Brief Outline
Food for Thought (John 6:5-15)
Introduction (1-4)
I. The Task is Too Big! (5-9)
A. Jesus, the Good Teacher (5-6)
B. The Inadequacy of the Disciples (7-9)
II. Jesus Begs to Differ (10-13)
A. Jesus has a Plan (10-11)
B. Jesus brings Over-abundance (12-13)
III. People are Amazed (14-15)
Application
Scripture Reading: John 6:35-40
35 And Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst.
36 "But I said to you that you have seen Me and yet do not believe.
37 "All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out.
38 "For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me.
39 "This is the will of the Father who sent Me, that of all He has given Me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up at the last day.
40 "And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day."
Background/Context
Last week, we discussed our miraculous Savior Jesus and His evangelistic trip to the Samaritans. The people of lowly Samaria had an amazing and authentic encounter with the King of Kings, just as we each need to have. We saw from John 4 that Jesus is the source of Living Water -- He is the source of continual refreshing and renewal spiritually. Likewise from our Scripture Reading in John 6, Jesus describes Himself as the Bread of Life.
Jesus' food was to do the Will of the Father. Let that also be our food, and may we access it through the Bread of Life and the Source of Living Water!
Our text tonight is John 6:1-15. Jesus has just healed a man on the Sabbath. The man had not been able to walk for 38 years, and yet one touch from the Savior healed Him. Many of the religious elite were angry that He violated the Sabbath, though their attitude was once again wrong. However, thousands of people had heard of His miraculous works, and they began to follow Him at around the time of the Passover.
From this text today, we see Jesus as our Miraculous Provider and our Multiplier, who teaches us in challenging ways, and who can use what little we have to do a great work for His Kingdom.
Let's read our text -- John 6:1-15:
Text: John 6:1-15 (NKJV)
1 After these things Jesus went over the Sea of Galilee, which is the Sea of Tiberias.
2 Then a great multitude followed Him, because they saw His signs which He performed on those who were diseased.
3 And Jesus went up on the mountain, and there He sat with His disciples.
4 Now the Passover, a feast of the Jews, was near.
5 Then Jesus lifted up His eyes, and seeing a great multitude coming toward Him, He said to Philip, "Where shall we buy bread, that these may eat?"
6 But this He said to test him, for He Himself knew what He would do.
7 Philip answered Him, "Two hundred denarii worth of bread is not sufficient for them, that every one of them may have a little."
8 One of His disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, said to Him,
9 "There is a lad here who has five barley loaves and two small fish, but what are they among so many?"
10 Then Jesus said, "Make the people sit down." Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, in number about five thousand.
11 And Jesus took the loaves, and when He had given thanks He distributed them to the disciples, and the disciples to those sitting down; and likewise of the fish, as much as they wanted.
12 So when they were filled, He said to His disciples, "Gather up the fragments that remain, so that nothing is lost."
13 Therefore they gathered them up, and filled twelve baskets with the fragments of the five barley loaves which were left over by those who had eaten.
14 Then those men, when they had seen the sign that Jesus did, said, "This is truly the Prophet who is to come into the world."
15 Therefore when Jesus perceived that they were about to come and take Him by force to make Him king, He departed again to the mountain by Himself alone.
Opening Prayer
Introduction (1-4)
1: Jesus often went up to secluded places to rest and pray. These things were essentially His fuel.
Jesus had just done the miraculous, and He'd also gone through the very real psychological distress of being in the presence of the unhappy religious leaders. Imagine being Jesus in this situation. The people who were now in charge of the spiritual health were directing people away from true life. They were bringing them to ritual.
Comparison: We seem to have an American mentality of 'do, do, do!' Sometimes we need to cease from doing in order to be empowered by God to 'do'. Even more accurately, we ought to BE who He's created us to be, and things that we do will flow out of that. Remember that He has made us for a purpose, and a better measure of who we are is who He's created us to be and where we are in relation to Him, as opposed to what we do or how much we've done.
2: Many people followed Him because of the signs that He did. This was often a way that people came to know Him, but on a very superficial level.
Challenge: In an individualistic sense, how often do we come to Jesus because of wanting to see a miraculous sign? This can be a good intro, but how often do we ignore who He is and what we should do out of love for Him? Many people want a hand-out, and much fewer care to stick around to obey and follow Him. Let's be in the faithful and obedient crowd.
I. The Task is Too Big! (5-9)
John 6:5-9 (NKJV)
5 Then Jesus lifted up His eyes, and seeing a great multitude coming toward Him, He said to Philip, "Where shall we buy bread, that these may eat?"
6 But this He said to test him, for He Himself knew what He would do.
7 Philip answered Him, "Two hundred denarii worth of bread is not sufficient for them, that every one of them may have a little."
8 One of His disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, said to Him,
9 "There is a lad here who has five barley loaves and two small fish, but what are they among so many?"
5-6) Jesus is a good teacher -- He is wise and astute in His teaching methods.
He knows how to teach us, and He knows how to discipline us.
Jesus asks Philip -- Where can we buy bread?
Philip was a local, so he would know where to buy things, but Jesus had a much deeper test of His disciples, as is clear in verse 6. Philip wanted to solve this problem by his own natural means. Jesus was in control of the situation and had a plan. The very Creator of the Universe knew that this task was not big for Him, even though we as humans see it as impossible. He also wanted to put His disciples through a time of growth by testing their faith.
Application: Sometimes God will give us tasks that are too big for us in order to grow our faith.
How are we supposed to react under trial? James 1 - REJOICE!/Consider it PURE JOY!
Challenge: We as people, I think men especially, try to fix things immediately if it is not to their liking. We consistently diagnose things around us. How often do we neglect seeking God for help and for full empowerment?
Here, the disciples were taken to the very end of their abilities, and as a result, Jesus could shine through and show that He is sufficient to provide for all needs.
Also worth noting, even though Jesus seemed to be desirous of rest, He still had compassion on all these people. In John 10, He is described as our 'Good Shepherd' -- He cares for His sheep.
I believe that we are to be this way, too -- even when we're tired or frustrated, we need to care for the needs of others.
7-9) What they had was inadequate.
Denarius - a Roman silver coin, which was a day's wage for a Roman soldier.
Philip realized that the task was huge, and even 6-7 months of regular work wages couldn't pay for even a tiny bit of food for everybody.
Andrew also comments on what they have available -- five barley loaves, and two small fish.
The disciples essentially were saying, 'We don't have the necessary resources!' They looked up, saw a swarm of people, and thought something like, 'Houston, we have a problem.'
Application: God is bigger than our problems --
Note that there were five thousand MEN. This does not include any wives and children that were with them. The disciples had 5 loaves to take down the giant crowd of hungry people. Remember David? David had 5 smooth stones to take down the Philistine giant Goliath. God prevailed, even through the underdog.
We are called to cast our cares on Jesus, take on His peace and lightness of burden, and trust in Him with all our hearts!
Perhaps Andrew should have stopped talking after he mentioned what they had, instead of adding, 'What good will this do?' Our duty is to use what little we have, dedicate it to the Lord, and watch Him do the impossible.
Parallel: Acts 3:1-8 (NKJV)
1 Now Peter and John went up together to the temple at the hour of prayer, the ninth hour.
2 And a certain man lame from his mother's womb was carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple which is called Beautiful, to ask alms from those who entered the temple;
3 who, seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple, asked for alms.
4 And fixing his eyes on him, with John, Peter said, "Look at us."
5 So he gave them his attention, expecting to receive something from them.
6 Then Peter said, "Silver and gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk."
7 And he took him by the right hand and lifted him up, and immediately his feet and ankle bones received strength.
8 So he, leaping up, stood and walked and entered the temple with them -- walking, leaping, and praising God.
So here in Acts 3:6, Peter says to the beggar at the Temple Gate (called Beautiful): "Silver and gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk."
Peter understood that God was bigger than his personal lack of resources.
Regardless of how much money we may not have, and regardless of how much talent we may not have developed, and regardless of how gloomy a situation might look, the Lord can still do wonders through His power.
Even if we have only a small scrap of a resource, if we devote it to the Lord, He can use it in a huge way.
Application: We are inadequate! Jesus is not!
II. Jesus Begs to Differ (10-13)
John 6:10-13 (NKJV)
10 Then Jesus said, "Make the people sit down." Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, in number about five thousand.
11 And Jesus took the loaves, and when He had given thanks He distributed them to the disciples, and the disciples to those sitting down; and likewise of the fish, as much as they wanted.
12 So when they were filled, He said to His disciples, "Gather up the fragments that remain, so that nothing is lost."
13 Therefore they gathered them up, and filled twelve baskets with the fragments of the five barley loaves which were left over by those who had eaten.
10-11) Jesus had a plan
- How many times do we see this in Scripture?
Everyone around Jesus is freaking out. A gigantic crowd is coming, and
Jesus gives thanks for the food in verse 11.
Purpose of giving thanks for food?
Application: We see in Verse 11, Jesus the Multiplier. He takes what we have and multiplies it.
Lesson: Sometimes we try to do too much in our own strength. That can only go so far, and then we will realize our limitations. God will often give us tasks that are bigger than we are. Many times, He does this to show that He is our source of strength, and only by operating in His Spirit can we accomplish those major things for His Kingdom.
12-13) Jesus brings over-abundance.
Jesus didn't barely scrape by.
Psalm 24:1 - The earth is the LORD's, and all its fullness, The world and those who dwell therein.
Twelve baskets were left over as fragments from five loaves.
Parallel: See Matthew 25:14-30 - The Parable of the Talents. What are we doing with our God-given talents?
Are we going to work to develop our talents, regardless of how much or how little we have? Or are we going to figure that it would be better to bury them in the ground for fear of losing what we have? God can do wonders with what He has given us.
Either these were loaves the size of Texas or Jesus just did an amazing miracle.
From the reaction of the people, we know that Jesus just did what was deemed impossible by His disciples.
III. People Are Amazed (14-15)
John 6:14-15 (NKJV)
14 Then those men, when they had seen the sign that Jesus did, said, "This is truly the Prophet who is to come into the world."
15 Therefore when Jesus perceived that they were about to come and take Him by force to make Him king, He departed again to the mountain by Himself alone.
14) Note the reactions of others:
This is the Prophet who has been promised!
Challenge: Sometimes we see God work miraculously and think, WOW, what an amazing God. But how often do we go through hard times and think, God is not here, or God doesn't care, or God isn't that great. Part of maturity is growing out of that. We need to know God as He is. We know that this world is cursed, and we know that God also doesn't just give us everything to spoil us. He wants to bring us closer to Himself, and we ought to cherish that and know Him, through the good times and the bad.
Application: Essentially, we need to be in awe of Jesus, but we need to follow Him in obedience out of this awe.
15) Jesus noted this reaction.
Again, Jesus is quite wise as to knowing the Father's Will.
Remember in Chapter 4, Jesus went from Judea to Galilee, likely in order to avoid the Pharisees from putting Him to death? Here, we see that the people observe His miracle and want to turn Him into their ruler!
Neither was fit for Jesus at this time. He will return as our King, but His ministry was initially as a suffering servant.
Application
(1) Sometimes God will give us tasks that are too big for us in order to grow our faith. Let's be joyful and faithful when we go through these trials.
(2) God is bigger than our problems -- let's trust Him in all things. Let's have the assurance of Proverbs 3:5-6.
(3) We are inadequate! Jesus is not! Let's rely on Him for strength. When the going gets tough, first get on your knees!
(4) Jesus is our Multiplier -- He takes what we have and multiplies it. With that in mind, give what little you have to the Lord, whether relating to talents, abilities, gifts, or even what you have financially.
(5) Let's be in awe of Jesus, and let's follow Him in obedience out of this awe. As we give Him the little we have and watch Him do wonders with it, let's enjoy Him.
Closing Prayer
Bibliography
Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
