Sermon for the Seventh Sunday after Trinity

Mark 8:1-9 - Jesus Feeds the Four Thousand

August 3rd, 2025

“I have compassion on the crowd, because they have been with me now three days and have nothing to eat.”

The decision to follow Jesus three days into the desert was a bit risky. Many in the crowd are far from home. They didn’t plan well for such a trip. Whatever meager provisions they brought are gone. They are weak and tired, the day is well spent. It’s also the hot time of the year.

Matthew’s version tells us there were women and children in the crowd. You can imagine some in the crowd are elderly, sick or disabled. No food, no water, exhaustion, the sun beating down. Many of us wouldn’t make it across town in such conditions, let alone miles out into the desert. The journey home is a matter of life or death for many.

Yet they left the cares of the temporal world behind to follow Jesus. No concern for earthly comforts - food, drink, or shelter. Work and play cast aside for a time to listen to Jesus. It’s almost as if they took the 3^rd Commandment seriously. Remember the Sabbath Day by keeping it holy. Do not despise preaching and His Word. Hold it sacred and gladly hear and learn it, you and your children.

These people even act like they believe the words of Jesus from His sermon on the Mount: “Do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. Do not be anxious about tomorrow, tomorrow will be anxious for itself.”

Jesus is the Kingdom of God and He is here today. Faith casts aside the temporal and fleeting things of this life and clings to the eternal things of Jesus.

Why this sacrifice of the temporal and fleeting for the things of Jesus? Is it really worth it? You ask yourself this question every Sunday morning. And then you make a decision. This morning you journeyed to this place to hear and receive what Jesus wants to give you. You are those people in the crowd that followed Jesus into the desert. Although the trip this morning was a bit easier, the sacrifice not as high, and yet you still receive the same eternal gift in the Words of Jesus. What did you leave behind for an hour this morning? Was it worth it?

Your flesh says no. Your flesh says bed was a much better more comfy less demanding place to be. Your flesh prefers the golf course, the lake, the campground or just a cup of coffee on the front porch listening to the birds and watching the sun rise; all of it much more satisfying in the moment than sitting in the church pew. The flesh vs the Spirit. The temporal and fleeting vs the eternal gifts of Jesus that save you.

The crowds that followed Jesus into the desert are an example for us. What we see in these people is the work of the Spirit subduing the desires of the flesh in order to receive the gifts of Jesus that bring eternal life. True Christians versus false Christians.

True Christians follow Jesus into the desert. They cast aside the temporal and the fleeting for the eternal. They listen to Jesus, and they are fed the Bread of Life. The corrupt flesh with all of its sin and evil desire is overcome and buried in the desert with Jesus. Jesus then speaks and the dead live. Sins are forgiven and heavenly food is received for the journey home.

False Christians push aside the free gift and choose the things of the flesh over the gifts of Jesus. They see no benefit in following Jesus through the desert. They see no benefit in the Words and food of Jesus. They will not sacrifice their time, their money, their rest, their work or play for the things of Jesus. Some convince themselves they have Jesus in their heart and therefore Jesus journeys with them wherever they choose to go. They tell Jesus, “Jesus, you pick up your cross and follow me. I’ve got places to go and things to do. No time for a day in the desert, under the sun feeding on your Words and feasting at Your table. No thanks Jesus.”

To despise preaching and His Word; to not hold it sacred, to not gladly hear and learn it, is also to choose your god. That god does not lead through and out of the desert. He does not speak words that bring life and salvation. He does not feed you the body and blood of immortality. That god will not take you home. That god will leave you in the desert to die eternally.

Jesus said, “For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few. And “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.” There is life on the narrow way in the desert with Jesus. In Him you will bear your cross and endure and persevere until you make it home.

Be on guard as you journey through this desert of life. The temporal and fleeting things will always compete against the eternal gifts of Jesus. But only what Jesus gives today lasts beyond tomorrow. This journey is soon over. Hold fast to the good, eternal things of Jesus and you will make it out of the desert alive. Eternal riches will follow in the life of the world to come with Jesus.

You are here today. The Spirit at work in you knows you find Jesus in this place. The same Jesus the crowds followed for three days. When Jesus saw those people and the predicament they found themselves in He had compassion on them. He saw the urgency of their situation that needed immediate attention. What He saw affected him emotionally and physically and He acted. You are here because you need the love and compassion of Jesus to act for you and save you. And He does.

The compassion Jesus felt for the crowds out in the desert that day is the same compassion He feels for you. And it’s not just your hungry stomachs that concerns Jesus. It’s everything that troubles and afflicts you right now. Your sin, your sickness, your mental anguish, your desire to be strong even though you are weak. Jesus sees it, Jesus feels it, Jesus has endured it and overcome it. He cares for you. He has picked you up into Himself. and is carrying you through the desert to your eternal home.

Only God can feed thousands with seven loaves and a few small fish. Only God can stop the wind and the rain, cast out the demons and heal the sick. Only God can raise the dead. Jesus is God in flesh and blood. This miracle isn’t simply about Jesus demonstrating His Divine power over creation. It is Jesus showing that He is God and that He has eternal love and never ending compassion for you.

Jesus love and compassion for you is seen in His bleeding and dying in your place on the cross. It’s seen in the empty tomb and the battle scars of victory on His hands, feet, and side. It’s seen in His ascension to heaven and His eternal seat of glory at the right hand of God in victory over sin, death, and the devil for you.

It’s seen in the Words of Jesus spoken to you. At the font where the sinner dies and comes back to life. At the rail where the spiritually hungry are fed and they live. It’s seen at the graves where the bodies of the dead in Christ sleep peacefully as their souls experience heavenly bliss and joy with Jesus until the resurrection of the dead. There is nothing more powerful than the love and compassion of Jesus.

Jesus compassion is focused on your suffering and affliction. Jesus compassion is rooted in a deep love that led Him to willingly experience in His own flesh the same suffering and affliction you experience. The same death you will experience. And Jesus overcame all of it. He is the Lamb of God slain yet alive in heaven right now. And He’s here with us this morning.

Now if only Jesus would perform the miracle you need right now. Fix what’s broken today. Turn seven loaves into food for thousands. Give you the miracle medicine. Cut out your sickness. Bring life back into your tired muscles and sore bones. Restore your youthfulness. Push back death for just another day.

Jesus has a better way. The light of Jesus bloody cross is intensified in the midst of your suffering and affliction. When you are weak then you are strong. Consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to you in the life of the world to come. You know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. You are those whom He has called and chosen in His dear Son. Jesus abides with you wherever you are in this desert of life. He will see you through it all.

When the temporal things of this world are sacrificed and cast aside for the gifts of Jesus, the fruit of His cross, you are blessed. The crowds cast aside the temporal things and followed Jesus into the desert. On the way they found suffering and hardship. But they also found that Jesus stayed with them. Jesus spoke to them and fed them. Jesus didn’t disguise Himself and walk through the crowds and abandon them. He made Himself known with His teaching and preaching and food that only He can give. Jesus remained steadfast and was the source of their life in the desert so that they could stay alive and make it home.

We are journeying together as one in the body of Christ. God has taken you through the narrow gate and placed you on the hard way. He has taken a cross fashioned just for you and placed it on your back. God knows what He’s doing. He knows it hurts. He knows you get weak and tired and want to give up. But your God doesn’t abandon you. He gives you Jesus. Jesus says, listen and follow, I know the way home, I will give you the strength. Stand up and keep walking. I will continue speaking to you and feeding you. You will endure and persevere the three days journey home.

The three days journey home is the resurrection to life eternal. It is the end of the troubled and broken road in the desert of life. It the journey from the font to the grave that leads you into paradise with Jesus. The journey is soon over. Together with Jesus we keep pushing forward to that most blessed end. Thanks be to Jesus. In Jesus name. Amen.