Title: Miracle of Beans / Matthew 14:13-21
Contents
Miracle of the Beans / Matthew 14:13-21
If you were to pick one of the most memorable events of Jesus' life, perhaps everyone would come up with the story of this five-year-old boy.
It is so mysterious that some theologians insist that it is a story the disciples made up and that it should be erased from the life of Jesus.
Mysteries are the raw material from which faith becomes faith.
When the mystery is lost, there can be no form, no taste, no harmony.
Just as the harmony of the three colors of red, blue and yellow creates tens of thousands of colors, some mysteries in Jesus Christ enrich our lives and become the power to beautify the world.
The most important things we should meditate on are 'mysteries'.
There is a mystery among the mysteries.
You must remember.
The first is the cross of suffering.
The second is the resurrection of glory.
The third is the glory of the Second Coming.
These three mysteries are themes that should not disappear from our hearts for a moment.
Here are the little mysteries.
We refer to them as 'miracles'.
The miracle of walking on water, the miracle of the five fish, the miracle of the Canaan wedding feast...etc.
These mysteries are also things that need to be meditated on a lot.
Mysteries beget mysteries.
When the mystery as a miracle is believed, the mystery of death, resurrection, and second coming as the essence of faith is more deeply believed and meditated on. And further mysteries are experienced in my life.
Belief in mystery is faith, but 'mysticism' must be distinguished.
Just as a drug addict lives with the energy of drugs, it refers to a person who lives only by the mystery. They are people who are exhausted and powerless in the world, but when they only go to mysterious gatherings, they become other people like fish in water, and they are crazy enthusiastic.
This belief is not true faith. You have to be vigilant.
Jesus performed many mystical powers to show that He was the Son of God. One of them is the miracle of five diseases in the field of Bethsaida. Today we want to meditate on that word again.
According to the Word, the place where Jesus performed this miracle is expressed as 'empty fields'.
It is a place quite far from the village, but other Gospels refer to it as 'Bethsaida in the evening'. Jesus purposely went to an empty place. He did not come to the people, but to make them come to him. As I meditated on these words, I felt that the word 'bindul' came closer. It happened in the beans.
What can happen to beans?
However, it should be noted that the Lord was planning this special miracle in Vienna.
And you should see that there were a lot of people who visited there even though it was empty.
This means that only those who will come will come.
It is necessary to ponder the history of Beans in the Bible.
The Israelites experienced manna and quail while they were in the wilderness.
The place where John the Baptist worked was empty.
The history of Hanwoori Church for the past 10 years has been the history of Bindeul.
It was time for training.
But now we are getting a taste of the history of Obyeong-ear.
Remember, for Christians, the beans are not the only places to avoid.
Going one step further, we have another responsibility.
It is to come out to these bins, the site of miracles.
The Church of God is like a city of salvation for the poor who are far from the world after being destroyed by seeking peace and comfort. It may seem unattractive to them, but it is a place of grace where good things will happen if you come here.
Even though Jesus went to an empty place, people followed him there because there were good rumors about it.
It's not difficult to get them to come. It comes when there is good news and is well known.
As Philip confidently said to Nathanael, "Come!" You can say that, and if you persuade, you can invite as much as you like.
Although it was an empty field, the Lord gave the word to those who came.
He also performed miracles of healing for the sick. They got all they could get.
But the Lord did not end here.
'Give them something to eat' (verse 16).
Food is a bonus. It doesn't matter if you give or not.
However, it is content that can double the joy of being given.
It is worth noting that the people who visited the Bethsaida field on that day heard enough words and experienced healing, but it is worth noting that because of this miracle, when five thousand people were satisfied with five barley loaves and two fish, their joy was multiplied and they were able to return home.
Oh Byeong-Eye's case wasn't important, but the Word and Healing. However, Dumb's interest gave strength to the Word.
Christianity is a religion of the Word.
Words have life.
But we must not make those important words worthless.
What makes the Word worthwhile?
We must not forget that it is a beautiful life of service according to the Word and service consideration for incidental things. Praise is alive, worship is dynamic, and the atmosphere of the worship service is a role that enhances the power of worship. It is because of the message that is transmitted that a person is saved.
But the power to come before the Word lies in the beauty of the community and the service of individual life.
After preaching the word, the Lord entrusted the peripheral work of serving to the disciples. That's what you find in it.
The Lord told the disciples to give them something to eat, but they had nothing.
No matter how much I did the calculations, I couldn't find an answer.
But the Lord's calculation was simple.
It was "What do you have?"
The Lord's calculations are always simpler than ours.
Notice that at this important moment the Lord's thoughts are simple and He is looking for them.
Those who responded here are also simple people. So is the child and Andre.
When I think of 'five barley loaves and two fish', I remember it as a child's lunch box. It was a very small amount and was given by a small child. Here's what Andrew said, who brought it to the Lord.
?쏷here is a child here who has five barley loaves and two fish. But how much does it cost to so many people???
It is not because we are thoughtless or ignorant, but because it is the Lord's command and God's word, so I hope you will see the small devotion and preparation of the Lord looking for small people. Without this, God's work would never have been accomplished.
It was the Lord who wanted the labor of those who poured water even at the wedding feast in Canaan.
Naaman, a general of the Aram nation, who was leper, also had to go to the Jordan River and take a bath seven times.
Without the devotion of a child, the miracle of Bethsaida that day would not have existed.
But we must know that the Lord was watching the devotion of the child.
The Lord did not always treat everyone with food.
And when he ate, he didn't always perform miracles like this.
Judas Iscariot was a man in charge of finances, and he always had to calculate money with his head.
There is a fairy tale that comes to mind because of the story of Judas Iscariot and the bread.
This is a story I heard in church when I was very young.
One day Jesus took his disciples to the mountain, and as he went, he said to them,
He told me to go carrying as many stones as possible one by one.
Everyone is having a hard time going, but many Judas Iscariot have only a small stone in their pocket.
put it in
That day, he didn't even buy me rice and went up only to a high mountain,
Jesus, who had him sit in the shade, was praying, and when it was over, the stone he had brought
it's a cake
He made them eat only his own, so Judas Iscariot could not bear it because he was hungry.
As he came down, Jesus told him to take one small stone.
Judas Iscariot thought to himself.
Ah, everyone seems to be full so they want to eat a little in the evening.
I'll have to take the big one...
Everyone came down lightly, but I was the only one who struggled and came down with a heavy stone.
Somewhere in the shade, there was a fruit tree.
The Lord told the disciples to eat the fruit with the stones they brought.
Judas Iscariot couldn't do anything with the stones he had been carrying so hard.
Peter, who did not obey Jesus' words, did not get anything that day.
At that time, I knew this story was in the Bible.
I don't think it was a good story for a very young child.
This assimilation-style obedience is not biblical obedience.
You must remember that my obedience allows my devotion to glorify God and benefit others. The little boy and Andrew were only honored by this.
It's just the fact that you've become an instrument for God's needs.
Everyone!
Have you ever thought about the emotion of a child?
He must have lived his whole life in awe of the incident in which the dedication of one of his lunchboxes fed 5,000 people. It doesn't matter what he is or how rich he is. The crowd that day may have finished eating once, but isn't it different to give this boy a different feeling?
There are other characters with similar emotions. This is Maria.
She is the woman who broke the alabaster jar, not for her own glory, but for the glory of the Lord.
It was to break the ointment worth 300 denarii (corresponding to a worker's annual salary) and pour it into the body of Jesus.
Maybe she didn't even know why she had to do this seemingly useless job. But the Lord knew.
At a time when the atonement of his cross, which had to die for all mankind, was only a few days left, if a small value of the size of a child's lunch was mobilized to feed 5,000 people, one of the workers presented in front of the great event of the Lord's glorious atonement. The annual salary can be huge!
The Lord said this while receiving this woman's devotion.
God is looking for devotees of glory.
In order to gain a life that is more precious than the world, the Lord is looking for those devoted.
Never take your small invitation and effort lightly.
How can it be compared to a child's lunch box!
It's what everyone does, and it'd be nice, but it's not.
I wish people with a lot of money would do it, but it doesn't.
It is like this little child, just like Mary Magdalene, a lowly woman who had been possessed by seven demons in the past.
Later, in the presence of God, those who did not have it are not ashamed, and those who devoted themselves to God enjoy glory.
It doesn't matter what a person does, small or large. As a result of work, yes.
We have to look at the history of when what was offered before the Lord is brought into the Lord's hands.
By the Lord's blessing and miracle, the little five fish was enough to feed 5,000 people.
What is left of 12 Gwangju-ri is to symbolically show that there is more than enough.
Where there is no dedication, there are no blessings or miracles.
It's getting harder and harder to find a devotee.
Commitment is not a term used to refer to doing what one can do.
Dedication is not only doing what you can, but letting it go beyond your power.
I think the history of Bindeul is the vision that Hanwoori Church must achieve in the future.
If a church that started without any money and no members came here with one gospel, wouldn't it be great to accomplish the future through us!
Who would offer the devotion of a child!
Who would offer such devotion as Mara Magdalene!