Jesus Is in Complete Control!

10th Sunday after Pentecost, 8/1/21 John 6:1-15 Jesus Is in Complete Control! I. He creates the need. II. He fills the need. You decide to host a rather large social gathering at your home. Weeks ahead of time you send out invitations and ask the invitees to respond. About half the people on your list indicate they will attend. You make plans accordingly. You buy and prepare what you guessed would be enough food and things to drink. You make sure you have enough places for people to sit and room enough for them to enjoy themselves in conversation. And then the day arrives. The people you expected to be there show up, but so do almost all of the other people you invited. So, what do you do? Many of us would panic. You have your week all planned out. You’ve carefully noted all your appointments. You’ve also planned when you’ll get some grocery shopping done as well as when you’ll have time to shop for a birthday gift for a loved one. You’ve even planned for a little “me” time, and just the thought of the pleasant things you might do with that time is enough to get you through this busy week. But then tragedy strikes a loved one. He or she needs your help. So, what do you do? You rearrange your entire week. I’m sure you could tell me countless stories about your experiences of dealing with the unexpected. When those unexpected events could have easily been avoided—such as with the unexpected guests at your home—you end up feeling angry and used. When those events can’t be avoided—such as the tragedy in your family—you end up feeling helpless—helpless to avoid such things in your life and in the lives of your loved ones. The bottom line is we’d like to be more in control. If only we had more control, or even complete control, things would go so much better in our lives. But the truth is we don’t have control over much of anything. There’s only one person who always has control. That’s Jesus, our Savior. We know that to be true, but so often in our lives we have a problem with that truth. If Jesus is in control of all things, then why doesn’t he do something about the problems I’m facing in my life? This morning’s sermon text answers that question. It’s the familiar event of Jesus feeding the 5,000. There are several ways of approaching this text, and one of them is from the aspect of the control that Jesus has over all situations, because nothing unexpected happens to him. Jesus is in complete control. Let’s apply that truth to our hearts and lives as we consider this event in the life of Jesus. I. Do you know the motto of the United States Coast Guard? It’s the Latin phrase semper paratus which means “always prepared.” Having lived in the Midwest all my life, I have to admit that my connection to the Coast Guard couldn’t possibly be any less, but for people who spend considerable time on the water, that motto brings a tremendous amount of comfort. Even if you find yourself in trouble 100 miles offshore, the Coast Guard is always prepared to help you. Did you catch the fact that Jesus is always prepared in the account of the feeding of the 5,000? Maybe not. But if we take a close look at what John writes here, and place that along side of what the other gospel writers tell us, you can’t miss the fact that Jesus is always prepared no matter what the situation. Jesus wants to spend time alone with his disciples. So, he crosses the Sea of Galilee, but the crowd follows him to the other side of the lake. John tells us, “When Jesus looked up and saw a great crowd coming toward him, he said to Philip, ‘Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat?’” The crowd isn’t even there yet. Jesus hasn’t spent any time with them yet. And yet he knows what their situation will be. They’re going to be hungry. But, instead of handling that situation all by himself, he decides to involve his disciples. He questions Philip and, in doing so, he actually involves the other 11 disciples in this situation as well. He doesn’t simply ask, “What shall we do?” He indicates that the solution is to buy food, but where? And then he leaves it at that. Philip answers him, but doesn’t offer a solution. What John doesn’t explicitly tell us is that now Jesus turns his attention to the crowd which has just arrived. The next sentence John writes involves a boy who has a small amount of food. Obviously, he’s a member of the crowd. The other gospel writers tell us what Jesus did with this crowd. He healed those who were sick. He spoke God’s word to them. He preached. He taught. Likely at some length. And once that had occurred, he and his disciples recognized the need. These people had been here on the mountainside for what might have been a couple hours or more. They were hungry. It was getting late in the day. Sending them home without food wasn’t an option. Could they buy some food as Jesus had intimated? Philip had correctly stated that they didn’t have the money. Eight months’ wages wouldn’t be enough. Even if they had the money, where would they buy that much bread? There were no large cities nearby, only small villages. Which bakery would have enough bread for what might have been more than 15,000 people when you include women and children? The situation seemed helpless. The disciples were stuck. They had no solution. What they failed to recognize was the truth that Jesus was in complete control. Recall that Jesus brought up the subject of food before the crowd even arrived. He could have sent them home right away, excusing himself because he didn’t have any food. Instead, he shared God’s word with them and created the need. And there’s the truth we often forget. Jesus is in complete control. He creates the need. Do you recall the event of Daniel in the lion’s den? Most of you do. The king issued a decree making it punishable by death in the lion’s den for anyone to pray to anyone but him for the next 30 days. So, what did Daniel do? He went home and prayed to the Lord. And what did he pray? This is the detail we often miss. The Bible states, Daniel “prayed, giving thanks to God” (Dan. 6:10). Thanks to God? For what? This death sentence? Daniel knew that the Lord is in control. While the Lord did not cause the king to issue this sinful decree, the Lord did allow this need to arise in Daniel’s life. So Daniel thanked him. Sounds crazy, doesn’t it? “Lord, thank you for this cancer. Lord, thanks for an empty checking and savings account. Thanks for wiping out my investments. Thanks for losing my job. Thanks for lousy-lazy co-workers.” Crazy? Not at all. Jesus is in complete control. Just as he created this need in our text, so he also allows needs to come into your life. He does so to remind how much we need him, chiefly as our Savior from sin. Sin creates a need that we can never meet on our own—the rescue from hell. Jesus met that need when he died on the cross. We trust him for our forgiveness and now he creates other earthly needs so that we learn to trust in him for every need. We do so confident that Jesus is in complete control. II. And when Jesus creates a need, he fills it. Before we discuss exactly how he filled the crowd’s need for food, let me point out the perfect order Jesus displayed in this account, a fact which speaks volumes about his control in every situation. First, he makes sure that his disciples know exactly how much food is on hand for 5,000 men, plus women and children. Andrew presents Jesus with a boy who has packed some food for the day—5 loaves of bread and 2 fish. Not nearly enough for 50 men, let alone 5,000. But Jesus makes sure the disciples know exactly what he has. Then Jesus has the people sit down. One writer tells us he had them sit in groups of 50. What order! There won’t be any mad dash to the front of the line to get some food. Jesus will use the disciples to bring the food to them. He’s in complete control. And then note how sufficient the Lord is! John writes, “When they all had enough to eat.” The people were filled with enough food. They were now able to make the journey home without fear of fainting from hunger. They all had as much as they wanted. In fact, 12 baskets of leftovers were collected. That’s no small sum. The 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish were likely wrapped in one basket. It had fed perhaps 15,000 people or more and there were 12 baskets left. I see some significance there. Each disciple likely carried in his hands the truth that Jesus is in complete control. He not only creates the need, he fills the need. What a lesson for us to learn! Our greatest need is for the forgiveness of sins. You heard the words of Jesus pronouncing your forgiveness at the beginning of worship. Jesus is in complete control. He meets our needs. He will do that for you in your personal life. He promises to get you through the needs of your life. Whether that need is your health or your finances or your relationships—he’ll fill your needs as he deems best. And every need that arises in your life is an opportunity for you to exercise your faith—to trust him as he cares for you. And he’ll never let you down. He’s in complete control. Place your confidence in Jesus! Amen.