Trusting God For Provision And Safety Series

Trusting God for Provision and Safety

John 6:1-21

Introduction

- The gospel of John screams of the faith that we should have in Christ

-- It is the clearest example of living life FOR the one who redeemed you and I

- When it comes to matters of faith, sometimes seeing is believing

-- But other times, knowing is what really grows & strengthens our faith

-- This morning, we are presented with two unique stories from Jesus’s ministry

-- Both give us opportunity to pause and reflect on God’s ability to provide

- Read John 6:1-15 / Pray

∆ Point 1 – Feeding the 5,000

- Once again, we see Jesus and the disciples travel to another area

-- The reference to the Sea of Tiberias here should not confuse us

-- This particular body of water has been referred to by four names

-- Sea of Galilee, Sea of Tiberias, Lake of Gennesaret, Sea of Kinnereth

- And once again, a crowd of people has followed behind him

-- As we see in v2, they are following because of the works they’ve seen

-- Consider: These are more interested in the show, than what He offers

-- Re: Jesus has already said they don’t believe without a sign (Jn 4:48)

- Jesus finds a spot for them to sit and rest (v3)

-- With the Passover drawing near, many may have been here already

-- So Jesus, seeing the crowd, poses an interesting question to Philip

- Side note: Jesus already knows what the response is going to be

-- His question is to get Philip into thinking about the situation at hand

-- Philip, definitely showing some mathematical capabilities, answers (v7)

-- “It would be impossible to feed all these people at once!”

- The issue here with Philip is he is focused on the human realm

-- He does not grasp this truth: the impossible is possible with God

-- So instead, he is ready to give up knowing they cannot feed these people

- Andrew however, is a little more on the practical side (v8-9)

-- He, in doing a little research, finds a boy who has brought a sack lunch

- It is important to note what this boy is actually carrying

-- A barley loaf would probably be about the size of a large dinner roll

-- And these fish? Think sardines … Greek word is opsarion – literally tiny fish

-- So Jesus takes this boy’s sack lunch, and the disciples have everyone sit

- IMP: The purpose of what is about to happen is not so everyone can eat

-- John records that there are 5,000 men here before them

-- But this does not take into account women, children, and perhaps servants

-- Estimates have put this crowd at 15,000 or even 20,000 people

- Jesus then offers a blessing over the meal (v11) and distributes the food

-- Note: This miracle is the only one mentioned in all four gospels

-- And as we know here, each had more than their fill to eat

- God’s promise to provide is throughout scripture; here is one such example

-- And another: Jeremiah 31:14 says, “I will satisfy the priests with abundance, and my people will be filled with my bounty," declares the LORD.”

-- APP: Jesus, who is God, always supplies more than we need

- Following lunch, the disciples were asked to collect all the left-overs

-- We should note that what is left over FAR exceeds what was actually needed

-- Matter of fact, there are 12 baskets of food remaining for them to collect

- But notice how the people, once again, want to label Jesus (v14)

-- Their desire is to immediately say, “Oh, this must be so and so because …”

-- But Jesus knew their intentions (v15); their INTENT was to force God’s hand

- They were ready to worship him, but as conquering king … not as Lord

-- APP: And most certainly, not as the LIFE they so desperately needed/required

- So, knowing their intention, Jesus once again slips from their presence

-- He goes off to the mountain to pray, to spend time with the Lord

-- Personal: What an opportunity we have today to go & get alone with God

- Read John 6:14-21

∆ Point 2 – God’s Presence Comforts

- At the end of the day, the disciples went to the lake to head to Capernaum

-- However, v17 tells them that Jesus was not with them (still on mountain)

-- Yet, notice there is a storm blowing in that obviously changes the calm

- What is not known is why Jesus is not with them; but we can infer one thing

-- There was some sort of agreement to meet Jesus perhaps on the other side