August 6, 2023
Why did Jesus come? He came to save us! He came so that we may have life and have it abundantly. He came not for the righteous but for sinners. Jesus came to give his life as a ransom for many. Jesus did not come to be served but to serve, so that we would know the Father’s love.
Another question we may not think about is how did Jesus come? We know why he came. How did he come? He came preaching, teaching, and healing. He spoke of another way he came in Luke 7:34: Jesus says, “The son of Man (that’s Jesus himself) came eating and drinking.” How did Jesus come? Eating and drinking. Jesus says this because people complained about John the Baptist. John came not eating bread or drinking wine. Instead, he ate locusts and wild honey! I don’t know anybody on a locust and wild honey diet! Jesus said: John the Baptist came, not eating, not eating bread at least! John the Baptist was a wilderness man. People complained about him. John was certainly a servant of God. But he was different.
Jesus says, ok, so I come eating and drinking. I eat normal food. But still people find something to complain about: they complain I’m a glutton and drunkard. I eat with tax collectors and sinners. Jesus says, there is wisdom in how I come to you. Jesus was called a drunkard and glutton. That’s how much he came eating and drinking. Maybe some of you will think, I had no idea how much I had in common with Jesus!
Jesus came eating and drinking on purpose. What happened when he ate and drank with people? A sinful woman came, and Jesus praised her great faith. A wealthy tax collector changed his ways. Jesus knew when you sit down with people, when you’re in fellowship with others, lives change. So, you will see a lot of eating and drinking in the gospels. Even, after he is resurrected, Jesus eats fish with two disciples!
In the book of Revelation there’s a lot of talk about banquets in heaven. Heaven will be a big party! Then the night before he was betrayed, Jesus gathered with his best friends and broke bread with them. When we take communion today, we remember Jesus with his disciples, eating and drinking, as we partake of the bread and juice or wine, the body and blood of Jesus Christ.
Today we’ll look at Matthew 14, where Jesus and his disciples have an eating and drinking problem: there’s a big crowd gathered, everybody’s getting hungry, and there’s nothing to eat!
What happened was a crowd of people saw Jesus on a boat and went to meet him when he came ashore. Jesus had been looking to get away from it all. But he sees all these people looking for him. He has compassion for them and heals the sick.
After Jesus has been healing people for a while, the disciples say to Jesus, there are no restaurants here, and it’s late, tell these people to leave and go get some food themselves! Clearly, the disciples did not come eating and drinking. Instead, they came, thinking of themselves. I have to take care of me. I can’t help these people. The crowd needs to get out of here, so we can get something to eat somehow. The disciples are thinking, “I have to take care of me!” So, there’s a difference! Jesus is all about the power of we, of breaking bread with people. He came eating and drinking, but the disciples are thinking just about me, let’s ditch these people and take care of ourselves.
In Matthew 14:16-18 Jesus replied, “They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat.” “We have here only five loaves of bread and two fish,” they answered. 18 “Bring them here to me,” Jesus said.
Jesus had everybody sit down. Nobody was going to eat standing up or eat while driving their car. This was a sit-down meal he was preparing. Jesus looked up to heaven, gave thanks and broke the bread. A miracle happened! 5000 men plus women and children ate and were filled!
The disciples had been thinking of me, not we. But Jesus calls us to go from me-centered, to we-centered. The disciples didn’t understand Jesus’ plan. But we are also me-centered sometimes, right? It’s easier to take care of yourself than to try to get a group together. Schedules are busy! It’s easier to be by yourself. It takes some effort to do things together, do things as “we”.
Over time, the disciples changed! They started as “me” people. But after Jesus went to heaven, they became “we” people. They got it!
Acts 2:42 talks about the disciples of Jesus. It says, “They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.” Notice they were devoted to fellowship and spiritual disciplines. It was not something that happened just when they felt like it. Verse 43 says “Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. 44 All the believers were together.” Verse 46:” Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, 47 praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.”
Does that look like your life? If not, it can look like that. The world has changed to make it easier to avoid people. Here’s a modern version of Acts 2: “The followers of Jesus ate on the run, kept to themselves, and were too rushed to enjoy one another or give praise to God. They claimed to love God, but they didn’t really love each other, and they felt very empty and alone. As a result, most people disliked them and very few people were ever saved.” That’s an exaggeration, but there’s a little bit of truth in that! Jesus calls us to go from “me” centered to “we” centered.
It takes some effort to be part of a group. Jesus spent a lot of time with his disciples! He came eating and drinking with many other people as well. He showed us that we need, not just a relationship with God. We need a relationship with God that we share with other people. When you make time for fellowship and the breaking of bread, it deepens and strengthens your faith, supports you, and keeps you out of trouble!
One important group in my life is a Zoom meeting with my brothers every week. We started our zoom meeting after Pat’s wife died to support him. But it turns out we all need support. And we have known each other all our lives! We ask questions and keep up with each other. We meet together consistently. Sometimes I think, “I wish I could skip it this week,” but then I zoom and I’m glad for it!
We have groups at church, like Bible Study, women’s groups, consistory, and Sunday school. You can be part of a serving group, like the confirmation class from two years ago who serve together in worship and VBS. You can grow stronger in faith and share fellowship as you serve together. You can start a new group. The main thing is to ask yourself: how can I follow Jesus in a “we” sort of way. And then make it consistent. You make time to do life with other people, to love Jesus and love others.
My homework for you is to think about a time when a community of friends supported you during a hard time. Ask God to help you share fellowship with others.
Why did Jesus come? To give us abundant life. How did he come? He came eating and drinking. He came doing life with other people. He brought his best friends together and he broke bread with them, because its impossible to follow God alone. We need each other. So, let’s make time for the adventure of a lifetime, as we grow a shared faith, enjoying the deeper rewards of serving God and loving those around us. Amen.
Maureen Duffy-Guy's blog 