Hunger In Perspective

of John, and you will likely
be astounded to discover that we are all the way to John Chapter
6. John Chapter 6, and as is our
developing habit, if you would, I want to turn to John Chapter
6 and at least initially read it in its entirety so that we
can have the context ahead before us, even as we we’ll consider
the context behind this. John chapter 6, we begin at the
very beginning, verse 1. After these things, Jesus went
away to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, or Tiberias. A large crowd followed him because
they saw the signs which he was performing on those who were
sick. Then Jesus went up on the mountain, and there he sat down
with his disciples. Now the Passover, the feast of
the Jews, was near. Therefore Jesus, lifting up his
eyes, and seeing that a large crowd was coming to him, said
to Philip, Where are we to buy bread, so that these may eat?
This he was saying to test him, for he knew what he was intending
to do. Philip answered him, 200 denarii
worth of bread is not sufficient for them, for everyone to receive
a little. One of his disciples, Andrew,
Simon Peter’s brother, said to him, There is a lamb here who
has five barley loaves and two fish, but what are these for
so many people? Jesus said, Have the people sit
down. Now there was much grass in the
place, So the men sat down in number, about five thousand.
Jesus then took the loaves, and having given thanks, He distributed
to those who were seated, likewise also of the fish, as much as
they wanted. When they were filled, He said
to His disciples, Gather up the leftover fragments, so that nothing
will be lost. So they gathered them up, and
filled twelve baskets with fragments from the five barley loaves which
were left over by those who had eaten. Therefore, when the people
saw the sign which he had performed, they said, ìThis is truly the
prophet who is to come into the world.î So Jesus, perceiving
that they were intending to come and take him by force and make
him king, withdrew again to the mountain by himself, alone. When evening came, His disciples
went down to the sea, and after getting into a boat, they started
to cross the sea at Capernaum. It had already become dark, and
Jesus had not yet come to them. The sea began to be stirred up,
because a strong wind was blowing. Then, when they had rowed about
three or four miles, they saw Jesus walking on the sea and
drawing near to the boat, and they were frightened. But He
said to them, It is I. Do not be afraid. so they were
willing to receive him into the boat. And immediately the boat
was at the land to which they were going. The next day the
crowd that stood on the other side of the sea saw that there
was no other small boat there except one, and that Jesus had
not entered with his disciples into the boat, but that his disciples
had gone away alone. There came other small boats
from Tiberias near to the place where they ate the bread after
the Lord had given thanks. So when the crowd saw that Jesus
was not there, nor his disciples, they themselves got into the
small boats and came to Capernaum seeking Jesus. When they found
him on the other side of the sea, they said to him, Rabbi,
when did you get here? Jesus answered them and said,
Truly, truly, I say to you, you seek me not because you saw signs,
but because you ate of the loaves and were filled. Do not work
for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures
to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you. For
on Him the Father, God, has set His seal. Therefore they said
to Him, What shall we do, so that we may work the works of
God? Jesus answered and said to them,
This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has
sent. So they said to him, what then
do you do for a sign, so that we may see and believe you? What work do you perform? Our
fathers ate manna in the wilderness, as it is written. He gave them
bread out of heaven to eat. Jesus then said to him, truly,
truly, I say to you, it is not Moses who has given you the bread
out of heaven, But it is My Father who gives you the true bread
out of heaven. For the bread of God is that
which comes down out of heaven and gives life to the world.’
Then they said to Him, Lord, always give us this bread. Jesus
said to them, I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me will
not hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst. But
I said to you that you have seen Me and yet do not believe. All
that the Father gives me will come to me, and the one who comes
to me I will certainly not cast out. For I have come down from
heaven, not to do my own will, but the will of Him who sent
me. This is the will of Him who sent me, that all that He has
given me I lose nothing, but I raise it up on the last day.
For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who beholds the
Son and believes in him will have eternal life, and I myself
will raise him up on the last day.” And therefore the Jews
were grumbling about him, because he said, I am the bread that
comes down out of heaven. They were saying, is this not
Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How
does he now say, I have come down out of heaven? Jesus answered
and said to them, Do not grumble among yourselves. No one can
come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him, and I
will raise him up on the last day. It is written in the Prophets,
and they shall all be taught of God. Everyone who has heard
and learned from the Father comes to Me. Not that anyone has seen
the Father except the one who is from God. He has seen the
Father. Truly, truly, I say to you, he
who believes has eternal life. I am the bread of life. Your
fathers ate manna in the wilderness and they died. This is the bread
which comes down out of heaven so that one may eat of it and
not die. I am the living bread that came
down out of heaven. If anyone eats of this bread,
he will live forever. And the bread also which I will
give for the life of the world is my flesh. Then the Jews began
to argue with one another, saying, How can this man give us his
flesh to eat? So Jesus said to them, Truly,
truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man
and drink his blood, you have no life in yourselves. He who
eats my flesh and drinks my blood, has eternal life, and I will
raise him up on the last day. For my flesh is true food, and
my blood is true drink. He who eats my flesh and drinks
my blood abides in me, and I in him. As the living Father sent
me, and I live because of the Father, so he who eats me, he
also will live because of me. This is the bread which comes
down out of heaven, not as the fathers ate and died. He who
eats this bread will live forever.” These things he said in the synagogue
as he taught in Capernaum. Therefore, many of his disciples,
when they heard this, said, this is a difficult statement. Who
can listen to it? But Jesus, conscious that his
disciples grumbled at this, said to them, What then if you see the Son
of Man ascending to where He was before? It is the Spirit
who gives life. The flesh profits nothing. The
words that I have spoken to you are Spirit and are life. But
there are some of you who do not believe. For Jesus knew from
the beginning who they were who did not believe, and who it was
who would betray Him. And he was saying, for this reason
I have said to you that no one can come to me unless it has
been granted him from the Father. As a result of this, many of
his disciples withdrew and were not walking with him anymore. So Jesus said to the twelve,
You do not want to go away also, do you? Simon Peter answered
him, Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal
life. We have believed and have come
to know that you are the Holy One of God. Jesus answered them,
did I myself not choose you, the twelve, and yet one of you
is a devil? Now he met Judas, the son of
Simon Iscariot, for he, one of the twelve, was going to betray
him. one of the most powerful chapters
in all of Scripture. And we set the tone by taking
it in full. But I would have you return back,
if you would, to verse 1. In verse 1 through 15, we have
that astounding scene that’s recorded in all four Gospels.
That this opening occurrence, the feeding of the 5,000, really
has been presented by a number of different people over the
years as a microcosm of Psalm 23. The Lord is my shepherd,
I shall not want. It’s an interesting thing, that
second statement. The Lord is my shepherd, the
second statement, I shall not want, has this misperception at times by various
people suggesting that it’s wrong to desire or that it’s wrong
to long for a thing. It’s wrong to want a thing. And so it’s the psalmist’s way
of saying, I will be satisfied with whatever you give, I will
not long. I will not long. I will not desire. It’s a faulty understanding of
the psalm. The psalm, the psalmist here
is telling us that the Lord God will supply our every need and
this particular miracle that is worth the feeding of the 5,000
is an illustration of that. When it says that The Lord is
my shepherd, I shall not want.” The psalmist there is telling
us that God will supply our every need. We will not be in any lack. We will not lack what is necessary
or needful, even if God must supply it through miraculous
means. In Mark chapter 6, which covers this same material
quite differently. Mark chapter 6, Jesus just beckons
his disciples. It had been a busy couple of
weeks. They had gone out preaching, and Jesus beckons his disciples
and says this, come away by yourselves to a secluded place. We all need
that, don’t we? After a hectic period of ministry,
after some big event, We need some downtime. And Jesus
saw that and he provided for that. Come away by yourselves
to a secluded place and rest a while. He doesn’t tell them
how long, that’s probably a good thing. It was brief, very brief. This short break occurred just
after he had graced them and sent them out two by two and
essentially called them formally into ministry. Matthew’s Gospel
also reports that this follows on the heels, this little retreat
that Jesus takes his apostles on, it follows on the heels of
the news about John the Baptist’s death. And so the disciples were
also processing that news. In a sense, this is akin to a
modern day retreat, what we call a retreat, even if it’s brief,
it was a time to pull aside with Christ, perhaps to spend some
moments in prayer, to refocus, to think, to ponder, to process. And it’s fascinating to note
that of the miracle that is about to take place, all four of the
Gospels, It’s the only other miracle other than the resurrection
that all four of the Gospels take note of this particular
miracle. There’s no doubt that this miracle
is one and the same as that recorded in the Synoptic Gospels, Matthew
chapter 14, Mark chapter 6, Luke chapter 9. All of them cite a
headcount, a relative headcount. Matthew says about 5,000 men
aside from women and children. Mark, much more generally, or
much more specifically rather, 5,000 men. Luke, a little more
undefined, about 5,000 men. John’s account is remarkable.
John’s account is remarkable in that this miracle leads into
one of the most incredible discourses in all of his gospels. The Galilean
ministry, that year and a half period of time, treated so thoroughly
by the synoptic writers, is touched upon, as we’ve already noted,
only briefly by the Apostle John in the sixth chapter. He notes
this event, and he essentially picks them up on the road, as
it were. Imagine what is missed. Such
noteworthy things as the parable of the leaven, John doesn’t account
for that. The second mass feeding of approximately
4,000 people, the scene on the Mount of Transfiguration, the
apostles’ question regarding who was the greatest, the discourse
on the sinning brother, Matthew chapter 18, the parable that
follows, the parable of the $10 million sin, the sin of unforgiveness,
none of those Galilean moments are recorded by John. And so
you might say that John placed the highest priority on this
particular episode, that in a period of time where John largely leaves
untreated, he couldn’t leave out the feeding of the 5,000.
He saw it as paramount. What is more, only John records
the dialogue that he presents. in verses 26 through 71, which
verses we just read. It’s fascinating that this story,
concerned about bread, food, the NIV perhaps was even locked
on to that when they translated this, the Hebrew word in Genesis 319
as food. Jesus said, that Jesus prayed
in His prayer, give us this day our daily bread, give us our
food. It was a miracle that meant that
this breaking of the bread, this multiplying of the bread and
these fish was especially significant because it was God feeding people,
an element that is just so basic to God’s character and nature. pointed to God’s giving His people
the blessings that He pours out upon us every day. This miracle,
this feeding of the 5,000, occurs, as I’ve already indicated, in
context. And I would say that as you back
away and look, there are really three contexts that I want to
pick up today. The context of the particular
occasion, we’ll get to that in a moment. The context of the
moment, that of the miracle itself, and the context of the aftermath.
First, let’s start with the context of the occasion, which is this
very surfacy, self-serving fascination with Christ. It’s limited. It only goes so far. Skin deep,
if you will. Look at verse one. After these
things, Jesus went away to the other side of the Sea of Galilee,
or Tiberias. A large crowd followed Him because
they saw the signs which He was performing. The departure was intentional.
It was circumstantial. The disciples were weary. They
were overwhelmed, very likely, in a sense. They needed a break. But this whole scene is also
set up by divine providence. The people could easily see Jesus
and His disciples as they traveled by boat across this lake. They
could witness Christ and His men. The people could easily
see Jesus and His men, and Jesus and His men could easily see
them. And so they followed Christ and His men around to the other
side of the lake, But God has a design and purpose for that.
Perhaps the location was better suited. But the mere arrival
of this crowd suddenly puts pressure on the disciples themselves. As we already noted, they have
already been in ministry. They have already been in great
service to Christ. Jesus Himself recognizes that
they need a break. And now they see this crowd dogging
their steps? While the great multitude will
soon witness one of Christ’s most astounding miracles, I would
submit to you that the apostles themselves will soon see that
they were the ones most in need of schooling at the feet of Christ. Here we see the crowd, probably
even picking up the pace and running, as it were, around the
curve of the lake to meet them on the other side. As soon as they cross to the other
side of the lake, they find this crowd waiting for them. It’s
noteworthy that the form of the bird here just really paints
a vivid picture, a number of different people tried to capture
this in their either translations or in their paraphrase. One said
it this way, the crowd was continually following him because they were
continually beholding the signs. Another said it this way, they
were following him because they were viewing the signs which
he was performing. This was a constant thing, this
wasn’t just something that had recently cropped up. Another
said they kept following Jesus because they continually saw
the signs that He habitually did. This was an ongoing and
developing thing. They wanted to see more. They
were captured by these astounding things. Look at verse 3, again,
Jesus went up on the mountain and there He sat down with His
disciples. He’s committed to give them a
break, even if it’s brief. The crowds are aware. Luke 9,
11 records that the crowds were aware of this. They followed
him. And Mark 6 picks up this little detail. The people saw
them going. Many recognized them, ran together
there on foot from all the cities and got there ahead of them.
As I said, the crowd was waiting for them when they even disembarked
from the boats. Now, get this. One commentator
suggested, and let me just tell you, this is such nonsense that
I debated whether or not to even waste my breath refuting it. He said that the unexpected arrival
of the people defeated Jesus’ plan to rest. Now, one day I’m
going to have a book burning. Because it’s pointless to throw
these things, you know, to give them to another library where
they might fall into somebody else’s hands. In the first place,
the crowd wasn’t unexpected, was it? They were following along
on shore. They could see Jesus and his
men. Jesus and his men could easily
see them. They were fully aware that this
crowd was coming. even if Jesus were not omniscient,
but he knew. This wasn’t unexpected. The context
shows that this rest was to be temporary. It was a brief break. And in light of Jesus’ deity,
this couldn’t possibly be unexpected, nor could it be ruinous of his
plans. As we see his plans unfold, Jesus
knew what was coming. Jesus knew that His plans encompassed
this crowd. Further, however, Luke 9.11 says
that Jesus welcomed the crowd. Now, how was that a surprise?
How was that an unpleasant experience? How was that an unwelcomed crowd? Luke 9.11 says, welcoming them,
He began speaking to them about the kingdom of God and curing
those who have need of healing. Jesus doesn’t consider this an imposition. There was no rebuke to his words. There’s not even a polite request
for privacy. Could you give us an hour or
so, just me and my men? It was a matter of course. This
was ministry. The phone rang. Duty calls. and the particular
needs of these people. That’s what weighed on the Lord’s
heart. They were not only sick, they
were ignorant of God’s Word, they were downcast. Ultimately,
as the evening wore on, they would be hungry, tired, weary
themselves. After all, Jesus and His disciples
rode a boat across the lake. They walked all the way around.
And so this crowd was gathered, even as the boat drew near the
land. Mark says this, listen. Mark 6.34 says, when Jesus went
ashore, he saw a large crowd. He felt compassion for them because
they were like a sheep without a shepherd. It’s not a good situation for
sheep to be without a shepherd. I don’t know how many of you
saw the news, but it’s not a good situation at all. I think on Friday, a little couple
of lines story came through about a Spanish city named Huesca. Huesca in Spain, where a shepherd
fell asleep. And his 1,300 member flock decided
to take a walk through the town. Well, and as the shepherd slept,
The police had to get involved and re-herd the sheep. And they
finally were able to get them back to pasture. And when they
spoke to him, I think they figured out that what happened was that
he had been counting the sheep. It’s not a good situation. And
so when he says that they were like sheep without a shepherd, he seizes upon what was a proverbial
expression, a well-known proverbial Hebraism, to talk about a situation
that was not good. Moses used this in appointing
Joshua over the people. Numbers 27 said, they will go
out, he will go out and come in before them, and who will
lead them out and bring them in, so that the congregation
of the Lord will not be like a sheep. which have no shepherd.”
That was a bad scene if that happened. That was a dreadful
occurrence for the nation of Israel to be without a shepherd.
Micaiah’s counsel to Ahab told him not to go to war, told him
what would happen if he did go to war. He said, I saw all of
Israel scattered on the mountains like a sheep which have no shepherd.
Well, he didn’t listen to him, did he? And he paid the price. The Word of the Lord was against
Israel’s shepherds in Ezekiel chapter 34 when the same image
is used. They were scattered for lack
of a shepherd. They became food for every beast of the field.
He’s talking about the nation. They were aimless, wandering
around in the night as so many sheep. What John seizes upon here, this
image, that these people were like sheep without a shepherd,
was this large conglomeration of people. They were sinners,
and they were perishing in their sin, even at that moment. They were dying for the Word. They were dying to hear the Gospel.
They were helpless, they were aimless, they were hopeless, without hope. Without God, nearly
identical words are recorded by Matthew on another occasion,
still early in Jesus’ ministry, following a series of healings. It says that Jesus, seeing the
people, felt compassion for them because they were distressed
and dispirited like sheep without a shepherd. This is what Jesus
noticed. about the shepherdless, wayward
people, distressed, dispirited. It’s descriptive not only of
that society in that day, but it’s descriptive of the society
in our day. Look around. In a sense, what better man could
they come to? After all, Hebrews 13.20 presents
Jesus as the great shepherd of the sheep. 1 Peter 2, Jesus our
Lord, the shepherd and guardian of your souls. Jesus himself
will later in John’s Gospel, John 10.11, present himself as
the good shepherd. And so the shepherd sees these
wayward, anxious, hopeless, helpless sheep and sets about to exemplify
ministry to his own apostles. practical, genuine care and concern
for people. Something that was, at that moment,
quite lacking, as we will see. Not only do we see the context
of the occasion, that’s the backdrop. But as we get in and draw nearer
to the miracle itself, we see the context of the moment. What’s
going on in those immediately preceding moments leading up
to this astounding miracle? What we find is a compassionate
reaction of a shepherd’s heart. The synoptic writers, Matthew,
Mark, and Luke, all communicate the element of time. Matthew
says when it was evening. Mark says it was quite late. Luke says it creatively the day
began to decline, as only a doctor would say it. The feeding of
the 5,000 is in the offing. And of course, those who reject
supernatural, miraculous events, divine intervention, they have
to reject this, and they have. Listen to this one. Some people
hold that a miracle took place in men’s hearts. Jesus didn’t
multiply the food at all. What He did was change their
hearts. Watch this. Christ induced the selfish to
share their provisions. Here’s how it unfolds. One guy
took, he spent way too much money on ink and paper to write this,
but he said that everyone actually had food with them, that it was
hidden. They had it tucked in their pockets.
And they were selfishly hoarding it. But when they saw this generous,
magnanimous little boy willing to share his crackers and fish,
well then, Their hearts swelled, and they broke out all their
food, and they had really quite the picnic. The miracle was done
in their hearts. The miracle was a change of attitude
in the individuals there gathered. The only problem is that is a
shocking disregard of the facts of the story. It doesn’t say
that at all. Other people think that there
is reason to make this into a sacramental meal, where just as we don’t
make a feast of the Lord’s table, we take a small tidbit of bread,
a small little offering of grape juice, and that this was
very similar to that. Just a little bit will do. It’s
symbolical after all. We’re all going to share, and
this is a message about sharing. Except that that doesn’t square
with the facts of the passage, as we’ll see. It’s not just a
token meal, like the Lord’s Supper. Everyone just got a taste, and
that was supposed to be enough. The story’s been disregarded
and abused almost since it was communicated. Jerome. Some people call him
Saint Jerome. Here’s what he had to say. He
said, the boy with the five loaves and the two fish represents Moses
with his five books and the two tables of the law. Everybody
can see that, right? You know, the bottom line, if
you just read this like a child would read it, you cannot help
but coming away that an astounding miracle took place. When Jesus
Christ, the Son of God, multiplied this small amount of food so
that everyone in the crowd not only had a taste, they ate until
they were full. Look at verse five. Therefore
Jesus, lifting up his eyes and seeing that a large crowd was
coming to him, said to Philip, where are we to buy bread so
that these may eat? He’s doing this, as we’ll find
out, he’s doing it to test Philip, and as I’ve already told you,
this is as much about the apostles and revealing to them the miracle-working
capabilities of the Savior as it was about presenting this
before the 5,000. Jesus has the 12 particularly
in view. And the synoptic writers inject
a very honest tidbit here. Listen to this. All three of
them, Matthew, Mark, and Luke, admit the fact that the apostles
actually tried to brush off this crowd as an inconvenience. Send them away. We’re too busy
with ministry to be bothering with this. One of the occupational
hazards of ministry is to be found too busy to do ministry. Matthew records it this way.
When it was evening, the disciples came to him and said, this place
is desolate. Look, Jesus, let’s reason together. Because Jesus
doesn’t know they’re in the desert. Let’s reason together. This place
is desolate, and the hour is already late. You probably don’t
have a watch. So send the crowds away so that
they can go into the villages and buy food for themselves.
Let’s be practical for a minute, Jesus. Send the crowd away. In other words, the reasonable
approach would be that if the people are going to eat, and
they really need to eat, they’re going to have to leave. You’re
going to have to send them away. Tell them the meeting is over.
It’s canceled. We’ll resume tomorrow if you
wish. John records that Jesus first
approached Philip here with this dinner dilemma. Where would we
go to buy bread? You’re familiar with this region.
You grew up here. Where would we go to buy bread
for all these people? Verse 6 says that he was saying
this to test him, for he knew what he was intending to do.
In a sense, he’s baiting Philip. He’s setting the table. He wants
Philip to say, you know, Jesus, there is this place in town,
but I guarantee they don’t have enough groceries on the shelves
for this crowd. Jesus was testing his sympathy.
He was testing the compassion of all the apostles. He was testing their knowledge
of the Savior. Did Jesus really have the capacity
to do something about this situation? The water into the wine, after
all, maybe that was an anomaly, maybe that was a one-time thing.
But to turn a cup of fish, to do something with this bread?
Mark records that Jesus turned and said to them, you give them
something to eat. Away with this idea of sending
them off to fend for themselves, being practical. You give them
something to eat. Jesus knew that they were not
ready for ministry yet. They were not fully trained for
ministry yet. They were quick to brush off
the responsibility of ministry. And this is recorded a number
of times throughout the gospel accounts, Matthew 15, 23. His disciples can’t even implore
Him, saying, send her away. She keeps shouting at us. Ministry
is inconvenient. We don’t like this boisterous
woman. Luke 18, 15. They were bringing even their
babies to him so that he would touch them. But when the disciples
saw it, they began rebuking them. What are you doing burdening
Jesus with the nursery duty? John 9. Pardon me, Luke 9, 49. John answered and said, Master,
we saw someone casting out demons in your name. We try to prevent
Him because He does not follow along with us. Jesus wants to remind these men
that He’s in charge of the ministry, that Jesus knows what’s best.
Jesus is infinitely practical. Jesus knows what the people need,
really need. Jesus knows how to provide for
them. And it’s not going to be the
way men conceive it. He wants to teach these men to
pray. He wants to teach them to ask,
seek, and knock. He wants them to come to him
with needs. Philip’s reply is almost predictable,
isn’t it? Look at verse 7. He’s calculated
this out. He’s done his math. 200 denarii
worth of bread is not sufficient for them for everyone to receive
a little. This guy was an engineer, right? You can all figure it
out. It’s a banker, engineer, all
rolled into one. He has it down to the penny. What’s the point
of going to town to spend 200 denarii? That’s all we’ve got.
If we went and spent everything, we’re not going to have enough
food for this deal. Denarius was a day’s wage. That
means 200 would be about six to eight months worth of pay.
They’re saying, look, are we going to break the bank to put
on one feast? What’s the point of that? One of his disciples, verse 8,
Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said to him, there is a lad here
who has five whirly loaves and two fish. Now there is an act
of great faith to come to Christ and to point this out. And their
faith flutters away. Watch. One of these for so many
people. This loaf, admittedly, would
have been small, about what we call a bun. A couple of little
fish, and I mean probably small fish, aquarium fish, aquarium-sized
fish. And the disciples present this.
The boy had probably already relinquished it. They present
it as a graphic illustration. Look, Jesus. Look around. You
have 5,000 people plus 12. How do you propose to feed all
these people with this? And evidently, Jesus proves the
point that he set out to make, that they had forgotten all about
the almighty power of God, resident within Christ, there at his disposal. And Jesus said to them, and this
must have been such a poignant moment, Much like telling the
man, heeled at the pool, stand up. He tells his disciples to
tell the crowd, sit down. They’re not going anywhere. They’re
not going into town. We’re gonna make do with these
two fish and five loaves. Synoptics add the little detail
that they sat down in 50s and 100s arranging the people to
aid in the distribution of the elements. Look at the end of
verse 10. Now there was much grass in the place, so the men
sat down in number about 5,000. Jesus took the loaves, and having
given thanks, he distributed to those who were seated, likewise
of the fish, as much as they wanted. Now the question always
comes, at what point was this miracle worth? Did it multiply
in Jesus’ hands so that just came and kept coming, and every
time He approached, did He hand each group a tiny little bit,
and it just began to multiply in their hands? Did it multiply
in their mouths? Nothing is indicated. We have
no idea. What we do know is that Jesus
Christ looked up to heaven in gratitude. And I know, there’s
not chapter and verse that we pray before every meal, but if
Jesus Christ looked up in gratitude to His heavenly Father, For this
meal, shouldn’t we pause? Shouldn’t we give thanks? Shouldn’t
we express gratitude for what God has so abundantly blessed
us with? He blessed the bread. He thanked
God for it. And God began to do what only
God can do and began to multiply the bread. Jesus broke the bread
in a symbolic gesture here as a way of participation, sharing. And it says that when he gave,
that he kept giving. That’s the form of the word.
He gave and he just kept giving. He just kept reaching in and
kept on giving. Somewhere between the breaking
of the bread and the fish and the giving of it, the food was
supernaturally supplied and a little boy’s snack. was turned into
a filling meal, a dinner, for 5,000 people, because it says
they all ate and were satisfied. It’s not just that they have
a sample, and that it was adequate enough. They were satiated. They were full. It wasn’t symbolic. It wasn’t just a token meal.
It was a real, filling, satisfying dinner, and they all ate. Jesus gave him orders at the
end of it to gather up all the broken pieces. You see what’s
interesting there is that it points to the fact that they
probably even took more. That’s kind of their human nature,
isn’t it? Almost out of greed that we take, boy, there’s not
much here. And so they began to gather up
more than even they needed. And Jesus at the end of it, after
it says that they’re all filled, Jesus began to glean what was
left over. We’re never told when the miracle
took place, when Jesus blessed and broke, when his disciples
distributed, when the people passed the food, when they ate,
we don’t know. All we know is that this miracle
occurred, and when it occurred, verse 12 says, they were filled.
And he said to his disciples, gather up the leftover fragments
so that nothing will be lost. It was superfluous. It was extra. There was an abundance. So verse
13 says, they gathered them up and filled the twelve baskets
with fragments from the five barley loaves which were left
over by those who had eaten. Here’s the point. I told you
that I think that this whole miracle was largely for the apostles
themselves. If you think of the 12 baskets
and who was in charge of distributing the food, the apostles themselves
had to have a graphic image of going and collecting up the extra,
and each one of them coming back with a burdensome load, having
gathered up the extras, a poignant reminder of the great providence
of God. And that overabundance is characteristic
of the blessings of God, isn’t it? It’s like planting more than
one zucchini plant in your garden. You have more than enough for
you, neighbors, people that you don’t even know. Do you know
what’s true? Genesis 1 and 2. Go back and
look at it. God created food before he even
created mankind. Do you not think that he had
that thought in his mind to provide for us? Jesus calls it our daily bread,
food and clothing, that we ought to be satisfied with those things.
God says that he has provided to us life and breath in all
things, says Paul. And that really brings us to
the third element of context, the aftermath. Not only the context
of the occasion, this fascination with Jesus that was only a thin
veneer, The context of the moment was this shepherd’s heart showing
pure compassion for these people. The third element of context
was the aftermath. How did this strike those who
witnessed it? And what you see from it is a
misguided crowd mentality. So typical. Look at verse 14.
Therefore, when the people saw the sign which he had performed,
they said, this is truly the prophet who has come into the
world. And we say, oh, man, it hit the mark. It really registered. No, it didn’t. What they point to is that this event right after
Moses had provided bread for Israel in the wilderness, and
the people that saw the miracle and that connection It’s recorded in Deuteronomy
18, 15. It says, the Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet
like me from among you, from your countrymen. In other words,
they considered Jesus that prophet. Even with a capital P, it’s not
what they imagined him to be. They wanted a political messiah.
They wanted somebody who would attend to their earthly needs.
And now they’ve got a guy who can turn two little fish into
five buns. into dinner for 5,000. Well, only John records the events
that follow, but it was mob mentality. If he didn’t come willingly,
they would do whatever was needed to make him king, even if it
was against his will. After all, this was about free
food for everybody. Look at verse 15. Jesus, perceiving
that they were intending to come and to take him by force, to
make him king, withdrew again from the mountain by himself
alone. After all, what better king could they have to fight
against the Romans? Somebody who could do this amazing
thing. But it’s the miracle, it’s the
miracle of the food that is all they’re fixated upon. And if you think of it, Bear
with me. This miracle is not such a big
deal for God. Jesus does this every day. God, in His magnanimity, feeds
the entire world every day. This one miraculous meal was
not such a big deal for God. Mark says, that this wasn’t the only thing
that Jesus was doing that day. Mark says it very plainly, that
he began to teach them many things. But Luke tells us even a particular
topic. He began speaking to them about
the kingdom of God. You see at the outset of Luke’s
account he tells us that Jesus was actively involved in preaching
on this occasion. He wanted these people to enjoy
a spiritual meal, not just bread and fish. Jesus said on another occasion
that he had to be about preaching the kingdom of God. That’s why
he came. John the Baptist preached repentance.
Jesus Christ came following upon having the kingdom prepared,
preaching the kingdom, preaching the gospel of Christ. As one
said, whatever it was that Jesus spoke in whatever town or village,
whether in a house, a synagogue, outside, it was with enthusiasm
and earnestness proclaiming the good news of the kingdom of God. Over against the yoke of bondage
to all kinds of man-made regulations, He was heralding the realm of
grace in which God is king and salvation is his free gift to
all who trust him. It wasn’t just about free food. It was about a free offer of
the gospel. May I just say, may we never
be so hungry as to place our physical needs above our spiritual
needs, and yet that’s where we hover. Probably at this time
of day, we’re probably already thinking about lunch, especially
if you left something in the oven. We’re always thinking about
our physical condition, our health issues. If we’re healthy, we
think about it. If we’re not healthy, we think
about it. We’re thinking constantly about money, about our physical
well-being. We’re constantly focused on those
things to the point where Many times we miss the spiritual lessons
that those are meant to teach. Closing in on Psalm 23. The Lord
is my shepherd I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green
pastures. He leads me beside quiet waters. He restores my soul. He guides
me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake. Even though
I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no
evil, for Thou art with me. Thy rod and Thy staff, they comfort
me. Thou dost prepare a table before
me in the presence of my enemies. Thou hast anointed my head with
oil, my cup overflows. Surely goodness and lovingkindness
will follow me all the days of my life. and I will dwell in
the house of the Lord forever.” God has already provided what
we so desperately need most. It isn’t the new meal. It’s His
Son who sacrificed on the cross for your sin. If you don’t know the Lord Jesus
Christ, turn to Him in faith. That’s the point. of the feeding
of 5,000. Let’s go before the throne of
God. O merciful God, from our perspective,
now we can back up and see that you did place hunger in perspective. That you did have far more important
things to address that day. You addressed them with your
own apostles. Their pitiful approach to ministry and their view of
people. But Father, you also laid out
the gospel, preaching the kingdom to these people. It wasn’t just
about teaching them a miracle. What God can provide. Lord, we thank you. We thank
you for the perspective that we can have looking back on this
miracle. That Lord, we plead with you
on behalf of others. Others who have not yet placed
their faith in Christ, we pray, we plead with you. Draw them
to Christ, if you would. Draw them to the Savior. Make
them to know that He indeed is the Good Shepherd, who lays down
His life for the sheep. It’s in Jesus’ name that we plead. You take your hymnals, and as
we close, we’ll turn to 499, Rock of Ages Cleft for Me. Let’s
stand as we close.