THE RULE OF GOD AIMS TO GIVE US A NEW LOVE
Matthew 14: 13-36
INTRODUCTION
This past week I was listening to a taped message by Paul Tripp that
he delivered at a conference in early November. In it, he asked the question,
what is the purpose of God’s grace. What is God’s goal in sending his
Son into the world to die on the cross and rise from the dead and in sending
the Holy Spirit? He said the majority of professing Christians do not
understand the purpose of God’s grace. Many think the primary purpose
of his unmerited favor is to keep us from hell and give us heaven. Others
view the chief purpose of God’s favor is to gain us forgiveness of our
sins. Others view the main purpose of God’s grace is to enable us to live
moral lives. It is true that God’s grace gains us heaven and the pardon
of all our sins and the ability to live new lives of godliness. But, none
of these are the principal reason Christ has come into the world.
Paul says in 2 Cor. 5: 15, "He died for all, that those who live
should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them
and was raised to life." Peter says it this way, "Christ died
for sins, once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous to bring
us to God." Moses says it like this, "The Lord your God
will circumcise your hearts and the hearts of your descendants, so
that you may love him with all your heart and with all your soul,
and live." Or to put it in the language of Jesus in Matthew 13, God
sent Christ so that men and women would understand that he is a treasure
chest of holy joy worth giving up every other pleasure in order to have.
God’s goal in your life and my life is to convince us that we will
be happiest if we will love Jesus above everyone and everything else.
God’s primary goal isn’t to make Christians better spouses and parents
and children and bosses and workers. His primary goal isn’t to make us
better managers of money and more healthy in our lifestyle. His chief
goal isn’t to give us happier families or more meaningful jobs. His goal
is infinitely greater and harder than any of these things. His goal is
to take hard-hearted sinners like the people of Nazareth, like the Jewish
teachers of the law, like pagan king Herod, like the disciples, like you
and like me and turn us into God intoxicated people who joyfully give
away our lives to know God and meet the needs of others. If you don’t
understand that this is God’s purpose, life will make not sense. Matthew
records two stories that describe how it is that Jesus goes about the
work of making us into people who are happiest when they love Jesus above
all. But I’m going to let Peter tell you the story.
NARRATIVE BLOCK ONE (vv. 13-21)
I awoke to the sound of someone impatiently knocking at the door. I carefully
slid out from under the covers and off our straw mat so as not to disturb
my wife. Putting on my sandals and my outer cloak I cautiously made my
way in the pre-dawn grayness, through the outer room, stepping over the
half visible mounds of covers that were the other disciples. The knocking
had stopped and I could hear voices outside the door. I opened the door
and stepped into the cool drabness that precedes the sunrise. A group
of men I recognized as John the Baptist’s closest disciples were talking
to Jesus, who, as usual, was already out of the house. The men’s faces
and voices betrayed the sadness of their news.
They were telling Jesus of the gruesome murder of John the Baptist by
the Roman governor of Galilee, Herod. A week ago they buried John’s decapitated
corpse. They hurried here this morning because they heard that Herod had
taken a sudden interest in Jesus. He believed that Jesus was John the
Baptist come back to life and that was why he was able to perform miracles.
Given Herod’s unpredictable and volatile nature they did not think it
was safe for Jesus to remain in Capernaum.
Jesus turned and told me to awaken the others and prepare to go to the
other side of the lake. By the time we had eaten breakfast and packed
a little food the sun was just above the eastern hills and glinted brightly
on the Sea of Galilee. Even though it was so early there was already a
crowd forming around Jesus as he waited for us on the beach by our boat.
We loaded the boat while he spoke with those who had gathered and healed
the sick that were brought to him. Thomas approached the master and told
him we were ready to go to the other side of the lake as he asked. Jesus
bid the crowd goodbye and climbed into the boat as John and Andrew pushed
us off the beach and into the familiar waters of Galilee.
The boat road low in the water with all 13 of us on board as we took
turns in teams of six at rowing across the lake. There was a large group
of people on the beach we had left. We could hear the sound of their excited
voices talking across the water. We watched as the whole group began to
move north along the beach. Jesus sat in the stern of the boat, lost in
thought. Those of us who were not rowing lounged against the sides of
the boat in the bow. Frankly, it was good to be out in the boat, away
from all the people. The past several months had been full of people,
traveling through the towns of Galilee while Jesus taught and healed people.
It was a delight to be with him, to be learning about God’s work and watching
him work through Jesus. However, I was tired of the people with their
problems and complaints. Many days we didn’t have time to eat because
of all the needy people. I was tired of the constant harassment from the
Jewish leaders and the worry over how the Romans were going to respond
to the huge crowds that Jesus attracted wherever we went. I was looking
forward to going to the deserted eastern shore of the Sea of Galilee away
from the crowds with just Jesus and the other disciples.
We slowly made our way across the lake as the sun rose higher in the
brilliant, blue sky. We didn’t strain at the oars as we were in no particular
hurry. Around noon we beached the boat on a gentle beach that slowly rose
into rolling hills covered in the thick green grass of springtime. We
pulled the boat out of the water and took our meager supplies with us
as we marched up away from the beach and onto the grassy slope. As we
came to the top of the first ridge we looked down into a shallow valley
filled with thousands of people eagerly waiting for us. More people streamed
off the road that skirted the northern shore of the lake. Evidently the
crowd on the beach that morning had surmised where we were going and had
hurried to meet us. Like an avalanche they had gathered up people as they
moved through the cities and villages that lined the northern shore until
they had become an overwhelming mass of humanity. My heart sank as dreams
of quiet camping with Jesus evaporated like the morning mist under the
hot Galilean sun.
Jesus smiled broadly and strode towards the crowd with his arms open
wide as if greeting welcome guests in his own home. We took our places
at Jesus’ side, helping the sick to Jesus and trying to keep people from
trampling one another in their eagerness to get close to him. Jesus spent
the afternoon talking with the people and healing them. All of us disciples
resented this intrusion on our well-deserved retreat. The afternoon wore
on into evening and past the dinner hour. The line of people waiting to
have Jesus heal them seemed no shorter than it did in the middle of the
afternoon. Jesus, as usual, was giving no thought to his or our hunger
and fatigue but was happy serving the people.
I grabbed my brother Andrew and John and James and Philip and asked them
what they thought we ought to do. It was late and it looked as if none
of us were ever going to get to eat the food we had brought with us. We
couldn’t very well start eating in front of these thousands of people
that didn’t have any food. We agreed that we should inform Jesus that
it was time to end the work for the day and send the people away. So we
went to Jesus and told him, "This is a remote place and it’s already
past dinner time. So send the crowds away so they can go away to the villages
in the area and get something to eat." Jesus turned and looked at
us and said, "They don’t need to leave, you feed them." Well,
I don’t mind to tell you that all 12 of us stared in disbelief at Jesus,
at the monstrous crowd of people pressing around us and at one another.
One of us blurted out, "All we have are five loaves of bread and
two fish."
While none of us said it we were all thinking the same thing. Is he joking?
What in the world is he talking about? We came over here to get a little
bit of rest and instead we’ve just spent our day helping out these miserable
people. Now he wants us to give away our meager supplies to the ravenous
crowd? What about our needs? What were we going to eat if we gave away
all our food? Even if we wanted to, we couldn’t feed this crowd. What
did he expect from us? He’s being totally unreasonable in what he is commanding
us to do. How could he command such a thing? Why would he command such
a thing?
While our minds were filled with resentment, fear, disbelief and anger,
Jesus commanded us to bring him the bread and the fish. Then he told the
people to sit down on the grass that covered the little valley and the
rolling hills that surrounded it. After the people were seated he raised
his eyes toward heaven and praised God for giving us this food to eat.
Then he broke the bread and the fish and gave them to us and we dutifully
began carrying the food we were given to the groups of people scattered
over the green grass. I am sad to say that we began serving the people
with sour hearts and sullen faces. That quickly changed, though, as we
delivered basketful after basketful of food to the groups of seated people.
It was quite a scene. Over 5000 men, women and children in their colorful
clothes planted across the green expanse like flower gardens under the
warmly glowing evening sky as we ran to and fro delivering the bounty
that Jesus was producing by the touch of his hands. We laughed and joked
with one another and with the people as we served and they enjoyed the
meal that Jesus provided. The crowd was giddy with excitement by the time
the last people were served. We then went through the crowd picking up
the leftovers. Each of us brought back a large basket overflowing with
the pieces of bread and fish that the people did not eat.
In the gathering darkness, the twelve of us came together with our overflowing
baskets of food and looked at each other sheepishly. We knew that once
again we had underestimated the greatness and the love and the power of
Jesus. He had not only provided for us but for over 5000 others. He not
only provided for our present need but we had enough for the entire week.
We were ashamed of our close-fisted selfishness and doubt and amazed
at his openhanded omnipotence. Being with Jesus and watching him supply
the needs of others were far more joyful and refreshing experiences than
being left alone. We didn’t have much time to reflect on what happened
as Jesus told us to quickly get in the boat and head back to the other
side of the lake while he dismissed the people.
Application
I wonder, is God commanding you to do something that you don’t want to
do? Has he ever asked you to do something that seemed impossible? He gives
these sorts of commands for one reason, to expose your miserly impotence
and to reveal his generous power. He deliberately puts us in situations
where obedience to him requires that we give up all hope of having our
needs met by others. He tells wives with husbands who are indifferent
to their needs to continue to respect and submit them. He tells husbands
with wives that continually disrespect and criticize them to keep on loving
them. He tells children with parents who have neglected them to keep on
honoring them. He tells us to not defend ourselves when we are attacked
by others but to seek to bless those who harm us. He tells us to give
money to strangers who have never done anything for us and never will.
He does this to teach us that to be with him, to be loved by him is better
than having a husband that loves you or a wife that respects you or parents
that care for you or friends that treat you well. He doesn’t give commands
because he needs our help but because we need to learn he is all we need
to be happy.
He also deliberately puts us in situations where we do not have what
it takes. He regularly commands us to do things that we have no resources
or abilities to perform. He tells us to help people with problems we’ve
never had. He tells us to give to people when we don’t have enough for
ourselves. He tells us to care for others when we do not have emotional
energy to care for ourselves. He regularly requires of us strength, wisdom,
compassion, and money that we do not have. He does this to show us that
he is able to act and to work when we have nothing to contribute to the
cause. He does this so that we will be impressed with him, not with us.
He does this to teach us that he alone is worthy of our trust and worship.
God’s goal in your life and my life is to convince us that we will
be happiest if we will love Jesus above everyone and everything else.
He does this by exposing our miserly impotence and revealing his generous
omnipotence.
NARRATIVE BLOCK TWO (vv. 22-36)
By the time we packed the boat with all the leftover food and got it
launched it was fully dark. But we didn’t care as we joyfully rowed the
boat westward under the dark sky filled with brilliant stars. We happily
talked about the miracle we had witnessed. We talked excitedly about living
in God’s kingdom where Jesus would provide our meals like that all the
time. We wondered how long it would be before he established himself as
king. All the while we talked we kept looking at those twelve baskets
of food that were the remainder of a meal that started with five loaves
of bread and two fish.
The talking subsided after a time and those not rowing rested against
the sides of the boat as the moon rose over the eastern shore. John was
the first one to notice that the stars in the western sky were disappearing
under advancing clouds. It was as though some black monster was gobbling
up the stars. We were about half way across the lake when the wind from
the storm struck us with violence. Our boat was tossed about as if it
was a toy in a child’s bath. The clouds were scudding across the sky and
the moon was ducking in and out of them. All through that long night we
rowed against the wind, barely making headway as we spent most of our
energy just keeping the bow into the wind so we would not capsize. I wondered
where Jesus was, why had he not come with us? If he were here he could
still this storm as he had done on another occasion on this same lake.
Why had he left us alone in the storm? Where was he when we needed him?
It suddenly occurred to me that this was one of the only times in almost
two years that he was not with us. I also remembered how urgently he insisted
that we immediately get into the boat and leave following the miracle
with the bread and fish. How could he have sent us into such a difficult
and dangerous situation?
I found out later that Jesus, after sending us on our way, dismissed
the crowds of people and sent them on their way home. He then climbed
to the top of the highest hill in the area and began to pray. He was still
praying when the wind that was battering us struck the hilltop he was
praying upon. Yet he did nothing but continue to pray even as the wind
blew fiercely across the lake and flailed at him upon the hill. It’s a
picture I can’t get out of my mind, now that Jesus has died and risen
and gone to the Father’s right hand where he prays for us day and night.
There he was, knowing we were in trouble, praying through the long night.
Hour after hour, he prayed while the wind that was tossing us about beat
upon him as he knelt and sought his Father’s help for us. He patiently
waited for the Father’s command to come to our rescue. Why did he wait
so long to come? Why didn’t he come as soon as he saw that we were in
trouble? You see, many of us were seasoned fishermen and had been in storms
like this before. Therefore, we didn’t panic when the storm first hit.
We were confident we could get through this on our own. However, by the
middle of night, after rowing against the wind for over five hours even
we began to have our doubts as to whether or not we would make it. The
baskets of food were sodden with the spray from the wind and were of no
comfort to us. The blessing of the previous day was forgotten in the
trouble of this night.
The panic could be plainly seen on the faces of the men who were not
fisherman. John, James, Andrew and I did our best to encourage the others
and keep them all working together in rowing and bailing out the water.
I was in the stern leaning on the rudder to keep the bow into the wind
when I saw in the fleeting light of the moon a look of stark terror on
the faces of all the other men. Their eyes were almost bulging from their
heads as their mouths worked to utter screams of terror. Finally, one
of them pointed and cried in an unearthly voice, "A Ghost."
I turned and looked over my shoulder and, by the intermittent light of
the moon I saw, walking upon the waves with hair and robe streaming in
the wind, the figure of a man. My heart began to pound and the terror
that gripped me was far greater than anything caused by the storm. I wanted
to run away but could do nothing but hold the rudder steady and try to
hide myself behind the gunwales of the boat. The other men had given up
all thought of the danger of the storm and were crowding together in the
bow of the boat, screaming in terror and trying to get away from the apparition.
I was afraid they might jump into the raging sea when suddenly the figure
cried out in a voice louder than the wind, "Be of good courage. It
is I. Do not be afraid."
I turned fully around in the stern of the boat and stared at the form
that continued to flash in and out of the light of the moon. I could not
contain my joy. It was the Lord Jesus. Everything was going to be OK.
Like a child who wakes up from a nightmare and cries out to her parent
for permission to leave her bed and come to her parent, I cried out, "Lord,
if it is you, command me to come to you on the water." He uttered
one word, "Come." I passed the tiller over to John and slowly
climbed out of the boat and stood upon the water with the wind roaring
and the waves crashing. I fixed my eyes upon Jesus and began to walk to
him. Nothing else seemed to matter. All I could see was him. All I wanted
was to be with him, to know him, to love him. Like a toddler learning
to walk I stepped carefully on the water towards the goal of my desire,
Jesus.
Suddenly I went into a trough between the waves and all I could see was
the wall of water caused by the wind. As my heart filled with fear I plunged
into the stormy waves. As I came to the surface I screamed, "Lord,
save me!" Before another wave went over my head, my hand was firmly
grasped by Jesus and he pulled me out of the water. I clung to his neck
as he wrapped his arm around my waste. We stood there a moment in the
howling wind and surging sea. He looked directly into my eyes, just inches
from his. He said to me, "You of little faith, what was the purpose
of your doubt?"
I’ve thought of that question often in the years since then. Initially
I was a little put out by it. I mean, I got out of the boat didn’t I?
I walked on the water didn’t I? I didn’t see anyone else getting out of
the boat. The wind was roaring and waves were heaving, I’d never walked
on water before, what did he expect? The way he asked the question was
strange as well. He didn’t ask me why I doubted. Rather he asked me what
was the goal or purpose of my doubt. A lot has happened since then and
I’ve come to understand what Jesus was trying to help me see by asking
that question. My fear of the wind and doubt in his ability showed great
contempt for Jesus. I believed the wind and the waves were stronger than
Jesus, who was standing on the waves. My doubt revealed that I didn’t
believe Jesus loved me enough to keep me safe. Jesus, by walking on the
water and commanding me to come to him gave me every reason to believe
that I was safe. However, my desire to be safe overcame my desire to be
with him. The danger of the storm seemed greater to me than the power
of Christ over the storm. My fear and doubt showed that my heart wanted
safety more than Christ, trusted me more than him.
I have learned what my friend Paul wrote is true, "Therefore we
do not lose heart, though our outer man is wasting away, yet our inner
man is being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles
are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So
we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, because what
is seen is temporary but what is unseen is eternal." I wish I could
say that I never doubted Jesus again, but if I did I would be lying. That
is why it has been a source of great encouragement to me over the years
to think of my falling into the sea because of doubt but then of Jesus’
rescuing me, the moment I cried out. Knowing that Jesus does not reject
me when I fall but responds to save me when I call has been a precious
reality in my life on many occasions.
After Jesus saved me from the water, he carried me back to the boat.
As soon as we climbed into the boat the wind ceased and the water became
as smooth as glass as the waning moon shone down upon us. We stood there
in the moonlight and another Fear gripped us all. One by one we fell to
our knees and worshipped him and said to him, "We know that you truly
are the Son of God." We didn’t really understand what we were saying.
We know now that we spoke better than we actually knew. But we did know,
at that moment that this man was worth giving up everything in life just
to know him and to be with him. There had never been a man like him and
we knew there would never be another. He is unique, one of kind, the Son
of God. He is worthy of all our love and trust and obedience.
Application
I have thought this week as I studied this passage about my life and
about your life and about all our trouble. We have marriages in trouble
and kids in trouble. We have people faced with chronic health problems
and chronic financial problems. We have people here who have lost their
jobs and who are in danger of losing their jobs. We live in the midst
of trouble and surrounded by needy people. Just like the disciples. Jesus
is saying to us two things. First he says, "Don’t send them away.
You give them something to eat." He doesn’t tell us this because
he needs us but so that we will see the poverty of our love and repent
and the poverty of our power and rejoice in his ability to meet the needs
of others. But second, he is saying to us, "Be of good courage. It
is I. Don’t be afraid." He is in the trouble and he is above the
trouble. He puts us in these troubled places so that he can come to our
rescue in them and through them so we will see that he alone is powerful
and gracious and he alone is what we need. He does this so that we will
worship him because in worship, we are happy and he is glorified.
God’s goal in your life and my life is to convince us that we will
be happiest if we will love Jesus above everyone and everything else.
He does this by exposing our fearful hearts and revealing his sovereign
faithfulness through the trouble he sends us into.
© Copyright
2001 John Swanson.
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