Today we resume our study of the Gospel According to John,
after several weeks of observing Advent through the songs recorded in Luke’s
Gospel. Picking up where we left off back in November, we begin today with
Chapter 6. In the first portion of this chapter, we read of the feeding of the
five thousand. That is a bit of a misnomer, as all of the Gospels indicate that
the number of the people included 5,000 men,
while Matthew states clearly that there were women and children in addition to
these men. Therefore, most estimates would number this crowd of people to be
perhaps 20,000 or more. The significance of this miracle is understood by the
fact that it is the only one of Jesus’ miracles to be included in all four
Gospels.
John begins the chapter with the words, “After these
things.” On the surface, one would assume that “these things” would be the
events recorded in the verses immediately prior. However, when we look back on
these verses, we notice that the last account took place in Jerusalem ,
while this one takes place on the far side of the Sea of
Galilee . There has been a lot of ground covered that John does not
record for us. Additionally, the events of Chapter 5 take place around some
“feast of the Jews” that is not specified, while John 6:4 tells us that this
event took place just prior to Passover. If the feast in John 5 was one of the
Fall Feasts, then six months or so have passed. Some suggest that the unnamed
feast in John 5 was Passover, meaning that an entire year has elapsed. In
either case, much time has passed and much ground has been covered when Chapter
6 opens.
We know from the other Gospels that just before this time,
Herod Antipas, the Roman’s puppet governor of the Galilean region, had ordered
the beheading of John the Baptist. And we also know that Jesus had sent His
disciples on a ministry assignment around Galilee .
Herod was so unsettled by all that God was doing through Jesus and His
disciples in the region that he wondered if John the Baptist had risen from the
dead. With His popularity surging and crowds gathering wherever Jesus went, He
had withdrawn to the eastern side of the Sea of Galilee with His disciples, to
the area that today is called the Golan Heights ,
for some rest and fellowship with them. He intended to use this time to debrief
with them about their ministry assignments in Galilee
(Mark 6:30-31) and to speak frankly with them about His future, including His
death, and to prepare them for what was to come (Luke 9:10). With hostility
arising from the authorities, Jesus had also hoped that this time away would
allow for the excitement to die down a bit so He could continue on with His
mission. We also know that Jesus was seeking somewhere to grieve privately over
the death of John the Baptist, His kinsman, His forerunner, and His friend.[1]
But the crowd of people following Jesus would not relent, and as Jesus and the
disciples crossed the Sea of Galilee by boat,
the growing crowd travelled by foot around the northern end of the lake and met
Him on the far side.
Why was this crowd following Him? John tells us in verse 2
that it was because they saw the signs which He was performing on those who
were sick. They are like so many others we have met in the Gospels who were
interested in Jesus in much the same way that we might be interested in a
sideshow or a magician. It is a combination of curiosity mixed with a selfish
interest in what He might be able to do for them. Though they witnessed the
miracles, they did not perceive the ultimate reality beneath the miracles – the
revelation of Jesus as God the Son, the Messiah who had come to redeem humanity
from the curse of sin. Mark tells us that when Jesus saw this crowd coming to
Him, “He felt compassion for them, because they were like sheep without a
shepherd” (Mark 6:34). Out of His compassion for their deep spiritual needs,
the first thing that Jesus did was to teach them “many things.” And as this
time of teaching went on and the hour became late, His disciples began to ask
Him to send the people away so that they could go and find something to eat.
And so the stage is set for what we read here in John 6:1-15. And Jesus here
takes action to perform a tremendous supernatural miracle. And in this miracle,
as in all of His miracles, He demonstrates something about Himself. The other gospels draw attention to His
compassion, and certainly it is on full display here; but John directs our
attention to other attributes of Christ as this narrative unfolds. As we see
what He does, our understanding of who He is should be affected, and this has
the power to shape us as we seek to know and follow Him.
I. Christ’s infinite wisdom is revealed in His preparations.
(vv5-10)
I, for one, was not sad to see 2012 come to an end. It was a
difficult year for me. Over the last year, I’ve had several reminders that I do
not handle stress and anxiety well in my own power. When things seem to get out
of control, I tend to panic and scramble to try to wrestle those things back
under reign. But what God has been teaching me through these things is that,
although things are often out of my control, they are never out of His. In His
infinite wisdom, He is always at work in our circumstances in ways that we may
not even perceive. And when He is at work, He is accomplishing something
beneficial for us, even when we do not understand what it is.
I am captivated by the phrase in verse 6 here that says “He
Himself knew what He was intending to do.” You have to behold the chaos of this
scene. The crowd is massive; the people are hungry; the hour is late; there is
no food; there is no money to buy food, and no place to buy it anyway. If you
asked the disciples, they would say that things had gotten out of hand. In
fact, Jesus did ask one of the disciples: Philip. Being a native of the nearby
town of Bethsaida ,
Philip was a natural choice for the question Jesus asked: “Where are we to buy
bread?” But the question was only a test to see how Philip would view the
situation. Had he matured in his walk with Jesus to the point of trusting that
Jesus knows what He is doing, or would he view it only with his human eyes and
see things only from a natural perspective? He shows us with his answer. He
says, “Two hundred denarii worth of bread is not sufficient for everyone to
receive a little.” Two hundred denarii was equal to about 8 months of wages for
the average worker in that day. And according to Philip, even if they had this
much money, it would not be enough to feel thousands people more than just a
bite. He failed the test. He was still looking at things through human eyes and
a natural perspective. He was not thinking supernaturally about what Jesus had
the power to do. He responded to the situation by giving up hope. In His
wisdom, Jesus proved the spiritual mettle of His followers with this single,
simple question.
But another disciple had a somewhat different perspective,
and in His wisdom, Jesus had arranged circumstances in such a way that even a
small glimmer of faith could shine through. While Philip was crunching numbers
and seeing all that could not be done, Andrew came with a more positive report,
albeit only slightly more positive. Andrew has gone around the massive crowd to
see what supplies he can muster in his own effort. He’s found one boy, a lad
(the Greek word could mean a person ranging in age from a young child to a man
in his early 20s), who has five barley loaves and two fish. This is not much
food. The loaves would have been very small, and barley was the common staple
grain of the very poor. The first-century Jewish philosopher Philo said that
barley was “suited for irrational animals and people in unhappy circumstances.”[2]
The fish were not big at all; they were small, pickled fish that were used as a
relish for the bland barley cakes to give them flavor. Andrew recognized that
this quantity of food was “ludicrously inadequate” to feed such a crowd.[3] He
said, “What are these for so many people?” If Philip’s response to the
situation was one of giving up hope, Andrew’s was more that of trying harder.
What we will find as we go through difficulties in life is that neither
approach is sufficient. While Andrew’s attempts to try harder to solve the
problem were not sufficient, with faith as tiny as a mustard seed, he does the
one thing that we all have to learn to do. He brought the boy with the food to
Jesus, and the boy gave what he had to Jesus. I tell you, if nothing more had
been done on that day, this much would have been a success. You have never
failed if you’ve brought someone to Jesus; and you’ve never failed if you’ve
given what you have to Jesus. In His infinite wisdom, Jesus had arranged the
circumstances so that Andrew would see the futility of his own self-effort, and
in utter desperation do the only thing he knew to do – hand the situation over
to Jesus. And this is what Jesus had been waiting for: someone to finally
recognize that if the situation was going to improve, it was not going to be by
giving up hope or trying harder but by turning it all over to Him.
We also notice the infinite wisdom of Jesus on display in
v10, where we read that Jesus ordered for the disciples to have the people sit
down in the grass, and this they did. The other Gospels tell us that Jesus had
the disciples to arrange the people in groups of hundreds and fifties. You see,
Jesus knew what he was intending to do. And in order to do what He intended to
do, He took measures to do it well. Notice He had the people to sit, so that
the crowd would be stabilized and there would be no rush, and so that the
serving of the people would be expedited. Another reason perhaps is that the
people, once seated, would all have a better view to see what Jesus was about
to do. They would be able to see the miracle that was about to take place with
their own eyes. But also don’t miss this point – that Jesus desires to put His
disciples to work in His mission. He gives them an assignment to carry out. It
wasn’t necessary to do it this way, but in His infinite wisdom Jesus creates
opportunities for His followers to serve Him and invites them to join in His
work.
Now, before we leave this point about the infinite wisdom of
Christ, let’s draw out some practical points. First, when situations seem out
of hand to you, are you confident that they are not out of the Master’s hand? Do
you trust that He knows what He is doing? How do you respond to stressful
situations? Do you try to sort out the logistics of it all in your head, and
ultimately conclude that it is hopeless and give up? Do you try harder to fix
the problem in your own self-effort? Or do you take the situation to Jesus and
hand it all over to Him? And through it, are you looking for others that you
can bring to Jesus in the midst of the circumstances, and for ways that He is
inviting you to participate in His work? When we behold His infinite wisdom we
come to understand that He is always in control, even and especially when
things are beyond our control. We are confident that as long as He is with us,
we must not give up hope because He knows what He intends to do. He may be
testing our ability to view things with the eyes of faith, and our response
indicates whether we pass or fail the test. We understand that trying harder is
not the solution, but entrusting matters to Him is! And we see a place carved
out for us by the very circumstances we are in: a place for us to serve Him and
to serve others, and a place for us to bring others to Him. Only Jesus in His
infinite wisdom can accomplish these things in the midst of chaotic scenarios.
II. Christ’s
unlimited power is revealed in His provision (vv11-13)
Notice again Andrew’s question in v9. Here is a boy with
five loaves and two fish. “What are these for so many people?” Five thousand
men, plus women and children; maybe 20,000 people there, and we’ve got one
boy’s snack to feed them all with. Surely this is not enough. But what everyone
on that hillside is about to be faced with is the truth that though these are
not enough, Christ Himself is enough. This small amount of food cannot meet
their need, but this wonderful Savior can. As He provides for them all, His
unlimited power is displayed.
It is really interesting, the lengths to which some will go
to undermine the authority of God’s Word. This passage has been tinkered with
by some who simply refuse to believe that Christ has the power to do what He
did here. There are a group of so-called scholars who say that if there was a
miracle at all here, it was a miracle of the human spirit. They say that this
crowd had been hiding their food and unwilling to share it with their
fellow-man, but seeing the boy’s willingness to give Jesus his food, they were
all moved in their hearts to break out their food and share it as well. I
suppose stranger things have happened, yet I cannot fathom why, in the wake of
an event such as this, that the people would conclude that Jesus was the
promised Messiah and desire to make Him their king. If anything, it seems that
they would rather applaud the boy with the fish and bread rather than Jesus. But
the people were aware that Jesus had done something extraordinary here. They
saw it, they experienced it, and they ate it. Then there have been others who
suggest that enough food was mustered up to give everyone present a tiny morsel
of food, much like we receive when we share in the Lord’s Supper. Again, this
seems very odd, for certainly it couldn’t have been possible with just five
loaves and two fish; and if there was more food than this, then why was it
significant to mention the boy with his loaves and fish at all?
But more than just this, notice how unlimited the power of
Jesus is as He reveals His nature through this miracle. First, notice what
Jesus does with the loaves and fish. He “gave thanks.” Whom did He thank? He
might have thanked the boy, but the other Gospels tell us more. Matthew, Mark,
and Luke all tell us that He took the loaves and fish and He looked up into
heaven. Just as the boy had offered what He had to Jesus, so Jesus offers it up
to His Father in heaven. In the NASB and some other English versions, Matthew
and Mark say that next Jesus “blessed the
food.” If you look at that text in Matthew 16:19 or Mark 6:41, you will see
that the words “the food” are in italics, meaning that they are not found in the
original Greek text, but were added by the translators. And, in this case, I
believe the translators got it wrong. I do not believe that Jesus blessed the
food, I believe that He blessed God by giving Him thanks for this provision of
food. The traditional Jewish prayer offered up before a meal would say
something like this: “Blessed art thou, O Lord our God, King of the universe,
who bringest forth bread from the earth.” Jesus is, by His actions and words
here, indicating that whatever we have, we have from God’s gracious hand; and
what we have from God’s gracious hand is enough to supply our need.
Now the text says that He distributed the food to the
people. The other Gospels explain that He began breaking the bread and dividing
the fish and giving it to the disciples to distribute. And as He broke the
bread, He kept on breaking it. And as He divided the fish, He kept on dividing
the fish. The more He broke and gave out, the more there was to break and give
out. As the food was all distributed, notice that the people had “as much as
they wanted” and “they were filled.” Jesus did not merely have the power to
generate a tiny morsel for everyone. He had the power to take what was offered
to Him and make it into a satisfying meal for the entire multitude. Philip was
concerned that 8 months’ salary would not provide even a little for everyone;
but Jesus was able to produce much more than that from much less.
In fact, so abundant was His provision that there were
leftovers. In keeping with custom, Jesus ordered that the leftovers be
gathered. Jewish custom required anything larger than an olive not go to waste.[4]
John only mentions the bread, but Mark tells us there was leftover fish as
well. And the leftovers amounted to twelve baskets full. The disciples may have
thought, as they distributed all of this food to others, “What about us? Is He
going to let us starve?” But, they were not overlooked in the provision, as
each had enough to supply their needs for several days. In fact, what they were
left with was more than they started with! So unlimited is His power.
Before we move on, a couple of practical points can be drawn
out. First, we must never underestimate the power of Jesus to meet our needs.
Now, just because He can does not mean that He always will in the way that we
think is best. How He chooses to meet our needs is up to Him. Our part is
simply to trust Him to meet them in the way that He knows is best. Second, we
must come to see that all that we have comes from His hands anyway. Just as
Jesus received the bread and fish from the boy, and then blessed God with
thanksgiving for it, so we must understand that no matter whose hands deliver
the provision, it ultimately comes from the nail scarred hands of Jesus.
Whatever good things come our way come as blood-bought blessings from Him, when
all we deserve from Him is wrath. Also, when we see the Lord providing for
others in abundance, we must not become bitter or envious. We should rejoice
that they are receiving such a blessing, and trust that if we belong to Him, we
will not be overlooked in the distribution of His provisions. Even if what we
receive are leftovers, the leftovers of the Lord are far better than the main
course of any other. And when we observe the meticulous care of the Lord, who
preserves even the morsels of food that have fallen to the ground, we must
delight in knowing that His love for us is even greater. He will preserve us as
well, and not suffer those who are His own to be trampled underfoot or to waste
away and perish. The morsels are gathered into baskets; His people are held
securely in the very nail-scarred hands that provide for us.
This miracle reveals the infinite wisdom and the unlimited
power of Jesus. But it was intended to do more than this. He Himself knew what
He was intending to do. And ultimately He intended to reveal something even
more important than His wisdom and power.
III. His saving purpose is revealed in His person.
I knew a pastor once who carried around a little card that
he would leave in the doors of people he went to visit who were not at home.
The card said, “I came to tell you about Jesus. Missing me is not a big deal;
missing Him is.” I think of that when I think of this miracle. The point of it
was not that the people got their bellies filled. If they missed the meal, it
would not have been a big deal. But if they miss Jesus in this, it is a very
big deal. It would be a tragedy to leave that hillside and rejoice over how
delicious and satisfying the meal was, only to forget the splendor and glory of
the One who provided it. You see, Jesus’ intention was not just to put food in
their mouths. After all, this is the same Jesus who told the woman at the well,
“Everyone who drinks of this water will thirst again.” Jesus fed the people for
now, but they will hunger later. His intent was to show them that they have a
greater need that food cannot satisfy. But just as He is able to satisfy their
hunger with food, so He can satisfy the greater need for all eternity. Once He
meets the need of spiritual hunger in their lives, they will never hunger in
that way again.
When the people had eaten their fill, v14 says that they
proclaimed, “This is truly the Prophet who is to come into the world.” It is
interesting that, of all the Old Testament references to the Messiah, they
chose this one. It comes from Deuteronomy 18, where Moses tells the people that
in the future, the Lord will raise up a prophet like himself from among them.
While every genuine prophet was a partial fulfillment of this promise, many
rightly understood that the Messiah would be the ultimate fulfillment, and the
final prophet sent from God. But what is interesting about it is that the
people seem to be focused, not on the “prophet” aspect of the promise, but the
“like Moses” aspect. Moses was considered to be the agent God used to bring the
manna to the people in the wilderness, and so here was a new Moses providing
the people with a new manna in the wilderness. And because of this, they sought
to make Jesus their king. They didn’t say this, but they didn’t have to.
Remember that John 2:24-25 says that Jesus knew all men and knew what was in
man. He perceived that they wanted to take Him by force to make Him king. Surely
a mob of 20,000 people could amass quite a force to do battle under their newly
crowned King.
Now, notice that nowhere here do we read that they were
wrong in their conclusions. In fact, Jesus was that Prophet who had been
promised, and He was the King who was to come. The irony of this is that they
could not make Him more of a King than He already was. The problem was that He
had not come to be the kind of King that they wanted. In their minds, here was
a King who could fill their bellies and rescue them from the oppression of Rome . But in reality, if
that is all that Jesus came to do for them, they would not be much better off
than they already were. The fact is that He came to satisfy a deeper need than
physical hunger, and to deliver them from a greater bondage than that of Rome . He came to redeem
them from sin and to reconcile them to God. This victory would not be
accomplished by defeating a Roman army on the battlefield, but by defeating
sin, death, and Satan on the cross. He would not “wield the spear and bring the
judgment,” but rather He would “receive the spear” and “bear the judgment” as
He died for man’s sin to save us.[5]
Jesus was unwilling to become what they wanted. He was
steadfastly committed to being for them what they needed: not a commanding
general, but a suffering Savior. So, rather than giving in to their corrupted
desires, He withdrew from them alone, taking not even His disciples with Him as
He ventured further up into the Golan Heights .
Hear the words of John MacArthur as he applies this important truth to us all:
Jesus “comes to no man on that
man’s terms. People cannot manipulate Him for their own selfish ends. … People
do not come to Christ on their terms, so that He can heal their broken
relationships, make them successful in life, and help them feel good about
themselves. Instead, they must come to Him on His terms. … Even today, He
continues to withdraw from those who seek Him for their own self-serving ends,
just as He did from the crowd that sought to make Him king on their terms.”[6]
A few verses beyond our text here, Jesus will say, “You seek
Me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were
filled. … I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me will not hunger, and he
who believes in Me will never thirst. … Everyone who beholds the Son and
believes in Him will have eternal life, and I Myself will raise Him up on the
last day” (6:26, 35, 40).
What do you seek from Jesus? Do you seek in Him one who will
always grant what you desire? One who will be for you what you want Him to be?
Or do you come to Him in humble recognition of your true spiritual need – that
you are a helpless sinner without hope before God unless Christ in His mercy
rescues you through His cross? Are you seeking in Him a King who will reign
over your own Kingdom and follow your agenda, or are you prepared to surrender
to Him as King over His own Kingdom and yield to His agenda? If you enter into
His Kingdom, you are committing yourself to One who is infinitely wise, who
knows your needs before you ask them, and who meets those needs in the way that
He deems best for you. He welcomes you and bids you to become part of His
Kingdom work by His grace. In His unlimited power, He provides for you so that
all that you have comes from His hand as a blood-bought blessing. He may be all
you have; and when He is, then gloriously and graciously you find Him to be
even more than you need. And as your King, He will carry you through the
battles of this life, holding you in His grasp. And when this life and this
world has done its very worst to you, bringing you at last into the throes of
death, He offers you eternal life and promises to raise you up with Him on the
last day. Oh that we might find all our longings, all our desires, and all of
our hunger satisfied in Him and in Him alone as we turn to Him and walk with
Him by faith.
[1] Merrill Tenney, "John" in The Expositors Bible Commentary (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1981), 71.
[2] Cited in
Andreas Kostenberger, John (Baker
Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament; Grand Rapids : Baker, 2004), 201 fn. 4.
[3] D. A.
Carson, The Gospel According to John (Pillar
New Testament Commentary; Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1991), 270).
[4]
Kostenberger, 220 fn. 20.
[5] Carson , 273.
[6] John
MacArthur, John 1-11 (MacArthur New
Testament Commentary; Chicago: Moody, 2006), 225-226.
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