4th Sunday in Lent: John 6:1-15

March 10, 4^th Sunday in Lent (Laetare); Texts: Ps 132: 8-18; Ex 16:2-21; Gal 4:21-31; John 6:1-15; Title: How Fright Becomes Faith; Rev. Tim Beck

Grace, mercy, and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

You’ve met Miss., Mrs. and Mr. Gullible. They believe anything if you say it with a straight face. Of course we know better. That’s why we believe the promises of attractive, articulate politicians. That’s why we favor a carefully advertised product. That’s why a defense attorney selects us for the jury box. That’s why we tell fishing stories and use statistics. But even a gullible has a limit, like when 12 year old Sammy discovers Santa’s outfit in dad’s closet. But when it comes to Jesus, we’re born skeptics even if it is painfully obvious who He is. When it comes to Jesus, not believing is the superstition, wish, and fantasy.

          When it comes right down to it, that’s the way we are… for who really wants the government to stop spending money it doesn’t have? When it comes to the Living God, who really wants to be told they are wrong, and that they are sinners? Who automatically says that the most beautiful scene and most powerful event ever - is Christ crucified? That’s the gullible nature of unbelief, what Scripture describes and the church calls “original sin.”  We’re born with a nature rejecting the true God.  We want to close our eyes to the obvious and say “it’s not for me;” for faith is more than knowledge; it is trust. 

For example, Judas confessed before the high priest that Jesus was          righteous, meaning he is the Son of God. But he didn’t trust Jesus was that for him. On the other hand, Peter betrayed Jesus and also felt bitter sorrow. Unlike Judas, Peter received the words of forgiveness spoken by His Lord. What a difference that made! Judas committed suicide. Peter fed Jesus’ lambs, serving Christ as chief among the Apostles. Peter believed Jesus, received what Jesus promised, and was enabled to bear a cross, enduring even crucifixion like his master.

          Mere intellectual assent won’t go there – only an abiding trust that Jesus is who He says He is for you, for me, can receive such strength. But this faith is what we by nature flee, misunderstand, fear, and doubt, saying, “How can anything so costly, so good be given me? How can this be true: For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God (2 Cor 5:21, ESV). I remember what I said to my wife an hour ago, or to my parents last night, or to my friend, or to myself... and what I’ve done. How can I be the righteousness of God?” Yet the Triune God declares it is true, for you. Through Christ’s death, you are declared the righteousness of God. Your sins are forgiven.  And so that you receive this gift, God works faith within you, His promises stirring up and strengthening us for a willing heart.      

But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,  so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast (Gal 2:4-8, ESV).

          Faith is a divine work, by which you believe that He saved you and named you the righteousness of God. So you also believe that you are now seated with Christ in heavenly places. And that’s harder to believe then dad saying “Santa just leaves his beard in the closet until next December.”  But it is true, and that truth works faith within you. Christ rose from the dead, and so you believe by grace.

          It is not simply the facts, such as Scripture is reliable, the eyewitness accounts accurate and the ancient manuscripts exceptionally good. Even if Noah’s ark bumped against your eaves while the water was going up, up, up, mere facts are not enough to create a trust that boat was meant for you. Faith requires the Holy Spirit to work confidence in Christ for you. Faith is a divine work, and that fact is both frightening and very comforting. Let’s look at the context of today’s gospel reading. Context is important. Jesus just healed a paralytic on the Sabbath. In defending his act of healing against Pharisaic traditions he said something unbelievable, to sinners. He said in a Hebrew idiom that He was equal with God because God is His Father (John 5:18).  How did folks respond? Those who heard him planned to kill him. But what had he just done? What had he been doing? What had he been saying? What Scriptures had he been fulfilling?  There was plenty of evidence that Jesus is the Son of God, but folks chose unbelief. 

          Jesus said if you believed Moses, you would believe me, for he wrote of me. But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe my words (5:46, 47)?      Jesus spoke to folks who said they believed Moses. But they didn’t really believe Moses either, so dark is the human soul.  Then Jesus takes his disciples away and teaches them for the sake of faith. In the distance there’s a great crowd coming. They’ve seen Jesus’ signs. And some hours later Jesus says to Phillip, Where are we to buy bread, so that these people may eat? Jesus tests his disciples, showing them the nature of unbelief and the reality of faith. Do the disciples believe in Jesus? Yes!  They’ve acknowledged He is the Son of God. They call him the Messiah, the Christ. They left all and follow him. But, do they give the answer that proves they trust He can do all things? Do they say, “Lord, we shall see the glory of God?”  Instead we see an example that those who believe still struggle. We see an example of the sin that dwells in us, the darkness and blindness. The disciples answer reasonably, but not according to faith. They say even if Costco had a bakery here, it would cost more than we can pay. To feed them would take a miracle!  That is the weakness of our flesh, blind to what we confess, deaf to Jesus’ intent and mute in announcing confidence in the Lord.

          Jesus said, have the crowd sit down.  What will Jesus do, not only for the mouth but for the heart, for the whole person?  After Jesus feeds 5,000 men, not counting women and children, He stays behind and sends the disciples ahead in their boat. And when the disciples panic during a furious storm on the lake Jesus shows up. He’s walking on water and the disciples worship saying, “Truly you are the Son    of God!” No they don’t. They are terrified. Why should they fear after all that they just saw and heard?  As for the crowd, when the people saw the sign that he had done, they said, “This is indeed the Prophet who is to come into the world!”  They say He is the Prophet!  But what do they trust?  They want the Messiah to provide what Moses gave and more, manna with a kick. Popular Messianic expectation was for a political deliverer to kick out the Romans and restore a physical empire as in King David’s day, including lots to eat. As for food, in 2nd Baruch (29:8), a Jewish devotional writing penned near the time of Jesus, It shall come to pass … that the treasury of manna shall again descend from on high, and they will eat of it in those years.”  Folks wanted life, liberty and happiness; which of course includes lots to eat. But Moses said: Then the Lord said to Moses, “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 they will walk in my law or not. Did they pass the test?  Who hasn’t failed the test of trust in the true God? 

          On the other hand there’s something else in the context: Moses also taught about the Christ. And look what happened with the 70 elders of Israel: Sinners all, forgiven all, promised all, they received all. The covenant of grace was sealed with Israel by the elders eating in the presence of God.  Someone overcame faithlessness with grace, and there was faith, God’s miracle.  Do you believer, and I speak to believers now, do we not eat and drink Christ Himself? What does His word promise? We are children of the free woman - by faith, we who dwell in heavenly places, seated with Christ Jesus, who are in Him the righteousness of God.  We hear the promise, the Holy Spirit works trusts in the promise and we receive what is promised, even faith the size of a mustard seed. But unbelief is like the crowd of bread eaters who put their faith in bread, not the giver of bread. They aim to force Jesus to be King. Faith is not forcing God to be what you want Him to be. If only they listened to Moses. Then they would hear the law of God say what we’ve done to Santa Claus is make an idol of sentiment and greed. They would also hear what the grace of God did for sinners, forgiving that idolatry, so that we believe aright.

          For Moses leads us to repentance by the law, that we admit how blind we are to our own spiritual hopelessness, and how wrong. Perhaps then we will cry out for mercy. And what would we hear from Moses then? If only they listened to Moses. He then spoke of the Christ. Moses spoke of the pattern of the Christ to come in the 70 elders eating, in the sacrifices, in the Priesthood, and in the Passover for example. The Lamb’s blood caused death to pass over, by the grace of God. And the Passover lamb that the people ate marked those who ate as belonging to God.  By the grace of God we know the true Passover, the one of the cross. And by the grace of God we believe and eat and drink in the presence of God this very day. One God-given Passover freed Israel from slavery in Egypt. Now the Lord’s Supper, Baptism, and all of God’s gospel promises, free us from the slavery of unbelief. Christ the Lamb fed His people in the wilderness, and was a spring for the thirsty. He fed them manna and gave them drink not just for body, also for faith. He brought a remnant into a land of milk and honey, of wine and oil, those in whom He worked faith and sustained faith and who did not reject faith. So too He gives the church a sign of bread and wine by which the Lamb of God both tests and strengthens the faith of His people.

          Consider Jesus feeding the multitude. Did the crowds pass the test? They did not. Did the disciples pass the test?  They did not. Did Jesus do something about it? He did. He died as the Passover Lamb. And He did more. He applied His blood to us for faith, saving us by grace, working faith into hearts through His word. So He uses the promises of the Word with water for regeneration and daily renewal. So He uses the promises of the Word with bread and wine for life and salvation. So He uses the message of grace, mercy, and peace to save us. Faith is a miracle, beautifully manifest in the disciples after Jesus, the Son of God, died and rose. Then by His power, they believed aright.

          This means the law still reveals and condemns our in-born unbelief. It brings us to repentance so that we cry, “Lord have mercy.” This means the gospel still forgives our unbelief. Jesus overcame it so that you trust in Him for mercy and grace. That faith, even mustard seed size, has already seated you in heaven. These two things, law and gospel: one is very frightening and the other very comforting. By the command, by the law, we are slaves and nothing more. When the law tests your faith it reveals our darkness so that we cry out. By the gospel, we are forgiven, freed and adopted as the heirs of Christ Jesus. He names us the righteousness of God. And that is our comfort. Despite our struggles, like the disciples, Jesus is faithful to us. Jesus reveals again and again He is the one who re-created and sustains us. He, the Passover Lamb feeds us the bread from heaven. He seated us with Him, we who are the righteousness of God.

The peace of God which passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. (Amen)