Sermon: Wittenberg Academy – Tuesday of Lent 2

March 2, 2021

Text: Mark 6:35-56

In the name of + Jesus.  Amen.

In our reading from his Gospel, St. Mark the Evangelist records three miracles of our Lord back to back: the feeding of the five thousand, the calming of the sea, and the healing of many sick people.  At first, there may be no apparent connection between such things.  Maybe Jesus is merely putting on a show of His power to prove that He is God.  Well, He is indeed doing that, but that is not “merely” what He is doing.

Each of these miracles is a blow directed at the devil.  Each of these miracles addresses damage that mankind has done to himself.  Each of these miracles is an overturning of sin’s domination of mankind and of the world. 

The feeding of the five thousand calls to mind the curse given to Adam in the Garden, the fact that there would be shortages of food, and hard labor would be required to produce the bread that sustains this body and life.  In the midst of people going hungry – people who are hungry for the Word of God – Jesus provides for them by His mighty power, turning away Satan’s leverage over mankind that encourages him to sin against his neighbor for the sake of survival.

The calming of the storm calls to mind the many natural disasters that we in the post-Fall world consider normal and natural.  Of course the most calamitous of all was the great flood that wiped out everyone except for Noah and his family.  Jesus restores the calm that was at first typical of the entire world – thus beating back the devil’s chaos with the peace and order that comes through His Word and will.

The healing of the multitudes on the other side of the lake calls to mind the curse that all of us have, that to dust we are and to dust we shall return.  Our bodies wear out.  We have horrific diseases that lay us down into the grave.  But by His touch and by His command, Jesus rebukes Satan once more, whose delight is to see us suffer and die.  By the command of Jesus, we are taken out of death and given new life.

And thus in these passages, we learn that Jesus is God.  But what’s more, we learn that He loves us and has a plan for our restoration, the defeat of the devil, and the turning back of sin and its consequences.  Our Lord Jesus Christ gives us a little taste of heaven, just as He does when he invites us to hear His Word and to partake of His Supper.  Thanks be to God!

Amen.

In the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.