Matthew 15: True and False Faith (6)
Pray Psalm 5.11, 12.
But let all those rejoice who put their trust in You;
Let them ever shout for joy, because You defend them;
Let those also who love Your name
Be joyful in You.
For You, O LORD, will bless the righteous;
With favor You will surround him as with a shield.
Sing Psalm 5.11, 12.
Angel’s Story: O Jesus, I Have Promised
Let those rejoice who seek You and shelter ’neath Your wing.
Their tongues shall rise to speak to Your praise; Your grace they sing.
Your people You will bless, LORD, all those who to You yield.
Preserve them with Your best Word, and guard them like a shield.
Read Matthew 15.1-39; meditate on verses 32-39.
Meditate on the word “compassion”. Who will need compassion from you today?
Prepare.
1. How did the disciples respond to Jesus’ desire to feed the multitude?
2. In what ways was this feeding like the previous one (Matt. 14.13-21)?
Meditate.
We might have expected a different response from the disciples. After all, it hadn’t been that long since Jesus fed a greater multitude than this, with even fewer resources (Matt.14.13-21). But the disciples had not yet learned to think with the mind of Christ. Rather than operate out of the possibilities latent in Jesus, they were stuck in a materialist worldview where all they could see were limitations and restrictions. Where Jesus is at work, material circumstances are subject to Kingdom power, not the other way around.
The multitude had been with Jesus for three days (v. 32). What food they might have had was gone, and they were getting hungry. And maybe a little cranky? To their credit, they set their hunger aside to continue with Jesus. Not even growling tummies could turn them away from the One they’d come to worship.
I can’t help but wonder if at least some of the disciples might have slapped their foreheads, saying to themselves, “Duh!”, as Jesus asked about available resources. They failed the test again, but still, they were ready to do whatever Jesus asked. He again took the meager resources in hand, and through a miracle Matthew didn’t even try to explain, fed the multitude, with food to spare (v. 37).
We note that Jesus sent the people away “filled” (v. 37). Jesus is always ready to fill us, to meet our needs, whether for daily bread or a refreshed soul or power to serve Him in what might look like impossible circumstances. We don’t need to worry about where we “could get enough bread” in the wilderness of this world. Jesus is King. He cares for His people. He cares for us.
Treasure Old and New: Matthew 13.52; Psalm 119.162
“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth” (Gen. 1.1).
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” (Jn. 1.1).
So fixing a meal for 4,000 men, plus their women and children, was really not a stretch for Jesus.
Not for the Creator, Who made the entire universe, earth and everything and everyone that furnished it.
But for those of us observing? It is a very big deal!
And sweetly, amidst all this creative power, Jesus felt compassion for His fellow earth-travelers.
“I don’t want to send them away hungry, lest they faint on the way” (Matt. 15.32).
“The LORD will not allow the righteous soul to famish…” (Prov. 10.3).
“Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good;
blessed is the man who trusts in Him!
Oh, fear the LORD, you His saints!
There is no want to those who fear Him.
The young lions lack and suffer hunger;
but those who seek the LORD
shall not lack any good thing” (Ps. 34.8-10).
But, James warned the followers of Christ:
“Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren.
Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above,
and comes down from the Father of lights,
with Whom there is no variation or shadow of turning” (Jms. 1.16, 17).
We see, and learn from Jesus,
during this particular dispensing of compassion, love, and good works, how:
He took the material available into His hands.
He gave thanks to God for what He had.
He broke what He had in divisible pieces.
He gave what He had to the disciples.
The disciples gave it to the multitude.
And the multitude ate and were filled.
Plus, there were leftovers galore.
Crumbs from under the table sufficient to satiate many more.
“No good thing will He withhold from those who walk uprightly” (Ps. 84.11).
“He Who did not spare His Own Son, but delivered Him up for us all,
how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?” (Rom. 8.32).
Jesus had enough compassion for the whole world that He gave His life as a ransom for ours.
He gives, and gives, and gives some more.
Gloriously, Jesus, and everything about Him, never runs out!
“Jesus is always ready to fill us, to meet our needs, whether for daily bread or a refreshed soul or power to serve Him in what might look like impossible circumstances. We don’t need to worry about where we ‘could get enough bread’ in the wilderness of this world. Jesus is King. He cares for His people. He cares for us.”
“…He cares for you” (1 Pet. 5.7).
Reflect.
1. What do you need to believe Jesus for in your life that right now seems impossible?
2. How would you begin to believe Jesus for this?
3. Whom can you encourage today with the reminder of Jesus’ sovereignty and love?
Why had He earlier said to His disciples, “Send away the multitude,” but now He does not send them away, even though three days had passed? It may be that they themselves had changed and improved by this time. Or it may be that since the people were glorifying God for what had been done, they had no great sense of hunger. John Chrysostom (344-407), Gospel of Matthew, Homily 53.1
Pray Psalm 5.1-8.
Mention all that is ahead of you this day, and ask the Lord to fill you with Himself for each activity.
Sing Psalm 5.1-8.
Angel’s Story: O Jesus, I Have Promised
O LORD, attend and hear me, consider how I groan.
Receive my cries and near be, great King and God my own.
By morning, LORD I seek You, I pray, LORD, fill my cup!
I long to see You clearly, as to You I look up.
In sin You take no pleasure; no evil dwells with You.
Vain boasts earn Your displeasure, and those who boasting do.
Sin kindles Your hot anger, You crush all those who lie;
deceivers live in danger of Your all-searching eye.
O LORD, Your lovingkindness escorts me in this place.
I bow before Your Highness and praise Your glorious grace!
In righteous ways You guide me; Your pathway I will know.
No good will be denied me as I with You, LORD, go.
T. M. and Susie Moore
If you have found this meditation helpful, take a moment to give thanks to God. Then share what you learned with a friend. This is how the grace of God spreads (2 Cor. 4.15).
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Other columns of interest: This week: Our Read Moore podcast continues our readings from the book, The Joy and Rejoicing of My Heart. Our Crosfigell teaching letter begins a new series on the spiritual poetry of the Celtic Revival. The ReVision column considers questions all church leaders must address. Click here to see all the other columns and writers available to you.
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Except as indicated, all Scriptures are taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. All psalms for singing are from The Ailbe Psalter.
