Feeding the 5000: The 4th Sign

What order do you watch the Star Wars movies in? If you’ve got somebody who has never seen Star Wars, knows nothing about it, you’re gonna sit them down and watch this film series, what order do you do it in?

There’s a couple legitimate camps that you can choose here. Do you go chronological or do you go publication order? There’s a major twist either way you go about it.

Show of hands real quick, anybody not seen any of the star wars films before I spoil this thing?

If you watch in publication order, 456,123,789 you get the movie plot twist reveal that is the standard by which all plot twists are measured, coming in towards the end of episode 5. But if you watch them in chronological order, that twist is ruined for you.

However if you watch Chronologically there is another big reveal that comes towards the end of episode 3.

Here’s the thing though. Both of these big reveals rely on an assumption that you are unfamiliar with the other trilogy. No matter which one you watch first you get a big reveal. No matter which one you watch first you have just ruined for yourself the big reveal of the other.

It’s a frustrating paradox. but it’s key to good storytelling. Sometimes a writer or a storyteller has to assume that you already know something. and your knowledge of that thing creates tension in the story.

So no matter which order you watch these movies in, there will come a point in the 2nd trilogy, whichever one you choose to watch 2nd, There will come a point where you know something that the characters don’t which you just have to watch happen. and you just want to tell them.

It’s like a horror movie. Where you just want to scream at the TV, don’t go down into the basement. That’s where the monster is. Can’t you hear the scary music. But no, they can’t hear you, they can’t hear the scary music, and the characters act based on their own limited knowledge.

It happens in Romance stories too. Jane Austen is the worst about it. Where the reader knows that both of these people are in love with one another but neither character knows it. and both of them decide at the same moment to go find the other and confess their love, but when they arrive, nobody is there and they assume the other person has left them there because they don’t feel the same way. And they both go home and go about their business and pretend nothing happened when they see each other because they don’t know any better and you as the reader are just sitting there going “why are these people such idiots. just tell her.” Of course that’s exactly what the author wants you to feel. Whether it’s sci-fi, romance, horror, or anything else there are moments when the reader or the viewer knows something the characters don’t and that’s exactly what the author intended.

You get those feelings where you just want to blurt out the ending, but you can’t. and the author wants you to feel that.

That’s what we’re going to find in the book of John tonight.

Jesus knows what you need better than you do.

Biblical Backgrounds

Y’all know the 4 gospel books: Matthew, Mark, Luke, & John all tell the same story they just tell it in different ways. They each include different bits of information but sometimes they overlap. 2 important things for us to understand.

First, The book of John is a weird book, because John wasn’t trying to write anything normal. Matthew, Mark, Luke. Strict greco-roman style biographies. John isn’t like that though. John was written 20-25 years later than the other 3. John was very familiar with what Matt, Mark and Luke wrote. He didn’t need to repeat a ton. He knew that the people he was writing this for were already aware of the other 3 gospels.

But John knew that being familiar with the story of Jesus, and believing that story to be true was not the same as believing that Jesus is God and changing the way you live your life because of it.

Anyone reading the book of John would have already read the other 3. At least 1, probably all 3.

So John writes a book explaining that Jesus is God, and how we know that based on these stories about Jesus life and work.

So you need to understand...

The book of John is written, assuming that you’ve already read Matthew, Mark, and Luke.

There are thing’s that John leaves out of the story because he assumes you know because he assumes you’ve already read the first 3 gospels. And because of there, there’s some moments of tension that should build in this story.

So tonight we’re looking at the story of Jesus feeding 5,000 men.

Let’s look to John chapter 6, and we’ll work our way through this. But remember John, expects that you already know this story because you’ve read it in Matthew and Luke.

John 6:1–5 CSB

1 After this, Jesus crossed the Sea of Galilee (or Tiberias). 2 A huge crowd was following him because they saw the signs that he was performing by healing the sick. 3 Jesus went up a mountain and sat down there with his disciples. 4 Now the Passover, a Jewish festival, was near. 5 So when Jesus looked up and noticed a huge crowd coming toward him, he asked Philip, “Where will we buy bread so that these people can eat?”

Now, if you’ve read the first 3 gospels you would be fairly familiar with the story of this miracle, and you would know that the location of this miracle is referred to as “a desolate place”.

There is some real debate about where this is. There’s a traditional site that you’ll see on some maps, but honestly there are a few problems with that explanation.

Here’s what we know. This is somewhere along the shoreline of the sea of Galilee. This is also somewhere that is far enough from town that if they send all these people home, that’s it for the day.

It’s that situation where you’re a couple hours from home. It’s a little early to eat, but if you wait to eat when you get home you’re gonna be eating super late. Right? Like it’s 430, but you’ve got 3hrs in the car, do you really wanna eat now, or do you wanna wait til you get home, but if you do that, you won’t start cooking til 730. So you’re not gonna eat until after 8.

That’s the vibe here.

And Jesus asks a simple question of Phillip, one of His disciples.

Philip, “Where will we buy bread so that these people can eat?”

and He does this on purpose. He literally says where is the market for bread so that these people can eat. He is specifically emphasizing this as a question of money to Phillip. but watch this, verse 6

John 6:6 CSB

6 He asked this to test him, for he himself knew what he was going to do.

Jesus doesn’t really have money questions here. Jesus is well aware that there is not a grocery store close by. There will be no purchasing bread. In fact, He already knows exactly what He is going to do.

But He’s having this interaction with Phillip because He know’s Phillip. and He knows what’s on Phillip’s mind. Phillip is a very skeptical person and a very cynical person, and like most cynics he tends to focus only on what he can see in front of him, and what he can do about it. and in 31AD, just like in 2023 skeptics tend to have a mentality that says “money can solve just about anything.”

This is me. This is my natural bent as a human being. Money makes the world go round. Much of human history is driven by the quest for the almighty dollar. I can’t think of a single problem in my life that money could not immediately solve if applied in sufficient quantity. I tend to see issues and not consider the interpersonal conflict, not consider the cultural conflict, not consider any other ramifications until I’ve done the math and said “this is how much money it would take to fix this. If we can’t do that, let’s consider an alternative.”

and so Jesus doesn’t go out of His way to call Phillip on the carpet at any point and tell him, “you really need to be less cynical.” Jesus takes an opportunity to show Phillip, what happens when you just trust the God is in control.

but first He let’s Phillip freak out. watch this.

John 6:5–7 CSB

5 So when Jesus looked up and noticed a huge crowd coming toward him, he asked Philip, “Where will we buy bread so that these people can eat?” 6 He asked this to test him, for he himself knew what he was going to do. 7 Philip answered him, “Two hundred denarii worth of bread wouldn’t be enough for each of them to have a little.”

Phillip on the quick maths. Jesus we’re looking at a “$20,000 wouldn’t fix this problem.” Phillip isn’t even looking to other options. He sees this problem as primarily a financial one.

See, we tend to look at a couple different disciples when we talk about money.

You’ve got Matthew, who sold out his people and went to work for the Evil Galactic Roman Empire. But Matthew repented of that and doesn’t seem to want to go back to it. He walked away from fabulous wealth to be with Jesus. and we idolize that about him.

We talk about Judas Iscariot, who sells out Jesus himself for what amounts to a couple grand. and we condemn him for that and for being so short sighted.

But we don’t really deal with Phillip. Phillip never had fabulous wealth to walk away from. Phillip, never did like Judas and turned away from the faith for money. But there’s another way to sin with your money. When you got your mind on your money and your money on your mind, you tend to have difficulty trusting God.

Either you are obsessed with making money, saving money, and investing money because your self worth is based on your bank account and you think your net worth is a scoreboard. or because you just trust God to take care of you so little that you insist on having enough money stashed at all times to get you through any problem that could arise on your own merit.

Maybe you’re obsessed with spending money in ways that are there only to impress other people. You need to know that other people are jealous of your car, your clothes, your vacation photos. Because, again, either money is a scoreboard for your life. You need others to be impressed by you in order for you to love yourself. That’s me. or you doubt God’s ability to love you and see you as perfectly worthy of love, and so you need to double check and make sure that other people also love you, just to be safe.

Or maybe and this one is 80% of my FYP. This is the reason I got off tiktok and this idea speaks so naturally to the underlying philosophical assumptions of doomism & Nihlism that drive late-Millennials & Gen Z. Your obsession with money is rooted in a mentality that late-stage capitalism is going to be the cause of the apocalypse or a mass extinction event. Income and wealth inequality are out of control. The world is falling apart because of the greed of the rich. You have no reason to suspect that you will ever have enough money to buy a home, much less retire and it’s all the fault of a few evil people at the top who are destroying the world with their greed. Right. That’s a super common belief. It’s one that I struggle with. The problem there is that in order to believe that, how little do you have to trust God and trust His ability to take care of you?

1. Obsessed with earning, saving, investing money — because you don’t trust God to take care of you.

2. Obsessed with spending money, or looking like you have money — because you don’t trust that God made you worthy of love unless other people are jealous of you.

3. Obsessed with the idea that the system is rigged and you will never have money — because you don’t trust that God has a plan to provide for you.

If you see yourself on that list, man, we got some stuff we need to work through.

So Phillip knows immediately that they can’t afford to feed this crowd, he did the math, and he gave up.

Meanwhile Andrew handles this differently. He’s gonna solve this on his own. Just grab the problem by the horns no matter how big it is. watch this.

John 6:7–9 CSB

7 Philip answered him, “Two hundred denarii worth of bread wouldn’t be enough for each of them to have a little.” 8 One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said to him, 9 “There’s a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish—but what are they for so many?”

Andrew is the guy that is gonna try to cut his grass with scissors because he doesn’t have anything else, but he refuses to be defeated. Man went and searched the crowd. massive crowd. trying to personally collect enough food to share between all these people. Finds 1 kid with a sack lunch and realizes how big this job is and how small he is.

Man is that you. Are you the guy who sees a problem and just says. “I’ll figure it out. Even if I have to do everything myself, by hand, and stay up 3 days straight to do it, I’m gonna make it happen by the sweat of my brow and the strength of my back.” Man if that’s you. I know you’ve been told that’s an admirable trait; and it is to an extent. The willingness to work hard is good. But it becomes a problem when you jump right into whatever you’re up against without stopping to see what God would have you do. Some times an obstacle in you way is something you’re supposed to tackle yourself and it will make you stronger. But sometimes it’s also God telling you to seek help from others. Share the work, share the prize. It’s not all about you. Most importantly sometimes that obstacle is God’s way of saying “Stop. Don’t go this way. This is not what I want for you.”

See Phillip saw this as a money issue and gave up. Andrew saw this as a huge job that he needed to do and he jumped in and failed.

Neither one of theses men did what they really needed to do here, and just turned to Jesus and said “I don’t know how to fix this. Would you tell me what to do here Jesus? Or would you take this problem from me? Because this is bigger than my ability to fix it.”

Not one person thought to turn to the miracle healer who transfigured water into wine and ask “How do you think we should handle this?”

and we know why. From the book of Matthew, we get a better picture of this miracle. It is then followed a few weeks later with a similar miracle of feeding 4,000 people. and then the day after that, when they realize they forgot to pack lunch, they are walking along stressing to the point that they totally miss what Jesus is saying because they’re worried about lunch.

It genuinely just never occurs to these guys that Jesus is in charge, He knows what they’re going to need, and He has a plan to provide it.

So let’s keep reading.

John 6:10–15 CSB

10 Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.” There was plenty of grass in that place; so they sat down. The men numbered about five thousand. 11 Then Jesus took the loaves, and after giving thanks he distributed them to those who were seated—so also with the fish, as much as they wanted. 12 When they were full, he told his disciples, “Collect the leftovers so that nothing is wasted.” 13 So they collected them and filled twelve baskets with the pieces from the five barley loaves that were left over by those who had eaten. 14 When the people saw the sign he had done, they said, “This truly is the Prophet who is to come into the world.” 15 Therefore, when Jesus realized that they were about to come and take him by force to make him king, he withdrew again to the mountain by himself.

Ok. so what’s the point of this miracle? John only records a handful of these things and each one of them is supposed to teach us something about Jesus, and prove that He is God.

The easy thing to focus on is the ability to multiply the food. Jesus is not bound by the law of conservation of matter. Because Jesus is the creator. But we already know that. We learned that when He turned water into wine.

I think the point here is to focus on Verse 6.

John 6:6 CSB

6 He asked this to test him, for he himself knew what he was going to do.

Jesus was well aware that this crowd was coming and chose not to stock up on food before they left town. He knew what was coming and He had a plan to provide it. He knew what problems they would run into that day. He knew what needs would arise. but He let His disciples freak out for a minute. He knew what He was going to do. but He wanted them to feel that stress just long enough to teach them a lesson. Jesus, like the reader who knows something the characters don’t yet, is aware of what is going through the minds of His disciples and He just waits while they stew in it until they give up and look to Him for the answer.

Jesus knew that 5,000 hungry families were going to need something to eat, because...

Jesus knows what you need better than you do.

See remember how we said John assumes that we have already read Matthew, Mark, and Luke? John tells this same story in a slightly different way than the others, because he has a different point to make. John here is teaching something that Matthew covered in a slightly different way.

In Matthew’s gospel, Jesus says this

Matthew 6:8 — Your Father knows the things you need before you ask him.

If God knows what we need before we ask Him and Jesus knows what we need better than we do, then the logical conclusion is that Jesus is God. and should be treated as such. But there’s one more lesson here, related to God’s provision. From John 6:15

John 6:15 CSB

15 Therefore, when Jesus realized that they were about to come and take him by force to make him king, he withdrew again to the mountain by himself.

See these people wanted to make Jesus their King. Why? Because He fed them. He healed them. He gave them the things that they wanted.

Is that why you think of Jesus as King? because he gave you the things you wanted? If that’s you, that’s a problem, because what happens when He doesn’t give you what you want?

When this problem of the 5,000 families came up, Phillip wanted money to fix it. And Jesus didn’t give it to him. Andrew wanted there to be enough stuff there for Andrew to fix it Andrews way for Andrews glory. And Jesus didn’t give it to him.

If you’re like “Jesus is Lord” but all that means to you is “Jesus has the power to give me what I want.” You’re priorities are way out of line.

Yeah, Jesus knows what you want. But He also knows what you need. and He is committed to giving you one of those things. If you’re so short sighted as to only see “Here’s my problem. God, this is how I want you to solve it.” You’re gonna have a hard time.

Because...

Jesus knows what you need better than you do.

and He is not going to alter His plan to give you what you need just because that’s not the way you want it.

So what do we do with this tonight?

Maybe you need to trust God to provide for you instead of relying on yourself.

Maybe you need to accept that God is going to provide for you everything you need, and some of what you want… but that’s His decision.

Maybe you need to ask Jesus to forgive your sins.

Maybe you need to trust God to provide for you instead of relying on yourself. Please understand this. God’s ability to provide everything you need is not limited by your bank account. God is not limited by your access to resources. God is not limited by your skillset or situation. God is going to provide everything you need regardless of your ability to do it yourself.

Maybe you need to accept that God is going to provide for you everything you need, and some of what you want… but that’s His decision. You can spin your wheels and work til you drop and you will never earn one thing that He did not intend for you to have, and that’s ok. Because He knows what you need. What you actually need. Not what you think you need, based on your plans. What you actually need based on His plans.

Maybe you need to ask Jesus to forgive your sins. Not a single bit of this matters if you don’t know Jesus as Lord. You will never be able to trust Him with your needs if you’re not willing to trust Him with your soul.