“Jesus knows,” is our theme for the day.
It especially comes from our Gospel Reading when Jesus asks Phillip, “Where are we to buy bread so that these people may eat? Jesus said this to test Phillip, for Jesus Himself knew what He would do.
Jesus knew. Jesus knows.
The people of Israel did not know how they were going to be fed, but the Lord knew. Behold I am about to rain bread from heaven for you, and the people shall go out and gather a day’s portion, every day, that I may test them, whether the will walk in my law or not.
Jesus knew. Jesus knows what He Himself is going to do, even if we don’t know exactly what He is going to do, so He tells us to devote ourselves to the things that help us know Him better, that help us know His revealed will better. That is, we are to better know Him who knows everything and we are to know better what He wants us to know in the Bible.
So our Epistle from Acts 2, they received the Word and were baptized….and they devoted themselves to the apostles teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread of the prayers.
it’s been about a year now.
It could be a little less or a little more, but for me, it’s exactly a year since our church services were dramatically changed due to the coronavirus.
It was this text, that Jesus Himself knew what He would do, that I preached outside to you…
I did not know what the next year would bring, and neither did you, but Jesus Himself knew what He was going to do.
This week, during the Bible Studies, I asked how CoVID has impacted us spiritually:
Some said it showed the worlds greed and our deep temptations toward selfishness.
Some said it showed how weak our foundations of society are apart from God. That we are, in fact, not self reliant.
Some said it showed them how they ought always to be thankful for for things they too often took advantage of: like the precious gift of toilet or chicken at the grocery store, or seeing faces and receiving hugs from people they love.
There were beautiful confessions of faith and hope and love that I was richly blessed in.
I wish I could share them all.
Someone said this social distancing and mask wearing, the absence of seeing faces, made her want to see Jesus face to face all the more.
Someone else said that he prayed more, like he always should, that he understood the connections Scripture is constantly making with both forgiveness and healing – they are so often are not mutually exclusive.
Someone said this time has made them so proud to be a part of a church that kept trying to get the Word out in any way they could.
Someone said this all has reminded them that God is good and merciful in Christ, that in the midst of change, we praise Him who never changes, and that He is with us for us when we sick or healthy, or when the economy is sick or healthy.
Jesus Himself knew what He was going to do this past year, but we did not.
We were being tested in a way that was new for most of us.
We all have had our individual tests, but this was a common, worldwide test for all Christians.
I think we all know what we should have said and what we should have believed and how we should have acted.
Just like Phillip could have easily reflected on what he should have said back to Jesus when Jesus asked him how they were going to feed the crowd of 5,000.
Phillip could have said, Lord, you once fed Your people of something like 600,000 for 40 years in the wildness, raining bread from heaven, this crowd is small in comparison and for only one meal.
He could have said, Lord, you once fed many sons of the prophets through Your servant Elisha with only a few loaves and ears of corn, you know how to feed this crowd. I’ll be used in any way you want.
He could have said, Man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God so just say the Word and we’ll…I don’t know, Jesus…just say the Word and we’ll all be fed, or won’t be hungry anymore, we’ll be satisfied and gain energy from Your Word, or we’ll all die together and receive what we need in the resurrection.
I think we all know some things we could have said.
We could have said, If this virus kills us all, I’ll die praising my Savior. For me to live is Christ, but to die is gain.
We could have said, If the effects of the virus and the response makes us poor, so be it. If I have food and clothing, with these I will be content. And no one can take the riches and righteousness of Christ from me.
We could have said, Lord, you know what you are going to do, and I simply do not – so strengthen me in faith toward God and also love toward my neighbor. And to keep up my strength in these things we will devote ourselves to Your Word and baptism and the apostles teaching and the fellowship and the breaking of bread and the prayers all the more.
And I believe we did, sometimes.
Love of neighbors poured forth, trust in God poured fourth, we devoted ourselves to figuring out some way to continue to gather around God’s Word and prayer.
Jesus was testing us and He ripped out foundations that we already knew we shouldn’t be standing on and we thanked God we still had the Rock of our salvation to stand on.
And, this simply just has to be you knowing you, and especially you knowing Jesus knows you, you did not always pass the test either.
Some of us got very scared of getting sick or dying…too scared.
Some of us starting counting – money, food, the needs of the body and said, “Jesus, there isn’t enough for me and this crowd.”
And some of us, in the midst of very real suffering and sicknesses and death and scares panicked, and didn’t really think that Jesus knew what He was going to do, or at least were sure that we weren’t liking what Jesus was going to do and thought we knew enough to do better.
It is so very good to be tested by Jesus.
And it is even so very good when we realize all the times we have failed the test.
Anything that helps us rely less on our strength or knowledge or works and more on Christs is exactly the point of every single test.
It’s always a hard lesson, but Christ wants us on a foundation that will never crumble.
Christ wants us to rely more on His timing, His healing, His mercy.
We cannot think too little about Christ and His promises.
And the when the problems get bigger, when the tests get more intense,
in His bigness,
in His knowing what He is going to do,
and in His mercy to bring us with Him all the way through.
Christ will love us all the way to the end.
The Lord has a reason for everything. What we are to do here is to trust that He knows the reason. And that we know Him and His love. He has given us reason to know His heart and love by taking on a heart and being nailed to a cross, bearing our sin and the judgment we deserve so He might know us as righteous and holy and we know Him as gracious and forgiving and powerful for us.
What we know here is only in part, but soon, we will know even as we have been known.