Talk 9: The Feeding of the Five Thousand Matthew Chapter 14 v 13-36

Theme

In this passage we look at two stories, the feeding of the five thousand and also the story of walking on water. The main theme is to encourage the boys to step out in faith in their walk with Jesus.

The following are only some notes to guide your thoughts as you prepare your talk. After you have read the passage spend some time in prayer asking God to guide your thoughts as to what He wants you to share with the boys. You may also want to read over the previous talk and the talk which follows, to give you an idea of what will be covered the following week.

Warm Up

You could retell a story from your own life in which you had to step out in faith and how God watched over you.

You could show a clip from the film Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. Towards the end when trying to reach the Holy Grail to save his father, Indiana steps off the rock into the gapping chasm in faith that there is solid ground somewhere below his feet.

Possible Material for Your Talk

In the preceding verses we read that the people of (where Jesus grew up) reject Jesus and also is beheaded by Herod. Upon hearing the news of John the Baptist, Jesus decides to withdraw from by boat to find a solitary place to spend time with God. However when people see him and recognise him, they follow on foot from the surrounding towns and soon a large crowd gathers. Jesus' reaction of finding a crowd instead of his planned time to think things through, is not one of irritation or frustration, but one of compassion as he heals those who are sick.

How do we react if our plans are interrupted by the needs of others? Do we feel frustration and become annoyed?

As evening approaches the disciples come to Jesus with the suggestion that the people go into the villages to buy food, though you would imagine with the large crowd even the villages would have struggled to feed the people. Building on the suggestion of the disciples, Jesus suggests that they feed the people.

The disciples reply that they only have five small loaves of bread and two dried fish. Jesus takes what they have and gives thanks to God. He then gives the food to the disciples to distribute amongst the people. After everyone has eaten the disciples pick up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that are left over. Matthew tells us that the number of people fed was five thousand men plus women and children.

Having witnessed the of Jesus providing food for so many, the story on most people's mind would have been the story of God providing food (manna) for the Israelites as they journeyed through the Deseret for 40 years, hundreds of years ago after they left Egypt. Would they have been thinking that Jesus was the new , the promised Messiah? With no supermarkets most people had to grow their own food, so being able to eat was the most important priority for each day.

Do we, like the disciples, look at a need and then the limited resources available? Or do we look at the size of the need and the greatness of God?

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What do we have that we could give Jesus? The disciples gave Jesus all they had, 5 loaves and 2 fish and look what Jesus did.

After the crowd had been fed Jesus sends the disciples back across the lake and he disperses the crowd. Eventually Jesus has time alone to pray and spend time with his Father. By this stage the disciples were far out into the lake, though the crossing was tough going because of the wind and the waves.

We are told on the fourth watch of the night (sometime between 3am and 6am) Jesus went out to the disciples walking on the lake. When the disciples saw him they were terrified as they thought it was a . Could you imagine the scene, it is dark, you are tired and your mind is trying to comprehend the miracle Jesus performed earlier in the day. The wind is howling, the waves are buffeting the boat and throwing spray up into the air and through the spray and waves, you see in the distance, a shadow of a figure walking through the waves towards you.

Jesus quickly puts the ’s fears at ease and calls out to them not to be afraid. Realising it was his friend and teacher, Peter asks Jesus to tell him to come out to Jesus on the water. Jesus tells him to come. Peter gets down out of the boat and with his eyes focused on Jesus begins to walk on the water. We don't know how far from the boat Peter got, but at some point doubt began to creep into his mind, the waves, the wind tugging at his clothes, the spray, the noise of the disciples on the boat. Fear spreads and so he begins to sink. Peter calls out to Jesus to save him and Jesus reaches out and takes hold of him. Soon they are back in the boat. Michael Wilkins notes that Peter's faith was enough to motivate him, but not enough to sustain him.2

The disciples understanding of Jesus although not complete until after his resurrection, is deepening and for the first time they refer to Jesus as the in worship.

John Ortberg has written a book on the passage of Jesus walking on the water called "If you want to walk on water, you've got to get out of the boat." Maybe a book you might want to encourage the boys to read.

When we read this passage maybe we look upon Peter with disappointment, but if we are honest most of us would probably have been like the other disciples in the boat. We would never have even thought of getting out of the boat. Peter knew that Jesus could save him, because unlike the other disciples, he took the step of faith and got out of the boat. If we want to experience God in our lives we have to step out in faith. If you remain in the comfort of the boat you may never become the person God has planned for you.

By getting out of the boat, Jesus maybe calling you into a position you have never been in before, you will discover yourself in circumstances that you have never experienced before. So it is important to keep your eyes fixed on Jesus. The Devil will do anything to distract you, so that you will take your eyes off Jesus; the fear of the waves of what might happen; the wind of doubt and distraction; the noise of others around you and what they may saying; the darkness of fear. For those who have been in these circumstances and it has been difficult to see Jesus, there is no better way to describe the feeling than that of drowning. You can't breathe.

You might think that you have little faith and do not have much to give. Peter and the other disciples only had five loaves and two fish and they only had a limited faith but they said yes to Jesus and their faith grew as they walked with Jesus. Why not say yes to Jesus, he will not leave you, he will be beside you just keep your eyes fixed on him through the storms. Even when you can't see him, he is there reaching out to hold you through your storms of life, even when you want to give up.

2 The NIV Application Commentary: Matthew , Zondervan Page 517

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