Exodus 16:11-18 & Matthew 15:29-39

#doyouknowhimtelford – The Provider

This morning we are continuing our focus on Jesus, asking ourselves Do You Know Him? Today we are thinking particularly about Jesus as our Provider, and as we do that it will be helpful if you have Bible to hand as we will be hopping around it a bit. Ideally if you’ve got a paper Bible to hand, that would be great, as that makes it easier to see how bits fit together, but a Bible on your phone will work as well.

In a moment we are going to use our imaginations to engage with this episode from Matthew’s eyewitness account of the good news of Jesus. Before we do that, though, let’s just set the scene. As we read the accounts of Jesus’ life and ministry it can be a bit difficult to keep track of all the “and he crossed the lake” and we don’t carry in our heads maps of Galilee 2,000 years ago, so we may miss some things.

We know from Mark’s account of Jesus’ life that today’s events happened in the are region of the Decapolis, but where was that, and what’s it’s significance? Well the Decapolis was an area of 10 towns, to the south east of the lake of Galilee, mostly inhabited by Gentiles. And Jesus had been there once before. In Mark 5 we read that Jesus crossed the lake to the region of the Gerasenes, and met a man, oppressed by evil spirits, who Jesus freed by sending the evil spirits into a herd of pigs who had rushed into the lake and drowned.
The man wanted to go with Jesus, but Jesus said no, but did commission him to “Go home to your own people and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you.” So, Mark writes, the man went away and began to tell in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him.

It isn’t made explicit in the Bible, but I wonder if this crowd of at least 4,000 people, coming to Jesus for healing and provision isn’t the fruit of the ministry of that one man that Jesus sent into the region.

Focussing in a bit nearer to today’s episode, we see something that happened only a chapter ago. The feeding of another massive crowd with five loaves and two fish. This does, perhaps prompt the question, why do it again? I wonder if there is a clue in the events that are recounted in the previous verses. This time Jesus was to the north west of Galilee, in Tyre and Sidon, another Gentile area. Here we find a difficult account of a Gentile woman coming to Jesus for help, and him initially refusing her, saying that the bread of the children should not be given to the dogs. She matches him, and responds that even the dogs get the crumbs falling from the table. Jesus commends her for her faith, and heals her daughter. We then get today’s accounts of great healings, and the provision of more bread in a Gentile area.

I wonder if this is a lived out demonstration that the things that Jesus provides aren’t just for the people of Israel, but for the whole human race, a demonstration that Jesus set in motion all those months ago when he first visited the Decapolis.

So much for the “before”, but actually the “after” is also important because it throws important light on what happens in today’s episode. The Jewish religious leaders and experts come to Jesus and ask him for a sign from heaven. As if the miracles – the healings, the feeding of the crowds aren’t enough. He tells them off, and tells them that the only sign that they will receive is the sign of Jonah. We don’t have time to go into this in all its depth this morning – if you want to explore further then do read Jonah this week, and think about what that sign might be. I have two suggestions. Firstly – it strikes me as relevant that Jonah was sent to Nineveh, a Gentile city, and that he didn’t want to go because he didn’t want God to forgive foreigners. It seems to me that part of the sign of Jonah is God’s kingdom breaking through the barriers of nationalism and racism.

The second suggestion comes from Matthew 12 when Jesus says, “For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.” Jesus’ death and resurrection is the ultimate sign of the provision of new life, beyond death, for all those who are willing to receive it. In the story of Jonah God provided all kinds of things, including the fish that swallowed him. In the midst of the trials and pain of life it can be difficult to trust in God’s provision, but the sign of Jonah is one that points beyond the pain to the promise of new life, whilst reminding us that the road to resurrection always goes by way of the cross.

So, having set the scene somewhat, filled in some of the context, let’s look in detail at today’s passage, using our imaginations to put ourselves there, engaging our senses to experience it.

Imagine you have been in the hills with Jesus for three days.

Imagine the warm wind and the dust that is being kicked up by those around you.

What kind of shoes would you have been wearing? What would the terrain have been like? Sharp stones, thorny bushes. How are your feet feeling? How is your body feeling? Do you feel it is worth the effort to still be out here? Why? Why not?

What do you see?

What does the Crowd look like? Excited?, weary?, expectant?

What kinds of people are with you? What are their ages?

And you see Jesus talking and healing? How is he looking? Tired? Happy?

He catches your eye. What are you feeling? What do you think He is feeling?

Now concentrate on the soundscape. What do you hear? What sounds of nature? What are the crowd talking about?

You hear Jesus. He says “I have compassion for these people”… what does that mean for you as you hear those words spoken to you?

What do you smell? The crowd members close to you? The breeze coming off the lake. The food when it is handed to you.

And now to touch: What do you feel? What’s the texture of your clothes? The food? Where are you in the scene? What are you sitting on? Is it hard or comfortable?

What do you taste? How does your mouth feel before the food is announced. How does this fish and bread change things?

Now you’ve ‘composed the scene’, let it run in your imagination, allowing yourself to be drawn into whatever aspects seem attractive or interesting, trusting that this is God leading your imagination, taking you to deeper truths.

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