What Moves Us? (Matthew 14:13-21; 15:29-39)
When Jesus gets the news of His cousin’s death, He retreats into the wilderness. One can imagine the need to process, to pray, and to grieve. When He gets to where He is going, however, He encounters the crowds. They follow Him wherever He goes, looking for healing, looking for what He might give them.
And what is Jesus’ response? He is moved with compassion.
Matthew frames these next sections of stories with the two feedings of the multitudes. It is interesting to contrast Jesus’ approach to the poor, sick, and needy with those of His followers today. Some Christians blame the poor for their predicament and say that they would not be poor if they just lived right. Others see the poor as helpless victims who need the government or the church to survive.
Jesus had compassion. Jesus met their needs. Jesus provided.
To be sure, the miracle of the feeding of the five thousand (and the four thousand later) are used as teaching moments as well. And in other gospel accounts we see how many of these people are examples of “soils” that don’t receive the Word. But Jesus example to us here is one that shows how the believer’s approach to the downtrodden should be different from the world.
Tim Keller puts it this way:
How is your faith impacting your charity and social justice?
And what is Jesus’ response? He is moved with compassion.
Matthew frames these next sections of stories with the two feedings of the multitudes. It is interesting to contrast Jesus’ approach to the poor, sick, and needy with those of His followers today. Some Christians blame the poor for their predicament and say that they would not be poor if they just lived right. Others see the poor as helpless victims who need the government or the church to survive.
Jesus had compassion. Jesus met their needs. Jesus provided.
To be sure, the miracle of the feeding of the five thousand (and the four thousand later) are used as teaching moments as well. And in other gospel accounts we see how many of these people are examples of “soils” that don’t receive the Word. But Jesus example to us here is one that shows how the believer’s approach to the downtrodden should be different from the world.
Tim Keller puts it this way:
“The gospel… creates a new kind of servant community with people who live out an entirely alternate way of being human. Racial and class superiority, accrual of money and power at the expense of others, yearning for popularity and recognition—all are marks of living in the world. They represent the opposite of the gospel mindset.”
How is your faith impacting your charity and social justice?
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