John 6:1-15

Last century, when I was a kid in the 1980s, I had a boombox in my room. I’d record songs off the radio and listen to our family’s extensive cassette collection which eventually gave way to CDs.

Of all the tapes/cassettes I had, I probably listened to one more than the others. It was a bright green cassette with and orange label. And it was filled with Bible stories, told dramatically.

I listened that that tape over and over and over again. I loved one story more than the others—the story of a young boy who took his lunch with him one day and ended up listening to Jesus teach a large crowd of people.

I’ve tried to find that cassette, but to no avail. I’m sure it exists online somewhere, but I haven’t had any luck.

It was such a big part of my childhood, and became one of my favorite stories in the Gospels.

This is one of the most familiar of Jesus’ miracles. Just about every knows the reference: the feeding of the 5,000. A loaves and fishes miracle.

This is the only miracle in Jesus’ earthly ministry that is recorded in all four Gospels—Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.

It’s so familiar, and it’s so important. This miracle teaches us so much about Jesus. And it leads us to worship Him.

John 6:1–15 NIV

1 Some time after this, Jesus crossed to the far shore of the Sea of Galilee (that is, the Sea of Tiberias), 2 and a great crowd of people followed him because they saw the signs he had performed by healing the sick. 3 Then Jesus went up on a mountainside and sat down with his disciples. 4 The Jewish Passover Festival was near. 5 When Jesus looked up and saw a great crowd coming toward him, he said to Philip, “Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat?” 6 He asked this only to test him, for he already had in mind what he was going to do. 7 Philip answered him, “It would take more than half a year’s wages to buy enough bread for each one to have a bite!” 8 Another of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, spoke up, 9 “Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far will they go among so many?” 10 Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.” There was plenty of grass in that place, and they sat down (about five thousand men were there). 11 Jesus then took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed to those who were seated as much as they wanted. He did the same with the fish. 12 When they had all had enough to eat, he said to his disciples, “Gather the pieces that are left over. Let nothing be wasted.” 13 So they gathered them and filled twelve baskets with the pieces of the five barley loaves left over by those who had eaten. 14 After the people saw the sign Jesus performed, they began to say, “Surely this is the Prophet who is to come into the world.” 15 Jesus, knowing that they intended to come and make him king by force, withdrew again to a mountain by himself.

Jesus has ventured across the Sea of Galilee, in the OT times called Kinnereth, and later called Tiberias after the Roman emperor Tiberius Caesar. We know it as the Sea of Galilee.

If this “sea” was in Missouri, we’d call it a lake. It’s 13 miles from North to South and 8 miles from East to West. It’s a small lake to us.

So for Jesus to cross the “sea” wasn’t all that far, but Jesus has something to do, both on the other side of the sea and on the way back (next week).

Jesus has just had a really intense conversation with the Jewish religious leaders after He healed a crippled man on the Sabbath.

Now, Jesus and His disciples set out to get away. The other three Gospel writers all make mention of Jesus withdrawing, or moving to a solitary location. The God-Man Jesus, like us, gets tired and needs to rest.

But, as you can imagine, compelling as Jesus is, He can’t get away from the people. There’s a great crowd of people following Jesus.

Why? Verse 2 has the answer: because they saw the signs He had performed by healing the sick.

Jesus is a man with great power and an equal measure of compassion for those in need. Of course, people are going to follow Him.

The people follow Him, not necessarily because they want to obey Him, but because they saw what He could do for them. They want Jesus to do for them.

Jesus takes a moment to sit down with His disciples on the mountainside (what we know today as the Golan Heights on the east side of the “sea”). In Mark, it’s clear that Jesus intended to be alone with His disciples here on the other side of the sea.

This wasn’t going to happen…a great crowd of people were following Him wherever He went. No rest for the weary. No rest for the wonder-working Son of God.

In verse 4, John puts an interesting note for us: “The Jewish Passover Festival was near.”

When I read this last week, I thought, “Well, that’s odd. The Passover is near/at hand and Jesus is in Galilee. That’s like 80 miles from Jerusalem where one would celebrate the Passover. What’s going on?”

This is the second of three Passovers mentioned by John. And John’s reason for mentioning it here seems to be more theological than chronological.

This isn’t a calendar update; this is John tipping us off to some deep truths about Jesus.

If we think about it, the Jewish Passover celebrated the exodus from Egypt as recorded in Exodus.

Central to the Passover celebration was the slaughter of a lamb by each household.

At the start of his Gospel, John introduced Jesus to us as the Lamb of God.

In the desert wanderings that followed the Exodus, God provided manna for the people—bread from heaven.

Here in the miracle of John 6 and the remainder of the chapter, Jesus will identify Himself as the bread of life, the true bread given. He is the bread/the One who gives life—eternal and free.

John writes, “Oh yeah, guys. Just a note: Passover is close,” and then tells this story to make the point that Jesus is the True and Better Passover. This is intentional.

I love how Jesus poses this question to Philip when He sees the following crowd coming toward them.

Jesus asks a very base-level question about where to buy bread.

But Jesus knows full-well what He’s doing. He knows all about where He could buy some bread. He’s the all-knowing God of Creation. He’s knows where there’s bread; He knows everything.

John 6:6 “He asked this only to test him, for he already had in mind what he was going to do.”

Jesus was not stumped. Jesus is not surprised at all by the arrival of the crowd. Jesus already had in mind what He was going to do.

Philip, like any of us would be, is only thinking about the practical matter of how in the world they’re going to buy bread for that many people. Philip is thinking at the natural level only.

One denarius = one day’s pay for the common laborer.

200 denarii = 8 months wages.

8 months wages would barely get the job done…

With the math worked out, Philip gently corrects Jesus. Hold on to that thought for a moment. Philip corrects Jesus: “It would take more than half a year’s wages to buy enough bread for each one to have a bite!”

That’s basically Philip telling Jesus, “Don’t be stupid, man. That’s a crazy question. No way we’re buying bread for all these people.”

Andrew pipes up next (Andrew and Philip are the first two disciples mentioned in John’s Gospel, and here they are again, “helping” Jesus solve this problem).

Andrew has somehow found a kid in the crowd (the boy from my childhood cassette tape). This young fella has packed his lunch: five small barley loves and two small fish.

I mean, that’s something. Good start, Andrew.

But I don’t think Andrew means it as a start. Andrew quickly follows up his mention of this kid’s snack-pack with a fairly snarky comment, “but how far will they go among so many?”

D.A. Carson writes: “Philip’s response [to Jesus] betrays the fact that he is able only to think at the level of the marketplace, the natural world.”

Andrew, likewise, only sees the stark contrast between what’s available and the incredible need at hand. “5 loaves for 5,000 people? 2 fish oughta do it. Yeah, right…”

Philip sees nowhere near enough money. Andrew sees nowhere near enough food.

How much better would it have been for these disciples to see their lack as nothing compared to what Jesus can do?

“We don’t have enough money, Jesus, but we know that’s no concern to you.”

“There’s not much food, but we’ve seen you do more with less. Jars of water turned into really good wine. Your word healed a young boy and an older man.”

It’s not a matter of questioning: how far will they go among so many? or pointing out the practicality of the money needed to feed everyone there listening to Jesus that day.

This, like anything else, is a matter of faith.

This is about trusting Jesus.

One significant lesson:

Focus more on who Jesus is and what Jesus can do in your situation than you fixate on the details of your situation.

If you are only thinking about what’s going on right in front of you, you will despair.

If you can’t look past your problem, your concern, your situation, I promise you, everything will appear more and more dire and impossible.

But if you look to Jesus, considering who He is and what He is able to do, you’ll realize your problem/concern/worry is nothing for Him.

Ideally, Philip would have answered Jesus and said something like: “What do you mean, ‘Where are we going to buy bread for these people?!’ Come on, Jesus! You own the cattle on a thousand hills—everything is yours. We’ll eat whatever you provide.”

Ideally, Andrew would have said, “There’s this one kid with a little lunch, but that’s more than enough for you to work with, Jesus. This is mustard-seed type stuff. You can take this little bit and turn it into feast!”

For us with eyes that have a hard time seeing and ears that have a hard time hearing, we’re given a small detail to highlight just how amazing Jesus’ miracle is.

Jesus instructs the people to sit. John throws in a parenthetical note for us to tell us there were 5,000 men there. The total number of people may well have exceeded 20,000 or more.

This is no small miracle. This is a big deal, but not too big for Jesus to handle.

Jesus takes the loaves and fish from the young boy—who now has the best story to tell—Jesus takes his lunch and gives thanks.

If Jesus used the common form of Jewish thanksgiving, He said something like: “Blessed art thou, of LORD God, King of the Universe, who brings forth bread from the earth and fish from the sea.”

Jesus blesses His Father for His provision.

After giving thanks and distributing the food, Jesus gives His disciples instructions to pick up what hasn’t been eaten.

I absolutely LOVE verse 12. It really emphasizes the abundance of the supply. Bread and fish supplied for the crowd in far greater measure than anyone would ever expect (like Jesus’ grace and mercy lavished upon us).

Our Savior is not stingy in the least. He gives and does exceedingly more than we can ask or imagine. He provides and provides in abundance. He blesses far beyond what we deserve.

The people there that day on the far side of the sea ate as much as they wanted. Jesus distributed to those who were seated as much as they wanted. They all had enough to eat. More than enough.

Two hundred denarii wouldn’t have supplied an appetizer for the crowd. Jesus, good and gracious, fills the people to the brim.

They’re sitting there like us on Thanksgiving Day, joyfully complaining, “Oh, man… I ate way too much… why’d you let me eat so much?”

The true Bread of Heaven outshines the manna in the wilderness. This is the ample provision of the LORD who says:

Jeremiah 31:14 NIV

14 I will satisfy the priests with abundance, and my people will be filled with my bounty,” declares the Lord.

Jesus tells His disciples to gather the remaining food. Collecting what was left over at the end of the meal was a Jewish custom. But there’s more to it than cleaning up after dinner.

Twelve baskets full. After all have been satisfied and burped, there is more left than they started with.

Each of the 12 disciples ends up holding a basket of bread, a basket of uneaten barley loaves.

The sign-seeking crowd sees another sign performed by Jesus. They just know that Jesus is the One Moses was talking about in Deuteronomy 18.

Deuteronomy 18:15 NIV

15 The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your fellow Israelites. You must listen to him.

Jesus, able to perceive the thoughts of the people, withdraws from the people. He withdraws because He knows they misunderstand who He is and what He has come to do.

Jesus IS the Prophet (the Messiah). He is KING of kings.

But He won’t be coronated by a crowd of people at their insistence and misplaced urging. He won’t be forced into anything.

Jesus will, one day not far from this picnic by the sea, ride into Jerusalem as King. He will show Himself to be the Promised One—Prophet, Priest, and King. But all this at the appointed hour.

Now is not the time for that.

When we read stories like this, we have to keep the central point clear. Focus on who Jesus is and what Jesus can do more than you fixate on your situation.

When we focus on Jesus instead of our situation, we’re struck—not just with a miracle of impressive measure—but we’re struck all over again with how majestic, how amazing, how gracious Jesus is:

You know the grass Jesus had the people sit on? Jesus made that.

You know the loaves of bread? Jesus spoke that barley into being.

You know the fish the boy caught for his lunch? At creation, Jesus spoke and fish filled the oceans and seas and little lakes like this one in Galilee.

Jesus made the grass, the grain, the fish.

He is Creator.

Sustainer.

Provider.

He performs some really cool signs and miracles, but that’s not the reason we worship Him.

We worship Him because of who He is.

He is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of those who belief in and belong to Him.

Jesus is the Bread from Heaven, giving life to all who partake.

Jesus is the True and Better Moses, leading us out of slavery, and bringing us all the way home.

This story in the life of Jesus is more than just a cool miracle, though it is that.

It’s teaching us that whatever our situation, whatever problem we face, whatever need we have before us isn’t what should have our focus and attention.

Our focus should be on our Savior who is wise and mighty to bring us through.

We’re often hopeless and helpless, like a few disciples with a large crowd to feed. We don’t have the resources or the ability to deal with what’s before us.

But Jesus does.

He is the Creator, Sustainer, Provider. He is the Maker of all. And He works miracles all the time.

Oh that we’d have eyes that see and ears that hear and hearts that trust Him to do what we cannot.

John 20:31 NIV

31 But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.