Dear Friends in Christ Jesus,
It might seem that our sermon theme goes without saying. Jesus Never Sends Anyone Away Unsatisfied. Or, we might classify the theme as stating the obvious. Yet out of the ignorance of our sinful nature still lurking in our hearts, we soon forget the Lord’s former deliverances and provisions.
The disciples should not have been perplexed about feeding this multitude of people. It followed Jesus’ earlier similar meal. Their question of Jesus, “But where in this remote place can anyone get enough bread to feed them?,” proves my point about quickly forgetting the last time the Lord satisfied our needs.
The same bounteous hand that had fed the 5,000 men besides women and children opened up again and fed another 4,000 men plus women and children. Our Psalm first lesson anticipate such miracles, and the Lord’s daily natural provision of our food, “For he satisfies the thirsty and fills the hungry with good things.” Jesus Never Sends Anyone Away Unsatisfied. He has compassion. He has power.
Jesus had many followers in the early days of his public ministry. We can’t read the hearts of these men, women and children as they tagged along with Jesus as he traveled in Galilee. Were some looking most for earthly blessings? Were some primarily interested in their spiritual well-being, and if this man was the Messiah? Likely, many had a concern for both in their hearts. At any rate, they were persistent. Jesus said they had been with him “three days.”
St. Matthew fleshes out this event. He tells us “Great crowds came to him, bringing the lame, the blind, the crippled, the mute, and many others, and laid them at his feet; and he healed them.” Both evangelists record Jesus words, “I have compassion for these people.”
Jesus never sends anyone away unsatisfied. He has compassion. We heard last week that compassion means to be tenderhearted toward another; to feel their needs as my needs. Jesus felt that way toward their initial problems and healed them. Now, he felt compassion because they did not have enough food to eat there, or get them home since many had come a long distance.
Jesus performed these healing miracles and this feeding miracle because he is tenderhearted toward those who are in desperate need. That includes us. Not only are we in need of our daily bread, but even more so we daily need the forgiveness of our sins. When God looked at the lost world, his compassion for us moved him to love us and send his Son into the world to redeem us.
At no time during his ministry did Jesus ever betray his promise, “Come to me all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. [Mt 11:28] At no time does Jesus ever betray us when we come to him in prayer or when we come to him in confession or come to receive him through the means of grace; the gospel in Word and sacrament.
Jesus never sends us away unsatisfied but answers our prayers, absolves us from our sin and guilt, and uses the Word and sacraments to strengthen and sustain our faith. If I am unsatisfied in my relationship with God, it is not because he has not satisfied my needs. It is because I do not feel satisfied because he did not do things the way I want. Other than unbelief, what greater misuse of God’s name is there than making the false claim, “God does not care. Jesus does not have compassion for me?” It is blasphemy and goes counter to all the evidence in God’s Word to think or say that Jesus ever sends anyone away unsatisfied.
So it was in this case. Seven loaves of bread and a few small fish did the job of feeding and satisfying the thousands. Both Matthew and Mark record “the people ate and were satisfied” and there were “seven basketfuls of broken pieces left over.” Jesus in his compassion would not send them away hungry and weak to their homes but fed them and strengthened them for the trip.
Jesus did this with his power. Our Savior called upon his heavenly Father in prayer and gave thanks for the food they had at their disposal. Jesus followed the Psalmist’s command in our first lesson, “Give thanks to the Lord for he is good; his love endures forever.” We say and sing those words often. I pray they never get to be thoughtless words but always behind them is our faith in Jesus’ power to satisfy our every need.
Jesus already has shown his power as the Savior by healing the people others had brought to him. He showed that he is the Lord of all things. He displayed his power over the results of sin to show his power over sin itself. He destroyed that power by taking our sins on himself and paying for them on the cross.
Jesus never sends anyone away unsatisfied. I come to him with my physical needs.He will manage them for my good. I come to him with my anger, my spiritual laziness, my lust, my selfishness and covetousness and he forgives them. If I try to satisfy those needs through the law, I discover repeatedly how helpless I am. If I am not satisfied with Christ’s forgiveness, that unbelief will make me walk away from Jesus. Again, not because he did not satisfy, but because I in my own righteousness want to live in self-satisfaction.
We don’t know how many of the people in the crowd stayed with Jesus in the sense of believing in him as their Savior. We do know that as they sought out Jesus for healing and for food, our Savior did not turn his back on them, or send them away empty. He opened his hands and satisfied their desires. It will be no different for you. Nor, has it been in the past. Jesus never sends anyone away unsatisfied. Amen. <SDG>