The Gospel lesson for this Sunday combines things that one would normally not expect mixed together. There’s talk of who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven and faith like a child combined with temptations to sin, and the joy over the return of a lost sheep. Then, there’s Church Discipline—including excommunication—mixed with the authority of the Apostles and the promise of Jesus that the heavenly Father will answer your prayers, mixed with the wonderful promise of Jesus to be present with His people when they gather in His name. It is a wonderful combination of command and promise, of instructions and authority.

Essentially, these 20 verses deal with your life as a Christian, especially in relation to one another.

• Who’s the greatest in the kingdom? The one who has humility and faith like a child.
• Oh, and speaking of children, you best not cause them to sin—lead them into sin—for it would be better for you to be weighed down and tossed into the ocean.
• Speaking of sin, if any of your bodily members cause you to sin, best get rid of it, be it your hand or foot or even an eye, and enter into eternal life maimed and blind than to burn in hell fully intact; of course, your hand or foot or eye do not cause you to sin, but your heart—that sinful heart. As Jesus said, “For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander. These are what defile a person.” (Matthew 15:19-20a)
• There is much rejoicing in heaven over a sinner who repents, and there ought to be the same in the Church on earth, because it is the will of the Father that none who are His should perish.

In other words, your life as a Christian on earth is to be humbly faithful to God, repentant and forgiven, and rejoicing with those who, like you, are humbly faithful, repentant and forgiven.

As you heard over the last couple of weeks, Jesus had just fed the 5000 men, besides women and children, then went for a stroll on the water. (cf. Matthew 14:21ff) Miraculously, a mere five loaves of bread and two fish became a banquet for a great multitude. On top of that, when the crowd finished eating, there were leftovers; twelve baskets full of fragments.

After the events of today’s lesson, Jesus does it again, feeding 4000 men, besides women and children. (cf. Matthew 15:38) This time, seven loaves and a few small fish were the meal. And the crowd had their fill. When they were done, once again there were leftovers; seven large baskets full of fragments.

Jesus made the disciples get into a boat to go to the other side of the lake while He would go on the mountain by Himself to pray. As it happened, the wind and waves came upon the boat, a long way off from shore, and the disciples were terrified. Now, remember, almost half of these men were seasoned sailors…and they were afraid; even they were afraid.

What is it about a little storm on the sea that would cause even hardened sailors to be afraid. They were over the deep waters. Deep waters represented death and the grave; represented Sheol, that deep, dark, mysterious underworld that swallowed up the dead. Deep waters also housed the sea monsters, like Leviathan, referenced not only in Job, but the Psalmist also says the deep is Leviathan’s playground (cf. Psalm 104:26), who would gobble you up in a single gulp.

Picture, also, the beginning. Genesis 1:1-2:

I don’t know how best to attempt a description of the formless void and deep waters, but I imagine a storm-tossed sea elicits some image of the first day of the Cosmos’ existence.

That’s where the disciples were that early morning: in the middle of a storm-tossed sea, barely floating over Sheol, the playground of mighty Leviathan. Even the hardened sailors would be afraid of that.

Onto that, the Son of Man steps foot.

“[A]nd taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven and said a blessing. Then he broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds.” With these words, Jesus began the feeding of the 5000, as the men are numbered. And they are very poignant words, indeed, and certainly lead one to think of the times in which he feeds many more than 5000. St. John wrote in his account, “Now the Passover, the feast of the Jews, was at hand,” and, “Jesus then took the loaves, and when he had given thanks, he distributed them to those who were seated…” Those words sound so similar to what is very often heard here, in this place. Then, the fact that it was near Passover only adds to what is being taught in today’s Gospel: Jesus is fulfilling the sign of Moses and pointing to His own Supper.

Now, to be perfectly clear, Jesus is not celebrating the Lord’s Supper in these texts, but He is pointing to it; that is to say, He is pointing to Himself—pointing to His work on the cross and His gift in the Supper. As Rev. Peter Bender once wrote, “This feeding was a sign intended to point us to the realities and benefits of the Supper, but it was not the Supper. In the same way, the healing miracles of Jesus were signs of the resurrection of the body, intended to point us to the realities of the resurrection”—bodies made whole by Him—“but they were not the resurrection” (emphasis added).

But, before getting to the realities and benefits of the Supper, what is the sign of Moses?

“The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field…”

The Sower is at work again. As you heard last week, He casts His seed lavishly everywhere He can, seeking His harvest from everywhere. His seed is good; it is His Word, and it accomplishes the task for which it is cast, in some 100-fold, in others 60-, and in others 30-; in today’s parable, the seed is the sons of the kingdom—the Church.

But, according to today’s parable, the Sower is not the only one at work. The evil one is always at work, too.