Questions for God - John 6:1-15

Introduction

Does anyone know if the election is this week? Anyone? My goodness, this is probably my least favorite season. There’s no other time in which people are more awful to one another, and there’s no other time in which we so readily accept being lied to. It’s a season of anxiety and uncertainty, and every election feels bigger, more important, and more divisive than the one before it.

What’s interesting is that you can boil virtually every politicians message down to three sentences: “I know what you need. I know how little you have. I have the answer.” Essentially every debate revolves around those three sentences. Because these are the the big questions that we have in our lives, and politicians know that if they can tap into the uncertainty of these and the pain of these and the anxiety surrounding these then they can create a message that resonates with people enough to get them elected.

God’s Word

You see, the truth is that wherever you seek to resolve the tension of these three concerns: what I need, what I have/don’t have, and where I turn will determine the durability of your joy and the stability of your contentment. So, these issues are in John’s mind as he puts forth Jesus as the solution. In fact, in the fourth sign, John is seeking to help us answer the Questions We Have For God: (Headline)

Does God know what I “need?”

John 6:5 “Lifting up his eyes, then, and seeing that a large crowd was coming toward him, Jesus said to Philip, “Where are we to buy bread, so that these people may eat?””

To need is human. It’s part of our essential character. We were intrinsically designed lacking full self-sufficiency. And, your response to your neediness determines the tone and complexion of your life. Some resent their neediness, living angry and jealous. Others revel in their neediness, playing the victim at every turn. Still others, just reject the concept of neediness, deceiving themselves into believing that they have what no one else has.

But, everyone, at some point, will come to grips with their neediness. Maybe it’s when you’re abandoned by your family or maybe it’s when you can’t break through to your kids or maybe it’s when you come to the end of your life and face death. But, no person will live without being confronted by it. And, when we’re confronted by it, it’s usually in these moments that we have some of our biggest questions for God. (personal story about biggest question of God, or a typical question from counseling — death of child, miscarriage) We find ourselves wondering that if there is a God and if He is good, then does he not know what I actually need? Because a lot of life seems to be searching out what we feel deprived of, doesn’t it? Love. Security. Significance.

That’s part of the simple message of the fourth sign that John gives us. It’s the only miracle story told in all four gospel accounts; so, it made quite an impact on the original audience. And, it shows us that…

Jesus “sees.”

“Lifting up his eyes, then, and SEEING that a large crowd was coming.” That’s beautiful, isn’t it? Even if you’re not a Christian, you’d likely concede that Jesus is the most consequential person to have ever lived. And yet, He wasn’t so wrapped up with self-importance and daily responsibilities that He failed to SEE the people. No, Jesus saw the “large crowd,” and Jesus saw what they needed. They needed something to eat, and Jesus wasn’t about to ignore it.

Deists believe that there is a god, but that he’s distant and uninvolved with his creation. They believe that he’s like a divine clockmaker who built the clock, wound up the clock, and now just watches it click. He doesn’t involve himself with the world or the sufferings of people or the concerns of people. And, too often, even those of us who claim faith in Jesus too often live as though we are functional deists. (take to task the Martin Luter “work like it depends on you”) We live like one day Jesus may save us, but for right now, we’re on our own to figure this thing out.

But, John tells this story in such a way to remind you that makes sure we know that this isn’t who Jesus is, and this isn’t how Jesus intends for us to live. Jesus sees US. Jesus knows what WE need. And…

Jesus “cares.”

The need that they have is really fairly trivial. It’s one meal. No human being can’t make it without a single meal. Most baptists could make it without quite a few, actually. This is a small need, isn’t it? You’d probably be embarrassed to even pray over a need so small and simple. So, what a comfort it is to us to consider that Jesus cares about our smallest needs. He cares about how your day is going, and He cares about how you’re feeling. He cares about what’s worrying you, and He cares about your blood sugar getting too low. Jesus is intricately involved in the lives of his people, and He cares about every, single detail; He cares about the very smallest need.

That’s a good thought for us to carry into Tuesday’s election with us. That’s good medicine for our hearts and minds as we worry about our future, our economy, and our children. That’s a comfort to us who love the unborn and feel like concern for them is fading the way political pawns always do when they become inconvenient. That’s a comfort as we worry about our kids growing up with a more prominent LGBTQ agenda or the thought they could be instantly labeled because of the color of their skin.

Washington may ignore us. Washington may resent us. Washington may try to manipulate us. But, Jesus sees us, and Jesus cares about us. Jesus sees you, and Jesus cares about you. Our God knows what we really need — whether we agree with Him or not, and He sees to it that we get it.

Does God know what I “have?”

John 6:5–9 “Lifting up his eyes, then, and seeing that a large crowd was coming toward him, Jesus said to Philip, “Where are we to buy bread, so that these people may eat?” He said this to test him, for he himself knew what he would do. Philip answered him, “Two hundred denarii worth of bread would not be enough for each of them to get a little.” One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said to him, “There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish, but what are they for so many?””

Those that have worked with Steve Jobs say that he had a “reality distortion field.” That is, he seemed to operate as though he could determine what was reality and what wasn’t, and he was charismatic enough to make you believe what wasn’t real was real, what wasn’t true was true, and what couldn’t happen could happen. So, it was common for Jobs, who had no engineering ability, to go to his engineers and demand them to create things that they had no ability to create. He would demand deadlines and last minute add-ons of his team that were impossible to fulfill. So, he stressed out and burned out almost every person who ever worked with him so that almost every relational bridge he ever had was burned.

I think a lot of people view their relationship with God in terms similar. They feel as though God is expecting them to make happen what they are incapable of making happen, like He is demanding more from them than they have to give. And, many stress out and burn out. They wonder if God doesn’t really understand how little He’s given them to work with and ask: Does God actually know what I have (and don’t have)?

You see, something of that here. There’s a crowd of 10,000-20,000 people that have gathered once you include the women and children, and He asks his disciples to put a plan together to feed them. It feels like a reality distortion field, like Jesus is living in some alternate reality where that is possible.

But, John adds a note that Jesus is “testing” his disciples, and it’s a test that essentially has two questions:

Do you “recognize” who you have?

Where you turn when you don’t have enough, where you turn when the math doesn’t math, reveals a lot about what you believe and who you trust. That’s part of what Jesus is teaching his disciples here, and they miss it completely. Phillip speaks up and says, “If we had seven months worth of wages, we could buy each person a communion cracker!” So, Phillip is asking on behalf of all of the disciples who are scrambling in the midst of what seems like Jesus’ reality distortion field: Do you not know how little we have?

But, the question was intended for them to think not of what they had or didn’t have, but of who they had. There wasn’t enough money here, sure, but there hadn’t been enough wine in Cana either, had there?

There was already plan in place. John tells us “for he himself knew what he would do.” Jesus just wanted them to realize it. Jesus wanted to build into them the reflex of turning to him when the math didn’t math.

Where do you turn? Where do you turn your resources don’t seem to match the needs of your circumstances? Where do you turn when you’re overwhelmed by the expectations of your family or of your boss? Where do you turn when you realize that you can’t fix what is broken in your marriage or your children or your country? Do you think about all that you don’t have and panic, or do you remember who you do have and find peace?

But, there’s a second question implied within this test. It’s not only, do you recognize who you have, but also…

Will you “give” what you have?

Only John mentions there being a little boy with five loaves and two fish. In each of the other three gospels, the disciples just says, “We only have five loaves and two fish.” So, it’s quite likely that this boy or servant or attendant (“paidarion” means all of these) travels with the group and helps them with their supplies. So, they’re not talking about something they were given. They’re talking about all they had. And, it wasn’t very much. You’ll notice these were “barley loaves.” This was the food of peasants and prostitutes. In fact, the Mishnah prescribed this food for prostitutes because they were only worthy of food fit for animals. The type of fish this refers to amounts to two, small sardines. It’s all they have, and it isn’t much.

So, here’s the test: Will you entrust how little you have into the hands of who you have? (parents sending their kids to the mission field) Oh, it may not be much, but if it’s all you have, it feels like the whole world. For these disciples to give away their five barley loaves may mean they don’t eat in the morning. But, Jesus is training them to realize that it was going to require all they had to do what they’d been called to do, so much so, that they’d have to trust that He’d supply them again in the morning.

Do you trust Jesus enough to give him all the you have? He knows your limitations. He knows what you have and what you don’t have. Will you trust him enough to give it all to him. Your kids and your family are your whole world, aren’t they? It doesn’t seem like much to others, but it stresses you out so much. Will you entrust them to Jesus? Your country feels like it’s unraveling. You worry about they persecution you may face or your family may face. It may seem silly to others, but it feels so heavy to you. Will you trust Jesus? You don’t have the giftings that others have or the financial resources to have the great ministries you see others have. Will you entrust what you have to him?

Well, it’ll depend on how you answer the last question.

Does God know what He’s “doing?”

Every politician you hear sounds impressive. They present them as people with answers and a vision for the future. So, it isn’t hard to find one who is articulate and charismatic. But, it’s much harder to find one who actually knows what he or she is doing, isn’t it? The stakes are high. We’re talking about life and death, freedom and oppression, prosperity and poverty. We’re talking about making decisions that our kids will answer for. So, it matters that we find people who actually know what they’re doing.

But, the stakes are much higher when it comes God. We can vote out a bad president or ruling party. We can leave a bad boss. But, what if God doesn’t know what He’s doing? What if He has all of the power and all of the resources, but He isn’t wise? Well, if we’re honest, there are times when our lives seem to completely off the rails so that we wonder.

That’s on John’s mind as He shares this fourth sign. It’s not just that Jesus is the Christ, but it’s that Jesus is a good and trustworthy Christ. The story of the feeding of 5000 is really a story about three meals, and this story about three meals is meant to put our minds at ease as we worry about what’s happening and what’s going to happen.

A “past” meal.

John 6:4 “Now the Passover, the feast of the Jews, was at hand.”

The Jewish festivals are a major theme in the Gospel of John. He puts forth Jesus as the fulfillment of each of them. We saw that last week with the Sabbath, and we see this again this week with the Passover. The Passover was the biggest celebration of the year, and it was meant to be a time for Israel to commemorate the trustworthiness of God and the provision of God. And, what’s interesting about the Passover is that it celebrates a time in which God’s people wondered whether their God knew what He was doing. They were slaves in Egypt. God kept telling them that He would deliver them, and He kept sending signs and wonders. Kind of like in the Gospel of John. But, the people remained enslaved and oppressed. Kind of like the gospel of John as Rome still rules. But then, God brought judgment over Israel and God delivered his people, not just from the judgment, but through the judgment. They were covered by the blood of the Lamb so that none of their children died, but the death that spread sprung them free.

God proved that He knew what He was doing. He had provided, and He had provided in the last way they would’ve thought possible.

And, that brings them to the…

A “present” meal.

John 6:10–13 “Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.” Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, about five thousand in number. Jesus then took the loaves, and when he had given thanks, he distributed them to those who were seated. So also the fish, as much as they wanted. And when they had eaten their fill, he told his disciples, “Gather up the leftover fragments, that nothing may be lost.” So they gathered them up and filled twelve baskets with fragments from the five barley loaves left by those who had eaten.”

John 3:16 ““For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”

(unpack more the bread is “lost” — who cares if bread is lost? 3/10 occurrences in chapter 6 — perishing/lost disciples) Jesus blessed the meal, and those were the decisive words that took what was little and made it more than plenty. And, Jesus took the food and spread it so that there was more than enough for everyone, enough for 12 basket fulls to collected. Think of that. It was a picture of what Jesus had come to do. He tells them to gather up the baskets “that nothing may be lost.” That’s the same word that’s used in John 3:16 ““For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” You see, He is showing that He is preparing a meal for them that will cover every, single one of his people — enough for all 12 tribes of Israel. Later in John 6:54 “Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.” That is, this meal was preparing them for the next time that God would deliver his people from judgment through a judgment. On the cross, God’s judgment would fall, and Jesus’ flesh would be consumed. But, He would rise again, and it would provide the sustenance and life for his people.

John was showing that God hadn’t fallen asleep at the wheel. He had provided, and He was still providing.

And, this brings into view…

A “future” meal.

John 6:14–15 “When the people saw the sign that he had done, they said, “This is indeed the Prophet who is to come into the world!” Perceiving then that they were about to come and take him by force to make him king, Jesus withdrew again to the mountain by himself.”

This is a meal of abundance, but it is also a meal of poverty. There’s more than enough to eat, but it’s barley, the bread of peasants. The baskets that were used to collect the leftovers were wicker baskets used by the poorest people. But, when the people that day recognize Jesus as the new Elijah for whom God was miraculously providing the bread and when the people know that He ought to be the king, it can only bring into our minds that wedding supper that awaits Christ’s return. Like Elijah, He will come riding on the clouds and as the King, He will finally deliver all people. So, we will gather around his table, and there will be no barley. There will be the best wine and the sweetest honey to enjoy with our king forever.

God has provided. God is providing. God will provide. These are the meals that we have in our mind as we take the Lord’s Supper together. We come together to remember that God knows exactly what He’s doing. He’s proven it.