“The Three Faces of Faith”
Pastor V. P. Oliver
John 6: 5-11
The occasion of our text, Jesus feeding 5000 with a few loaves of barley bread and couple pieces of dried fish, was a miracle of such magnitude that it is recorded in all four Gospels. The Apostle John, the writer of this account, tells us that a great multitude had been following Jesus for several days, listening to His teachings and beholding His miracles. Jesus had tried to get away to rest but the needs of the crowd pressed upon Him. Mark’s Gospel says that when He saw the multitudes “He was moved with compassion toward them,” so He began to teach them many things. But because they were in a deserted place and the day had grown late, Jesus became aware of the need to feed this great multitude of people. And my argument today is that Jesus used this occasion of need to demonstrate two major concerns: 1) His concern for the needs of man, and 2) His concern to strengthen His disciples.
His concern for meeting the needs of man included something as basic as physical hunger or a missed meal. We would do well to remember that there is no need that we may have that Jesus does not want to meet. The multitude had been following Him for days and had just made a 9-mile journey, having rushed to keep from losing Him. They were not only hungry and apparently out of food, but they were in mountainous country, where the possibility of purchasing food was nonexistent. In their desperation to find and keep up with Jesus, they had simply forgotten about eating. And in His response to meet the physical needs of the multitude, Jesus used the occasion to teach two great lessons to his disciples: First, He wanted them to understand that He desires to satisfy even the most common need of man. In John 6:5 He asked the question of Philip, “Whence shall we buy bread, that these may eat?”
Secondly, His used this occasion to strengthen His disciples’ faith. Verse 6 tells us that even though He knew what He would do, He asked this question in order to test or prove His disciples, thereby teaching them a tremendous lesson of faith. If the truth be known, the Lord’s disciples were as we are today, full of needs, and their greatest need, was the same as ours, to grow in faith. So I want to talk about faith; specifically, “The Three Faces of Faith.”
1. PESSIMISTIC FAITH
First there is a PESSIMISTIC FAITH. This was the faith that we observe in Philip. Philip had a faith that was despairing and almost hopeless. When Jesus asked Philip where shall we buy food to feed all of these people, Philip’s answer was, “Two hundred pennyworth of bread was not sufficient for them, that every one of them may take a little.” In our monetary terms Philip’s response to Jesus was that $40 worth of bread or 8 month’s wages worth of bread would only be enough for each person in this great crowd to eat a small piece of bread. Philip had a PESSIMISTIC FAITH. His faith only saw the multitude. Notice now, he was not faithless, but his faith was PESSIMISTIC. Let’s analyze Philip’s faith. His faith believed in God. His faith believed that Christ was the Son of God. His faith believed that Christ has the power to meet the needs of man. His faith had even witnessed Jesus’past miracles. But when a problem arose, the immediate response of his PESSIMISTIC FAITH was to see the problem, and not the power of God. Philip’s faith did not see the opportunity for the power of God to be demonstrated in conquering the problem or bearing a strong testimony to His name. In the crisis of the problem, PESSIMISTIC FAITH seems to forget about the power of God. A PESSIMISTIC FAITH sees money, human resources, or that which is visibly available, but it fails to see God and His ability. It stresses the hopelessness and impossibility of a situation. Question. Is your faith PESSIMISTIC? A PESSIMISTIC FAITH:
- Focuses on earthly and carnal solutions, instead of spiritual things.
- Sees the problem as too big for God’s power, or too small for God to interested.
- Fails to see God’s care, love and concern over every little thing in your life.
- Gives thanks and praise to God, but fails to trust God for the miraculous.
- Is afraid to pray bold prayers or dream the impossible.
- Looks to others for help instead of depending on God and Him alone.
- Fails to see that God is glorified when He provides and meets your needs.
What about your faith? Is it PESSIMISTIC? Philip had a PESSIMISTIC FAITH.
2. OPTIMISTIC FAITH
Secondly, in addition to a pessimistic faith, the other Face of Faith that we see in this miracle is an OPTIMISTIC FAITH. Verse 8 and 9 says, “One of His disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother saith unto Him, There is a lad here, which hath five barley loaves, and two small fishes: but what are they among so many?” Andrew’s faith demonstrated OPTIMISM, mixed with doubt. He had an OPTIMISTIC, but QUESTIONING FAITH. Andrew loved Jesus and was committed to Him. He saw the Master’s concern for the people and responded by going among the crowd searching for food. He found and gathered all the resources that he could. An OPTIMISTIC FAITH lies in what it can find before the Lord. No matter how little the resources or how poor the quality; it is all laid before the Lord. The barley bread was the cheapest bread that could be made or bought. It was anything but a delicacy. The two fishes were the equivalent of two 6-inch sardines or smoked herrings. The simplistic OPTIMISTIC FAITH of Andrew had searched and found what was available, two small barley cakes and two small fish, and he offered what he had found to the Lord. But with his optimism came questions. “But what are they among so many?” The OPTIMISTIC FAITH is a questioning faith. Too often the questioning takes a downward path that undermines the optimism. A questioning faith:
- Complains about the problem.
- Is anxious about meager resources.
- Grumbles over the small provisions.
- Gripes over the poor quality.
After looking at the limited resources and poor quality of the supply, the questioning faith doubts God. It questions God instead of believing God to take care of the problem. Whether it be the need for food, good health, money, deliverance, or any other human need, Jesus wanted us to learn this fundamental lesson from this miracle: trust Christ and don’t doubt His power, wisdom, care and love for us.
3. POSITIVE FAITH
Finally, in addition to pessimistic and optimistic, but questioning faith, there is the POSITIVE FAITH. This is a faith in God that is positive, unequivocal and unswerving. This is the faith that Jesus demonstrated. Look at Jesus’ faith. He took what He had; 5 small bread cakes and 2 small fish, and gave thanks to God for it. The little boy’s lunch could fit in the palm of the Master’s hand, but notice what He did not do. He did not stand there looking at the insufficiency of what He had. He did not question or complain with hopelessness, wondering how the need would be met.
Instead, He looked up and gave thanks unto the Giver of every good and perfect gift. The small supply and poor quality did not matter. What mattered was that He had something; there was some provision. A gift, a sacrifice, a resource-small though it was-had been given and laid at His feet for the Lord to use as He willed. So with gratitude, Jesus took it and lifted it up to God, giving thanks and trusting God to meet the need of the hour. Jesus’ faith was POSITIVE and PERFECT. He knew beyond any question that God would supply the need and multiply the resources. He simply gave what He had and God did the rest. That’s all any of us can do; give what we have; what we hold in our hands. And the lesson that Jesus taught by this miracle is that while you are giving, you must also trust the power and the provision of God. How do I know this? Because this miracle in John 6 is not so much a message about receiving as it is about giving. The little boy gave his lunch; the disciples gave it to Jesus; Jesus gave thanks unto God; Jesus gave the food to His disciples; the disciples gave the food to the multitude; and after gathering up the 12 basketfuls of fragments, Jesus gave them to His disciples.
God met the need in spite of the PESSIMISTIC FAITH of Philip, and the OPTIMISTIC, but questioning FAITH of Andrew. God met the need because of the POSITIVE and unswerving FAITH of Jesus. God met the needs of the multitude and filled them. In fact, He more than met their need. The Bible says that there were provisions left over; twelve baskets full. Someone may ask the question, “Why 12 baskets?” Well, maybe because there were 12 disciples; 12 servants who had labored in obedience to Christ and waited on the 5000 men plus their wives and their children. Each servant was left with a supply of food that would last for days. God always provides abundantly for His true servants. Philippians 4: 19 reminds us, “But my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.”
