Feeding the Five Thousand: Have you ever needed God to provide? We’re all needy in certain ways. In the well-known miracle of feeding the five thousand, Jesus proves he can provide immeasurably more than all we could ask or imagine. But this only foreshadowed how God would provide for our greatest need in Jesus. Recorded on Sep 24, 2023, on John 6:1-15 by Pastor David Parks.
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Finding Life in Jesus’ Name is a sermon series on the gospel according to John in the Bible. Have you ever felt unsatisfied with your life? Or, even when things were going well, something was still missing? Many people sense there must be something more. But what?? John, one of the closest friends of Jesus, believed that Jesus came into the world so that we may have life and have it to the full. Jesus turned John’s life upside down, and John claims this new life — marked by God’s power, presence, and purpose — is available for all who believe.
Sermon Transcript
All year, we’re going through the gospel according to John in a series called Finding Life in Jesus’ Name. And today, we’re moving on to John 6 and one of the most famous signs/miracles of Jesus’ ministry: the feeding of the five thousand. If you missed any of the sermons from this series so far, you can always go back and watch or listen online. You can watch on YouTube or on the church app or listen to the audio podcast wherever you listen to podcasts. But today, in the fourth of the seven miraculous signs in John’s gospel, we have a sign of provision — to show that Jesus knows what we need and loves to provide above and beyond anything we could ask or imagine. Have you ever needed God to provide? Have you ever prayed and prayed for something that only God could do? I have. Does anyone remember 2020? What a year. Well, some of you might remember that we had finished most of our remodeling of this place and were finally able to move in fully in Feb of 2020, one month before the Covid shutdown. Going into the pandemic, we still had $20,000 of bills we needed to pay, but with the shutdown, some were not able to give what they had pledged for the building project. We had enough money to keep operating as we scrambled to figure out how to stay connected with everyone in isolation, but we didn’t have enough to pay off those bills. Our vendors were very gracious, as we were far from the only ones in that situation. But for almost a full year, I prayed and prayed and prayed for God to provide. But it wasn’t until the end of 2020, at Christmas, when we had an incredible outpouring of generosity by our members, that we not only had enough to completely pay off our debt, but we had enough to start building back our savings, as well. It was a miracle of God’s provision. On top of everything else happening that year, the financial pressure I felt was so heavy. That year, I prayed almost every day that God would provide the money we needed. But also that he would help me trust in his provision. Have you ever needed God to provide? Maybe you have a need today? Well, if you have a Bible/app, please take it and open it to John 6:1. Let’s consider together the feeding of the 5,000.
John 6:1–6 (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 signs he had performed by healing the sick. 3 Then Jesus went up on a mountainside and sat down with his disciples. 4 The Jewish Passover Festival 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.” Let’s pause here. So, the feeding of the five thousand is a very famous story, in fact, it’s the only miracle (besides the resurrection, of course) repeated in all four gospel accounts. Matthew, Mark, and Luke all reference the death of John the Baptist right before this story. John the Baptist, who featured so prominently earlier in John the Apostle’s gospel, had the courage to speak out against an immoral marriage between Herod the Tetrarch, a powerful political leader in Galilee, and his sister-in-law, Herodias. John rightly said that it wasn’t lawful for Herod to marry his sister-in-law, so Herod had him thrown in prison and later was pressured into having John executed. So it was in this highly charged and even violent political/religious culture that Jesus was gaining popularity from the crowds, but also opposition from the Jewish leadership. So sometime after the healing of the man at Bethesda in Jerusalem, and after John the Baptist had been killed, John the author says that Jesus and the disciples were again in the northern region of Galilee. And it was by the Sea of Galilee (about the same size and shape as Lake Winnebago), that a great crowd of people followed Jesus. John says they followed him because of the signs Jesus had performed by healing the sick. This will become more of a theme as we go. Will the people follow Jesus because they believe in him, or do they merely follow him for what they think he will do for them and the benefits they think they will get from him? This is a discipleship theme that John will develop. But for now, Jesus was probably at the height of his popularity. Later, we will learn that there were about 5,000 men in the crowd. Counting the women and children, there could’ve been 10,000-15,000 people who had traveled to see/hear/experience the ministry of Jesus that day. Other gospel accounts mention that Jesus had compassion on this great crowd when he saw them, for they were like sheep without a shepherd. So Jesus spent the day with them, teaching them, healing them, and ministering to them. It would’ve been amazing to have been there, but it would also have been a long and tiring day, as well. At some point, Jesus asked Philip, one of the twelve, “Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat?” And I love this little aside statement from John: “He asked this only to test him, for he already had in mind what he was going to do.” Again, Jesus never asks questions to gain information. This is a discipleship question for one of his apprentices. This is a leadership development question. “Philip, you’ve been with me for some time now, we have a crowd of thousands who are hungry. Uber Eats won’t be invented for a long time. How should we feed them?” Jesus already knew what he was going to do, but let’s hear what Philip had to say first.
John 6:7-9 (NIV), “7 Philip answered him, “It would take more than half a year’s wages to 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?” Ok! So Philip could accurately assess the need. It would take more than a half a year’s wages to buy enough bread for each one to have a bite!” (much less a satisfying meal). This was probably true, but doesn’t move us any closer to the goal. Any other ideas, team? Andrew, who was Simon Peter’s brother, speaks up. We’re brainstorming, we’re troubleshooting. Andrew starts looking around and sees a boy who has a bag lunch: five small barley loaves and two small fish. We’ve got a crowd of 15,000 and one kid’s lunch. It’s comical just how little the disciples had compared to the greatness of their needs. Also, how do you think the kid felt when Andrew offered up his lunch? Let’s see what Jesus had in mind.
John 6:10-13 (NIV), “10 Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.” There was plenty of grass in that place, and they sat down (about five thousand men were there). 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.” Ok, so this is what Jesus had in mind. Hey Philip, how should we feed all these people? What he should’ve said was this: “Lord, if you wanted to feed all these people, you could call down manna from heaven, or you could turn these rocks into bread, or you could multiply a little boy’s lunch, or maybe a million other things to provide more than enough for all of us to eat and be satisfied.” That would be the right answer. That would be an answer of faith rooted in what Philip had already seen of the miraculous power of Jesus, the beloved Son of God, filled with the Holy Spirit. When God asked the prophet Ezekiel in the Valley of the Dry Bones if the bones could live, what did Ezekiel say? He said, “Sovereign Lord, you alone know.” What would be impossible for human beings is possible with God. Can these dry bones live? Only you know, Lord. How can we feed all these people, Philip? Sovereign Lord, you alone know. It’s not possible for me, but it’s possible for you, Lord Jesus. Do you see? This was a test of faith for Philip. But this was also a sign which would reveal the glory of Jesus to his disciples. So Jesus had everyone sit down, he took the food, gave thanks for what God the Father would provide through the Son by the power of the Spirit, and he made sure everyone had enough to eat and be satisfied. Now how do you think that little boy felt about offering his little lunch to Jesus? If I were Jesus, I’d have that little boy sitting at my right hand, in the place of honor. God used his small sacrifice, all he was able to give, in order to do great things for his glory and the good of all people. How would the people respond? This is the biggest sign so far of the power of Jesus.
John 6:14-15 (NIV), “14 After the people saw the sign Jesus performed, they began to say, “Surely this is the Prophet who is to come into the world.” 15 Jesus, knowing that they intended to come and make him king by force, withdrew again to a mountain by himself.” This is God’s word. So here, we seem to have kind of an unsatisfying ending. The crowd seems to be convinced of something by this miracle, and it’s not altogether a bad thing. They think Jesus is the Prophet described in Dt 18. God promised to send a Prophet to his people who would speak God’s word to them, and they were to listen to him. Jesus is, of course, a prophet, but he is so much more than that. He doesn’t just speak God’s word; he is the Word of God made flesh. He is the Son of God sent from heaven to reveal the fullness of the glory of God. He is Emmanuel, meaning God with us. But the crowd didn’t see all that or believe that yet. How could they? For Jesus had not yet died and rose again from the dead. So before the empty tomb, the only thing that people thought the great Prophet or the Messiah would do was be a political leader, a regular king over a regular kingdom. It would be a kingdom that honored the one true and living God, but it would be a kingdom just like the Greek or Roman Empire or the Babylonian or Persian or other empires before them. Jesus rightly perceived that the crowd intended to make him a king by force, to rebel against the Romans with Jesus at their head. But this is not the mission of Jesus. And a regular kingdom was not the type of kingdom that Jesus was establishing. At the end of John’s gospel, while on trial for his life before Pontius Pilate, Pilate asked Jesus if he was the king of the Jews. “Jesus said, “My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jewish leaders. But now my kingdom is from another place.” (John 18:36). Jesus wasn’t a political leader who needed to fight the existing human powers to establish himself or his kingdom. He was and is the King of all creation, who invaded this kingdom of darkness and by his blood and the power of his Spirit is rescuing men and women from sin and death and is delivering them into his kingdom, a kingdom that is spiritual in nature and will last forever, even beyond death. And it’s this kingdom that is breaking into the kingdom of this world and will one day consume it all. And in that great and glorious day, then finally, will God’s kingdom have come, and his will will be done on earth as it is in heaven. But for now, at this time, after the feeding of the thousands, Jesus has not yet died; he has not yet risen again, so he is not ready to be recognized as the King, so he wisely withdrew. But what does all this mean for us? How do we apply this teaching to our lives today? I think there are two things going on here. First, we see that God is a God who is more than able to provide what we need. This is a sign of provision. And Jesus taught on this many times. God is our Father in heaven, who loves his children, and just like any good dad, he loves to provide good gifts to his children. Our Father loves us, but he is also near to us, so he knows what we need. Jesus teaches us to ask, seek, and knock. He says we do not have because we do not ask. He says we are to pray and keep on praying for justice and to expect that God will answer our prayers in his timing. In the Lord’s Prayer, he teaches us to pray daily and ask for what we need, such as our daily bread. Have you ever needed God to provide? Then make sure you take that need to him. Just like Jesus in this miraculous sign, he is “able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us.” (Eph 3:20). If you need a meal, he can take a meager little offering and give you enough to satisfy with twelve basketfuls left over. Amen. Let us put our faith and our trust in him. Let us pray and watch what God will do.
And this would seem to me to be enough. This is a lesson we all must learn as children of God and as disciples of Jesus. I needed this lesson back in 2020 and in a number of other times and seasons of my life. But there are a few clues scattered through this text, which suggest that there is something deeper going on here. It is a sign of provision, but this miracle foreshadows something far greater. What do I mean? Well, there are actually four clues in this story that suggest that there’s more to the story. First, the number twelve shows up. For whatever reason, the number twelve is one of those numbers that keeps coming up in the Bible. There are twelve tribes of Israel, there are Twelve Apostles, and here, for some reason, there are twelve baskets full of leftovers after this miraculous feast. Does that mean something? Or is it just a coincidence? Well, second, there’s the language of Jesus giving thanks as he broke the bread and then passed out the pieces. If you’ve been a Christian for a while, that should automatically remind you of what? Of communion, or the Lord’s Supper. On the night before his death on the cross, Jesus, as Matthew says, “took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to his disciples, saying, “Take and eat; this is my body.” (Mt 26:26). John intentionally uses the same language to describe this miracle. Now, this can’t be another coincidence, right? Third, and this one is a little harder to see in the English. But when Jesus says, “Gather the pieces that are left over. Let nothing be wasted.” the word for wasted is the same word translated as perish in John 3:16. “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” So we have three clues: a reference to the Lord’s Supper, a miraculous provision from God that results in twelve baskets, and a call to gather in every piece so that none may perish. I believe the key to understanding this story is the fourth and final clue: John’s reference to the Passover Festival. Remember that John said that the Jewish Passover Festival was near. And the Passover was one of the national festivals which celebrated another time when God had miraculously provided for his people. At the first Passover, in the book of Exodus, God provided protection from judgment and wrath under the blood of a sacrificial lamb. This took place when God’s people were slaves in Egypt. The truth is, as good and important as it is for God to meet our physical needs, the ultimate thing we need God to provide for us isn’t bread here or money for bills. Ancient Israel needed God to provide a way of salvation for them from sin, and so do we. But instead of killing a lamb and smearing the blood on the doorposts of our houses, God himself came as the man, Jesus Christ. Remember what John the Baptist had said about Jesus? That he was the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world. For 1,500 years, the Passover was a big sign pointing forward to Jesus. So when Jesus died on the cross, he was the perfect atoning sacrifice; he was the lamb. And so, regardless of who you are or what you have done, you too can receive what God loved to provide. You, too, can be covered/protected/saved by the blood of Jesus, which is received by faith. You, too, can be saved. Why? Because of Jesus. Because of his sacrifice. Because our God is generous and good. Because our God provides what we need. So today, have you ever needed God to provide? Go to him. Ask him. But let your needs remind you of your greatest need, which God has already provided through his beloved Son. Let us pray.