The miracles of the feeding of the five thousand and the four thousand as well as the healings and teaching of our Lord confirmed His Messiahship.
Matthew 14: The Death of John the Baptist
1 At that time Herod the tetrarch heard about the fame of Jesus,
2 and he said to his servants, "This is John the Baptist. He has been raised from the dead; that is why these miraculous powers are at work in him."
3 For Herod had seized John and bound him and put him in prison for the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip's wife,
4 because John had been saying to him, "It is not lawful for you to have her."
5 And though he wanted to put him to death, he feared the people, because they held him to be a prophet.
6 But when Herod's birthday came, the daughter of Herodias danced before the company and pleased Herod,
7 so that he promised with an oath to give her whatever she might ask.
8 Prompted by her mother, she said, "Give me the head of John the Baptist here on a platter."
9 And the king was sorry, but because of his oaths and his guests he commanded it to be given.
10 He sent and had John beheaded in the prison,
11 and his head was brought on a platter and given to the girl, and she brought it to her mother.
12 And his disciples came and took the body and buried it, and they went and told Jesus.
Jesus Feeds the Five Thousand
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.
Jesus Walks on the Water
22 Immediately he made the disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds.
23 And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up on the mountain by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone,
24 but the boat by this time was a long way from the land, beaten by the waves, for the wind was against them.
25 And in the fourth watch of the night he came to them, walking on the sea.
26 But when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified, and said, "It is a ghost!" and they cried out in fear.
27 But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, "Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid."
28 And Peter answered him, "Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water."
29 He said, "Come." So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus.
30 But when he saw the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, "Lord, save me."
31 Jesus immediately reached out his hand and took hold of him, saying to him, "O you of little faith, why did you doubt?"
32 And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased.
33 And those in the boat worshiped him, saying, "Truly you are the Son of God."
Jesus Heals the Sick in Gennesaret
34 And when they had crossed over, they came to land at Gennesaret.
35 And when the men of that place recognized him, they sent around to all that region and brought to him all who were sick
36 and implored him that they might only touch the fringe of his garment. And as many as touched it were made well.
Matthew 15: Traditions and Commandments
1 Then Pharisees and scribes came to Jesus from Jerusalem and said,
2 "Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they eat."
3 He answered them, "And why do you break the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition?
4 For God commanded, 'Honour your father and your mother,' and, 'Whoever reviles father or mother must surely die.'
5 But you say, 'If anyone tells his father or his mother, "What you would have gained from me is given to God,"
6 he need not honour his father.' So for the sake of your tradition you have made void the word of God.
7 You hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy of you, when he said:
8 "'This people honours me with their lips, but their heart is far from me;
9 in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.'"
What Defiles a Person
10 And he called the people to him and said to them, "Hear and understand:
11 it is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but what comes out of the mouth; this defiles a person."
12 Then the disciples came and said to him, "Do you know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this saying?"
13 He answered, "Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be rooted up.
14 Let them alone; they are blind guides. And if the blind lead the blind, both will fall into a pit."
15 But Peter said to him, "Explain the parable to us."
16 And he said, "Are you also still without understanding?
17 Do you not see that whatever goes into the mouth passes into the stomach and is expelled?
18 But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a person.
19 For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander.
20 These are what defile a person. But to eat with unwashed hands does not defile anyone."
The Faith of a Canaanite Woman
21 And Jesus went away from there and withdrew to the district of Tyre and Sidon.
22 And behold, a Canaanite woman from that region came out and was crying, "Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David; my daughter is severely oppressed by a demon."
23 But he did not answer her a word. And his disciples came and begged him, saying, "Send her away, for she is crying out after us."
24 He answered, "I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel."
25 But she came and knelt before him, saying, "Lord, help me."
26 And he answered, "It is not right to take the children's bread and throw it to the dogs."
27 She said, "Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters' table."
28 Then Jesus answered her, "O woman, great is your faith! Be it done for you as you desire." And her daughter was healed instantly.
Jesus Heals Many
29 Jesus went on from there and walked beside the Sea of Galilee. And he went up on the mountain and sat down there.
30 And great crowds came to him, bringing with them the lame, the blind, the crippled, the mute, and many others, and they put them at his feet, and he healed them,
31 so that the crowd wondered, when they saw the mute speaking, the crippled healthy, the lame walking, and the blind seeing. And they glorified the God of Israel.
Jesus Feeds the Four Thousand
32 Then Jesus called his disciples to him and said, "I have compassion on the crowd because they have been with me now three days and have nothing to eat. And I am unwilling to send them away hungry, lest they faint on the way."
33 And the disciples said to him, "Where are we to get enough bread in such a desolate place to feed so great a crowd?"
34 And Jesus said to them, "How many loaves do you have?" They said, "Seven, and a few small fish."
35 And directing the crowd to sit down on the ground,
36 he took the seven loaves and the fish, and having given thanks he broke them and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds.
37 And they all ate and were satisfied. And they took up seven baskets full of the broken pieces left over.
38 Those who ate were four thousand men, besides women and children.
39 And after sending away the crowds, he got into the boat and went to the region of Magadan.
Things to think about…
1. Herod thought Jesus was a resurrected John the Baptist whom he had killed. Jesus was performing many miracles and hence Herod’s conclusion. It is interesting that John the Baptist never performed any miracles, yet such was his testimony before the people including Herod they mistook Jesus for John, Mt 14:2. May we have such a powerful testimony before unbelievers that they see the works of the Saviour in our lives.
2. The Lord Jesus and the disciples would have been exhausted, Mt 14:13-21. They had ministered all day, Jesus performs a miracle and the crowd of perhaps up to 15000 – 20000 people are fed, then the disciples depart in a boat, only to be frightened for their lives at around the fourth watch – 3am in the morning by Jesus walking on the water when the winds and waves pick up. Jesus calms it all, but not before time. In the morning after a day of ministry and a night of no sleep – more ministry, Mt 14:34-36. Are you at your limits? Do you feel at breaking point? Jesus will deliver, but in His time, not yours. isHHis word to Peter remains the same for us “"O you of little faith, why did you doubt?" Mt 14:31
3. In Mt 15:1-9 Jesus says the Pharisees break the commandments through their man-made laws. In this case it is the 5th commandment “honour your father and mother” was discarded because they justified it by their giving to God rather than by providing for their parents. In what ways do we grieve the Spirit of God by ignoring our neighbours or our unsaved family, whom we are called to love, by being too busy to show them love? May we be sensitive to the Spirit’s leading and fulfill even more than the letter of the law.
4. What defiles a person, Mt 15:10-15? I think we can be like the Pharisees and have our own man-made laws as Christians whether written or otherwise that effectively nullify the Word of God. We often justify what we spend our money on, or what doctrine we want to believe, or what we spend our time and energies on without seriously considering the Word of God or how it affects the gospel we are called to share. People watch us, including how we live out our religious convictions. Let’s make sure our faith is in agreement with the Spirit and truth, rather than our own corrupt personal biases or opinions.
5. Look at the faith of this Canaanite woman Mt 15:15-21. She was essentially called a Gentile dog by Jesus. Yet her response is gold. She says to Jesus that even the dogs are fed from the master’s table. Jesus acknowledges her all too uncommon faith. She is blessed as a result. She had a humble heart. Unlike Israel at the time – the legitimate children, many of whom lacked true faith. The reality is, we are all sinners (dogs) saved by grace. Let us never forget the height from which we have fallen.
6. The feeding of the four thousand is no less a miracle than the feeding of the five thousand, even though here in Mt 15:32-38 there were seven loaves instead of five and a few fish instead of two. What do you have at your disposal; do you have more or less than others? Regardless, it requires a miracle to multiply and make disciples for the kingdom of God. Let’s never look at our own provisions in this work, but look to the Provider.
VisionPoint! For cell groups from Sunday morning’s message.
CBC’s Vision :- To be a growing biblical church community, significantly influencing our city and beyond, through intentional outreach, fulfilling our mission.
Questions for Cell groups
Sunday’s sermon, “Where did God come from?” came from Matthew 1:1-17 by Ps Jay.
1. Have a look at some of the names in the genealogy of Jesus. Does this line look as if a Saviour would come from it? What do you think?
2. These names point to the historical line of Jesus coming through Abraham as well as being a son of David. Jay mentioned historical records regarding Jesus and how the NT was formed on Sunday. Do you recall some of what was said? How important is evidence to your faith?
3. Jay mentioned that while the line of Christ and evidence for the person and work of Jesus was readily available it was not enough to save a soul. Even Jesus said if you don’t believe Me believe the works that you may believe, John 10:36, 37. Explain what is necessary for someone to accept Christ, even more than, facts, evidence, experiences or miracles. What is your own testimony of coming to faith?
4. Persecution was what confirmed what books would finally make it into the NT. How was this done. Discuss 2Pet 1:16-21 as well as 2Pet 3:15, 16 as well as 1Cor 14:37.
5. Pray for your cell group and prayer/praise points. Pray for our “Blessing Beirut” appeal as we endeavour to help these ‘sons of Abraham’.
Prayer Points
1. Pray for Lebanon and the people of Beirut with this accidental blast from the storage of ammonium nitrate. 157 confirmed dead. 5000 wounded, 300, 000 left homeless. $10 - $15 billion to rebuild.
2. Continue to pray for Victoria, numbers of infections are going down, but the increased lockdown will see many businesses go under and depression and mental health to be a problem in the state.
4. Continue to pray for our government for wisdom and economic management.
6. Sunday’s messages. The message this week – “Give me a sign” Matt 16 – Ps Jay.
7. Church finances to meet our expenses and to put a roof over our café.
8. Our City and Country – Pray for revival over our city and the leadership of our country even through these challenging times.
Praise Points.
1. Finances continue to be maintained.
2. Wonderful spirit of joy in our church. Thankyou Jesus.
3. Donations to Café roof ($5,145) and Blessing Beirut ($900). Thankyou!
5. Unity, peace and grace at CBC.
6. Praise God for all those who serve at CBC.
Announcements
1. Prayer meetings Tuesday and Thursday mornings 5:30 -6:30am at Church
2. We have established a “Blessing Beirut” fund. After prayer and seeking after a support partner the Lord has led us to Ras Beirut Baptist. We have received word back from them. Pray our gift would bless Beirut with the gospel.
3. One service at 9:30am Every Sunday morning. This service will also be live streamed on Youtube. No kisses, hand-shakes or hugs are allowed. Hand sanitizer is to be used, tables will be wiped and chairs arranged for appropriate distancing. Families can of course sit together. CBC is allowed up to 50 people inside, then we have an overflow in the cafe.
4. Cell groups – Ask for details as to how and what is required.
5. Church bank details bsb:- 704 913 and Acc number:- 4000 4388 1
6. Kids Church will be run in the house when the message starts.
