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“A great multitude followed Him because they saw the signs that He did on the sick.”

᛭ INI ᛭

Christ feeds the multitudes, as promised! “They shall feed along the ways; on all bare heights shall be their pasture; they shall not hunger or thirst, neither scorching wind nor sun shall strike them, for he who has pity on them will lead them, and by springs of water will guide them.” So Christ did for the multitudes as He shepherded them by the “Sea of Galilee, which is the Sea of Tiberias.” (“There was much grass in the pace.”)

“A great multitude followed Him” there. 5,000 men in number, besides women in children, as Matthew, Mark, and Luke also tell us. He doesn’t just shepherd them there. The “followed Him.” It happened afterward, too. They followed Him to Capernaum. Crowds followed Him almost everywhere! Sometimes they follow Him for the right reasons. Other times they don’t.

It wasn’t just that way during Christ’s ministry. It’s that way now, too. Some claim to be Christian for the wrong reasons. Others are Christians for the right reasons. Sometimes Christians are Christians for right and wrong reasons at the same time! It was that way with the crowds around Christ back then…

Today, however, our focus is only partially on the great multitude following Him. We’re also zeroing in on what Christ does for that crowd. The Feeding of the 5,000 makes that pretty easy, actually. It’s like this:

CHRIST GIVES BREAD TO THOSE WHO FOLLOW HIM.

(I. True followers follow His signs.)

Now, true followers of Christ follow His signs. The crowd did. The “followed Him because they saw the signs He did in the sick.” He, of course, was healing them. Isaiah prophesied it about the Christ: In His days “the eyes of the blind shall be opened, And the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped.The lame shall leap like a deer, And the tongue of the dumb sing” (Is 35)

We often call what Christ does miracles. But the Bible calls them signs, and signs point you to something else. They let you know who or what you’ll find at a given place. Highways are lined with all sorts of Billboards that do that. The signs that Christ does tell us that He really is God in the flesh, that He’s the Savior of the World, the long-promised Seed of the woman. When Christ heals, they point to His resurrection.

When Christ removes afflictions, it says that He has come to take away our sorrows, to bear our infirmities and diseases (Mt 4), that He’s come to bear our own sins in His own body. He is come to be to be the Life of the world in His death. The greatest sign being His death and His resurrection—King not of Bread but of Calvary.

True followers trust those signs, and then place their trust in Christ. They follow where He goes. They listen to Him. They receive from Him. So it was that “a great multitude followed Him because they saw the signs He did on the sick.”

Others may follow but for other reasons. After Christ feeds the 5,000 they follow Him still across the sea of Galilee. Christ says, “You follow Me, not because you saw the sign but because you ate the bread and were filled.” (Jn 6) There God is their belly. They didn’t trust Christ for who He really is or what He really came to do, but only because of what they thought they could get out of Him.

After the 5,000, Christ was left with only the Twelve, and a few other stragglers. But Peter and the Twelve confess, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the Words of eternal life.” (Jn 6)

Why follow Christ? Is it the signs He did? Is it the signs He does? Is it something else entirely? Good morals? Tradition? You’ve always just thought of yourself as a Christian or gone to church?

Lord, grant us living hearts that follow You!

(Transition.)

Now, what does Christ do for those who trust in Him, who follow Him?

CHRIST GIVES BREAD TO THOSE WHO FOLLOW HIM.

(II. He gives bread to them.)

Now, Christ also supplies bread to all. “Give thanks unto the LORD for He is good, and His mercy endureth forever.” (Ps 136) “[He] gives food to every creature. He provides food for the cattle and for the young ravens when they call.” (Ps 136) Just like His Father, He “sends rain on the righteous and unrighteous. He makes His sun to shine on the evil and on the good.” (Mt 6)

And yet, “His pleasure is not in the strength of the horse, nor His delight in the legs of a man; the LORD delights in those who fear Him, who put their hope in His unfailing love.” (Ps 147) So, He doesn’t just give daily bread to His followers, like He gave bread to the 5,000. He gives “bread that endures unto life everlasting.”

He gives the “Bread” of His Word, “for man does not live on bread alone but by every Word that comes forth from the mouth of God.” (Mt 4; Dt 4) “For as the rain and snow come down [and] water the earth, And make it bring forth and bud, That it may give seed to the sower And bread to the eater, So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void, But it shall accomplish what I please, And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.” (Is 55) Let us then be like Jeremiah who said: “Your words were found, and I ate them, And Your word was to me the joy and rejoicing of my heart; For I am called by Your name, O LORD God of hosts.” (Jer 15:16)

Christ also gives the Bread which He gives for the life of the world, that is, His flesh! “For My flesh is true food, and My blood is true drink. Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will resurrect Him on the Last Day.” (Jn 6) Christ’s Supper is the Bread of Immortality, for it is “the medicine that gives eternal life. It is the antidote to not die but to live in IHS Christ forever.” (Ignatius, Ephesians 2:20) His Supper is the sign which Christ continues to do among us! After all, CHRIST GIVES BREAD TO THOSE WHO FOLLOW HIM.

(Conclusion.)

They followed Christ. He gave bread to them. That is what Christ does. The signs on the sick directed them to Christ. The bread directed many to their bellies—their wants, desires—instead of Christ.

CHRIST GIVES BREAD TO THOSE WHO FOLLOW HIM.

Why do you follow Him? Do you trust Him? What signs are you following? “9. What has Christ done for you that you trust in Him? He died for me and shed His blood for me on the cross for the forgiveness of sins.” He brought you to the shores of Galilee, the Holy Font, once again to GIVE BREAD TO THOSE WHO FOLLOW HIM. For those who wish to follow their sins, their bellies, their desires, they receive His body and blood for judgment and condemnation.

“But for you who fear My name The Sun of Righteousness shall arise With healing in His wings; And you shall go out And grow fat like stall-fed calves” (Mal 4:2)—even with sins forgiven, to rise from the dead. CHRIST GIVES BREAD TO THOSE WHO FOLLOW HIM, daily bread and even the Bread of Immortality.

᛭ INI ᛭