Twelve Baskets of Leftovers: The Miracle of Need – Jesus Revealed Part III

Sermon Title: “Twelve Basket of Leftovers”: Working Today, Preparing Tomorrow

Good News Statement: Jesus feeds us today so that we can work tomorrow

Preached: Sunday, January 22, 2022 at Dogwood Prairie UMC & Seed Chapel UMC

Pastor Daniel G. Skelton, M.Div.

 

Scripture (NIV): Luke 9:10-17 Today’s scripture reading comes from the Gospel of Luke chapter nine verses ten thru seventeen. In this passage, Luke retells the story of Jesus feeding the 5,000 plus more…

 

Jesus Feeds the Five Thousand

¹⁰ When the apostles returned, they reported to Jesus what they had done. Then he took them with him and they withdrew by themselves to a town called Bethsaida, ¹¹ but the crowds learned about it and followed him. He welcomed them and spoke to them about the kingdom of God, and healed those who needed healing.

¹² Late in the afternoon the Twelve came to him and said, “Send the crowd away so they can go to the surrounding villages and countryside and find food and lodging, because we are in a remote place here.”

¹³ He replied, “You give them something to eat.”

They answered, “We have only five loaves of bread and two fish—unless we go and buy food for all this crowd.” ¹⁴ (About five thousand men were there.)

But he said to his disciples, “Have them sit down in groups of about fifty each.” ¹⁵ The disciples did so, and everyone sat down. ¹⁶ Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke them. Then he gave them to the disciples to distribute to the people. ¹⁷ They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over.

This is the Word of God for the People of God; And all God’s people said, “Thanks be to God.”

 

 

 

Introduction:

Did you know the first French fry wasn’t cooked in France? It was cooked in Greece.

I used to be a member of the secret cooking society. But they kicked me out for spilling the beans.

Have you ever used the smoke alarm as a timer while cooking, I have!

I will have to admit, cooking is not my forte; however, I am getting better. I haven’t burnt brownies in a while, my hamburgers are no longer hockey pucks, I have experimented with macaroni and cheese, and a pan of rice casserole is something that I actually want to eat after I take it out of the oven. And I have almost perfected the best frozen pizza procedure in the history of frozen pizzas! I am no chef, but I am slowly improving. However, whenever I open a cook book, I get overwhelmed. What is a “dab”? How much is a pinch? What does it mean to “fold” the dough? What kind of seasoning is that…I can’t even pronounce the name of it? This recipe is longer than any book I have ever read…. At this point, I resort to a recipe I can handle: Preheat oven to 425 degrees, place pizza on oven rack, set timer for 12 minutes. Cooking is not my forte, but I am getting better.

Food is part of our life. Whether we grow it, raise it, cook it, bake it, fry it, steam it, microwave it, or buy it from a restaurant, we eat food every day. Without food, we wouldn’t be able to do much of anything. In a study conducted in 2012, 52% of Americans believed doing their taxes was easier than figuring out how to eat healthy.[i] At least 1 in 4 people eat some type of fast food every day.[ii] Data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture found that in 2011 the average American consumed nearly one ton of food: that’s approximately 2,000 pounds of food a year.[iii] The 2012 study also revealed that Americans ate 632 pounds of dairy products, 415.4 pounds of vegetables, 273 pounds of fruit, and 183.6 pounds of meat in 2012.[iv] And lastly, over 10 billion donuts are consumed in the U.S. every year.[v] Food is part of our life. And as Christians, we find that food is intertwined in the teachings and miracles of Jesus and the prophets of old.

Our scripture reading from today, focuses on a miracle that is found in all four Gospels. As a matter, “feeding of the five-thousand” is the only miracle that is presented in all four Gospels. Matthew and Mark find this particular miracle so compelling that they each include another miracle titled, “feeding of the four-thousand.” It appears that teaching through food is something that Jesus likes to do: Jesus is the master chef. He is the master chef of our life; and through this miracle, He is cooking up a recipe that encourages us to create leftovers for tomorrow. But are we doing that? Do we as disciples and as a church have  enough will-power and strength and determination to fill “twelve baskets” with love, hope, grace, forgiveness, and salvation for generations to come? Jesus gives us the recipe, but He needs us to do the cooking.

 

Body:

As I stated earlier, food has a prominent presence in the teachings of Jesus; and not only in the teachings of Jesus but in the Prophets of Old as well. In 1 Kings 17, the Prophet Elijah, during a time of famine and drought, travels to Zarephath in the region of Sidon to perform a food miracle. When he gets there he sees a widow gathering sticks and asked her, “Would you bring me a little water in a jar so I may have a drink?” (1 Kings 17:10). As she was going to get a jar of water, Elijah called to the widow, “And bring me, please, a piece of bread” (1 Kings 17:11), to which she replied, “I don’t have any bread—only a handful of flour in a jar and a little oil in a jug. I am gathering a few sticks to take home and make a meal for myself and my son, that we may eat it—and die” (1 Kings 17:12).

This is where the miracle happens! Elijah said to her, “Don’t be afraid. Go home and do as you have said. But first make a small loaf of bread for me from what you have and bring it to me, and then make something for yourself and your son. For this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘The jar of flour will not be used up and the jug of oil will not run dry until the day the Lord sends rain on the land’” (1 Kings 17:13-14). So there was food every day for Elijah and for the woman and for her family. God provided enough food so that these people would not go hungry; God provided enough food so that there were leftovers; and God provided enough so that future generations would be fed.

Another food miracle takes place in Second Kings 4:42-44: “A man came from Baal Shalishah, bringing the man of God twenty loaves of barley bread baked from the first ripe grain, along with some heads of new grain. ‘Give it to the people to eat,’ Elisha said. ‘How can I set this before a hundred men?’ his servant asked. But Elisha answered, ‘Give it to the people to eat. For this is what the Lord says: ‘They will eat and have some left over.’ Then he set it before them, and they ate and had some left over, according to the word of the Lord.” Again, this food miracle provides enough food that there was left overs for others to feast upon.[vi] God provides us with the physical food we need, but are we using that food to give us energy to create leftovers for others?

Our Scripture began, “When the apostles returned, they reported to Jesus what they had done. Then he took them with him and they withdrew by themselves to a town called Bethsaida…” (Luke 9:10). Prior to returning to Jesus, Jesus called the Twelve Disciples together and gave them “power and authority to drive out all demons and to cure diseases, and he sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God to heal the sick” (Luke 9:1-2). So now the Disciples, probably tired, worn out, and exhausted, have returned after doing what Jesus had told them to do. So Jesus takes them to the town of Bethsaida where they can find rest. Based upon scripture, we know that this peace is not going to last long.

Luke writes, “The crowds learned about it and followed him. He welcomed them and spoke to them about the kingdom of God, and healed those who needed healing” (Luke 9:11). In typical Jesus fashion, Jesus, who is exhausted, doesn’t ignore the crowd; but rather welcomes them—receives them—and begins performing miraculous healings. Although the Disciples just got done performing the works that Jesus commissioned them to do, there is still more work to be done: there were “leftovers” that needed to be acknowledged, cared for, and supported. Just like us as disciples and a church, even when we think we have done all that we can, there is still more work to be done, new projects to tackle, new hopes and dreams to fulfill. We must keep pressing forward.

After a long day, the Twelve Disciples come to Jesus and said, “Send the crowd away so they can go to the surrounding villages and countryside and find food and lodging, because we are in a remote place here” (Luke 9:12). Some translations, instead of using the word “remote,” will use the words “deserted” or “wilderness” to imply a place that is very limited on resources: specifically food and water. But notice, it is not Jesus who wants to send the people away, it is the Disciples who are begging Jesus to send the people away. People had followed Jesus for miles, and the Disciples are concerned for their health and safety since they are in a remote and deserted place.  Jesus is also concerned for these people which is why he replies to the Disciples, “You give them something to eat” (Luke 9:13). Notice that Jesus is telling his Disciples—us included—to feed these people. The Disciples have been given power and authority, and now Jesus is basically saying, “You can do it. You can feed those people who have journeyed to see me. I have given you what you need, now share it and care for them.”

But like us when Jesus tells us to do something, the Disciples cook up an excuse. The Disciples answered, “We have nothing here but five loaves of bread to two fish. (About five-thousand were there)” (Luke 9:13-14). To give you a picture, five-thousand people is about how many people there are when you combine the populations of Newton, Oblong, and Palestine. From this the  Disciples seek to go and buy food for this crowd of five-thousand. There is no way five loaves of bread and two fish are going to feed the multitude. During the holidays, my family usually goes through a loaf of bread in just a few days and there are only twelve of us. The Disciples are thinking practically, but Jesus is thinking spiritually.

Jesus said to them, “’Have them sit down in groups of about fifty each.’ The disciples did so, and everyone sat down. Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke them. Then he gave them to the disciples to distribute to the people” (Luke 9:14-16).  What Jesus does with the five loaves of bread and two fish—looked up, blessed, broke, and gave—is what he does when he gathered with the Twelve Disciples in the Upper Room. Luke reports in 22:19-20, “Then he took a loaf of bread, and when he had given thanks he broke it and gave it to them, saying, ‘This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.’ And he did the same with the cup after supper, saying, ‘This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood.’” From Bethsaida to the Upper Room, Jesus is proclaiming, “Blessed are you who are hungry now, for you will be filled” (Luke 6:21; Matthew 5:6). Not only are the five-thousand fed and filled, but there is enough food for tomorrow.

After performing this great miracle, the miracle isn’t over yet. As Matthew writes, “And all ate and were filled, and they took up what was left over of the broken pieces, twelve baskets full.  And those who ate were about five thousand men, besides women and children” (Matthew 14:20-21). There is more than five-thousand people there! The miracle is that from this great crowd, there were left overs. There was enough for tomorrow and the day after that and the day after that. Jesus knows that these people will be hungry again so he provides them with more food. These closing words challenge us today to think about what we are doing with what God has and is providing us.

As disciples, are we doing what we can to share what God has given us with others? Are we sharing his love, are we caring for those around us the way he wants us to care for them, and are we finding ways to fulfill the needs of those around us? Are we sharing our “leftovers” with God’s people? As a church, what are we doing today so that our church is here tomorrow? What in our church—whether physically or spiritually—do we need to do to make sure that those who scream, fall asleep in our lap, roam around the sanctuary, eat all the fruit snacks, leave crumbs in the pews, are able to call this church their church for generations to come? How are we using our “leftovers” to be the church and disciple that God needs us to be? And are we willing to “feed” those who come to our doors?

I recently came across an article published by SWNS Digital titled, “The Top 40 Toys Brits have stashed away….” In this article the author states, “A study of 2,000 adults revealed they each have an average of 20 toys and playthings stashed away, with 65% planning to pass them down to their children or grandchildren. It also found 57% of those who have kept their treasured toys since they were a child have done so because they hold special memories for them. And 59% of these believe their children or grandchildren will get the same levels of enjoyment from them that they had in their youth.” Further down in the article, the author reported, “That 74% of those who kept their collection feel it is precious to them, while 79% said dusting them off from time to time makes them feel nostalgic.” In life, we find things from our past to pass down to the next generation. We have “leftovers” in which we believe can change the life of someone and keep our legacy and story alive. As a disciple and church, what can we pass down to the next generation?

As you look inside yourself, notice those things that can be used to draw people to Christ. As you look around our church, notice the things that we can mend so that it is here tomorrow. There are always needs to fulfill and projects to work on and baskets to fill, but we must be willing to fulfill those needs and complete those projects and fill those baskets if we want our legacy and story to last. Jesus has given you, just like the Twelve Disciples, power and authority to proclaim the Good News. Now is the time to do what Jesus is calling you to do.

The miracle of Jesus feeding the five thousand is more than a miracle: it calls us, as disciples and as a church, to find ways to provide for those who are in need and to be the church that is here for generations to come. Jesus, through this miracle is creating a forever recipe of hope. Jesus is mixing things together so that we can share the final product with all people.

Conclusion:

I was recently shared the following story. “A Pastor asked an older farmer, decked out in bib-overalls, to say grace for the morning breakfast. ‘Lord, I hate buttermilk’, the farmer began. The visiting pastor opened one eye to glance at the farmer and wondered where this was going. The farmer loudly proclaimed, ‘Lord, I hate lard.’ Now the pastor was growing concerned.  Without missing a beat, the farmer continued, ‘And Lord, you know I don’t much care for raw white flour’. The pastor once again opened an eye to glance around the room and saw that he wasn’t the only one to feel uncomfortable.  Then the farmer added, ‘But Lord, when you mix them all together and bake them, I do love warm fresh biscuits. So Lord, when things come up that we don’t like, when life gets hard, when we don’t understand what you’re saying to us, help us to just relax and wait until you are done mixing. It will probably be even better than biscuits. Amen.’”

God, through His mixing, is creating a life for you that won’t be easy, that won’t be perfect, that won’t be glamorous; but the more He mixes, the more He begins to care for you so that life can be easy at times, so that life can seem perfect for just a moment, and so that life is filled with feeling like you are being cared for. Through His mixing, we become who God needs us to be. We become individuals who find ways to bring people to Jesus. We find ways to create leftovers for generations to come. We find ways to feed the multitude from “two little fish and five loaves of bread.” We find ways to be who God needs us to be.

I may not be the best baker or the best chef, but as long as I listen to God, allow God to do the mixing, I can become a better chef today than what I was yesterday. Jesus provides us with the recipe and ingredients, we just have to have faith that what we put in the oven is what Jesus needs us to pull out of the oven. The miracle of Jesus feeding the five-thousand pushes us to notice the needs of those around us, to do something about those needs, and to do what we can today so that our church is here tomorrow. What sort of leftovers can you share with others? And what sort of leftovers is our church providing and sharing with those around us? Do we have what it takes to feed the five-thousand today and tomorrow?

 

Closing Prayer:

            Let us Pray…Dear Jesus, at times we are like your Twelve Disciples: unsure, incompetent, lost, and perplexed. But we know, that with you helping us to create the best recipe, we are able to feed those in our life, we are able to share our “leftovers,” and we are able to become the church that you need us to be. O Lord, guides to your will and lead us toward those who are hungry for your word, love, and grace. Amen.

 

Benediction:

The story of Jesus feeding the five-thousand is a miracle about taking care of those around us and it is a challenge to make us find ways to use what is left over to become the disciple and church that God is calling us to be. So how are you and are we going to use the leftovers that fill those twelve baskets? Go, in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit as you find ways to share those twelve baskets with others. And all God’s people said, “Amen.” Amen. Amen.

 

 

 

[i] International Food Information Council Foundation . “2012 Food & Health Survey: Consumer Attitudes toward Food Safety, Nutrition and Health.” Food Insight. Accessed April 14, 2014.

[ii] Schlosser, Eric. “Americans Are Obsessed with Fast Food: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal.” CBSNews. Accessed April 14, 2014.

[iii] Aubrey, Allison. “The Average American Ate (Literally) A Ton This Year.” NPR. Accessed April 14, 2014. http://www.npr.org/blogs/thesalt/2011/12/31/144478009/the-average-american-ate-literally-a-ton-this-year>.

[iv] Economic Research Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. “Fruit and Tree Nut Yearbook Spreadsheet Files.” 2010. Web Accessed March 13, 2014.

[v] Jacques, Renee. “Sweet Baby Cheesus, Americans Eat A Lot Of Mozzarella (And These 11 Other Foods).” The Huffington Post. Accessed April 14, 2014.

[vi] In addition to these two miracles, we are also reminded of the Israelites who wandered through the desert or wilderness for 40 years. In Exodus 16, the people cry out to Moses that they are hungry. To their plea of hunger, God tells Moses, “I am going to rain bread, manna, from heaven for you and each day the people shall go out and gather enough for that day…” (Exodus 16:4). Then in Exodus 17, the people cry out that they are thirsty. So the LORD tells Moses, “Go out in front of the people. Take with you some of the elders of Israel and take in your hand the staff with which you struck the Nile, and go. I will stand there before you by the rock at Horeb. Strike the rock, and water will come out of it for the people to drink” (Exodus 17:5-6).