Put Your Trust in the Lord

PUT YOUR TRUST IN THE LORD
JOHN 6:1-15
After this Jesus went away to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, which is the Sea of Tiberias. 2 And a large crowd was following him, because they saw the signs that he was doing on the sick. 3 Jesus went up on the mountain, and there he sat down with his disciples. 4 Now the Passover, the feast of the Jews, was at hand. 5 Lifting up his eyes, then, and seeing that a large crowd was coming toward him, Jesus said to Philip, “Where are we to buy bread, so that these people may eat?” 6 He said this to test him, for he himself knew what he would do. 7 Philip answered him, “Two hundred denarii would not buy enough bread for each of them to get a little.” 8 One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, said to him, 9 “There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish, but what are they for so many?” 10 Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.” Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, about five thousand in number. 11 Jesus then took the loaves, and when he had given thanks, he distributed them to those who were seated. So also the fish, as much as they wanted. 12 And when they had eaten their fill, he told his disciples, “Gather up the leftover fragments, that nothing may be lost.” 13 So they gathered them up and filled twelve baskets with fragments from the five barley loaves left by those who had eaten. 14 When the people saw the sign that he had done, they said, “This is indeed the Prophet who is to come into the world!”15 Perceiving then that they were about to come and take him by force to make him king, Jesus withdrew again to the mountain by himself.
In the name of Jesus:
A minister was making a home visit to one of the younger families in his parish. A five-year-old boy answered the front door and told the minister his mother would be there shortly. To make some conversation, the minister asked the little guy what he would like to be when he grows up. The boy immediately answered, "I'd like to be possible." "What do you mean by that?" the puzzled minister asked. "Well, you see," the boy, replied, "just about every day my mom tells me I'm impossible!"


What seems to be impossible in your life these days, my friend? Some task you are facing in your personal life? Or maybe as you look at your present, not to mention your future, and wonder how you are going to make ends meet? The impossible becomes possible when Jesus is involved, for when you place your trust in Christ, He provides for your every need. That is what God wishes to teach us in this well-known story of the feeding of the 5000.
We need to hear this message over and over again, that God provides and will continue to provide. Today though people doubt God and His Word. They wonder and call into question whether or not God will provide. In this world our faith is under attack by either wealth or by poverty. It is one extreme or another, the haves and the have nots, if you have you then supposedly have enough, and you can live wastefully and not worry about the present and the future. The problem with being a have and having more than enough is that you are tempted to forget about God. Or on the other side of the spectrum, you are a have not, and seeing as you don’t have enough, you complain about your station in life, you expect a hand out, or you live in bitterness toward others who have more than you.
I have noticed this on television and on the talk shows today, a type of class warfare has broken out in our society and in the world. The wealthy live in opulence, seemingly as if they don’t have a care in the world, they live as if they are masters of their own destiny and as if they don’t need God and as if God doesn’t exist. They live for self, for pleasure, and for the moment. On the other side there are those who don’t have, who live in jealousy toward those who have more than them, who think if they only had more their lives would be better and that their problems would be solved! They live in anger and bitterness. The problem: both the haves and the have nots are wrong for neither place their trust in God.
We need to hear and learn again the lesson Jesus teaches in this miracle, the feeding of the 5000. Jesus desires that we seek a middle course; trust in Him for all things. He seeks to teach His disciples and us that He is all we need. He doesn’t want us to worry about our future nor be greedy for great wealth because WHAT WE NEED WILL BE PROVIDED! Here is the great lesson: God gives to us in mercy and without measure, if we only would trust in Him.
Note our text. Five thousand men, not counting women and children so the number is probably actually in the ten thousand figure, are assembled on the side of a mountain; all are in need of the most basic necessity, food. Jesus, the Son of God, knows this. He knows that He can provide, but do His followers? That is why Jesus asks Phillip the question, to play with him but also to instruct Him: Phillip, where are we going to buy bread for all of these people to get something to eat? The One asking is the One who can provide that bread, but does Phillip believe that Jesus can do that? No! For Phillip’s answer is just like the answer that we would provide. Phillip says: “We only have so much cash. Even if we could buy bread with this money, it will only go so far. You can’t squeeze blood out of a turnip, Jesus; we only have enough for each to get a morsel of bread. Who can be satisfied with that?”
And then Andrew chimes in and says: “Here is a little boy who has five loaves of bread and a few fish, but a lot of good that will do!” I get the sense of hopelessness in Andrew’s voice. Much like those of us you question if Social Security will be there for us in our old age, or if we will have enough in our pension fund, or what about just having enough to get by today? Just as Phillip and Andrew needed to learn the lesson, so do we today!
Jesus took what was there, as meager as it seems on the surface, and then lifts up His eyes to heaven to thank God for His gifts, and then instructs His disciples to seat everyone in an orderly manner so that all can receive the gifts of God. And Jesus feeds, Jesus provides, so much so that the Bible says that everyone ate until THEY HAD THEIR FILL. They had eaten enough, and when they were done, they collected the leftovers and even though they started with five loaves of bread, in the end there were twelve baskets full of leftovers! Even they had more than enough; there was still waste or leftovers remaining! Jesus simply wants us to know and believe that if we trust in Him, we will have everything we need. The One who took on our sins on the cross, to grant us our salvation and solve our greatest need, will also take care of His children on earth, even those needs which worry and concern us.
Now some of you may be thinking, get real, Pastor. This all sounds good but that is not how it works in the real world. My friend, Jesus knows the real world, He came into this world to really live the life as your Substitute. Jesus said of Himself that the foxes have their holes in which they live in, the birds in the air have their nests to reside, but the Son of Man has no place to lay His head. Jesus knows your situation; He has been there and done that. He lived trusting in the Lord throughout His life and then gave up His life as the payment for all sin. The Son of God in human flesh has provided for your salvation, more than that, He still provides for your every need. He tells us to look at the lilies of the field, they neither toil nor spin but they are beautiful in their attire for God has provided them for. God provided for His creation, this is what Luther confesses in the explanation of the First Article of the Creed where he writes that He, God, daily and richly provides for our every need. God provides, but in our unbelief, we despair. The fault doesn’t lie with God, but in our greed and in our lack of faith.
And so God calls us this day to repent. To confess the sins of greed, and want, and our lack of faith. Confess them to God who sent His only Son to die on the cross for our sins. For God states that if we confess our sin He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins in Christ and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. As God’s children God calls His own to trust in Him, for all things, physical, and spiritual.
And yet the world still offers its wares. The worldly still live as a discontented bunch. God gives faith in Baptism, and yet the devil tempts us to question God’s Work. Jesus promises to feed us in His Supper but His Meal is despised, as sinners grow tired of what He gives. Jesus speaks to us in His Word and yet hearts grow cold and hard as sinners seek to be entertained. God continues to give and bless, but for the world it is never enough. God gives bountifully, but it is never enough. Today people act as if God could not perform a miracle for them. They think that if they don’t take matters into their own hands, if they don’t look out for themselves, no one else will. And so they live in greed and want and for them Jesus means nothing.
But for those of us who are in Christ, Jesus means everything. And He teaches us in this simple lesson that we mean everything to Him. He lived, died, and rose again to give us eternal life. And seeing as Jesus gives eternal life, He also takes care of His own, He is so gracious, and He even cares for us, even without our asking! And He tells us this simple truth: Seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all of these things will be given to you. Jesus is rich, we are poor, but Jesus in His grace blesses us with the riches of His bounty. So listen to Him in His Word. Trust and follow Christ in your life. Cast your cares on Him for He cares for you. Let Him worry about where your next meal will come from. Just as His disciples learned this lesson may we learn it well today too!
In Jesus’ name
Amen