Sermon for Sunday, May 17th, 2026 at First Presbyterian Church at Unionville, NY (BPC)
Old Testament Reading:
[2 Kings 4:42-44 ESV] 42 A man came from Baal-shalishah, bringing the man of God bread of the firstfruits, twenty loaves of barley and fresh ears of grain in his sack. And Elisha said, “Give to the men, that they may eat.” 43 But his servant said, “How can I set this before a hundred men?” So he repeated, “Give them to the men, that they may eat, for thus says the LORD, ‘They shall eat and have some left.'” 44 So he set it before them. And they ate and had some left, according to the word of the LORD.
New Testament Reading:
[2 Corinthians 8:1-7 ESV] 1 We want you to know, brothers, about the grace of God that has been given among the churches of Macedonia, 2 for in a severe test of affliction, their abundance of joy and their extreme poverty have overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part. 3 For they gave according to their means, as I can testify, and beyond their means, of their own accord, 4 begging us earnestly for the favor of taking part in the relief of the saints– 5 and this, not as we expected, but they gave themselves first to the Lord and then by the will of God to us. 6 Accordingly, we urged Titus that as he had started, so he should complete among you this act of grace. 7 But as you excel in everything–in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in all earnestness, and in our love for you–see that you excel in this act of grace also.
Gospel Reading:
[John 6:1-15 ESV] 1 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 worth of bread would not be enough 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.
Sermon Text:
[Matthew 14:13-21 ESV] 13 Now when Jesus heard this, he withdrew from there in a boat to a desolate place by himself. But when the crowds heard it, they followed him on foot from the towns. 14 When he went ashore he saw a great crowd, and he had compassion on them and healed their sick. 15 Now when it was evening, the disciples came to him and said, “This is a desolate place, and the day is now over; send the crowds away to go into the villages and buy food for themselves.” 16 But Jesus said, “They need not go away; you give them something to eat.” 17 They said to him, “We have only five loaves here and two fish.” 18 And he said, “Bring them here to me.” 19 Then he ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass, and taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven and said a blessing. Then he broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds. 20 And they all ate and were satisfied. And they took up twelve baskets full of the broken pieces left over. 21 And those who ate were about five thousand men, besides women and children.
Introduction – Here Comes the Crowds (v. 13)
John the Baptist has just died. When Jesus hears this he withdraws to a desolate place by himself. He goes by boat to be all by himself and I suppose “the desolate place” is not the water itself, but some land he rows to. Eventually he will “come ashore.” I think that is not him returning from the desolate place, but is itself the desolate place where the people have followed.
Now, when tragedy strikes, when bad news comes your way, you might respond as an extrovert or you might respond as an introvert. Neither is wrong. Sometimes you want to be surrounded by people, to be distracted from the tragedy, and to enjoy good times with friends and family. And sometimes you want to just be alone, to process your thoughts and recenter yourself, find a new balance and understanding.
Here, Jesus chooses the latter. He withdraws to find a desolate place by himself.
I imagine it was a beautiful place; all of God’s creation is beautiful. And it is made more beautiful by Jesus’s presence. Now, we know that he was not of extraordinary appearance. ([Isaiah 53:2 ESV] 2 For he grew up before him like a young plant, and like a root out of dry ground; he had no form or majesty that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him.) But his calmness, his peace, his presence, and, his divinity, unmixed for a moment with sinners, makes for a holy scene.
What did he do there in his solitary time of solace? We don’t know, but he probably prayed. He probably thanked God for the greatness of John the Baptist and his work. He perhaps contemplated his own fate, knowing that it would be the same as John’s; that he too would be killed by the authorities for the sake of the Word of God. And yet he knew that he had to die, for his death (not John’s) would be for sake of God’s people to redeem them from their sins and gather them into the Kingdom of Heaven.
Peace, presence, and prayer.
And if you’ve ever found a moment like this, you know what’s coming next. Not to be cynical, but to recognize that Jesus experience what we experience:
HERE COME THE CROWDS! And there goes the moment of peace.
Oxlos. It is one of thee words you learn in Greek 101. It means, the crowds or the multitudes. That’s a great Greek word for when you can’t adequately count the people – although soon we find it is 5,000+. Indeed, 5,000 is just the men. So with women and children it could be 3 or 4 times that number easier.
And this is an important historical point. There were thousands of people there who saw this miracle. I often think of the 500 in 1 Corinthians 15 who saw the resurrection. Even more see this miracle. No wonder word has gotten to Herod about the mighty works of Jesus. Jesus certainly isn’t in hiding. He is working in the world.
The crowds. Why are they chasing Jesus? A critical person could say “they just want food.” But a more concerned person might say “Jesus is their only hope.” Of course they are following him. He heals the sick! And he proclaims the Kingdom of God. All other things can be left behind to follow him.
I. The First Miracle (v. 14)
Now, this is known as the miracle of the feeding of the 5,000, or the miracle of the fish and the loaves. But there is another miracle first. In verse 14 there is a miracle of Jesus healing “their sick.” Presumably that is ALL the sick of this great crowd.
This makes for a good application. Not that we have the ability to “miraculously heal the sick,” but, the application is to be servants, and especially to have that willingness to change course; to be flexible. So let’s use that for the application:
APPLICATION: Be Flexible to Help Others even if their need interrupts your plans. [REPEAT: Be Flexible to Help Others even if their need interrupts your plans.]
I think this is one of the most frequent opportunities in our Christian life in these times to display the fruit of the spirit. We have a lot of demands on us. Work that needs to be done. Desires of our own. Limited time. And then someone shows up needing help. What are we to do? Much of society today will say “go away.” They might not say it is some terms, but they will say things like “I need to prioritize MY mental health;” I can’t help you because that would affect me. And, of course we have limits as human beings, but if you’re not able to help others you’ve got a problem. It is a schedule problem and an attitude problem. We ought to be flexible to help others even if their need interrupts your plan.
Jesus was planning to have a time of reflection and prayer. Instead 5000(!) people show up. Does he tell them to go away? Does he say “I’ve got something more important”? No, he HAS COMPASSION ON THEM and HEALS THEIR SICK.
And that POINTS TO (no pun intended) a GREATER POINT. God himself hears our prayers. God has compassion on us. He doesn’t push us aside when we come to Him. He listens and he cares for us. So we ought to do the same, in a human way, to others. Be flexible, even EXPECT interruptions.
II. A Double Miracle (v. 15-21)
Then, we have the remainder of the story. And it is a double miracle. Since we already had 1 miracle – the miracle of healing the sick – this double miracle is now miracles #2 and #3.
The double miracle is FEEDING the 5000 AND having food left over!
I’ve always liked that latter fact. Isn’t it enough to feed 5000?! And then this little truth is put on the end of the account, after they all ate, “they took up twelve baskets full of the broken pieces left over.” That’s pretty cool. That’s amazing. To eat but have more food than when you started! That shows that Christ is Lord over the world; Lord over creation. Now, I don’t think he created new matter (all things were created in the beginning) but matter perhaps was “moved” from elsewhere; taken from the air or from the earth, to make (asah not bara) more bread and fish. However it was done, it was a miracle, something only God can do. So again we see that Jesus is God.
We are reminded in this miracle that God provides food. Sometimes in this case — and with the manna from heaven in the Old Testament — those provisions are “immediate” (without means). God just makes it to happen. Other times, food is provided through means. Through farmers, through food banks, through grocery stores and workers there. However food comes to us, it (and all things) are provided by God. We are utterly and entirely depended on Him at all times. For our food, for the very air we breath.
This miracle of Jesus feeding the 5,000 must be of great importance; it is recorded in Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, making it the only miracle, besides the resurrection, that is recorded is all four gospels.
And indeed we learn from this account, and from the Lord’s prayer that we are to pray for the Lord to “give us our daily bread.” And to recognize that it is indeed from the Lord.
The disciples said to Jesus “send the crowds into the villages and buy food for themselves.” But Jesus says “They need not go away; YOU give them something to eat.” Jesus is saving them the burden of walking to town, but even more he is keeping them there so that he might minster to them, with the miracle and perhaps with his words, though none are recorded here.
What is the purpose of this miracle? What are we to learn from this passage?
1. The Abundance of God
God can give and give and give, and there is more leftover. Indeed, more than he started with!
The love of God does not end. He does not love once, but continually, and we are “blessed forevermore.”
Everything else in the world, and every one of us, is LIMITED. But God is unlimited. His abundance is never-ending and it is forever more.
Indeed we learn that God provides. That could be another application. But even more, God provides abundantly. We are not surviving by having just enough calories, but we have far more than we need. There is almost nothing we lack in our modern world, as far as material things go. But there is a serious lack of spiritual things; those too are provided by God and we ought to embrace them.
And ultimately, what is the provision God provides? It is Jesus himself. He is the bread of life.
2. Jesus is the Bread of Life.
I realize that there are fish here as well. And I don’t use the phrase “Jesus is the fish of life” or certainly not the phrase “Jesus is fishy.”
But we have elsewhere in the Bible that statement and truth that “Jesus is the bread of life.”
This is to use a physical thing to point to a spiritual nature.
Bread provides for us on a daily level; providing nutrition. Jesus provides for us on an every day and forevermore level.
When we say “Jesus is the bread of life” we mean that he provides life, and sustains life. He ALONE.
Not “A bread of life,” as if there were many flavors and recipes, but he is “THE bread of life.”
3. Partners in the kingdom.
Though indeed Jesus provides and is that very abundance of God, he yet calls us to be involved in the work; to be partners in the Kingdom of God.
We see this in that Jesus says to his disciples “you give them something to eat.” And he uses those disciples to disperse the fish and loaves. The disciples are not left without a job. Yes, Jesus is superior and the Lord of All, but in his plan He USES his followers for good. We indeed are to revel to the glory of God, but we are also to work alongside him. That is an honor to do so. So we ought not to shirk back from opportunities saying “Oh, if God wants it to happen, He’ll do it,” for the truth is “If God wants it to happen, he’ll use YOU to do it!” So be ready to work for the Lord. Ready and willing, in joy. Be partners in the Kingdom with the Lord.
4. Satisfaction in the Lord
One more truth to emphasize.
The text says that after the people ate “they were all satisfied.”
The parallel, spiritually, must be that all who come to the Lord are satisfied, fully. Happy and joyful having received that which is needed above all else – not bread, but the bread of life, the very salvation of our souls which we so long for.
There is a satisfaction problem in our world; a meaningfulness problem. And that problem is the root of so many other problems. But the solution to it is simple (though few are willing to embrace the truth), the solution is Jesus Christ. In him we find ultimate satisfaction; knowing in Him the Love of God.
Conclusion
So let us look to Christ, trusting in the Lord’s provision, and working with him for the Kingdom, and finding out satisfaction in that forevermore.
Let us pray.