Whatever it is He has, be it bread, compassion, mercy, or forgiveness, He will always be sure there is someone there to distribute it to the beggar in need.
This Sunday we are presented with one of the most popular miracles Jesus ever performed: The feeding of the five thousand. This is one of those passages that poses a number of challenges for the preacher. First, this miracle is very familiar to most hearers. Preaching this text is like watching a suspenseful movie for the tenth time. You know how it is going to end so the story has lost some of its edge. How do you keep the congregation engaged when they already know what Jesus will do with the loaves and fishes? Second, one of the reasons this account is so familiar is because it is one of the few miracles found in each of the four gospels. So, you will want to ask, how is Matthew’s recounting of the event unique? Third, this is a miracle that is hard for people to identify with as there are quite few of us who have ever actually been hungry in a desert with Jesus. So, with these challenges, how ought one go about preaching on Jesus’ miraculous feeding?
To engage the first challenge of familiarity, I would recommend beginning your sermon at the end of the text. Everyone in the congregation knows Jesus is going to feed these hungry crowds with the five loaves of bread and two fish. So, start the sermon from the post-meal perspective. I would recommend preaching it in the first person from the perspective of one of the people in the account as the look back on the story. You could present it from the perspective of a person in the crowd, one of the disciples, or even the young boy who had the five loaves and two fish (though Matthew leaves out this detail, your hearer is likely to know that a young boy had the fish and loaves from the other accounts; I think this is an instance where importing such information is useful).
Start the sermon with the character in utter amazement over what they just saw. Then, have them recount the context. Since Matthew emphasizes Jesus’ compassion in verse 14, focusing in on that verse will help you champion one of Matthew’s main emphases in his rendering of the account. It is rare for us to hear about Jesus’ internal life, so when it happens, it is worth focusing in on. Have your narrator talk about how amazed they were at Jesus’ compassionate love for the people, even as He was mourning the death of His cousin John (see the previous verses in Matthew 14). Nothing, it seemed, would stop Jesus from having compassion for those who came to Him in their time of need. Even when they needed daily bread, He would not allow the lack of food to prevent Him from showing them the necessary compassion.
Nothing, it seemed, would stop Jesus from having compassion for those who came to Him in their time of need
At this point, you can have the narrator take a detour into the Old Testament. After all, one of Matthew’s main concerns is showing Jesus is the Lord of Israel. So, you will want to emphasize the continuity between God’s work in the Old Testament and Jesus’ work in this text. Have the narrator explain how God has met the needs of His people in the past with miraculous bread in desert places. Talk about the miraculous bread from Heaven which God provided for Israel in the wilderness on their way to the Promised Land. Draw connections between that feeding and Jesus’ feeding. Make the point here how this God cares for both the spiritual and physical needs of His people. Discuss how God loves to give us bread when we are starved for His mercy. Make a not-so-subtle allusion to the Lord’s Supper here.
Then, go back to the narrative of Jesus feeding the five thousand and finish the story. Discuss the disciples taking the broken bread from Jesus’ hands and how they distributed the food to thousands of people. Emphasize the abundance of food and the significant amount of leftovers. Here is where I would want to meet the nature of God’s work among His people now. Have the narrator discuss the way Jesus used the hands of His disciples to distribute the gifts. You can show that Jesus always takes what is His and distributes it through others. Call back to the time when Jesus sent the twelve to carry out His ministry and say something along the lines of, “I imagine He will never stop working this way. Whatever it is He has, be it bread, compassion, mercy, or forgiveness, He will always be sure there is someone there to distribute it to the beggar in need.” You may even talk about the kinds of people who come to Jesus in need and what sorts of blessings He has to distribute to them. Sinners get forgiveness, the lonely are given companionship in the Church, the hurting are given healing, and so forth.
Changing the perspective from which the account is told will give your hearers a fresh take on a familiar passage. Since Matthew is very keen to emphasize Jesus’ role as the fulfillment of Israel’s history, be sure to draw connections to the Old Testament. Finally, be sure to tell the story in such a way that your own hearers are able to meditate on how Jesus has given His gifts of grace to them.
God bless your preaching!
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Additional Resources:
Craft of Preaching-Check out 1517’s resources on Matthew 14:13-21.
Concordia Theology-Various helps from Concordia Seminary in St. Louis, MO to assist you in preaching Matthew 14:13-21.
Lectionary Kick-Start-Check out this fantastic podcast from Craft of Preaching authors Peter Nafzger and David Schmitt as they dig into the texts for this Sunday!
The Pastor’s Workshop-Check out all the great preaching resources from our friends at the Pastor’s Workshop!
