I nothing lack if I am His and He is mine forever.
Lifting up his eyes, then, and seeing that a large crowd was coming toward him, Jesus said to Philip, “Where are we to buy bread, so that these people may eat?” He said this to test him, for he himself knew what he would do.
Jesus Himself knows what He was going to do…He was testing Phillip.
What test are you going through right now?
When you just sang the truth, the truth, it’s true whether you feel it or not, I nothing lack…
It’s true – The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want….
What makes you want to say, “You sure?”
What makes you want to respond like Phillip:
“Two hundred denarii would not buy enough bread for each of them to get a little.”
Or like Andrew:
There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish, but what are they for so many?
Or like the Israelites:
Come on Moses, you and God brought us out in to the wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger.
A test is given by a teacher in part to see how much you’ve learned.
What exactly do you remember?
How well have you paid attention?
Philip is tested when he sees a massive crowd with no food and is asked, Where are we to buy bread so these people may eat?
St Mark records that Jesus said, You give them something to eat.
What has Philip learned from Jesus thus far? He’s tested. He fails by the way. He despairs.
The crowd is tested to see what they believe about Jesus after He feeds them. They fail by the way.
They try and make Him their King.
Because He’s going to the be the type of king that will make them rich.
Because He’s going to be the type of king that will stock their fridges and tables of the best food.
Because He’s never going to allow sickness or injury or trials or suffering or to come their way.
Because with Him as their King, they’ll have the best cars, the best houses, no one threatening them, all their enemies defeated
The sky’s the limit with this king, all they have to do with this King is name to claim it.
What they saw was what they perceived to be their biggest need and they saw that Jesus could meet that need.
One test we are always going through is perceiving what our biggest needs are.
I nothing lack if I am His….
Jesus has to retreat lest they take Him by force.
So, those tests of yours.
How much have you learned from Jesus in Who He is and what He has done for you?
What exactly do you remember from this Lord who promises that He is Your Shepherd – you shall not want?
How well have you paid attention when you were singing:
I nothing lack if I am His and He is mine?
As you and I realize how often we fail this test, it’s important that you hear Jesus Himself knew what He was going to do.
When Jesus says, Where are we going to buy bread? or according to St. Mark You give them something to eat,
it is the test of whether Philip and the disciples
have learned from their Lord,
remember who Who He is and what He says,
have paid attention to Jesus.
What a wonderful test for them to know again they can’t feed this crowd. They don’t have enough. They aren’t enough.
But to also believe the Lord is their Shepherd, and the crowds Shepherd.
And He is with them.
Here’s a part of the Prayer of the Day for us:
You receive us as Your children and provide for all our needs of body and soul.
Phillip could have said that or prayed that.
This is an opportunity for Philip, when he hears from Jesus, You give them something to eat, to at least begin confessing.
You, Jesus.
You, Jesus.
You do something.
You can. I can’t.
You’re merciful. I’m tempted toward despair.
If You want to, You can.
And also, if you want to use me, I’m willing.
Just order my steps and I’ll do Your blessed will
But You’re the One who is going to feed them.
Scripture tells the story of Judas, after he betrayed Jesus for 30 pieces for silver, he knew he had sinned.
He ran to the chief priests and elders whom he had received the money from and said, “I’ve sinned by betraying innocent blood.”
They responded in the worst way possible, What is that to us? See to it yourself.
Judas was bearing a heavy load. He confessed his sin and that heavy load was put right back on him and he despaired ultimately and hung himself.
That is not what you are here for you.
You are not here to be told, see to it yourself.
You are not here to bring your heavy loads of suffering and troubles as well as guilt and shame and failures of the test so that you can hear What is that to God? See to it yourself.
But to hear about Jesus bearing your sin and guilt and failures on a cross. What is that to God? He loves you so much He saw to Himself for you.
What you and Phillip and I need to hear again and again is about a Savior who Himself knew what He was going to do.
And Who Himself knows what He has done for you and who Himself knows what He will do for you.
What you will hear is that you have failed the test too often, and so have I –
But that doesn’t change that Jesus hasn’t failed us.
That doesn’t change that He is your Shepherd King and you shall not want for all the things in this body and life that you actually need.
That doesn’t change that Jesus passed the test of not being made king on the day He fed 5,000, but was crowned King on the day He refused drink as He hung on the cross for you.
All so that He can feed you with a food that doesn’t perish and a drink that after you drink you’ll never thirst again.
You come with a load of questions and He gives you to say the truth I nothing lack if I am His and He is mine forever.
You come so often not passing the tests – and He comes to restore your soul and bring you back to faith and trust in the true King and His kingdom and reign which will have no end.
And though you are not told see to it yourself – you are told, you give them something to eat.
You are told to love your neighbor.
You are surrounded by fellow sheep who need to be loved by you.
And one of the tests is whether you believe God can actually use you, too.
He can. He can use 5 loaves and 2 fish to feed thousands. You can use you to keep loving your neighbor
Don’t despair. Don’t say, what am I for so many? Don’t think you aren’t enough, because it’s not about you.
It’s about the one who can take 5 loaves and 2 fish and even use you for the good of His Kingdom Learn that again, pay attention again, remember that again, Jesus Himself knows what He’s going to do.