April 4, 2025
Feeding 5,000 - Part 5
John 6:14-15
04/04/2025
14 When the people saw the sign that he had done,
they said, ``This is indeed the Prophet who is to
come into the world!''
15 Perceiving then that they were about to come and
take him by force to make him king, Jesus withdrew
again to the mountain by himself. (ESV)
Each morning we pray, ``Give us this day our daily bread.''
God answers our prayers with blessings of food and clothing and
shelter and other resources to sustain this body and life. For
this we give Him thanks and praise.
But the Church is not about God's temporal blessings, but
about our eternal salvation from sin, death, and the power of the
devil. Those who ate the five loaves of bread and the two fish
recognized that Jesus is more than just a good teacher. This
miracle demanded a response.
When the people saw the sign that he had done, they
said, ``This is indeed the Prophet who is to come into
the world!'' Perceiving then that they were about to
come and take him by force to make him king, Jesus
withdrew again to the mountain by himself.
The people wanted Jesus as a secular king, one who would
satisfy their temporal desires. They recognized Jesus as the Son
of God once foretold by Moses. Their idea of the promised
Messiah was not the One who earns for us the forgiveness of our
sins, but the One who blesses us with secular goods.
Jesus is indeed the King of creation. He came to live, die,
and rise again to earn for us redemption from sin, death, and the
power of the devil. Our daily bread is merely a blessing of love
given graciously by God, not the reason we gather to praise Him.
Come join us each Sunday morning at Trinity Lutheran Church
at 9:00 a.m. to receive God's good gifts of the forgiveness of
your sins and the assurance of life everlasting.
May our Lord give us faith to seek first His kingdom, and to
trust in Him for all things. Amen.