Listen here.

Mark 8:1-9

¹ In those days, when again a great crowd had gathered, and they had nothing to eat, he called his disciples to him and said to them, ² “I have compassion on the crowd, because they have been with me now three days and have nothing to eat. ³ And if I send them away hungry to their homes, they will faint on the way. And some of them have come from far away.” ⁴ And his disciples answered him, “How can one feed these people with bread here in this desolate place?” ⁵ And he asked them, “How many loaves do you have?”They said, “Seven.” ⁶ And he directed the crowd to sit down on the ground. And he took the seven loaves, and having given thanks, he broke them and gave them to his disciples to set before the people; and they set them before the crowd. ⁷ And they had a few small fish. And having blessed them, he said that these also should be set before them. ⁸ And they ate and were satisfied. And they took up the broken pieces left over, seven baskets full. ⁹ And there were about four thousand people. And he sent them away.

In the name of Jesus. Amen.

This morning, we heard how God worked so that Adam and Eve could enjoy paradise in bliss and peace (OT Lesson Gen. 2:7-17).

First, God formed the man. God breathed into man’s nostrils to make Adam a living creature. God planted a garden in Eden. God made every tree that is splendid to look at and good for food to spring up from the ground. God surrounded that garden with vibrant rivers and lands filled with gold and precious stones.

God put Adam in the garden and gave him a job – which, yes, is a good thing. Just consider how little Adam had on his work resume at the time. God gave Adam the gift of hunger so that he would have the joy and delight of eating and tasting the fruits of his labor. And God taught Adam what to eat and what not to eat.

Now, this is a bit of an aside, but it is very important. Many people have wondered why God would put the tree of the knowledge of good and evil which produced the forbidden fruit in the bliss of Eden at all. Some will say that God put it there to test Adam and Eve to see if they would be good. But if that is the case, it means that God could not make man “good” unless He gave man the choice to do evil. That would be strange for a God who truly is good and all-powerful Himself.

Scripture gives us a better understanding for the existence of the forbidden tree. Habakkuk 2:4 says, “The righteous shall live by faith.” This is true now, but it was also true before the Fall.

Think of it this way: Everything Adam and Eve knew, they knew because they saw and experienced it. But the one thing they didn’t know was evil. God put the tree of the knowledge of good and evil in the Garden because evil did exist. So Adam and Eve would have faith, God was giving a promise to believe when He commanded Adam to not eat of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. Think of it this way, when God gives that command He is saying, “Hey, Adam, there is evil and it is bad. If you find out what evil is, it won’t be good for you. Trust Me on this.”

In the end, Adam and Eve didn’t trust God. Obviously, we do not live in Eden anymore; instead, we live in desolation. Our English word ‘desolation’ contains the word ‘solo,’ and that gives a sense of what ‘desolation’ means. Adam and Eve went solo. Rather than trusting God, they went solo and trusted the devil’s lie bringing sin, death, condemnation, and desolation into the world.

We might think Adam and Eve were fools to give up the paradise God created for them. But we are apples that didn’t fall far from Adam’s tree. We too choose evil instead of faith, chaos instead of perfection, and desolation instead of bliss. We live in a place of our own making. A place we contrived from our rebellious hearts. A desert rather than a garden. Instead of life, there is death. Instead of abundance, there is lack. Instead of walking with God, we are surrounded by demons.

God warns us about the penalty of doing evil, but we go solo and crave what isn’t ours. God tells us that we must tell the truth and defend the reputation of others, but we go solo by spreading gossip and slander. Because of sin – and our sin alone – we dwell in a desolate place. Repent.

But even though we turned our back on God, He did not turn His back on us. God doesn’t despise us, He doesn’t come to punish us, and He doesn’t regret the fact that He made us. Instead, God comes to have compassion on us and graciously feed us. On the third day of this excursion, Jesus says, “I have compassion on the crowd.”That word ‘compassion’ in Greek means that His intestines are tied up. A loosey-goosy translation of Jesus’ words here would be, “My gut is wrenched for these people who don’t have anything to eat.”

Look at what Jesus, God in the flesh does – notice the verbs. He calls the disciples. Jesus directs the crowd to sit down. He takes the bread. Christ gives thanks for the bread. He breaks the bread. He gives the bread to the disciples to set before the people. Jesus blesses the fish. He gives the fish to the disciples to set before the people. And Jesus watches them all eat until every last one of them is satisfied. Jesus continues to do this for us today.

Some of you are fully aware of the desolation you live in right now. Maybe it’s your health or a broken relationship that has left you lonely. Maybe it’s a money or job problem. Whatever it is, it doesn’t matter. Desolation stares you in the face, and you are worried. Know that Jesus is still with you to serve you with everything you need in every moment.

Do you think that when Jesus led that crowd out into the wilderness for three days, do you think that Jesus forgot they would need food? Do you think Jesus was preaching, and suddenly the light bulb turned on in the middle of His sermon and He said, “Oh, nuts. These people are going to need to eat. Oops!”? No, absolutely not! Jesus didn’t forget that they would need food.

Instead, Jesus brought them to a place of momentary need. He led them into the wilderness where they would need a miracle to provide for them. Jesus led them there for some good. We shouldn’t speculate why Jesus did this because the text doesn’t tell us exactly why Jesus did it. But Jesus deliberately brought them there where they would need Him to fully provide for them.

So, listen to this very carefully. Whether things are going well and you don’t notice anything lacking in your life or whether things are bleak and dire, by God’s grace you have everything from God that is best for you right now. Do you believe that?

Scripture says, “Give thanks in all circumstances” (1 Thess. 5:18). Give thanks for everything you have from God at all times – whether those times are good or bad. Here’s why, listen to this from Romans 8:31-32, “If God is for us, who can be against us?” And we can know that God is for us because of what Scripture says next: “He who did not spare His own Son but gave Him up for us all, how will He not also with Him graciously give us all things?” In other words, if God gives His only-begotten Son to die on the cross while you are His enemy and a sinner, He won’t hold back anything good from you now that you are adopted into His family through Jesus’ death and resurrection.

God will give us all things in the future, yes. But He also gives us all good things now. Like He did in Eden and like He did in the wilderness, Jesus even now serves us sinful, fallen people who have chosen to live in a desolate place.

Jesus is here with His compassion in the midst of your desolation to bring Eden to you. He has come to be your servant by feeding you the Bread of Life from this altar. In this meal, your Savior dispenses forgiveness, life, and salvation to you. Even though we are a small crowd, Jesus has come to deliver big compassion. So, come and receive. Amen.

The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.