feeding 5,000
Reading: John chapter 6 verses 1-13.
Ill:
• Bread Test
• Bread (in some form or other) is the basic diet of people all over the world;
• Two reasons: first it is cheap & therefore accessible for the poor.
• Second it satisfies it fills you up.
Ill:
Psychologist, Charles Allen tells this story in one of his books:
• As World War II was drawing to a close,
• The Allied armies gathered up many hungry orphans.
• They placed them in camps where they were safe and well-fed.
• Yet despite the excellent care they received, the orphans slept badly.
• They seemed nervous and afraid.
• Finally, a psychologist came up with the solution.
• Each child was given a piece of bread to hold after he or she was put to bed.
• This particular piece of bread was just to be held—not eaten.
• This extra piece of bread produced wonderful results.
• And the children started to sleep undisturbed through out the night.
• The extra piece of bread had a wonderful effect on the children because;
• As they went to bed they instinctively knew they would have food to eat the next day.
In the same way that each of us has PHYSICAL appetites that need satisfying.
• We also have spiritual appetites that need satisfying;
• And Jesus demonstrates in this passage that he alone can meet those appetites.
(1). The PURSUIT of the crowd (vs 1-2).
“Some time after this, Jesus crossed to the far shore of the Sea of Galilee (that is, the Sea of Tiberias), 2and a great crowd of people followed him because they saw the miraculous signs he had performed on the sick.”
Question:
• Have you ever been so tired that you are just not sure you can go on?
• If the answer is yes, you might appreciate this story.
ILL:
• A woman who had recently moved into a small village in Wiltshire,
• Was in the backyard hanging out the washing on the line.
• When an old, tired-looking dog wandered into the yard.
• She could tell from his collar and well-fed belly that he had a home.
• As she walked into the house, the dog followed her in,
• Sat down under the kitchen table and fell sound asleep.
• An hour later, he woke up;
• Went over to the door and she let him out.
• The next day he was back.
• He took up the same position under the kitchen table and slept for an hour.
• This continued for several weeks. Curious, she pinned a note to his collar:
• "Every afternoon your dog comes to my house for a nap."
• The next day the dog arrived with a different note pinned to his collar:
• "He lives in a home with 6 children - he’s trying to catch up on his sleep."
We know from the other gospels that record this story:
• That Jesus was looking for a break,
• He wanted to go somewhere quiet to get some rest, to recharge his physical batteries.
• People had been following Jesus and the disciples incessantly;
• And constantly making demands (wanted healings etc time consuming & very draining).
• And although Jesus was tried and looking for a break,
• The people kept coming and he was unable to get one.
• It is here that the remarkable difference of Jesus shows up.
• If it had been you or me, we would have sent the people away - but not Jesus.
Ill:
In Mark’s version of the event (chapter 6 verse 34), we find this…
“When he went ashore he saw a great crowd, and he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd.”
• To most of us the constant hassle of the crowd would have been an irritation;
• A pain in the neck.
• But Jesus had compassion on the people;
• Because he saw their deeper needs, lacked direction and purpose, like a lost sheep.
• In verse 1:
• John reveals the crowds motivation for following Jesus.
(Paraphrase verse 2):
“Jesus had been doing such great miracles, they kept following because they did not want to miss the tremendous excitement of the signs.”
Ill:
• Arlo – yesterday about to go up to bed and the doorbell goes;
• Instant refusal until he saw who it was, scared he was missing out!
• Well you can understand the crowd not wanting to miss out on a miracle;
• Question: How many of you have seen a miracle?
• Miracles obviously don’t happen everyday;
• Otherwise they would be called ‘regulars’ or some similar word,
But Jesus sees their real need:
• What this crowd need is not spectacular entertainment;
• But rather someone to lead and to guide them!
• They were looking for things to amaze and excite them;
• Yet Jesus wanted them to experience something lasting that would satisfy them!
Which brings us to the next point…
(2). The PROBLEM of no food (vs 3-10).
“When he got to the other side, he climbed a hill and sat down, surrounded by his disciples. 4It was nearly time for the Feast of Passover, kept annually by the Jews.
5When Jesus looked out and saw that a large crowd had arrived, he said to Philip, "Where can we buy bread to feed these people?" 6He said this to stretch Philip’s faith. He already knew what he was going to do.
7Philip answered, "Two hundred silver pieces wouldn’t be enough to buy bread for each person to get a piece."
8One of the disciples--it was Andrew, brother to Simon Peter--said, 9"There’s a little boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish. But that’s a drop in the bucket for a crowd like this."
10Jesus said, "Make the people sit down." There was a nice carpet of green grass in this place. They sat down, about five thousand of them. 11Then Jesus took the bread and, having given thanks, gave it to those who were seated. He did the same with the fish. All ate as much as they wanted”.
John gives us a time framework when he mentions Passover:
• Passover is one of the most important religious festivals in the Jewish calendar.
• Jews have celebrated Passover since about 1300 BC.
• The Passover feast to a Palestinian Jew was like the fourth of July to Americans;
• It is a rallying point for intense nationalistic and religious zeal.
• What is worth noting is that Passover is a time for Jews to be in Jerusalem (South),
• But here the crowd were with Jesus in Galilee (North).
• Maybe they were starting to discover they needed Jesus Christ;
• More than they needed religion.
Ill:
• Martin Luther who went on to precipitated, to cause the Reformation movement;
• And in so doing he literally turned Europe upside down in the 15th century.
• As a young man he nearly lost his life in a thunder-storm,
• And it made him afraid to die.
• He was afraid to face God,
• Because despite his religion he had no assurance that his sins were forgiven.
One day a man by the name of John Tensil came to his district selling indulgences:
• Martin Luther said to Tensil, "You cannot buy forgiveness".
• Then he realised if you cannot buy forgiveness, then you cannot earn it either!
• And one day for Martin Luther as he read his Bible,
• He realised he had got it wrong, salvation is not by works but faith!
• He discovered that you do not earn forgiveness, it is a gift.
• "By grace are you saved and this not of yourselves, it is the gift of God".
• It was not try but trust, not behave but believe.
• Not what we do for God, but what God has done for us!
Up to this time in his life he was:
• He was a Professor of theology,
• He took, participated in the seven sacraments of his day,
• He prayed to saints, 3 every day, that’s 21 different saints a week.
• He prayed to Mary. He had gone on pilgrimages and looked at relics and images.
• He did every religious act an individual was required to do.
• And none of it had brought him assurance of the forgiveness of is sins.
Luther one day realised he needed to be clothed in Christ and Christ alone:
• One day he was talking to his saintly superior Van Stourpitz
• Van Stourpitz said to him;
"Martin Luther, if you take away all these things that you call crutches, to a tottering faith.
If you take away Mary, if you take away the saints, if you take away images, if you take away penance and pilgrimages, if you take away all this, what will you put in there place?"
• Martin Luther replied:
• "Jesus Christ, man only needs Jesus Christ".
Maybe the crowd preferred to be with Jesus in Galilee rather than at the temple in Jerusalem:
• Because they too were starting to discover they needed Jesus Christ;
• More than they needed an institutional religion.
Ill:
• Matzo (unleavened bread);
• Is eaten symbolically three times during the Passover meal.
• In this chapter Jesus goes on to say; “I am the bread of life”.
• He is the living bread!
THE PROBLEM OF NO FOOD (VS 3-10).
• From a human perspective:
• These weary disciples can only see a swarm of people;
• Coming to make demands on Jesus and therefore on them as well.
• From the divine perspective:
• For Jesus the crowds were not an infringement but an opportunity;
• A chance to reveal his glory and at the same time teach the disciples an important lesson.
THE TEST:
• Two disciples take the test;
• One (Philip) is appointed and one (Andrew) volunteers.
Philip (verse 5-7):
• Jesus gets Philip to assess the situation.
• He studies the problem:
• He counts the number of hungry people.
• There were about 5000 men.
• But there were more than that,
• Because (no offence to our ladies) in that culture they only counted the men.
• So it was likely to be eight to ten thousand people,
• So the problem was big.
Notice Philip’s disappointing answer (verse 7):
“Philip answered, "Don’t you know that it would take almost a year’s wages] just to buy only a little bread for each of these people?"
• In other words Philip gets out his calculator, make a few quick calculations;
• And determines that even if they could even find enough food, they could not afford it.
• Notice how Philip’s logic works; He calculates for only a bare minimum;
• “For everyone to receive a little”.
• Philip looks at the problem and says;
• Too big for us too handle, we can’t do anything!
Ill:
• Had Jesus pulled out a complete atheist from the crowd;
• And given him the same question.
• His answer would no doubt have been exactly the same as Philip’s!
Verse 6: “He said this to test Philip, since he already knew what he was going to do”.
• Sorry Philip; you have failed the test!
• You are too busy looking at the problem and not looking at me the solution!
Quote: Charles F. Kettering.
• When I was research head of General Motors and wanted a problem solved,
• I’d place a table outside the meeting room with a sign:
• Leave slide rules here. If I didn’t do that, I’d find someone reaching for his slide rule.
• Then he’d be on his feet saying, “Boss, you can’t do it.”
In life the issue of impossibility depends on our perspective:
Ill:
• Our children cannot do mathematics or even read;
• But from an adult vantage point,
• These things are not only possible but can be handled quite easily.
• What makes the difference – perspective!
Andrew (verses 8-9):
8”Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter, was one of the disciples. He spoke up and said, 9"There is a boy here who has five small loaves [c] of barley bread and two fish”.
• Andrew seems to be more of an optimist than Philip.
• While Philip burns out the batteries in his pocket calculator.
• Andrew scurries among the crowd looking for food.
• He finds a boy with a packed lunch.
• ‘Barley loaves’ were the cheapest form of bread;
• And were more likely flat like tortillas rather than round rolls we know them.
• And the ‘fish’ were cooked or prepared fish,
• It would have been a typical packed lunch in that area of Galilee.
Ill:
• The Sea of Galilee teemed with these tiny fish (sardine size),
• They were pickled and exported across the Roman Empire as convenience food.
You can just hear the sarcastic remarks from the other disciples at Andrew’s suggestion:
• “Nice going, Andrew, that suggestion is a real winner!”
• “Did you think of it all by yourself or was it thought up by a committee?”
• So Andrew starts off an optimist but then he too becomes dejected;
• And says: “But what good is that with all these people?"
• Andrew’s problem is, he is trying to sort out an impossible situation;
• With a human solution!
• The result is he too is overwhelmed by the circumstances;
• “But what are these for so many people?”
Ill:
• 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.
Note:
• Philip failed because he looked at money to solve the problem
• Andrew failed because he looked for human resources.
• Neither of the looked to Jesus;
• Who as we know easily sorted out this impossible situation quite easily!
Jesus (verses 10);
10”The ground was covered with grass, and Jesus told his disciples to have everyone sit down. About five thousand men were in the crowd
• We know from the other gospels that they were told to sit in groups of 100’s & 50’s
• There is order and method in this miracle.
• Jesus wanted everyone to appreciate that they were eye witnesses to a miracle;
• Not a deceptive trick or some alternative solution to their problem.
(3). The PROVISION by Jesus (vs 11-13).
11Jesus took the bread in his hands and gave thanks to God. Then he passed the bread to the people, and he did the same with the fish, until everyone had plenty to eat.
12The people ate all they wanted, and Jesus told his disciples to gather up the leftovers, so that nothing would be wasted. 13The disciples gathered them up and filled twelve large baskets with what was left over from the five barley loaves.
I like that little expression (verse 11) “Jesus took the bread in his hands”:
Ill:
• Place a have a scalpel in my hands, it’s merely a scalpel that could cause damage,
• But when you place that same scalpel in the hands of a surgeon,
• It turns into an object that can bring life.
• Put a golf club in any of our hands, and it’s merely a golf club,
• But when you place that same golf club in the hands of Tiger Woods,
• It allows him to be the best golfer in the world.
• A paintbrush in my hands might result in a pretty good picture (if it’s paint by numbers).
• But when a paintbrush was placed in the hands of Van Gogh,
• It turned into incredible works of art.
• A gun placed in the hands of a hunter is a tool used for sport or obtaining food,
• But when placed in the hands of a terrorist, that same gun becomes a weapon of destruction.
• Question: Why is it that the same instruments and the same tools;
• Can bring about such differing degrees of results?
• Answer:
• It simply depends upon who is holding them and how they’re being used.
HERE JESUS USES THE ORDINARY TO DO SOMETHING EXTRAORDINARY:
• But note how He does it, there is no razzmatazz. It is simple and efficient.
• Jesus puts His hands in the basket and keeps pulling out more.
• While the disciples and the crowds are looking,
• More and more fish and bread just keep coming out. Right in front of their very eyes,
Note: Jesus did not give the crowds some pitiful airline type snack:
• There was more than enough food for everyone.
• And there were 12 baskets full of food left.
• One for each disciple,
• A visuals reminder that Jesus is far bigger than any problem we might face!
What are the lessons we can learn from this story?
(1). The PURSUIT of the crowd - People matter.
• The crowd to the disciples were an irritation, a pain in the neck.
• But Jesus had compassion on the people;
• To him they were not troublesome but an opportunity;
• They were like a lost sheep and he is the Good Shepherd.
Ill:
• The American artist James Whistler,
• Was never known to be bashful about his talent,
• Once he received news;
• That a shipment of blank canvases he had ordered had been lost in the mail.
• When asked if the canvases were of any great value,
• Whistler remarked, “not yet, not yet.”
Jesus saw this crowd and us today:
• As having great value and potential,
• If only we are would follow him the Good Shepherd!
(2). The PROBLEM of no food - Problems are part of life.
Ill:
• On February 15, 1947 Glenn Chambers boarded a plane bound for Quito, Ecuador;
• He was beginning a new ministry, serving God in missionary broadcasting.
• But he never arrived because the plane carrying Glenn Chambers;
• Malfunctioned and crashed into a mountain peak.
• Later it was learned that before leaving the Miami airport,
• Glenn Chambers wanted to write his mother a letter.
• All he could find for stationery was a page of advertising;
• On which was written the single word “WHY?”
• Around that word he hastily scribbled a final note.
• After Glenn Chambers’ mother learned of her son’s death, his letter arrived.
• She opened the envelope, took out the paper, and unfolded it.
• Staring her in the face was the questions “WHY?”
Note:
• Jesus never explained away difficulties of life;
• Nor even why people suffer, he accepted it as part of the experience of life.
• The more important question that comes up again and again is not “Why” but “How”.
• “Why” we are not told.
• But “How” do we react to difficult circumstances etc is taught.
• Peter and Andrew learnt the lesson look to Jesus!
You and I have a choice just like Andrew & Philip:
• We can depend on human resources and human wisdom to handle life’ problems,
• Or we can confidently look to Jesus!
• That leads us to the third and final application.
(3). The PROVISION by Jesus - God provides.
• Twice in this chapter (verses 11 and 23):
• We are told “Jesus gave thanks”
• By that act he is reminding the people that;
• God is the source of all good and needful gifts.
• Instead of moaning about what we do not have,
• We should give thanks and enjoy what we do have!
For those who trust him Jesus has promised “Daily Bread”:
• “Daily Bread” not strawberries and ice-cream.
• He has promised to meet our needs not our greed’s!
• But as I reminded you at the beginning bread satisfies;
• Candy floss may be sweet and enjoyable but you cannot live on it!
• True satisfaction is found when a person feeds on Jesus Christ the living bread?
• Punch line: How is your appetite and what are you eating!
