Matthew 14
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.
One of the interesting stories that comes out of my paternal family history is that my great-grandfather, Wade Hampton (Hamp) Richardson, grieved himself to death after the early death of his wife, Bridget. Hamp’s death certificate says he died of Pellagra, a disease that sprung up in the South in the early 20th century. Even so, family history said he grieved himself to death some three years after his wife died. I heard this story from time to time growing up and my grandfather, who was a boy when his father, Hamp, died, added an interesting detail. He said he recalled all of Hamp’s brothers (there were five or six of them) taking him away, just the brothers, for a number of days out of concern that he would grieve himself to death.
That is, they withdrew to try to help him deal with his grief. And, if family lore is accurate, they did not succeed.
Our text tells us of another who withdrew to try to deal with His grief. I am talking about Jesus after He heard the news of John the Baptist’s beheading. And yet, what happened when Jesus retreated, revealed in startling ways just how big his heart of compassion was.
Jesus grieves.
We begin with Jesus’ grief and his efforts to withdraw.
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.
To understand the phrase, “Now when Jesus heard this…,” we need to go back to verse 12:
12 And his disciples came and took the body and buried it, and they went and told Jesus.
It is interesting to me how many commentators on this scene conclude that Jesus withdrawal to “a desolate place” was because He knew that it was not time to lay down His life and He saw John’s death as evidence that Herod might attempt to take His life at that time. What is interesting to me about that theory (though I certainly do not deny it may play somepart) is that it bypasses what to me is the most obvious reason for Jesus’ withdrawal: grief.
I agree with Frederick Dale Bruner’s assessment of verse 13 that “Jesus is hurt by the news of John the Baptist’s death and wants to get away by himself.” (Bruner goes on to say that this “makes more sense…than political fear of Herod.”)[1]Indeed it does. Katie McKown writes:
The passage begins with a dagger. Jesus is mourning the loss of John the Baptist. Not only is this John the Baptist, he is also Jesus’ family. John leapt in Elizabeth’s womb at the news of Jesus’ coming. John was already preparing the way for Jesus in utero! John the Baptist spends the rest of his life pointing to Jesus.
John the Baptist and Jesus are cousins. The loss of a family member slows even the tracks of Jesus. At Lazarus’ death “Jesus wept” (John 11:35). Jesus had emotions, which is sometimes forgotten. Whether John’s death was one day or one year before hardly matters. Grief can strike when we least expect it—sometimes waiting to fully manifest itself months or years later. Preacher, don’t miss this detail. How many in the congregation have suffered the loss of a loved one and wince at the pain even years later? Can this passage give grieving persons hope?
Matthew 13:13 provides 3 words or phrases that indicate quiet is needed in Jesus’ life: ‘withdraw’, ‘deserted’, and ‘by himself.’ Jesus reflexive action to grief is to take a breath. We would do good to respond to grief in the same way—by retreating, reflecting, and remembering our loss.[2]
To this I say, “Amen!”
Different people grieve in different ways but it is certainly the case that many people try to process tragic loss by getting alone to pray and to breathe. I believe we are witnessing here the tender heart of Jesus. He was not unaffected by death. He was not stoic in the face of loss. He was grieved at the loss of a friend and a cousin and one who played an important role in His own ministry.
Jesus blesses.
Jesus’ need to grieve and to be alone is what makes what happens next so very powerful. The crowds, we have seen, do not wish to grant Him space (“But when the crowds heard it, they followed him on foot from the towns.”). Surely we would give Jesus a pass if He groaned in exasperation at the site of this following crowd. Surely we would understand if Jesus rebuked them and asked them to please respect His privacy. But this is most decidedly not what happens! On the contrary, Jesus blesses the crowd. And it is the way that Jesus blesses them that arrests our attention.
Jesus blesses out of His own heart.
For starters, Jesus blesses the crowd out of the depths of who He is. He is compassionate toward the needy.
14 When he went ashore he saw a great crowd, and he had compassion on them and healed their sick.
What good news these words are: “and he had compassion on them.” Jesus’ loved the crowd. He had mercy on them. He did not turn away from them. He did not scold them. He did not roll His eyes at them.
I recall an expose in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution from some years ago on a powerful mega-church pastor. One of the things I recall from this article is that the mega-church pastor had a rule where his people were not allowed to touch him. No hugs. No handshakes. No arms around the shoulder. No “Baptist side hug” as we call it. No fist bumps. None of that. His congregants were not allowed to touch him.
How very unlike Jesus. He did not put distance between Himself and the crowed. They had already touched His heart. He saw them and He loved them and He had compassion on them.
When I was a senior at the University of South Carolina I was putting together my final semester of classes with an eye toward graduation. I was told to go to my advisor’s office at a certain time and I did so. He was late so I sat on the floor next to his office to wait for him. When he rounded the corner and saw me it was very evident than he either (a) did not know he was supposed to meet me or (b) knew and did not care. Regardless, he made no great effort to hide his disdain as our eyes met and he cursed audibly with disgust while approach me. You must understand that I did not know this man from Adam. He was newly assigned to me. But I never forget that feeling of wilting a bit at the sight and sound of a man cursing when he saw me present.
This passage says that Jesus was the exact opposite. Jesus does not mutter curses when he finds you at His door. He is happy to see you. He wants to commune with you. His heart is very much for you!
Jesus blesses through His followers.
So Jesus moves to bless the people in one of the most famous miracles of all of scripture: the miraculous feeding of the multitude.
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.
It is a wonderful miracle and it is all the more amazing because of its lack of pizzazz, if you will. We are not told of any Abracadabra! moment. No, they simply begin handing out the baskets and they have enough.
But what is most interesting to me for our consideration is how Jesus establishes a pattern here that would become normative with the coming of the church, namely, that Jesus tends to bless the world through the obedience of His followers! “You give them something to eat!” is as clear a set of marching orders for the church today as one could imagine.
Yes, one may find plenty of direct miracles of Jesus without the use of His disciples in scripture. When Jesus heals the man with the withered hand (Mark 3:1-6) He does not first touch Peter who then touches the man with the withered hand. No, Jesus Himself heals him directly. Yet here, Jesus distributes the food through the disciples.
We must not think this is purely logistical, that it was simply a matter of Jesus needing somebody to get the food to the crowd. No, it was more than that. Jesus drew His disciples into this momentous display of Kingdom power: “They need not go away; you give them something to eat.” Jesus is stretching the disciples’ minds and hearts and faith. It is as if He is saying, “Learn to view reality through the lens of Kingdom-possibly and not through the lens of earthly-obstacle.”
In our day, Jesus may yet and often does directly heal those who cry out to Him. Yet through the creation of the church He calls us back to the pattern of our text. Jesus tends normally to bless the nations through the obedience of the gathered church. He is still calling us to take baskets to the hungry! He will work the miracle and His will be the power. But we are to be obedient and, through our obedience, Jesus touches the hearts of many.
Jesus blesses His followers as they bless others.
But there is more to it than even this. Jesus does not touch only the hearts of those being ministered to in these moments, He also touches the hearts of His followers in these moments.
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.
The disciples too are brought into the blessing.
In being a blessing, they are blessed.
So it is with us as well.
I love going on mission trips or doing mission endeavors with folks who are doing so for the first time. Oftentimes first-timers are all raw-nerves and raw-emotions. What I especially like is when, after we return and are giving reports back to the church, these first-timers will cry and inevitably say something like this: “I thought I was going to be a blessing to others, but I am the one who was blessed! I went because I thought they needed me, but I saw that it was I who needed them.”
This reality—that in blessing we are blessed—is one we must all come to understand.
Jesus uses the twelve to feed thousands…but Jesus does not forget to the feed the twelve too! Jesus draws His disciples into the blessing! They too are privileged to eat the miracle meal. They too are called into the wonderful moment!
There is nothing like the blessing of being a blessing!
And so we see the heart of Christ: tender and broken for the loss of a loved friend and compassionate and wide for the hurting and needy world. The heart of Jesus is a beautiful reality. The heart of Jesus is wide enough for you!
[1] Frederick Dale Bruner, Matthew. Vol.2. Revised & Expanded Edition. (Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2004), p.67.
[2] https://blogs.baylor.edu/truettpulpit/2014/11/19/matthew-1413-21/