Sermon Tone Analysis
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Introduction
How do you respond when tested?
withdraw
gut it up
lash out
reach out to others
pray
I wish I could say that I always responded well, but I don’t.
Several years ago, we were moving from Rockville to Gaithersburg.
I forget the exact circumstances, but Danielle was in Rockville and the car she was driving was dead - it needed a jump.
I was in a borrowed pick up because I was moving things from the house to storage - which also meant that my jumper cables were not with me.
Our real estate agent called and said she needed a document - and I was quite sure it was in the safe, in storage, buried.
I was feeling the pressure of the timelines.
Danielle, my friends, our agent - they all could hear it in my voice.
I was frantic and frustrated.
I wasn’t kind or calm.
Within a matter of hours, everything had worked itself out - in reality, God had worked everything out.
The supplies I needed to get Danielle’s car going were in her car.
I figured out a solution for our agent.
But I had failed the test.
I was owning the weight of the problem - not sharing it with others or with the Lord.
I was lashing out at my friends and family.
I was a mess over a test that was rather minor.
Jesus tests us at various times in our lives.
He tests us in a variety of ways.
Sometimes it’s small, sometimes it’s massive.
Today, as we consider the book of John together, we get to see a familiar passage where Jesus tested his disciples - the feeding of the 5000.
This is one of only two miracles that exists in all four gospels.
The other is the resurrection.
In the midweek email, I encouraged you to read all four accounts - noting their similarities and differences.
On similarities
5000 men
loaves and fish
The region
On differences
all of the other accounts position this after a retelling of the death of John the Baptist, but here, John doesn’t mention it.
Instead - John references a certain time
John also mentions specifically that this was a test.
They others may have implied it, but John was specific.
Today, as we go through this, I don’t have fill in the blanks for you or scriptures on the screen.
Let me encourage you to follow along in your Bibles or in the Bible in front of you.
If you’d like to take notes, we’ll have a fairly simply outline.
We’ll begin with some observations - looking at the setting, the test, the sign, and the response.
Then we’ll conclude with some applications or takeaways.
The Setting (1-4, 10)
John 6:10 (ESV)
… Now there was much grass in the place.
So the men sat down, about five thousand in number.
Where
Near the sea of Galilee
on a grassy field
right before this, Jesus had been down in Jerusalem.
John, as we saw in some of the earlier chapters, seems to be showing Jesus movement.
When
John tells that this was near Passover - in March/April.
Passover - this is an annual feast of the jews that happens in March/April to commemorate God’s provision in the their exodus out of Egypt.
While this encounter is one of only two miracles that are recorded in each of the gospels, John is the only one to point out that this happened near Passover and it’s one of three passovers that John mentions.
John 2 - after turning the water to wine, Jesus is in Jerusalem for the passover and cleanses the temple.
John 6 - near the time of passover
John 13-17 - Jesus last night with the disciples - last supper and a great deal of teaching.
In Exodus 12 - the Passover feast was celebrated initially with a sacrificed lamb, a meal eaten in haste, and the blood of the lamb was to be on the doorposts and the lentil.
- the angel of death passed over the homes with the sign of blood.
The other homes, the first born in each household was killed - because of the rebellion of the Pharoah.
Who
Jesus
His 12 disciples
5000+ people - the other gospel writers include that there were women and children in addition to the 5000 men.
The Test
It’s unclear if Jesus was intending for this to be a passover meal or if He simply understood that these people would need food.
Those kinds of logistical matters are not easily remedied.
This week, I was at the final Together for the Gospel conference in Louisville.
There were over 11,000 people in the Convention center.
While John only mentions the men, the other gospel writers mention the women and children - they were trying to feed a group very similar in size - maybe even larger than what I experienced this week.
At the conference, there were dozens of volunteers helping people move about.
Hundreds of convention personnel provided security, logistical support and catering.
This conference was over a year in planning.
Except for the speakers and the few who purchased a meal plan, everyone else was on their own, flooding the local restaurants with hungry patrons.
It was quite a site to see.
But here, Jesus simply tests them and says “Where are we to buy bread…?
They were far from local stores.
This was a big problem.
So Phillip replies practically:
For reference, 1 denarius was about a days wage for a laborer.
I wonder if that is how much Philip had on him - which would have been quite a lot.
Maybe he’s assuming each of the guys had a little.
Maybe this was in the money back that they carried with them.
In any case - Philip is trying to be realistic and doubtful.
But then Andrew replies with a bit of hope.
Our society has caused us to be overly self reliant.
Our bootstrap mentality leads us to think that we have to solve all of our own problems.
We have to be completely self sufficient.
Asking for help from others or from God is a sign of weakness and dependence.
Conversation with Danielle- as people became more wealthy in some parts of Africa- they built walls and then no longer needed each other - Jennie Allen - moving, AC unit - God provided community in need.
I don’t know what Andrew hoped would happen.
I don’t know if he asked the boy.
I don’t know of the boy was eves-dropping and tugged on Andrew’s robe and offered his lunch.
Andrew presented Jesus with what they had - along with a measure of doubt.
Which brings us to...
The Sign
He directed people to sit in groups - like a host or head of a household
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