Intro
On this Mother‟s Day we are reminded of the profound role of a parent. I believe that a mother is nothing less than a mediator of God‟s love. A mother is role that is by nature giving… sacrificially giving of life. They give nourishment from their own resources… and they guide in how to navigate the most basic aspects of being human. And one thing they discover… is that they cannot just give…they must also to bless the power of the emerging life with it‟s own participation. While their growing child cannot provide everything… they must be empowered with choices.
Today, Jesus teaches us that we as children of God have similar choices to make. We must depend on God to do what only God can do… but we must give what we have if we are to truly join in the process.
As we continue in our series entitled A Journey with Jesus through the Gospel of John, we come to such a moment.
John 6:1-14 (NIV) 1 Some time after this, Jesus crossed to the far shore of the Sea of Galilee (that is, the Sea of Tiberias), 2 and a great crowd of people followed him because they saw the miraculous signs he had performed on the sick. 3 Then Jesus went up on a mountainside and sat down with his disciples. 4 The Jewish Passover Feast was near. 5 When Jesus looked up and saw a great crowd coming toward him, he said to Philip, "Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat?" 6 He asked this only to test him, for he already had in mind what he was going to do. 7 Philip answered him, "Eight months' wages would not buy enough bread for each one to have a bite!" 8 Another of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, spoke up, 9 "Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far will they go among so many?" 10 Jesus said, "Have the people sit down." There was plenty of grass in that place, and the men sat down, about five thousand of them. 11 Jesus then took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed to those who were seated as much as they wanted. He did the same with the fish. 12 When they had all had enough to eat, he said to his disciples, "Gather the pieces that are left over. Let nothing be wasted." 13 So they gathered them and filled twelve baskets with the pieces of the five barley loaves left over by those who had eaten. 14 After the people saw the miraculous sign that Jesus did, they began to say, "Surely this is the Prophet who is to come into the world."
Let me help us capture what unfolds here and then what Jesus imparts to us…
This is the only major event that is noted by all four Gospels along with the resurrection.
One reason may be the sheer number of people present. Such a mass of lives shows the external evidence and validity. Scholars note that Gospel accounts were circulating 40 years after Jesus… if they testified of events seen by so many that were not true… it would have been denounced as just fiction and fabrication. The other mentioned in all Gospels is resurrection … notes that Jesus showed himself to 500. This event reminds us that these written accounts are merely a living testimony that was carrying on what was already known and being carried by many.
So what did unfold? Jesus is in a process of heading away with his disciples… in John it follows the intensity of escalating confrontation with the religious leaders… and other accounts describe an
intense period of ministry… having gone village to village. They head across the Sea and to where there is an open field on the hillside nearby.
Barclay –
From Capernaum to the other side of the Sea of Galilee was a distance of about four miles and Jesus set sail. The people had been watching with astonishment the things he did; it was easy to see the direction the boat was taking; and they hastened round the top of the lake by land. Near Bethsaida Julias, (Lk 9:10) almost on the lakeside, was a little plain where the grass always grew. It was to be the scene of a wondrous happening. At first Jesus went up into the hill behind the plain and he was sitting there with his disciples. Then the crowd began to appear in droves. It was nine miles round the top of the lake and across the ford, and they had made the journey with all speed. We are told that the Feast of the Passover was near and there would be even bigger crowds on the roads at that time. It is likely that the great crowd was swelled by detachments of pilgrims on their way to the Passover Feast.
John refers to the number 5,000 but the accounts clarify this refers only to the men… the heads of households…. so including the women and children that also joined in this excursion, there were likely closer to 10,000 people.
A crowd as large as 10,000 would be half of Staples Center… or the total that could sit (in 3‟ x 2‟ space) on an entire football field (which calculates to 9600.)
Like the fans of a rock concert… but the draw was the breadth of hunger that Jesus was meeting.
It appears the crowd had set off without a lot of planning or concern for food… so now Jesus recognizes they should eat but they are too far away and too late to get any food.
What unfolds next is a remarkable miracle. As we consider what Jesus did, it‟s vital to remember that John understand that this is a SIGN… and as a sign that points beyond itself. It‟s important to note what Jesus did NOT do… he did NOT go around producing food every time it was meal time. This was a SIGN… not a show. Jesus did not separate the physical world from the spiritual world… he spoke of the need for rest when tired, of eating when hungry, of healing when sick, and of new resurrected bodies that would live forever. However, he did see that what he does in this temporal life is more than merely touching the temporal… he is pointing the way to the eternal reality.
What was Jesus revealing… and now teaching us?
1. Jesus teaches us that he bears the provision and power of LIFE.
(Drawn from Tim Keller)
God had given manna in a desolate place; so prophets spoke of God as the one who provides in the desolate places.
2 Baruch (Jewish writings / inter-testament) – „In those days the Messiah will appear and feed them with bread from above.‟
> Jesus is giving notice… he is the one who fulfills the power and provision of life.
He had done so with bringing the life of the party at a wedding… life back to withered limbs… and now food to the hungry. Jesus is the very source of life and all he does will be life giving.
Also carefully designed to show that he breaks the normal bounds… for in desert there were NEVER leftovers of manna…. whereas he gives beyond. He is LORD of the feast.
> There is a real deceptive perception that Christianity is all containment… giving up what is good … as price to get to heaven… but if what we want is life… and life that is more abundant.. that is what Jesus came and comes to give. He turned water to wine and now sardines to feast and offer an end to death.
He is the source of ALL POWER. A nuclear weapon is just a thousandth of a hurricane… and God declares he is the Lord of the hurricanes (Ps 29); hurricane is just billionth of a small eruption on the sun… and told he reigns over the son… and beyond the super nova. We‟ve yet come to the outskirts of his power.
Jesus, drawing from the eternal heavenly realm, and now reigning in that realm, bears power that is greater than any power we can imagine.
2. Jesus teaches us to recognize our LIMITS… and needs.
5 When Jesus looked up and saw a great crowd coming toward him, he said to Philip, "Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat?"
Notice it was Jesus who prompts the need and presents the question to Philip. Why Philip? Likely a couple reasons… Philip came from Bethsaida (Jn 1:44) and would have local knowledge. He knew there were no supermarkets… no 7-11s . And secondly, even if there was some place to buy food…. Philip was also the most given to calculated assessments… and quickly figured how impossible it would be in terms of money.
In essence: he could best conclude that this is beyond our resources.
John 6:6 “He asked this only to test him, for he already had in mind what he was going to do.” Jesus was not trying to get Philip to come up with a good solution, as if Jesus needed that. Jesus asked the question to engage Philip with the problem, to lead Philip through a learning experience. It‟s designed first to remind Philip of his own inadequacy (his need for the Lord) and then to position Philip to discover God‟s adequacy in his behalf. The problem exposed Philip to Philip. Jesus already knew what was in Philip. Jesus already knew how he was going to solve the problem. But along with solving the problem, God had something He wanted to do in Philip.
You have to know your powerlessness before you can become a channel of his power.
This is the first step of 12 step program – admit you don‟t have all the power needed to change… and need to submit to a higher power than yourself.… and millions have discovered this truth.
As we get older we feel powerless over life…. „I can‟t manage life and even if I can… what am I even doing it for? If you stop living superficially… below the surface of life…. we face our powerlessness… and it‟s okay… it‟s where Jesus says there is a hunger and asks what we have.
But this sense of limit can simply become an end in itself… send us into a negative place… or it can direct us to trust God for what he wants to work out. The way they responded shows something natural in all of us… we see the lack… and we lose confidence in God…. we turn AWAY from God rather than towards Him.
Philip says – Verse 7 – “Eight months' wages would not buy enough bread for each one to have a bite!"… meaning… it‟s impossible.
The disciples assessment isn‟t wrong… but they are directed at too little… not enough money… not enough food. We can do the same.
It‟s true… they don‟t have the resources… but that is not the end of reality. For reality includes the work of the Creator who „works all things together for good‟… who is sovereign over all.
We need to know that God is powerful and for us… which means always trusting some aspect of what we don‟t know with what we do know. (Drawn from Tim Keller)
Then Andrew appeared on the scene. He had discovered a boy with five barley loaves and two little fishes. It was the basic lunch of a very poor boy that likely his mother sent with him.
3. Jesus teaches us the significance of GIVING HIM WHAT WE HAVE.
Notice that Jesus waited until someone gave him something… entrusted him with something. He could have produced the food…. He waiting until something came forward… Andrew got a kid… and the kid offered his lunch… it‟s as if NOW Jesus had something to work with.
Some have jokingly said that the greater miracle in this story is not the feeding of the 5000, but that this young boy was willing to give up his food.
Do you think others had food? Probably not enough to be out all night… but there is no mention of anyone else offering anything.
It‟s not just food Jesus took and gave thanks for… it clearly was the least of all resources.
Not even an adult but a boy… in a culture that deemed children to be less worthy of God’s using.
„The boy had not much to bring. Barley bread was the cheapest of all bread and was held in contempt. There is a regulation in the Mishnah about the offering that a woman who has committed adultery must bring. She must, of course, bring a trespass offering. With all offerings a meat-offering was made, and the meat-offering consisted of flour and wine and oil intermixed. Ordinarily the flour used was made of wheat; but it was laid down that, in the case of an offering for adultery, the flour could be barley flour, for barley is the food of beasts and the woman's sin was the sin of a beast. Barley bread was the bread of the very poor.
The fishes would be no bigger than sardines. Pickled fish from Galilee were known all over the Roman Empire. In those days fresh fish was an unheard-of luxury, for there was no means of transporting it any distance and keeping it in an eatable condition. Small sardine-like fish swarmed in the Sea of Galilee. They were caught and pickled and made into a kind of savoury. The boy had his little pickled fish to help the dry barley bread down. (Barclay)
Why did Jesus wait to use something like from a child… a lunch that represented so little?
> Because it is what he had. God welcomes whatever we have if we really offer it.
Jesus TOOK SO LITTLE… sardines and poor man’s bread… and GAVE THANKS.
The hope of the world lies in the wonderful power of God to multiply the little things that we have and use them for his purpose.
Truly trusting God… not merely saying it but showing it… is more valuable to God than the greatest of cathedrals, than the beauty of Niagara Fall, than all the songs ever sung.
Conclusion:
What’s in your basket? Will you give him your loaf your little fish?
We all have three aspects of life resources which we can offer – time, talent, and treasure. It becomes very clear that Jesus understood that a relationship that truly „believes‟, which means „entrust itself‟ to God, will be called to entrust each of these resources to God.
As you sit in the midst of a crowd in need, what particular aspect of time, treasure, or talents do you feel Jesus is prompting you to recognize in your basket?
Is there something you sense that God may want to do… a need that he would care about… that you haven‟t given any time to… and talent to… and treasure to?
I want to help us really consider… to actually identify at least one thing in our basket we can offer God… and if we can… to write it down.
Then offer us a symbolic way to offer it… just place it at he Alter.
Closing songs
Benediction:
„Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.‟
Resources: I am grateful for the great thoughts of those I may draw from. I will usually study the text and form my own shape and points. In the process I may insert various ideas and statements from others (commentaries and messages related to the same text) which are related to the points I have developed. I do not use these notes as a manuscript that is either memorized or read… but rather as a guide for the thoughts I offer. If I actually read or quote another I will refer publicly to the source. This message drew thoughts from William Barclay, Tim Keller, and Steven Pace.
