Sermon Tone Analysis

Pre-Introduction:

At this time, we invite any children who desire to join my dear wife for a children’s service to follow her where you can hear a wonderful bible lesson and sing some uplifting songs about Jesus.

That Prophet

For those joining us online, you’re listening to the Services of the Broomfield Baptist Church.

This is the Pastor bringing the Sunday Morning message entitled “Prophet … and King; What’s Missing?”

We invite you to follow along with us in your Bible in the Book of John, chapter 6, and verses 1-15.

Introduction:

There is only one miracle performed by the Lord Jesus Christ that is recorded in each of the four Gospel's.

It is the miracle in which he used only five small barley loaves and two fish to feed well over five thousand, maybe even up to twenty thousand, people in Galilee just before the annual Jewish feast of Passover.

It is important because of all that it signifies.

Fortunately, the significance of the feeding of the multitude is spelled out far more clearly by John than by any of the other writers.

Each of the Gospel writers brings out of the story that which spoke to him personally.

Matthew & John were both personal eyewitnesses that were present on that day.

Matthew and Luke were most interested in the miracle itself, and get to the details with little coloring.

Mark emphasizes the loving compassion of Jesus; it was out of Jesus’ compassion for the multitude that He fed them.

In John the interest revolves around how historically significant this event was—it was a time of proving which led to a turning point in Christ’s ministry—and around the fact that Jesus is himself the Bread of Life that satisfies men spiritually.

John is the only one that tells us that the miracle took place at the time of the Passover, and that the loaves of the young lad were barley loaves (the poorest kind), as well as the reason for gathering up the fragments that remained, and also tells us of the effect this miracle on the multitude that was there.

This multitude, as well as Jesus' disciples, learned that they could rely completely on Jesus to meet any need they would ever face.

The only reason He did what He did on this day was His compassion for these people that He looked upon as sheep having no shepherd.

His desire was to lead them.

But not against their will.

By the time this day would be over, they would want Him to lead them, but their desire would be selfishly bent to what they wanted.

They were not ready to bow to Him completely.

They wanted Him to take of their tomorrow, but they wanted Him to do it according to their thinking.

They were not looking for what He knew lie on the immediate horizon.

Jesus was looking at the cross, but they could only see the Kingdom.

Sadly, their time with Jesus would be short lived, as they would soon come to walk away from Him, simply because they couldn't submit to His design.

Today, I hope to get you thinking about ways that you've experienced Jesus' provision for today in a special way, and cause you to seek His design and plan for your tomorrow, and lay your own plans at His feet, committing your way to Him, so His plan for your life can continue to unfold as you walk in daily dependence upon Him.

When He is our “Bread of Life,” we pray, “Give us this day our Daily Bread.”

CPS:

Experiencing Jesus' loving provision today should lead us to trust Him to take care of tomorrow.

Sub-intro:

"The sixth chapter of John’s Gospel is full of marvels.

It tells of a great miracle, a great enthusiasm, a great storm, a great sermon, a great apostasy, and a great trial of faith and fidelity endured by the twelve.

It contains, indeed, the compendious history of an important crisis in the ministry of Jesus and the religious experience of His disciples,—a crisis in many respects foreshadowing the great final one, which happened little more than a year afterwards,1 when a more famous miracle still was followed by a greater popularity, to be succeeded in turn by a more complete desertion, and to end in the crucifixion, by which the riddle of the Capernaum discourse was solved, and its prophecy fufilled."

(Alexander Balmain Bruce, The Training of the Twelve; or, Passages Out of the Gospels, Exhibiting the Twelve Disciples of Jesus Under Discipline for the Apostleship, 120 (Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc., 1995).)

I.

The Followers of Christ ().

1 After these things Jesus went over the sea of Galilee, which is the sea of Tiberias.

2 And a great multitude followed him, because they saw his miracles which he did on them that were diseased.

3 And Jesus went up into a mountain, and there he sat with his disciples.

4 And the passover, a feast of the Jews, was nigh.

• The Sea of Galilee was in Old Testament times called Kinnereth (‘lyre’) because of its shape.

About ad 20 Herod Antipas founded a city on the west shore and called it Tiberias, after the Roman emperor Tiberius Caesar.

Gradually the name Tiberias was transferred to the lake, though it probably wasn't commonly called such until much later in the century, when John wrote.

Hence John’s parenthetical explanation...

A. The Followers' Tainted Motives [Fame-seekers] (vv1-2).

• Why were they following Jesus?

Unlike the disciples, who followed Him by faith when He said, "Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men," these were following Jesus not for what they could do for Him, but what He could do for them.

...because they saw His miracles.

Their shallow motive will soon reveal their true dedication, which is none.

When things do not go the way they think they should, many, even of His disciples, will turn away, and walk no more with Him.

B. The Teaching from Messiah [Resting Disciples] (v3).

• Though Jesus knew what lay ahead the very next day, this didn't stop Him from ministering to their needs.

• John tells us He went into a mountain with His disciples.

In the other accounts, we're told why Jesus had wanted to do this.

His disciples had just been extremely busy serving, healing, preaching, teaching, helping, and Jesus wanted to take them aside for a time of rest.

The people were in such excitement though, that in Mark, we learn that they had outrun Jesus & His disciples on foot, to try to get to Jesus.

During this time, while Jesus has a slight reprieve, I can only imagine that these were some of the times that John said there weren't enough books in the world to contain all that Jesus said and did, but what a special time.

When serving The Lord, you need to have those times of push, where you just give all you've got, but Jesus also said Mary had it right because she took the time to sit at Jesus' feet.

He said, "Learn of Me, for I am meek and lowly in heart."

C. The Time for Meditation [Passover] (v4).

• John is also the only one that tells us the timing when this miracle took place.

He says that it was close to Passover.

This explains why there was much grass in the area, as well as why it was green at this time, and why so many would be ready and available to come out to Jesus, because they were coming from everywhere on their way to go celebrate the Passover Lamb.

• This would have been a time of contemplation for everyone, as they were taking time to remember what God did for their father's in bringing them out of bondage in Egypt.

And here they were, thinking of that Lamb that would be slain, so the blood could be put on the doorposts, and the death angel would passover, and the plague of death would be stayed from them.

And here is Jesus, the Lamb of God that taketh away the sins of the world, and they would eat from His table today, and be part of His fellowship right now, and He would feed them, fully knowing in advance what He would do.

They were meditating, but not on what they should have been.

They should have been thinking on Jesus, but they were thinking about themselves.

Transition: We've seen why these were following Jesus, why are you following Him?

Is it for what you can get from Him? or is it so you can be made into a fisher of men?

Now notice...

II.

The Foresight of Compassion ().

5 When Jesus then lifted up his eyes, and saw a great company come unto him, he saith unto Philip, Whence shall we buy bread, that these may eat? 6  And this he said to prove him: for he himself knew what he would do.

7 Philip answered him, Two hundred pennyworth of bread is not sufficient for them, that every one of them may take a little.

8  One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, saith unto him, 9 There is a lad here, which hath five barley loaves, and two small fishes: but what are they among so many?

• Though it is from Matthew and Mark that we learn about the fine details of the compassion of Christ, John tells us that Jesus lifted up His eyes, and saw all these people coming to Him.

One cannot help but see the compassion of Christ as He is moved to take the initiative to help the helpless, and feed the needy.

From reading the other accounts, it looks like the disciples were ready for these people to leave them, as we see them asking Jesus to send them away, I'm sure they were exhausted, but little did they know, there was yet another stretch of ministry that they would be called on to fulfill.

Just when they were ready for reprieve, Jesus prompted the question, "It's up to us to feed these folks.

They've been here all day, and it's evening, they're getting hungry.

They are like sheep with no shepherd.

Philip, you're from close around here, tell me, where are we going to find enough bread to feed these folks?"

• Notice, only John tells us that Jesus knew all along what He was going to do.

Now, He begins to make it real to His disciples.

He is about to test their faith, in a major way.

Dr. J. B. Gambrell relates a most interesting incident from General Stonewall Jackson's famous valley campaign.

It was necessary for the general to get his army across a river one night, so he gave orders to the engineers to make a way for the artillery and wagons to go over.

He also called his wagon-master, who was a blacksmith, to headquarters and gave him instructions to get the wagon train across the river as fast as possible.

The engineers went to work in their usual expert manner to devise a bridge.

The blacksmith, knowing only that something was to be done in the most practical way, gathered a force and with logs and rocks and fence rails improvised a bridge.

Between midnight and day he awakened General Jackson and said, "General, we have got all the wagons and artillery across."

The astonished general asked, "Where are the engineers!"

The blacksmith replied, "They're over there in a tent still drawing pictures and planning a bridge."

Never have we had so many experts sitting around drawing pictures and making plans as today.

We need a few blacksmiths to get us over the river.

[Havner]

A. Their Trial of Faith (vv5b-6).