The Hungry Crowd

John 6:1–15 (ESV)

After this Jesus went away to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, which is the Sea of Tiberias. And a large crowd was following him, because they saw the signs that he was doing on the sick.

Jesus went up on the mountain, and there he sat down with his disciples. Now the Passover, the feast of the Jews, was at hand. 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 Philip, for Jesus 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?”

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.

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.

So lets break it down a bit:

John 6:1–4 (ESV)

John continues his narrative with a rather ambiguous, “After this...” As in- The events of Chapter 5 and the Healing of the Crippled man

Remember John is not trying to present a chronological order of events, but rather to promote the Deity of Christ.

The crowds of people that had witnessed the events of John 5 in Jerusalem, now follow Jesus and the Disciples back to Galilee.

I’m sure there was conversation among the people about what they might see next.

Jesus’ intent was to have some quiet time with the 12 Disciples, as He took them up into the mountains to sit and teach them.

It was a common practice at that mentor your closest followers in this manner, and Jesus modeled this for the 12, as well as for us, today.

Notice, the crowds followed, ‘Because of the signs they had seen...”

This show the true intent of the crowd- Once again they were there for the “Show”.

But Jesus had something far deeper in mind.

Matthew 14 Shows Jesus’ compassion on the people and healed the sick among them.

Mark 6 Jesus equates the crowd as lost sheep without a shepherd

Luke 9 Once again welcomes the crowd to listen to Him of the Coming Kingdom of God.

Only John emphasis’ the coming Passover.

As the crowd is large and growing, a problem presents itself.

All the Gospels allude to the area as a desolate place.

The disciples were concerned for the crowd and suggests sending them into the nearby villages to stay for the night and eat.

Again the Disciples are thinking in the temporal.

But, just as when Jesus confronted the Samaritan Woman and her need for continued physical water-

He also presented her with the Living Water presented only in the Life giving, thirst-quenching Water of Life.

The crowd was indeed hungry,

While they were looking for a physical sustenance,

Jesus was about to introduce the Bread of Life to them.

There is a cost to following Jesus. Becoming a Disciple of Christ must be done Spiritually, not just physically.

With our faithfulness, Jesus will sustain us in our difficult times, Spiritually keeping us in Him as we draw closer to Him.

John 6:5–7 (ESV) Philips Fails the Test.

Jesus said to Philip, “Where are we to buy bread, so that these people may eat?”

Philip answered him, “Two hundred denarii worth of bread would not be enough for each of them to get a little.”

Philip was right- And he was wrong

He was right-

There wasnt enough food available to the crowd, going as far as to say 8 months of common wages would not be enough.

But much like we do today, Philip could not see past the problem- In spite of being in Jesus company for some time now and having seen other miracles by Jesus...

Philip still could not see the Spiritual solution- Only the Physical problem

God desire to see us trust in Him for provision is directly connected to our faith, or lack of faith in His ability to provide for us.

We must find the way to look beyond the impossibility of a situation and look to God for the answer.

We can all relate to times where there wasnt enough paycheck for the month. or times when we feel that God is nowhere to be found.

It is in those moments when we need to focus on our “Daily Bread”

Through our daily devotions and possibly even keeping a journal of the many times God has provided for us, we can strengthen our our faith and be encouraged to persevere- patiently waiting for Gods provision to arrive.

In doing so, we acknowledge the Divine power of the name of Jesus in working the seemingly impossible to our best benefit and to God’s Glory.

It is key to remember that we all talents of time, skills and resources that can all benefit the Kingdom of God.

Good stewardship goes far beyond the church offering plate.

God wants us to be active participants in His Gospel plan

We cannot employ enough good intentions or purpose in our Christian walk, without first living a Faith-based disciplined life in Christ.

Vvs 8-9 Andrews Dilemma

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?”

Andrew is, in one breathe, hopeful, as a boy with his lunch has been found.

With the miracle so close at hand, Andrew dismisses the small meal as Obviously not enough.

Andrew is so close to the Divine answer, but still misses it.

Do we allow doubt to creep in and interfere with Gods ability to be a positive influence in our lives?

One other note: John is the only Gospel writer to mention the bread was Barley loaves.

Barley bread was seen as a poor mans bread, as barley could not be ground into the fine powder that Wheat could.

Barley bread was, therefore, a lesser quality bread.

John, once again, combines the crowds dire physical state with their lacking in their Spiritual condition.

Vvs 10-11

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.

Unlike in the Synoptic gospels, here Jesus distributes the food, Himself.

John’s point is not in conflict with the other gospels, but simply completes the symbolism John started in Chapter 3

Jesus is the Source of Rebirth, of Living Water, of Healing and now the Bread of Life.

In essence- Jesus IS the Source of Life itself.

Vvs 12-14

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.

When the people saw the sign that he had done, they said, “This is indeed the Prophet who is to come into the world!”

Jesus not only provided enough for the crowd to eat their fill, but there was plenty left over.

He has the Disciples collect the leftovers, I think, as a means of providing an object lesson for the Disciples.

Have you ever wondered if the young boy gave up his lunch easily? Did it take some convincing by the Disciples?

Or did the this young lad, in child-like faith, respond to Jesus without question?

We will never know the answers to these questions, this side of Heaven, but the questions do bring home a point for us.

There is high value in open and honest Stewardship,

Recognizing the Blessing of God’s provision- In Abundance.

We do not give to God to get from God,

But in the Abundance of Gods blessings comes great responsibility.

Being good stewards of Gods blessing also should build our faith and trust in following Christ.

V-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 miracle brings into focus, for the crowd, the Messianic message of Jesus Christ- Although they totally misunderstand, His intent.

Jesus had just re-created a miracle of Moses, who produced Manna from Heaven, in the desert.

The OT Prophet, Elisha also fed 100 men with twenty barley loaves, with food left over as well.

Because of this, the crowd of people, now were fully intent on proclaiming their Messianic Prophet as their King and install Him as such- BY FORCE.

Jesus had no intention of letting this happen, it wasnt His mission.

He retreated to the mountain, and puts His Disciples in a boat, for their own safety as well.

In this scenario, Jesus, again shows His compassion for the people, His Divine Power and the transformative nature of His true calling.

It also shows us what the real cost of Discipleship is.

APPLICATION:

It should challenge each of us to continually examine our commitment to Christ.

If we are not willing to trust Him for provision in times of need, Can he trust us in our call to reach out to a lost world?

A true Disciple is not compelled by miracles, but rather by a personal commitment and investment in the Faith walk with Jesus.

Fully understanding the hardships, rejections and sacrifices that come hand in hand with that relationship.