Be joyful in HOPE,
patient in affliction,
faithful in prayer.
Share with the Lord’s
people who are in need.
Romans 12:12-13

Trinity 16 – 2024

THE LORD TAKES CARE OF YOU, EVEN WHEN YOU DON’T UNDERSTAND

Sermon Text, St. Mark 8:1-21. 1 In those days, the multitude being very great and having nothing to eat, Jesus called His disciples to Him and said to them, 2 “I have compassion on the multitude, because they have now continued with Me three days and have nothing to eat. 3 And if I send them away hungry to their own houses, they will faint on the way; for some of them have come from afar.” 4 Then His disciples answered Him, “How can one satisfy these people with bread here in the wilderness?” 5 He asked them, “How many loaves do you have?” And they said, “Seven.” 6 So He commanded the multitude to sit down on the ground. And He took the seven loaves and gave thanks, broke them and gave them to His disciples to set before them; and they set them before the multitude. 7 They also had a few small fish; and having blessed them, He said to set them also before them. 8 So they ate and were filled, and they took up seven large baskets of leftover fragments. 9 Now those who had eaten were about four thousand. And He sent them away, 10immediately got into the boat with His disciples, and came to the region of Dalmanutha. 11 Then the Pharisees came out and began to dispute with Him, seeking from Him a sign from heaven, testing Him. 12 But He sighed deeply in His spirit, and said, “Why does this generation seek a sign? Assuredly, I say to you, no sign shall be given to this generation.” 13 And He left them, and getting into the boat again, departed to the other side. 14 Now the disciples had forgotten to take bread, and they did not have more than one loaf with them in the boat. 15 Then He charged them, saying, “Take heed, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod.” 16 And they reasoned among themselves, saying, “It is because we have no bread.” 17 But Jesus, being aware of it, said to them, “Why do you reason because you have no bread? Do you not yet perceive nor understand? Is your heart still hardened? 18 Having eyes, do you not see? And having ears, do you not hear? And do you not remember? 19 “When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many baskets full of fragments did you take up?” They said to Him, “Twelve.” 20 “Also, when I broke the seven for the four thousand, how many large baskets full of fragments did you take up?” And they said, “Seven.” 21 So He said to them, “How is it you do not understand?”

Lord, this is Your Word and these are Your words. Sanctify us by the truth. Your Word is truth. Forgive us, Lord, when we fail to trust in Your providing care. Let us receive Your blessings with thankful hearts. Increase our faith! in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Dear fellow redeemed in Christ, who has compassion for you: Grace be unto you, and peace, from God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

It amazes us that the disciples were so forgetful. Not long before, Jesus did the miracle of feeding a multitude with some loaves of bread and a few fish. That time it was 5,000 men, plus women and children. This time 4,000 men plus women and children. Jesus gives them a hard time: “Do you not remember?”

First we should see this miracle. We should see this multitude. They were so contently listening to Jesus’ teaching of God’s Word, that they were with Him for 3 days and didn’t think of eating. But Jesus, as true God, is all-knowing. He knew how hungry they were. Now it was too late to send them home. He said they would “faint on the way,” that is, they wouldn’t make it home. They would die.

So He took what the disciples had with them, seven loaves of bread and two small fish, and these 8,000-plus people all “ate and were satisfied,” and there were seven large baskets of leftovers. They were able to go home. Jesus did it! He took care of all their needs, both body and soul.

The major thing to notice is something Jesus says. Before the miracle He said: “I have compassion on the multitude.” This compassion is a major part of the feeding of the 5,000 too. There, in Mark 6, it’s Mark who tells us – by divine inspiration – that Jesus felt this. What’s different in the feeding of the 4,000 is that it isn’t said about Jesus. Jesus Himself says it: “I have compassion.” He’s describing what God is like. He has compassion on the people in the wilderness, but not just that wilderness. He’s seen the wildernesses you find yourself in, so He came down. This is what He came, from the bosom of the Father, to declare.

This shows that God’s compassionate nature has to be revealed. It isn’t something we can know naturally or assume is true. We must be told this. We think it’s natural to know His compassion, but it isn’t. It’s hidden – hidden under your sins, hidden under the sins that are done to you, hidden under sickness and death, hidden under things that happen that you can’t understand, hidden under things that make you fearful. The devil wants God’s compassion to remain hidden. This is when we doubt God or we don’t trust, or just plain don’t believe.

Next we see the old skeptics, the Pharisees, come after Jesus. They “began a dispute” with Jesus, demanding He give them “a sign from heaven” to prove He’s the Messiah. Then “He sighed deeply in His spirit.” Jesus groans at their unbelief, especially since their “testing Him” could affect His disciples, tempting them not to believe. Jesus sighs and groans for His disciples, for their faith.

The last part of this is about the disciples, as they go with Jesus in the boat. Jesus is thinking about what just took place with the Pharisees. He’s worried about His disciples. He says, “Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of Herod.” In the New Testament the Lord often uses “leaven,” how it could permeate a batch of flour and make it swell, to picture how sin has the power to spread. Jesus is thinking of how false teaching, mingled with truth, has the power to change a person’s faith, for the worse. He’s concerned for His disciples.

But the disciples think it’s only about how they forgot to pack bread for the trip. They’re worried about going hungry. Seriously? With Jesus in the boat? He says: Remember the feeding of the 5,000?And what just happened, the feeding of the 4,000! Their memory is so short! The worries take over. They act like the Maker of heaven and earth isn’t with them, for crying out loud!

So Jesus says: “Do you not yet perceive nor understand? Is your heart still hardened?” At the end, He says again: “How is it you do not understand?”

This is one of the disciples’ lowest moments. Jesus really rebukes them! Their faith has failed. They have only worldly thoughts. Being there for Jesus’ Greatest Hits, for the most impressive miracles, has it done them any good?! Jesus leaves them with these stinging words: “How is that you don’t understand?” It seems they’ve really disappointed Jesus.

We’re seeing how unworthy they are of His love and compassion. They don’t deserve it. Their faith isn’t good enough. They’re as worldly as the multitude. Their sinful flesh is doing what it does, which is to turn inward, to be obsessed with having just what they need for daily life, without concern for eternal life. They are showing their spiritual blindness. What hope is there for them?

But this also shows how we are likewise utterly unworthy of Jesus’ love and compassion. We can be as worldly as everyone else. Doesn’t your sinful flesh also turn all your thoughts inward, especially when you are in the midst of worry and discouraging thoughts, so that you’re obsessed with your short-term, daily needs, and not enough about eternal life? This is what it means that we, like Jesus’ disciples, “don’t understand.” It isn’t innocent. It’s looking away from Christ. We don’t appreciate His love and compassion, we aren’t thankful enough for it. So no, we don’t deserve for Him to continue giving it to us.

But the good news, the Gospel, is that Jesus doesn’t treat us as we deserve. H’s patient with the disciples. He bears with their weaknesses. In fact, He carries their sin and their weaknesses, just as He carried everyone’s sin and weakness. He came down to share our human nature, without sin. He came to be tested and tempted, and yet not only to not sin but to have the perfect faith and trust in God, so that your failures to trust are completely forgiven and you are not defined by your worries and your worldly way of thinking, but for Jesus’ sake God sees you having perfect faith and trust in Him, for this is Jesus’ righteousness given to you.

What happened when they reached the other shore is that, first, Jesus healed a blind man – just as He heals’ the disciples and our own spiritual blindness – and then He told them for the first time that He would suffer many things, be killed, and rise again on the third day. This is the Gospel. This is the best Good News! He takes care of you first of all through His cross and what He did there. He took away all your sins. All your sins are died for! All your sins are forgiven!

Because He rose again, that means He lives and He’s able to come to you in His Word and Sacraments to give you the very forgiveness He purchased for you with His blood. And He’s able to be with you always, and to take care of you.

So yes, He takes care of you even when you don’t understand. The disciples learned this. Notice how they wrote these things down – Matthew wrote this down, and Mark got it from Peter, and as the great preacher St. John Chrysostom said, “the apostles do not conceal their stupidity.” They wanted to show us that when you don’t understand, like they didn’t, the Lord still takes care of you.

When you don’t understand things that are happening to you, when you don’t understand yourself and why you are the way you are, when your faith fails, when you worry and are anxious more than you are calm and trust God, it is still true that He’s taking care of you. Listen to Him say: “I have compassion for the multitude” that includes you. See how He takes care of you first by dying for you. See how He is risen and lives to take care of you. He is in the boat taking you safely to shore, He does not abandon you but He is with you always. Amen!