Ascending The Mountain

“But ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem…” — Hebrews 12:22 KJV

When reading through the gospel accounts of Jesus feeding the multitudes, I’ve often left those passages with a sense of awe at Jesus’ miraculous provision for those who followed Him. But that was about all that I really gleaned from those passages. Jesus is followed by large crowds who come to hear Him, and after a long day of teaching He shows His authority and power by these miracles.

However, there is more to be seen here. Particularly in Matthew 15, we see the scope of Jesus’ mission here on earth — The redemption of both Jews and Gentiles to worship Jehovah.

Crumbs For A Canaanite Dog

Beginning in v.21 of Matthew 15, Jesus departs into the coasts of Tyre and Sidon and is pursued by a pleading mother, a woman of Canaan. This Canaanite woman has a daughter afflicted by a devil, and is determined that Jesus heal her. Jesus’ disciples entreat Him to send her away, not dismissively but by answering her request. Jesus then states the purpose of His immediate mission — To restore the lost sheep of Israel, not the Gentiles. Jesus dismisses her, and His disciples, and when the woman pleads with Him a third time, He calls her a dog, referring to the stark differences between Jews and Gentiles. This remark does not show a disdain that Christ has towards the woman. He in fact does love her, but it is an overflow of His love and commitment to the Father and in doing His will. He has come for the lost sheep of Israel, not for the Gentiles.

Yet, this isn’t the end of the matter. The woman, in a true outworking of faith, humbly accepts and acknowledges her position as a Gentile and a Canaanite, and continues to plead the mercy of God on behalf of her daughter. Jesus, acknowledging her “great faith” (v.28) heals her daughter, and Jesus departs again.

Worship By The Sea

Jesus again departs, this time He came near to the sea of Galilee. Here is the main substance of this reflection. The previous miracle in chapter 14 as well as the encounter with the Canaanite mother help set the stage for what is happening here.

Jesus, just like Moses ascends the mountain, drawing closer to the presence of God with the multitudes. He sits down, ready to teach those following Him. He then heals them of their infirmities, feeds them, and sends them off.
Notice the pattern of worship here. Each Lord’s day we ascend the heavenly mount Zion with Jesus as He calls us to worship. We too come and sit at our Lord’s feet, ready to be ministered and taught by Him through the work of our Ministers. In the service, we are reminded of the redemptive work that Jesus has accomplished on our behalf. Take note of what Jesus did when He healed those in this predominately Gentile region. The various infirmities that Jesus healed are things that would have prevented a man from serving as a priest. There is also a four-fold mention of these infirmities (Dumb, maimed, lame, and blind.) that can also be recognized as denoting the four corners of the world being healed by Jesus. Jesus restores these people to stand as priests, just as He does with us, ready to worship and serve the living God. When Jesus restores us, He opens our mouths to sing praise, He opens our eyes to see and behold the true God, and He restores our limbs to walk and serve as a royal priesthood. The result is that the true God is glorified (v.31). Then, just as Jesus feeds the multitude here, He feeds us at His table and sends us back into the world to do the will of our Father.

Back at the feeding of the 5,000, we see 12 loaves leftover. The “crumbs”, so to speak, of these 12 are what is used to feed the 4,000. Again, we see that as Jesus came to the lost sheep of Israel, His work is also to bring in the flock of Gentiles and restore them as well to worship God. This is denoted by the 12 loaves broken in total between chapters 14 and 15, which represent Jesus, the true Israel, whose broken body brings life to the world. Through the breaking of Jesus’ body the Jews and the Nations receive healing and restoration to ascend the mountain along with Jesus to worship God.