Prophet ... and King

Pre-Introduction:

At this time, we invite any children who desire to join my dear wife for a children’s service to follow her where you can hear a wonderful bible lesson and sing some uplifting songs about Jesus.

That Prophet

For those joining us online, you’re listening to the Services of the Broomfield Baptist Church. This is the Pastor bringing the Sunday Morning message entitled “Prophet … and King; What’s Missing?” We invite you to follow along with us in your Bible in the Book of John, chapter 6, and verses 1-15.

Introduction:

John 6:11 KJV 1900

And Jesus took the loaves; and when he had given thanks, he distributed to the disciples, and the disciples to them that were set down; and likewise of the fishes as much as they would.

There is only one miracle performed by the Lord Jesus Christ that is recorded in each of the four Gospel's. It is the miracle in which he used only five small barley loaves and two fish to feed well over five thousand, maybe even up to twenty thousand, people in Galilee just before the annual Jewish feast of Passover. It is important because of all that it signifies. Fortunately, the significance of the feeding of the multitude is spelled out far more clearly by John than by any of the other writers.

Each of the Gospel writers brings out of the story that which spoke to him personally. Matthew & John were both personal eyewitnesses that were present on that day. Matthew and Luke were most interested in the miracle itself, and get to the details with little coloring. Mark emphasizes the loving compassion of Jesus; it was out of Jesus’ compassion for the multitude that He fed them. In John the interest revolves around how historically significant this event was—it was a time of proving which led to a turning point in Christ’s ministry—and around the fact that Jesus is himself the Bread of Life that satisfies men spiritually. John is the only one that tells us that the miracle took place at the time of the Passover, and that the loaves of the young lad were barley loaves (the poorest kind), as well as the reason for gathering up the fragments that remained, and also tells us of the effect this miracle on the multitude that was there.

This multitude, as well as Jesus' disciples, learned that they could rely completely on Jesus to meet any need they would ever face. The only reason He did what He did on this day was His compassion for these people that He looked upon as sheep having no shepherd. His desire was to lead them. But not against their will. By the time this day would be over, they would want Him to lead them, but their desire would be selfishly bent to what they wanted. They were not ready to bow to Him completely. They wanted Him to take of their tomorrow, but they wanted Him to do it according to their thinking. They were not looking for what He knew lie on the immediate horizon. Jesus was looking at the cross, but they could only see the Kingdom. Sadly, their time with Jesus would be short lived, as they would soon come to walk away from Him, simply because they couldn't submit to His design.

Today, I hope to get you thinking about ways that you've experienced Jesus' provision for today in a special way, and cause you to seek His design and plan for your tomorrow, and lay your own plans at His feet, committing your way to Him, so His plan for your life can continue to unfold as you walk in daily dependence upon Him. When He is our “Bread of Life,” we pray, “Give us this day our Daily Bread.”

CPS:

Experiencing Jesus' loving provision today should lead us to trust Him to take care of tomorrow.

Sub-intro:

"The sixth chapter of John’s Gospel is full of marvels. It tells of a great miracle, a great enthusiasm, a great storm, a great sermon, a great apostasy, and a great trial of faith and fidelity endured by the twelve. It contains, indeed, the compendious history of an important crisis in the ministry of Jesus and the religious experience of His disciples,—a crisis in many respects foreshadowing the great final one, which happened little more than a year afterwards,1 when a more famous miracle still was followed by a greater popularity, to be succeeded in turn by a more complete desertion, and to end in the crucifixion, by which the riddle of the Capernaum discourse was solved, and its prophecy fufilled." (Alexander Balmain Bruce, The Training of the Twelve; or, Passages Out of the Gospels, Exhibiting the Twelve Disciples of Jesus Under Discipline for the Apostleship, 120 (Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc., 1995).)

I. The Followers of Christ ().

1 After these things Jesus went over the sea of Galilee, which is the sea of Tiberias. 2 And a great multitude followed him, because they saw his miracles which he did on them that were diseased. 3 And Jesus went up into a mountain, and there he sat with his disciples. 4 And the passover, a feast of the Jews, was nigh.

• The Sea of Galilee was in Old Testament times called Kinnereth (‘lyre’) because of its shape. About ad 20 Herod Antipas founded a city on the west shore and called it Tiberias, after the Roman emperor Tiberius Caesar. Gradually the name Tiberias was transferred to the lake, though it probably wasn't commonly called such until much later in the century, when John wrote. Hence John’s parenthetical explanation...

A. The Followers' Tainted Motives [Fame-seekers] (vv1-2).

John 6:1–2 KJV 1900

After these things Jesus went over the sea of Galilee, which is the sea of Tiberias. And a great multitude followed him, because they saw his miracles which he did on them that were diseased.

• Why were they following Jesus? Unlike the disciples, who followed Him by faith when He said, "Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men," these were following Jesus not for what they could do for Him, but what He could do for them. ...because they saw His miracles. Their shallow motive will soon reveal their true dedication, which is none. When things do not go the way they think they should, many, even of His disciples, will turn away, and walk no more with Him.

B. The Teaching from Messiah [Resting Disciples] (v3).

John 6:3 KJV 1900

And Jesus went up into a mountain, and there he sat with his disciples.

• Though Jesus knew what lay ahead the very next day, this didn't stop Him from ministering to their needs.

• John tells us He went into a mountain with His disciples. In the other accounts, we're told why Jesus had wanted to do this. His disciples had just been extremely busy serving, healing, preaching, teaching, helping, and Jesus wanted to take them aside for a time of rest. The people were in such excitement though, that in Mark, we learn that they had outrun Jesus & His disciples on foot, to try to get to Jesus. During this time, while Jesus has a slight reprieve, I can only imagine that these were some of the times that John said there weren't enough books in the world to contain all that Jesus said and did, but what a special time. When serving The Lord, you need to have those times of push, where you just give all you've got, but Jesus also said Mary had it right because she took the time to sit at Jesus' feet. He said, "Learn of Me, for I am meek and lowly in heart."

C. The Time for Meditation [Passover] (v4).

John 6:4 KJV 1900

And the passover, a feast of the Jews, was nigh.

• John is also the only one that tells us the timing when this miracle took place. He says that it was close to Passover. This explains why there was much grass in the area, as well as why it was green at this time, and why so many would be ready and available to come out to Jesus, because they were coming from everywhere on their way to go celebrate the Passover Lamb.

• This would have been a time of contemplation for everyone, as they were taking time to remember what God did for their father's in bringing them out of bondage in Egypt. And here they were, thinking of that Lamb that would be slain, so the blood could be put on the doorposts, and the death angel would passover, and the plague of death would be stayed from them. And here is Jesus, the Lamb of God that taketh away the sins of the world, and they would eat from His table today, and be part of His fellowship right now, and He would feed them, fully knowing in advance what He would do. They were meditating, but not on what they should have been. They should have been thinking on Jesus, but they were thinking about themselves.

Transition: We've seen why these were following Jesus, why are you following Him? Is it for what you can get from Him? or is it so you can be made into a fisher of men? Now notice...

II. The Foresight of Compassion ().

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. 7 Philip answered him, Two hundred pennyworth of bread is not sufficient for them, that every one of them may take a little. 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?

• Though it is from Matthew and Mark that we learn about the fine details of the compassion of Christ, John tells us that Jesus lifted up His eyes, and saw all these people coming to Him. One cannot help but see the compassion of Christ as He is moved to take the initiative to help the helpless, and feed the needy. From reading the other accounts, it looks like the disciples were ready for these people to leave them, as we see them asking Jesus to send them away, I'm sure they were exhausted, but little did they know, there was yet another stretch of ministry that they would be called on to fulfill. Just when they were ready for reprieve, Jesus prompted the question, "It's up to us to feed these folks. They've been here all day, and it's evening, they're getting hungry. They are like sheep with no shepherd. Philip, you're from close around here, tell me, where are we going to find enough bread to feed these folks?"

• Notice, only John tells us that Jesus knew all along what He was going to do. Now, He begins to make it real to His disciples. He is about to test their faith, in a major way.

Dr. J. B. Gambrell relates a most interesting incident from General Stonewall Jackson's famous valley campaign. It was necessary for the general to get his army across a river one night, so he gave orders to the engineers to make a way for the artillery and wagons to go over. He also called his wagon-master, who was a blacksmith, to headquarters and gave him instructions to get the wagon train across the river as fast as possible.

The engineers went to work in their usual expert manner to devise a bridge. The blacksmith, knowing only that something was to be done in the most practical way, gathered a force and with logs and rocks and fence rails improvised a bridge. Between midnight and day he awakened General Jackson and said, "General, we have got all the wagons and artillery across." The astonished general asked, "Where are the engineers!" The blacksmith replied, "They're over there in a tent still drawing pictures and planning a bridge."

Never have we had so many experts sitting around drawing pictures and making plans as today. We need a few blacksmiths to get us over the river. [Havner]

A. Their Trial of Faith (vv5b-6).

:5-6

John 6:5–6 KJV 1900

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? And this he said to prove him: for he himself knew what he would do.

5-6

• This He said, John tells us, to prove him. That is, to try him, and see where his faith would lie. Philip reveals where we default as followers of Christ. We lose sight of what our Lord is capable of, and we start relying on our own resources. Common sense said, the church doesn't have the budget to meet this need. Common sense said, we can't afford this kind of outreach right now. But Jesus was bringing him, as He does us, to the end of our resources, so that we come to the place where we fully rely on Him to meet our need.

• How is it that your faith is being tested right now? Is there some financial pressure that you need to trust Jesus to give you peace from? Is that pressure from something that The Lord has put upon you, or is that something that has been caused by the unfaithfulness of an unjust steward? If it is something that The Lord has brought, then trust Him to provide. If it is something that you've brought on yourself, then ask Him to give you wisdom to know how to redeem the time, and in the end, be found in a commendable state. Is your faith being tested to trust Jesus rather than your own failing resources? Then when you come to the place where find out that Jesus is all you have, then like Philip, you'll realize He's all you need.

B. Their Temporal Focus (v7).

John 6:7 KJV 1900

Philip answered him, Two hundred pennyworth of bread is not sufficient for them, that every one of them may take a little.

• Part of the problem that Philip, and Andrew, and yea, all the other disciples had, was that there focus couldn't get past the worldly circumstances they were in. Even if they had two hundred days wages saved up, they still would be only able to have just a little bit to give to each person. Certainly not enough to satisfy them. This is a real dilemma. Jesus said give, and there's nothing to give. But Jesus was showing them that this world isn't everything there is. There is another place, a celestial city, of which He is the Prince, and His Father owns the cattle on a thousand hills. Why wasn't Jesus worried? Because He had a heavenly focus.

The number two hundred is of great significance in the Bible. As indicated here, it is the number of insufficiency. Trace it out in the story of Achan () and Absalom (; ), in the story of the apostate Micah of Mount Ephraim (), and in the prophecy of the armies that will engage in battle in the end times (). [Phillips]

Christ commands the impossible. Five barley loaves and two small fishes were too few for so many. When our Lord said: “Give ye them to eat” (), He told them to do what they were wholly unable to do. The enterprises of Christ are all humanly impossible. When he ordered twelve unlettered, untravelled fishermen and Galilean villagers to assault Judaism in its central stronghold, Jerusalem, and then to attack the heathen world system, a system organized by the immense skill and experience of Satan, and intrenched in the high places of the earth, He flung a handful of spring water against Niagara. And His ethic is just as impossible. When He tells us that we are perfectly identified with Himself, and that therefore we are to “Walk worthy of the Lord, unto all pleasing,” He commands what men cannot do. The yoke of the law, which neither the Apostles nor their fathers were able to bear, was child’s play compared to it. [Scofield]

C. The Truth of Their Failure (vv8-9).

John 6:8–9 KJV 1900

One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, saith unto him, There is a lad here, which hath five barley loaves, and two small fishes: but what are they among so many?

• The truth of the matter is, that this world, our humanness, any of our works or wages, done apart from God, result only in failure. In another account, we find out that Jesus is the one that sent them out to take inventory. Andrew, Peter's brother, comes back and says, all we found was a lad who has five small poor man's biscuits, and a couple of pickled fishes. But, he says, what are they, among so many! We failed. We cannot feed them. If they rely on us, they are going to go hungry. We just can't do it.

The question from Jesus was, “How are we going to handle this?”, v. 5. There were four responses to that questions:

1.Let’s get rid of the problem—;

2.Let’s raise more money—

3.We have a little, but it will never be enough—

4.Let Jesus have it— [Alan Carr]

Transition: Why are you following Jesus? For what you can get, or for what you can do for Him? Have you come to the place in following Him that your faith is being tested? When everything around you fails, will you stop looking to everything else, and look to Jesus? Now look with me at...

III. The Feeding of the Crowd ().

10 And Jesus said, Make the men sit down. Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, in number about five thousand. 11 And Jesus took the loaves; and when he had given thanks, he distributed to the disciples, and the disciples to them that were set down; and likewise of the fishes as much as they would. 12 When they were filled, he said unto his disciples, Gather up the fragments that remain, that nothing be lost. 13 Therefore they gathered them together, and filled twelve baskets with the fragments of the five barley loaves, which remained over and above unto them that had eaten. 14 Then those men, when they had seen the miracle that Jesus did, said, This is of a truth that prophet that should come into the world.

A. Transporting of the Food (vv10-11).

John 6:10–11 KJV 1900

And Jesus said, Make the men sit down. Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, in number about five thousand. And Jesus took the loaves; and when he had given thanks, he distributed to the disciples, and the disciples to them that were set down; and likewise of the fishes as much as they would.

When our Lord fed the multitude, there was first a problem of bread: "Whence shall we buy bread, that these may eat?" (). Then there was a proposed budget; Philip suggested that two hundred pennyworth of bread would not be enough. Finally there was the provision of a boy: "There is a lad here..." (v. 9). Our Lord did not need a budget; He needed a boy. I will venture that the Israelites facing the Philistines wore out a lot of pencils figuring a budget. But God did not put Goliath out of business with a budget; He used a boy. [Havner]

• Now, the food had to get from the Lad (praise The Lord for the lad who was willing to give what little he had to The Lord to be used), to The Lord (praise God that He takes our little, and sees fit to use it to be a blessing and help to others, and makes much of our little), to the servant leaders (praise The Lord for those who are willing to give of themselves to serve The Lord Jesus and minister to the needs of others), to the laity (or the people).

• The point here is that Jesus is the center of it all. We have nothing of profit to offer anyone else except it first come from Jesus. You have to be willing to let Him take what little you can offer, even if it seems like nothing in comparison to the great need at hand, and let Him multiply it into what He knows will do what we cannot do. We must be willing to serve Him, even in the smallest tasks. He said, Make them sit. We must make them sit. He says, Take this to them. We must take it to them. He says, Go gather. We go gather.

B. Taking of the Filling [both belly and basket] (vv12-13).

John 6:12–13 KJV 1900

When they were filled, he said unto his disciples, Gather up the fragments that remain, that nothing be lost. Therefore they gathered them together, and filled twelve baskets with the fragments of the five barley loaves, which remained over and above unto them that had eaten.

• When they followed Jesus' instructions, they had nothing lacking. In fact, they had more than they needed. Over and in abundance. They ate their filling, and had plenty more left. There is significance in the number of baskets taken up. There were twelve disciples, but that's not the real significant thing, because what about a basket for the Lad, or a basket for The Lord. No, the number twelve is representative of the twelve tribes of Israel. What Jesus was showing them was that as His people, called by His name, He could take care of them. The Messiah born in the house of bread, come from heaven to be the Bread of Life, the sustainer, was there with them. The Lamb of God, the Bread of Life, the Light of the World... Their bellies were filled, and the baskets were filled. But many never got past the physical. Jesus said, Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled.

The miracle here is not that of speeding up the processes of nature, as when the water was made into wine. Rather, it is based on the principle that what is good or sufficient for one is sufficient for all. If there were only one sinner in the whole world, he would still require the death of the Son of God at Calvary’s cross. And what was food for one healthy boy was food good enough for everyone, in the Master’s hands. [Olford]

After Jesus fed the multitude He said, "Gather up the fragments that remain, that nothing be lost" (). Our Lord is not stingy; He gives liberally. But neither is He wasteful. He had a purpose for the basketsful that remained.

...Some of you who may ... have lost many years but there still remain some baskets of leftovers. All is not lost. Some decide to quit when there remains much land to be possessed and much work to be done. Do not decide that you have had it. You may make a home run in the last inning, win the race on the last lap. Some of the Geritol crowd may still be going when many of the Pepsi generation have died.

Some of you who may read these lines have lost many years but there still remain some baskets of leftovers. All is not lost. Some decide to quit when there remains much land to be possessed and much work to be done. Do not decide that you have had it. You may make a home run in the last inning, win the race on the last lap. Some of the Geritol crowd may still be going when many of the Pepsi generation have died.

Lord of the years that are left to me,

I give them to Thy hand.

Take me and make me and mold me

To the pattern Thou hast planned. (Havner: Miracle, p. 64)

(Havner: Miracle, p. 64)

C. Trivial Faith [that prophet that should come] (v14).

• Can you imagine being here on this day? Amazing! Nothing like it! As I studied this, I wondered, they came to the conclusion that Jesus was that Prophet that Moses wrote about that should come into the world. Isn't this what Jesus wanted? Had He not openly and publicly told the Jews that Moses had wrote of Him? And here, they cite Moses' writing as being fulfilled by Jesus. So what is the problem? Why is Jesus going to have to get away from them? Their intention, we find in verse fifteen is that they wanted to make Him King. They were ready to throw off Rome. They were tired of living the way they were. They wanted Jesus to do what they desired.

• The problem is that they were not ready to come in line with their King's will. They wanted Him to be THEIR King, but weren't ready to seek His counsel about what to do. Here, you have quite a multitude of people that could have formed quite a rag-tag group. But Jesus, knowing the Cross had to be met, knowing that death was the way to victory for all mankind, could not throw salvation away from the world, so that He could have a temporal gain against Rome.

• Their faith was trivial. It was not diligent to enquire of The Lord, but was rather a selfish desire to see their lusts fulfilled. Many times, we make the same mistake. We know that Jesus has all power. So we come to Him, and try to take Him, and use Him to accomplish our selfish purposes. We are no better than they. We must learn from them. We must examine ourselves, and see if there be any way in us, that would cause The Lord to depart from us. Are we really seeking out what God wants, even if sorrow lies down the immediate path? or are we too caught up with our own agenda to be able to hear how The Lord leads?

“The story was told in the Christian Herald of a teacher in London, an unbeliever, who was telling her class the story of the five loaves and two fishes and trying to explain away the miracle in the account. ‘Of course you will understand, children, that it does not actually mean that Jesus fed all those people with such a small amount of food. That would be impossible. It means that He fed the people with His teaching, so that they lost all sense of bodily hunger and went home satisfied.’ But one little girl, not satisfied with that teaching asked, ‘But, teacher, what was it that filled the twelve baskets afterward, if it wasn’t really food?’ Good logic, and good faith!” (Evangelistic Illustrations for Pulpit and Platform).

When humanity did not know for what it was hungry, Jesus came to the world, becoming the host in a strange land of darkness and providing true food that satisfies every desire. The church must recognize Jesus as he is, not as it wants him to be, allowing the Prophet and the King to be what he also came to be: the one who serves. [ZECNT]

Conclusion:

Where are you today in following Jesus? would you say that you are a follower of Him? If you would, then you know His wonderful salvation. Perhaps there is one here that doesn't know His saving power. If you were to die today, are you certain that you would be in heaven? If you are unsure, then come to Jesus during this invitation, and repent of your sins, and ask Jesus to save you.

If you know Him as your Savior, why are you following Him? Have you been following Him for the wrong reasons like so many others did here, and so others are following Him for today, with a consumer mentality, only looking for what He can do for them? or are one of those very few, that have those special moments with Him apart, who He calls on to reach out and take His provision to meet the needs of others, who will only turn around and walk away in the end? Are you following Him to see what you can do for Him who gave all He had for you?

What is it in your life that you are trying to get Jesus to do for you? Will you make today the day that you come and say, Lord, I'm sorry I've been trying to get you to do things my way. I'm ready to seek what you want, Lord, what wilt Thou have me to do?

When you experience the compassionate provision of God today, let that move you to bring your will in line with His for what you cannot see tomorrow.