Are You Worshiping A Bread And Circus Savior?
Text: John 6:1-15
In the
name of Jesus: Amen.
Contrary
to what you and I might think, I believe that most people have a favorable
opinion of Jesus. I believe that most people not only appreciate but welcome
the kind of Jesus that wows them and gives them good things. Who doesn’t like to have a Savior in their
corner? The kind of Savior that does the
miraculous is just the kind of Savior that many churches worship. A Savior who
gives out free food? Yes, that is the
kind of Savior that many churches follow.
In our
reading from the Gospel of John, it is no different. Jesus had been healing the sick and
multiplying food to fill hungry bellies, which resulted in a large crowd
following Him. Now, we must keep in mind that these signs of healing and
multiplying food were not wrong or bad. But
unfortunately, as we heard in our reading, the signs did not have their
intended effect on the people. Instead
of listening to Jesus, the people became little enthusiastic circus goers.
Dear
friends, we must keep in mind that Jesus is not just another act in a circus
performance, where He heals the sick and multiplies bread. He is not just another act before the juggler
tosses fire and after the clown throws peanuts.
Jesus is not an entertainer.
Jesus is not a peanut thrower. But
unfortunately, the large crowd saw Him that way. The crowd was all about bread and circuses.
They saw the signs of Jesus as something to satisfy their most immediate
entertainment needs and carnal desires.
And so, they could not see beyond the miraculous signs of Jesus.
Dear friends,
the signs of Jesus were intended to point the people to the one doing the
signs. The signs were a motive to listen
to Jesus. The signs were designed to cause the people to look to the one doing
the miracles; however, the people were shortsighted. They could not look beyond the appetite of
their belly and their superficial appeasements.
They were bread and circus consumers.
Isn’t
that how it works, though, with our sinful nature? Doesn’t our sinful nature only look at what
we can get? It makes sense, doesn’t it,
why the large crowd was tempted to grab ahold of the signs while not really
caring about the Sign-Giver. We can hear
our sinful old Adam saying, “Give us the
miracles, but we don’t need the Miracle-Giver!
Give us bread and circuses, not the Truth and Life.”
But
what happens after we get our fill of bread and circus routines? Well, as we see in our Gospel reading, the
large crowd liked the signs of Jesus so much that they came up with this
ingenious idea to seize Jesus to make Him do more signs for them. They wanted to make Jesus their king by force. They did not want Jesus to be a King
according to God the Father, but they wanted to have Jesus as their king, so
that they could shape Him according to their desires. They wanted to make Him a king according to
their cookie-cutter expectations and carnal desires.
Tragically,
this same kind of temptation and tactic exists in the church. In the church today
many seize Jesus and make Him into a king of preconceived desires and wishes. For example, there is a dangerous movement in
Christianity right now called the prosperity gospel movement. It is also known
as the health and wealth gospel. You can
spot this prosperity theology in so-called Christian books at many major retail
stores in America. They typically have a
well-dressed and smiling successful person on the cover holding discerning
fingers to their chin. The cover of the
book communicates that if you adhere to the author’s theology that good things
will be on the way for you. As you read
these books, the false theology will fixate you on the financial blessings and
physical well-being that are supposedly given to you by God, but only when you
are positive and faithful, like the author.
In other words, physical health and prosperity are signs of God’s favor
and belong to Christians who have vibrant faith. All a person has to do to get health and
wealth is to name it and claim it from God with bold and positive faith.
As a
result of these books, hundreds of thousands of Christians pursue this
poisonous prosperity theology chasing after health and wealth, while the Lord
Himself is an afterthought. Naïve and
misguided Christians run frantically after the signs of health and wealth,
while Jesus is treated as an afterthought. Jesus is only desired for the gifts
of health and wealth that He supposedly gives.
It is
no wonder why thousands upon thousands of people flock into these churches.
They are not seeking Christ, but the supposed health and wealth given by Christ. And the churches that hold to this wretched
prosperity theology? They are either severely
misguided or willfully deceitful, for they are using the signs of health and
prosperity as a carrot on the end of a stick to string people along.
Dear
friends, it is important for us to keep in mind that Jesus did not perform
signs and miracles on every single sick person in Israel. Jesus did not feed
every single crowd that was hungry. What
this means is that Jesus did not exist for the sake of doing and distributing
signs only. Jesus was not a means to the
end of healings, miracles, and signs.
But instead, the
signs existed for the sake of Jesus. Keep
in mind that the people in that large crowd wanted to seize Jesus to get Him to
do the signs that they wanted, which is completely backwards to the whole
intent and purpose of the signs in the first place.
And
so, if you have seized Jesus and made Him your king to keep Him around to
answer to your bidding, you are not acting as a member of Christ’s church but
act like a circus mob. Christ is not
some sort of genie in a bottle that answers to your wishes. He is not like a vending machine that you use
to get free food. He is not a circus act that is meant to merely entertain.
Dear
Baptized Saints, Christ’s church is not a bread circus. The Lord may not always help you in the way
that you want. He may supply miraculous help, as He did with the five thousand
hungry individuals in our Gospel reading, or He may give you a miracle even if
you do not recognize it at the time. Or instead, you may experience something
that seemed like a miracle, even though it may have only been God using natural
resources to solve your problem. That is how the Lord works; He organizes and
orchestrates events in precisely the right way and at the right time to help
you.
Furthermore,
what the prosperity gospel teaching fails to realize is that sometimes, instead
of solving your problems and giving you your wildest dreams, the Lord may allow
your problems to remain. He may choose
to have you suffer hardship for a time, even as He provides you the power to
stand. This also is the Lord’s loving care.
But
perhaps, the most important thing to realize is that the signs of the Lord are
meant to point us to the character, mission, and identity of Jesus.
Think
of it this way for a moment. That great crowd wanted to seize Jesus to make Him
a king according to their desires. But
their desires of making him a King were so limited. What they wanted was to take him to Jerusalem
to be a messianic king over the Roman Empire.
But a mere messianic king over a tiny world Empire accomplishes nothing
over mankind’s biggest problems of sin, death, and the devil. This is the
reason why Jesus withdrew from their scheming and plans to seize Him as their
King. Their plans were too shortsighted. Their plans were too
narrow-minded. Christ had more to give
than mere physical healings and simple bread.
Thus,
instead of being seized, Jesus went on to Jerusalem on His own accord to
accomplish the ultimate sign of a bloody cross and an empty tomb.
What
this means is that you have a Savior that is greater than what your limited
desires want and need. Think about that
for a moment. Let that sink in. You have a Savior that is greater than what
your limited desires want and need.
You
want entertainment but are given so much more – a bloody cross of
forgiveness.
You
want a circus but are given so much more – an empty tomb of life.
You
want health but are given so much more – eternal life.
You want wealth but are given so much more – rich mercy and grace.
You
want prosperity but are given so much more – an identity in your baptism, a
clear conscience in absolution, and assurance in the Supper.
Baptized
Saints, Jesus is not the king that you and I want but the King that you and I
need... and have.
In the
name of Jesus. Amen.
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