The Book of John - 33

We Mosaic Picture On Student Notes - The mosaic was originally the floor of a late fourth- or early fifth-century A.D. Byzantine basilica church on the northwestern shore of the Sea of Galilee, less than two miles south of Capernaum.

Introduction - In the previous lesson we looked at the introductory verses in John chapter 6.

The first four verses give us the backdrop behind the miracle feeding of the 5000.

In verse 1 John gives us the location of this section of Scripture; the sea of Galilee.

In verse 2, the we are then told that multitudes of people were following after the Lord.

And then notice Verses 3 and 4 the Bible says, “Jesus went up into the mountain, and there he sat with his disciples. And the passover, a feast of the Jews was nigh.”

This is the background of the feeding of the 5000.

Let’s read together verses 5-14.

Let’s pray.

In this first section, we see the demonstration of the Lord’s power in miracles.

The Demonstration of His Power In Miracles vs. 1-21

1. The Feeding of the 5000. vs. 1-15

There are two miracles in particular that will make note of.

The first of these is the feeding of the 5000.

The second is the Lord walking on the water.

Notice first of all:

The Problem Presented

John 6:5–6 “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.”

The Lord asks Philip and the disciples, how are you all going to provide for the needs of this great company?

As we would think about this situation, we should come to understand that there is great need in this world. Wherever man is there is great need.

“The “great company” included both those who had followed Him around the lake and pilgrims who were caught up in the excitement of hearing about Jesus, the proclaimed Messiah.” (POSB)

This is a great company indeed.

Verse 10 of this chapter tells us that there were 5000 men present that day.

In Matthew’s record, the total number would be over 5000.

Matthew 14:21 tells us “21 And they that had eaten were about five thousand men, beside women and children.”

In Mark chapter 6 verses 39 and 40 we read “39 And he commanded them to make all sit down by companies upon the green grass. 40 And they sat down in ranks, by hundreds, and by fifties.” (Mark 6:39-40)

Sitting in such a fashion it would be easier to make a count of the people, and also easier for the disciples to distribute the bread and the fish.

(This tells us that our God is a God of order. And we ought to minister to people in an orderly way.)

The Lord presents this problem to Philip, really all of the disciples, to teach them.

This becomes very evident when you read Mark’s record.

In Mark 6:35–37 “35 And when the day was now far spent, his disciples came unto him, and said, This is a desert place, and now the time is far passed: 36 Send them away [speaking of the great company], that they may go into the country round about, and into the villages, and buy themselves bread: for they have nothing to eat. 37 He answered and said unto them, Give ye them to eat. And they say unto him, Shall we go and buy two hundred pennyworth of bread, and give them to eat?”

The disciples determined, that these folks need to fend for themselves, they need to take care of themselves.

The question the Lord asks is pertinent to you and I today.

How will the needs of men be provided for?

He states, “Whence shall we buy bread, that these may eat?”

John gives us some insight and tells us, “…this he said to prove him: for he himself knew what he would do.”

The word ‘prove’ means to test objectively.

This testing is for the disciples benefit.

What an amazing example of how the Lord works in our lives!

You and I can take heart that the Lord teaches us.

We will see as we progress, that the disciples needed to understand these important truth.

And, you and I, need to understand this as well.

When we consider the work that Christians are engaged in, we are to minister to peoples needs.

Failure to recognize that we cannot accomplish the immense task that the Lord has called us to in the strength of our own flesh will result in catastrophe.

We see not only the problem presented, but secondly:

The Practical Prescription

John 6:7 “7 Philip answered him, Two hundred pennyworth of bread is not sufficient for them, that every one of them may take a little.”

I want you to notice several things about this response.

The first is the focus on what man can do.

Philip did not respond to the situation in faith. Rather He attempted to determine what it would take for man to solve this problem

This solution was a practical solution.

“Philip came from the neighboring town of Bethsaida (1:44). It would require a merchant of no small means with stock on hand sufficient to supply the needs of such a multitude on this short notice.” (Phillips)

It has been said that since a working man’s wages was a penny for a days work (Matthew 20:2 “2 And when he had agreed with the labourers for a penny a day, he sent them into his vineyard.” )

According to Phillip it would take 2/3 of an entire year’s worth of wages to purchase.

But notice also Philip states that even that amount would not even provide for just a little bit of food for every person.

In other words, the practical solution, the solution that man can come up with vastly comes short of what is needed.

And this is the truth in every aspect of man’s life is it not?

Search the entire world and you will discover nothing that man can come up can lastingly provide for man’s basic needs.

Examples abound all around us —- of the problems of fallen man in this life.

We think of famine.

We think of disease and pestilences.

We think of water supply issues.

We think of economic issues.

We think of the issues of national sovereignty and peace.

We think of energy issues and necessity of life consumables.

And the list could go on and on.

Ultimately, we think about the source of all of these issues, which is sin—-the sin problem cannot be dealt with without the Lord.

One commentator stated, “The disciples either had two hundred denarii in their treasury or else Philip was just pulling a figure out of the air stressing that even such a large amount would not feed the crowd.” (POSB)

Imagine yourself being in this situation, What would be your response?

We can make application in our lives, can we not?

With the “problems” of life, are we trying to figure come up with just a practical solution?

Dr. Clarence Sexton in a lecture on our vision of God made some very helpful and insightful statements concerning this idea of practicality without God.

He used the term pragmatism.

Pragmatism according to the encyclopedia Britannica “is a school of philosophy (or you might say a way of thinking) that basis it principles on usefulness, workability, and practicality of ideas, policies, and proposals are the criteria of their merit. It stressed the priority of action over doctrine, of experience over fixed principles, and it holds that ideas borrow their meanings from their consequences and their truth from their verification.”

And so the comparison is between the “Biblical Leader” versus “The Pragmatist” says Dr. Sexton.

There is a difference between someone who is a biblical leader and someone who simply is a man of practicality without God.

Listen to these statements as I read them.

The Biblical Leader begins with God.

The Pragmatist begins with man.

The Biblical Leader does a work of faith.

The Pragmatist does a work of sight.

The Biblical Leader believes, “If it is right; God will bless it.”

The Pragmatist believes, “If it works; it must be right.”

The Biblical Leader is obedient to God.

The Pragmatist is in competition with others.

The Biblical Leader desires God to be glorified.

The Pragmatist desires the approval of man.

The Biblical Leader is Christ-centered.

The Pragmatist is man-centered.

The Biblical Leader serves God.

The Pragmatist serves self.

The Biblical Leader lives a life of “simplicity and godly sincerity.” 2 Corinthians 1:12

The Pragmatist lives a life of complexity.

(Dr. Clarence Sexton)

Some of these statements apply to Phillips line of reasoning.

As we think about that and are honest with ourselves, we find ourselves also at times falling into pragmatic thinking or as I put it in this lesson a practical prescription.

And thus, we realize the wisdom of the Lord’s work in our lives.

The Lord understood what Phillip (and the others) needed to recognize that the needs of man cannot be met with pragmatic thinking.

Thank the Lord for His Word and the Holy Spirit’s work in our lives.

Notice secondly,

John 6:8–9 “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?”

Some see in Andrews comments a healthy optimism. But regardless of what you call it, in the end…it is insufficient for the task…

All that man could math in their head… all that man could come up with… all that was “in hand” was insufficient.

One glimmer of hope we see is that Andrew brought people to the Lord.

There are three instances in the New Testament where Andrew is found bringing others to the Lord.

1. Andrew brought Simon Peter to the Lord, as we saw in John 1:41.

John 1:41 “41 He first findeth his own brother Simon, and saith unto him, We have found the Messias, which is, being interpreted, the Christ.”

2. Here he brings this lad to the Lord. (John 6:8-9)

3. Andrew brings some Greek worshippers to the Lord in John 12:20-22.

In spite of all that, Andrew seems to exhibit hopelessness.

Not only do we have the practical prescription, but now we see:

The Perplexing Pessimism

A pessimist always thinks the worst of any situation.

And while, we might not classify Andrew as wholly pessimistic—- we can see certain aspects of pessimism in his statement.

One of the synonyms for pessimism is doom and hopelessness. It also gives the idea of doubt.

Andrew offers what he believes to be a hopeless solution.

With Phillips offer, it was attempt by the reason of man to tackle the issue, whereas Andrew’s suggestion seems to be hopelessness.

In other words, I made diligent search—- of the available opportunities around me and this is what I’ve come up with…. but alas what is this among so many.

Again, another big principle we can glean from this classroom of the Lord, is that there is hope in Him.

The world my friend, has no hope.

Christians, unfortunately feel sometimes as if there is no hope.

Hope my friend is a product of our life in Christ.

The world offers ‘temporary hope,’ but the Lord offers real hope.

I like the song that brother John sings entitled “But God…”

The lyrics are so precious…. and express this very truth… with the world it is impossible…. but with Christ——there is the way…

Let me read some of the Lyrics to you…

“So many times the light of hope was setting like the sun

and it seemed to the faithful it was over, it was done

But God sees some way, when miracles are well beyond our view.

His love saves the day, when fear would tell us there is just no use…

You can look the whole world over for the meaning of it all

For the purpose that mankind ha always sought

In the end you’ll discover, there is no other answer—- but God.

Paul in his closing salutation in Romans 15:13 stated “13 Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost.”

Our Lord is the God of hope… Yes He is the God peace… Yes His the God of all comfort… but my friend He is the great God of hope.

And Paul’s prayer for the believers in Rome was that they would be pointed to the Lord in such a way that they would full of joy—full of peace….in believing and He says, abound in hope…. and most importantly and rightly through the power the Holy Ghost.

The writer Hebrews tells us, that our hope which is rooted in the Lord Jesus Christ, is an anchor for our souls.

Hebrews 6:18–19 “18 That by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us: 19 Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and stedfast, and which entereth into that within the veil;”

The one whose faith is in the Lord Jesus Christ exhibit stability.

Hope gives us stability.

We will close with the blessed hymn we sing,“We have an anchor” speaks to this verse in Hebrews —it states,

“We have an anchor that keeps the soul. steadfast and sure while the billows roll; fastened to the Rock which cannot move, grounded firm and deep in the Savior’s love.”

You know, later in the chapter the disciples would need some stability as they face the stormy waters of the sea of Galilee.

It is helpful, is it not, to have hope and stability in the midst of the storm?