing, and that it was the power of God at work.
ANNOUNCER: So, Jesus didn’t have to go to Lazarus’ home in order to raise him. In Matthew 8, for example, it tells how Jesus healed the Centurion’s servant (Matthew 8:5-13) without ever setting foot in the house where the sick man was.
KLAUS: Exactly! Jesus didn’t have to go to Lazarus’ tomb to raise him from the dead. Jesus could have raised Lazarus from a distance. Which leads me to ask, “What would have been changed, had Jesus done that, if He had raised Lazarus from a remote location?”
ANNOUNCER: Well, people might not have believed that it was Jesus who was doing it. Second, He wouldn’t have had that opportunity to speak with Martha and say that whoever lives and believes in Him would never die.
KLAUS: And don’t forget – it was the raising of Lazarus that finally got Jesus’ enemies organized against Him. It was this miracle, more than anything else Jesus did, which took Him to the cross.
ANNOUNCER: So, what exactly are we saying today?
KLAUS: First, we’re saying, Jesus did what He did the way He did it for many reasons – reasons which aren’t always immediately obvious to us. Second, Jesus took care of the people for whom He was doing a miracle. He didn’t push Mary and Martha out of the way and say, “OK, move over, ladies – resurrection miracle coming through.” He explained to them what was happening so that they – and we- would understand.
ANNOUNCER: Which is why, then, His question about Lazarus’ burial spot wasn’t said out of ignorance, it was really a courtesy that enabled Him to explain what He was going to do for Lazarus and, someday, for us.
KLAUS: That’s right.
ANNOUNCER: With that we come to the end of our broadcast for another week. If you have questions or comments about anything you’ve heard on today’s program, call us at our toll-free number, 1-800-876-9880. This has been a presentation of Lutheran Hour Ministries.
Music selections for this program:
“A Mighty Fortress” arranged by John Leavitt. Concordia Publishing House/SESAC
“Feed Thy Children, God Most Holy” From And My Mouth Will Declare Your Praise by the Children’s Choir of St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, Ft. Wayne (© 1997 St. Paul’s Lutheran Church)
“We Walk by Faith and Not by Sight” by Henry Alford, arr. Kenneth Kosche (© 2000 Kenneth Kosche)
“Gift of Finest Wheat” arr. Jeffrey Honore. From Triumphant Lamb (© 1996 Concordia University – Wisconsin) Concordia Publishing House/SESAC
“The Savior Calls, Let Every Ear” by Chris Loemker. Concordia Publishing House/SESAC