The Miraculous Meal

John 6:1-15

Introduction:

We come now to this wonderful sixth chapter John. Chapter 6 is much like chapter 5; it began with a declaration of the deity and ended with a rejection; chapter 6 also begins with the declaration of deity and ends with a rejection. By way of introduction, I want to bring the gap for you between chapter 5 and chapter 6.

"Μετὰ ταῦτα " (after these things), what exactly is John speaking about. It is important to remember that John is not interested in chronological events, he just records the events. Now these "after these things" events are not the events of chapter 5. The setting for this is given in verse 1 of chapter 5 when it talks about the "feasts of the Jews". Now there are two feasts that he is possibly speaking about. It is either the feasts of Tabernacles which was a feast that was instituted to remind the people of Israel about their father's dwelling in tents in the wilderness and was to be an annual thanksgiving after all the crops had been gathered for the year (Lev. 23). This feast took place in the seventh month (or our October) and lasted eight days. If 5:1 was this feasts then the "after these things" is a six month period because verse 4 says that the Passover was nigh and the Passover always took place in April. So that would place the events of chapter 5 from October-April of six months.

If 5:1 is the Passover then it would place Jesus in Jerusalem from April-April of the events of chapter 5 would have been an entire year. So the "After these things" are events that are six months to one year in length. (Show the map)

Now, what exactly was the reason that Jesus wanted to take His disciples over the sea of Galilee. Well, John really does not tell us in his Gospel because he has a specific purpose, show the divinity of Christ, so he will go through some things in order to do that. However, Mark, in his gospel, does say why. In Mark 6:31, Jesus says, "

"He said to them, “Come with me privately to an isolated place and rest a while” (for many were coming and going, and there was no time to eat)." (Mark 6:31, NET)

Jesus knew that His people needed this time of refreshing, because keep in mind that whether this was the feasts of Tabernacle or the Feasts of Passover, they have been going non-stop for at least six month, possibly even one year. Let me briefly tell you some of the things that Jesus and His disciples did during His Galilean Ministry: When He first came to Galilee, according to John 4:45-54, He healed a noblemen's son. That is the great account that we talked about the power of Christ that can heal a young boy 20 miles away. It was while in Galilee, according to Luke 4 that Jesus was in the synagogue and was asked to read from the prophet and while He read it was realized that Jesus was saying that He was the Messiah to whom the prophet spoke and the people tried to throw Jesus off a cliff but "he passed through the midst of them (Luke 4:30). It was during His ministry there that He, according to Luke 8:26-39, that He cast the demons out the maniac of the Gadarenes. This is where He healed Peter's mother-in-law (Matt. 8:14-15). According to Luke 4:40 a group of people with all kinds of diseases assembled to Christ late in the evening and the Scriptures says that He healed everyone of them. According to Luke 5:12-15, He healed a Leper. In Luke 5, He healed a man that was paralyzed and called the hated tax-collector, Matthew, to be one of His disciples. It was during this time that He meant more opposition when He healed the man with the withered hand on the Sabbath day. In Matthew 12:1-14, it was during this time that Jesus was opposed for letting His disciples pluck corn off of the ears of corn on the Sabbath. Jesus delivered His great Sermon on the Mount during this time. He raises Jarius' daughter, calms the storm; and the list goes on and on of the things that were done during this time. So He takes the disciples and He goes out for a little rest. Listen, God wants His people to get their rest. Even Pastors need time of refreshing. When a Pastor takes a vacation or takes a break for a week or two from the pulpit, it is not that He is being lazy, but He needs to have His mind and heart refreshed and so do you. You need to get away for a time to spend with the Lord for a time of refreshment and bringing your mind back to focus on the things of Christ.

I. The Multitude Following (John 6:2-4)

Keep in mind now that we said that Jesus took the disciples apart so that they could rest. Verse one tells us that Jesus took His disciples over the Sea of Galilee. A couple of things that you want to keep in mind about the Sea of Galilee: First, in the Scripture, it is called by four different names; The Sea of Chinnerreth (the Hebrew word for “harp-shaped” to describe its basic shape; The Lake Gennesaret (Luke 5:1) taking the name of the fertile plains of Gennesaret that lies on the Northeast side; The Sea of Tiberias (John 6:1; John 21:1)because of its association with the capital of Herod Antipas; and the Sea of Galilee (Matt. 4:18). Situated some 98 kilometers (60 miles) north of Jerusalem, the Sea of Galilee contains fresh water since it is fed by the Jordan. The lake itself is the deepest part of the northern Jordan Rift and thus the water collects there before it flows on its way. The surface of Galilee is about 230 meters (700 feet) below the Mediterranean Sea. The floor of the lake is another 25 to 50 meters (80 to 160 feet) lower. The lake itself is nearly 21 kilometers (13 miles) long and 13 kilometers (8 miles) wide at Magdala, the point of its greatest width.

The lake is surrounded, except on the southern side, by steep cliffs and sharply rising mountains. On the east these mountains rise to the fertile Golan Heights as high as 900 meters (2,700 feet). As a result of this formation, cool winds frequently rush down these slopes and unexpectedly stir up violent storms on the warm surface of the lake.[1]

Now, it was on these mountains that Jesus was taking His Disciples apart to rest. The Scriptures tells us in John 6:2 that “great multitudes followed Him…” What an extraordinary thing this was. Jesus’ popularity had risen to a massive point to where thousands of people were following Him. It is a wonderful thing when people follow Christ. I am reminded of what Matthew records in his Gospel in Matthew 4:24-25, how that great multitudes of people followed the Lord from all over the place; in fact, he says: "And there followed him great multitudes of people from Galilee, and from Decapolis, and from Jerusalem, and from Judaea, and from beyond Jordan." (Matthew 4:25, KJV) [2]. Other passages that attest to the popularity of Jesus are Matthew 8:1; 12:15; 13:2; 14:14; 15:30-31. However, one always has to wonder that when someone has such a large following of people and is so popular, why is it? We live in a society that teaches that numbers are success. If you have large numbers, then that is proof that you have been a success. Not only that, but within religious circles (and I use the word religion because I do not think that many of these people make up the Church), that says that numbers are a proof of the blessing of God. If you have a large group that assemblies at your Church each week, then that is proof of the blessings of God upon you ministry. If you have positive results from a certain ministry focus than that is proof that that action is good and that God has blessed you action. If you have negative results, than that is proof that that is not a good thing and that God has not blessed that action. Listen, that kind of pragmatic approach to ministry is wrong and damaging. That is why the positive results guys never preach on sin, because that rarely lends itself to a positive result. They focus on the self-esteem issued because that grants them the more positive results and; therefore, must be proof that God is in their focus on the ministry.

When you look deep into the reason many of these people follow these ministries and why these people follow the Lord, you really find the heart of the matter. Look at the last have of verse. Why did these people follow Jesus? Because He preached on their sin and demanded repentance? NO! Because He demanded that they take up the cross daily and follow Him? NO! Because He told them that in order to be His disciple you had to hate your Mother and Father and you children? NO! Because Jesus said to them that except you eat of the flesh and drink the blood of the Son of Man you have no life in you (vs. 53)? NO! Why? “Because they say the miracles that did on them that were diseased” (vs.2 ). In our introductory remarks, we took a brief, but not entire, look of the miracles that Jesus performed in Galilee. In fact, the miracles and the other works that Christ did were so numerous that even if we looked at everyone in the Scripture we still would not have covered it. "And there are also many other things which Jesus did, the which, if they should be written every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written. Amen." (John 21:25, KJV) [3]

These people were not interested in Jesus for the sake of repentance and faith; they were only interested in what they could get out of Him. They were only interested in the miracles. Now, that is proven in the last part of chapter 6, when Jesus calls for discipleship and many turn away and follow Him no more. They were only interested in getting a meal.

Now, keep in mind, that Jesus and the disciples at this point were also probably experiencing a great deal of, not only physical and mental strain but also emotional. They were probably very sad at this point. Why? Well, if you read Matthews account of events (which is more of a record of events is sequence then that of John’s), you will find that John the Baptist had just been killed. The cousin and forerunner of Jesus and good friend of the twelve had just been be-headed by Herod. So there was no doubt a great deal of sadness in the heart of Jesus and the disciples as they were ascending the mountain.

Verse 3 tells us that Jesus went up in the mountain; now, this is probably not a reference to a certain mountain, but simply a reference to the mountain country. The area that we said a few moments again was the Golan Heights. The text says that He “sat down there with His disciples”. What exactly went on? This is absolutely beautiful. The Scriptures are crystal clear here about grace. I never really saw this before, but this is beautiful. Now, in order to see this you really have to read the other Gospel account of this event as well. If you go back to Matthews account of this event in Matthew 14:13-21, you find Grace. Now, we have already established the fact that Jesus Christ “knows men’s hearts” (John 2:24), right? So did Jesus know the hearts of the people that were following Him up that mountain? Did He know exactly why they were coming? Of course He did. He knew that they were only coming because of miracles and not because of faith. Nor only that, but He knew that before they came down out of that mountain, that most of the people that loved Him going up would despise Him coming down. “But God who is rich in mercy….” Right? Notice Matthew 14:14, "And Jesus went forth, and saw a great multitude, and was moved with compassion toward them, and he healed their sick." (Matthew 14:14, KJV) [4]

They just didn’t spend a great deal of time sitting and looking at each other. Jesus had compassion on people that He knew did not love Him and would turn their backs on Him before the day was over. What a tremendous display of the grace of God. You knew what? When you were a hater of God, He had compassion of you. When you were dead on your sins, He loved you. I am so glad that the grace and the faithfulness of God do not depend on me. "If we believe not, yet he abideth faithful: he cannot deny himself." (2 Timothy 2:13, KJV) [5]

Last thing I want to say under this point is found in verse 4. That statement kind of seems out of place. What does the fact that the Passover was close have to do with the people or the miracle? Well, I believe that John is giving us an idea of the massive people. Because if the Passover of was near then these people would be heading where? Jerusalem. They would be getting ready to make that 60 mile trip south, and all Jews went to Jerusalem for the Passover (we saw that when we studied chapter 2). So not only would it have been a massive group of people, but it would have been a massive amount of other stuff. Clothing, animals, etc; this mountain was covered.

II. The Missing Faith (John 6:5-9)

We know that a great crowd was following Christ, and we know why they were following Him, and we know that Christ had compassion of them and healed them and taught them. Now He turns to His disciples. Verse 5 says that when Jesus lifted us His eyes, (put a common in your mind right there. Because right there is where John does not talk about the healing and things that Matthew talks about), He turned to Phillip and asked where are we going to buy some food for these people. Now, I was struck by this point. There were eleven other Apostles there, why did He ask Phillip? I have a couple of reasons that are probably more conjecture than Scripture, but could be. First, it could have been that Phillip was the close person to Christ and so He asked the question to him (probably not). Second, keep in mind now that we learned in Chapter 1:44 that Phillip was from Bethsaida, they were in Bethsaida. Jesus may have well asked him thinking, “Phillip you are from around these parts, where is the nearest location to buy food (however the Lord God omnipotent that reigns and that is creator of all things does not need a human GPS to tell Him where the nearest restaurant is). Verse 6 tells us the real answer. "And this he said to prove him: for he himself knew what he would do." (John 6:6, KJV) [6]

The word “prove” is the word “πειράζω” and literally means “to test”. It can also mean “to discover the character of something”. But Jesus didn’t need to find out, the text says, “He knew what He would do”. This was to show Phillip and the rest of the disciples. Listen, God is going to test the character of our faith. He is going to take the present level of our faith and He is going to try it and stretch it, many times beyond what we think that we can do. That is what He is doing to Phillip. He is stretching the character of Phillips and the rest of the Apostles faith.

All throughout Scripture, God has been a God to test Hs people, to make the faith stretch and grow. Remember Abraham in Genesis 22. He had waited 101 years for a son; God gave him a son and then told him to kill him as an offering to God. What was the reason? “Some time after these things God tested Abraham. He said to him, “Abraham!” “Here I am!” Abraham replied." (Genesis 22:1, NET) [7] God knew what Abraham would do, but He wanted to stretch his faith.

In Dt. 8, we are told that the reason for the wonderings in the wilderness: "And thou shalt remember all the way which the LORD thy God led thee these forty years in the wilderness, to humble thee, and to prove thee, to know what was in thine heart, whether thou wouldest keep his commandments, or no." (Deuteronomy 8:2, KJV)

"Who fed thee in the wilderness with manna, which thy fathers knew not, that he might humble thee, and that he might prove thee, to do thee good at thy latter end;" (Deuteronomy 8:16, KJV) [8]

God will try us in order to get our faith to stretch. Yet James says to what? "My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations;" (James 1:2, KJV) [9] It is hard and I am not telling you something that I have mastered, but when God puts you in a position to stretch your faith, go with it, don’t fight, it is the Sovereign Lord at work in the heart of His people.

And sure enough, Phillip shows why the Lord asked Him, in verse 7. Now, understand this “two hundred pennies worth” was a denarii. A denarius was a silver coin worth about a days wage for a laborer, this would amount to about eight month’s pay. This would amount to be approximately $40 in our economy. But Phillips faith said even this amount is not enough to buy food that everyone may even have a little. These people were hungry, they have started traveling to Jerusalem for the Passover, they have climbed a mountain (at least in some degree), and in Mark’s Gospel He tells us that the “day was far spent” (Mark 6:35), in other words, it was late. Phillips level of faith said it couldn’t be done. I wonder, in my own life, what does my level of faith say God can do. I don’t think that in many of our lives, it is a matter of what we believe God can do, but is a matter of what we believe God will do. Lets be honest, most of us are grown enough in the Lord and have seen God’s power that we know that there is nothing that God cannot do. We know God CAN do it. I know God can do this, I know God can do that; but where my rub comes is this; will God do it. I know God can meet this need, but will He.

Quite frankly, listen to me please, it all boils to the fact that God either will or He is a liar, right? Those are really the two choices that we have. More than one time on my life, I have run to Matthew 6, because it is in that great part of the Sermon on the Mount that Christ gives His people reasons not worry and that God both can and will do it. "Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?" (Matthew 6:26, KJV) [10] The point is birds do have any eternal value to God. Oh, they reveal His glory and show His creative power, but He did not die to redeem birds. Yet He makes sure they have enough to eat. They don’t sow nor reap, but God feeds them.

"And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these." (Matthew 6:28-29, KJV) [11] The point is that flowers do not do any thing to make themselves beautiful, they just merely exist by the creative power of Jesus Christ, and they don’t have any eternal value to Christ; in fact, Christ said in the next verse (Matt. 6:30) that they are here today and tomorrow thrown into the oven. But Christ clothes them in such beauty that even King Solomon in all His glory was not as beautiful as one of these. But here’s the key: "But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you." (Matthew 6:33, KJV) [12]

Phillips level of faith said it could not be done. But lest we give Phillip a hard time, verse 8 tell us that there was another disciple that doubted; Andrew. You remember Andrew from John 2, He was one of the first two to hear and follow Jesus, and he is the one that actually brought Peter to Christ. He had probably seen the power of Christ more than any of the others, but his faith, too, was in need of stretching.

"There is a lad here, which hath five barley loaves, and two small fishes: but what are they among so many?" (John 6:9, KJV) [13] Now, I want you to understand this bread and this fish. He wasn’t that this boy’s lunch was five Italian style 12” long loaves, not that he has two Big Mouth Bass. The bread first of all was made of Barley. Now, the first barley crop was usually ready by mid April, and since these people are on their way to the Jerusalem for the Passover, that would make this April (Passover always being celebrated in April). Barley was usually the food of horses or very, very poor people. These “loaves” were really “biscuits” and the two fishes, were really just what we would sardines. The main meal for these people was not the fish, it was the bread and the fish acts like a spread just so the bread is not so dry going down.

But I also notice something about this boy that is not in the text. This “lad” or “παιδάριον”, “little boy” would not have been traveling by himself. Remember this was a journey of some 60 miles south through thief infested deserts and even though they would travel in caravans in order to discourage thieves, his parents were probably of the group. And since we know from this boy’s diet that he was very poor, it is possible that this was all the food that his family had.

Now, the disciples rightly believed that this was not enough for such a group of people. Listen, mature faith does not mean that the circumstances of life don’t seem insurmountable but that we understand the God who can overcome. Even mature faith faces difficulty, because even mature faith needs stretching, but mature faith knows in a God that is learning that God will take care of the issues.

III. The Multiplied Food (10-13)

Very quickly now, verse 10 Jesus had the disciples sit the people down. Now Christ just makes mention of the men, numbering 5,000; so it is probable that the number of the ones being fed were 20,000. The text says that there was much grass there. Now, keep in mind, this was a mountain, it was mostly rocky and hilly, but in the midst of this mountain Christ provides some grass. Why is that Important? Or am I taking verse by verse too far? You know, it’s wonderful when Christ shows His power, but it is even more wonderful when He shows His power and our stretched faith relaxes in Him. These people were not only having their needs met, but Christ made sure they were comfortable as they waited. When we rest in Him, He will make sure we are comfortable even while we wait for the solution. Now, I am not preaching health and wealth and I did not say things would be comfortable, I said IN HIM we will be comforted even while we wait.

Verse 11 says that Jesus took the loaves and gave thanks and distributed to His disciples and then the disciples to the people. Now, there is something that is wonderful that you must see. The word “distributed” is “διαδίδωμι” it is a word that is an aorist tense, which speaks about an action that takes place at a particular time. It is not continuous, but immediate. When Christ gave the food to the disciples, He not only gave enough (this was not a continuous coming back of the disciples to get more, that would be present tense), but He gave them more than they needed. Listen, God’s Grace is super abounding, it is always more than we need.

Verse 12 Christ gives the command to gather up the fragments. Christ was teaching His people not to waste. Verse 13, John is emphasizing something here for us. When Christ had the disciples gather up the remains, they filled twelve baskets full of what? Bread. No fish, just bread. The emphasis is this, when you come to Christ you will find that He is the bread of life that will give you more than you ever knew you needed, that is grace in this miraculous meal. Also, I don’t think that it was an accident that the disciples gathered up as many baskets as there were of them. Twelve disciples, twelve baskets. Christ already had lunch for tomorrow.

IV. The Messiah Foretold (vs. 14-15)

The crowd referred the prophet of Dt. 18:15. "The LORD thy God will raise up unto thee a Prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me; unto him ye shall hearken;" (Deuteronomy 18:15, KJV) [14]Sadly, these comments, coming right after Jesus healed and fed them, indicate that the people desired a Messiah who met their physical, rather than spiritual, needs. Apparently, no recognition existed for the need of spiritual repentance and preparation for the kingdom (Matt. 4:17). They wanted an earthly, political Messiah to meet all their needs and to deliver them from Roman oppression. Their reaction typifies many who want a "Christ" that makes no demands of them (cf. Matt. 10:34–39; 16:24–26), but of whom they can make their selfish personal requests.[15]

Verse 15, John supplemented the information in Matthew and Mark by indicating that the reason Jesus dismissed the disciples and withdrew from the crowd into a mountain alone was because of His supernatural knowledge of their intention to make Him king in light of His healing and feeding of them. The crowd, incited by mob enthusiasm, was ready to proceed with crassly political intentions that would have jeopardized God’s will.[16]

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[1]Youngblood, R. F., Bruce, F. F., Harrison, R. K., & Thomas Nelson Publishers. (1995). Nelson's new illustrated Bible dictionary. Rev. ed. of: Nelson's illustrated Bible dictionary.; Includes index. Nashville: T. Nelson.

[2] The Holy Bible : King James Version. 1995 (electronic ed. of the 1769 edition of the 1611 Authorized Version.). Bellingham WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.

[3] The Holy Bible : King James Version. 1995 (electronic ed. of the 1769 edition of the 1611 Authorized Version.). Bellingham WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.

[4] The Holy Bible : King James Version. 1995 (electronic ed. of the 1769 edition of the 1611 Authorized Version.). Bellingham WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.

[5] The Holy Bible : King James Version. 1995 (electronic ed. of the 1769 edition of the 1611 Authorized Version.). Bellingham WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.

[6] The Holy Bible : King James Version. 1995 (electronic ed. of the 1769 edition of the 1611 Authorized Version.). Bellingham WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.

[7] Biblical Studies Press. (2006; 2006). The NET Bible First Edition; Bible. English. NET Bible.; The NET Bible. Biblical Studies Press.

[8] The Holy Bible : King James Version. 1995 (electronic ed. of the 1769 edition of the 1611 Authorized Version.). Bellingham WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.

[9] The Holy Bible : King James Version. 1995 (electronic ed. of the 1769 edition of the 1611 Authorized Version.). Bellingham WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.

[10] The Holy Bible : King James Version. 1995 (electronic ed. of the 1769 edition of the 1611 Authorized Version.). Bellingham WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.

[11] The Holy Bible : King James Version. 1995 (electronic ed. of the 1769 edition of the 1611 Authorized Version.). Bellingham WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.

[12] The Holy Bible : King James Version. 1995 (electronic ed. of the 1769 edition of the 1611 Authorized Version.). Bellingham WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.

[13] The Holy Bible : King James Version. 1995 (electronic ed. of the 1769 edition of the 1611 Authorized Version.). Bellingham WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.

[14] The Holy Bible : King James Version. 1995 (electronic ed. of the 1769 edition of the 1611 Authorized Version.). Bellingham WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.

[15]MacArthur, J. J. (1997, c1997). The MacArthur Study Bible (electronic ed.) (Jn 6:14). Nashville: Word Pub.

[16]MacArthur, J. J. (1997, c1997). The MacArthur Study Bible (electronic ed.) (Jn 6:15). Nashville: Word Pub.