More than a Meal

More than A Meal

Intro: Have you ever had a Turducken or at least heard of one? It is a turkey stuffed with a duck stuffed with chicken. People like to make them for Thanksgiving or Christmas. In England it is called a three-bird roast and they traditionally use a goose but here we use a turkey. The turkey is what everyone expects for thanksgiving and the chicken everyone is familiar but it’s no surprise because it is pretty common and the duck adds a different layer to the meal. For an added bonus, you can add stuffing too. A New York Times article says a “Well prepared turducken is a treat.”

A well-prepared gospel story is also a treat and this is exactly what John has given us. A well prepared story that has some of what we expect, some of what we know and then you have the mixture of all of it that gives it a unique flavor and you are full from your meal, this story about the fifth sign that John Records in his Gospel, is about more than Jesus making. A meal for a lot of a people. But it is more than recounting a dinner party or a sign, it is a sign that Points us to Jesus as God and Messiah.

Read Verses:

MP: John uses layers in his writing to give the readers three different perspectives about the feeding of the 5000

TS: This is sort of the turkey of the meal. This what people expect when they come over for thanksgiving. The sign is

I. John’s First Layer Shows God’s Power through a Sign (5-12)

This is the bulk of the story, and this is what people see when they come to this portion of John's Gospel. It takes place in and around Galilee so this is Jesus’ stomping grounds. John also tells us that it is near Passover, because the grass was green. Israel is setup a little bit like us here in central California so it is wet in the winter so it feeds the grass before it turns brown from the sun and heat in the summertime. So, it is probably early to mid-April.

John the Baptist has just been beheaded and Jesus takes his disciples up to the high ground or a mountain. And he sees a lot of people coming.

A. Ministering to the Crowd

A huge crowd that had traveled around the lake to get to Jesus because of the signs he had done healing people. They were really interested in following him per Se, they wanted to hear his words and see what comes next and what signs he would do.

But Jesus has other things in mind other than a show. He wants to teach. He is giving to teach the crowd and the disciples. He teaches the crowd for a while, all day, until it gets to be about. Supper time. At this time, he opens his lesson book to teach the disciples

B. Training the Disciples.

Since this is the second of three Passovers in John's Gospel that means that Jesus has about a year or so to teach the apostles what he needs them to know to continue the ministry.

With the crowd around him, 5000 men, so if women and children came with them it could be around 15,000 people. Jesus’ need to teach prompts his question to Philip who was from Bethsaida which was nearby. He was the best one to recommend a restaurant or store nearby to get all that food. But listen to Philips response, “eight months wages or two hundred denarii would not be enough to buy enough food to Mae sure everyone gets even a little bit.” I’m sure it would go without saying that they did not walk around with 8 months’ pay in their robes. So, what is he saying? We don’t have enough money, and we can’t get enough money right now. So, we can’t feed them. It is impossible.

Andrew speaks up though and says look here is a boy with 5 barely loaves and two fish. But that is pretty small and so what are they for so many. Andrew is sort of hopeful but is still stuck in the physical or natural realm that we see and touch each day.

Application point: You can experience God’s blessings by focusing on God

Jesus works in the supernatural realm. He takes the five loaves and two fish and feeds 15-20 thousand people. And he gives thanks to God. He doesn’t bless the food like It doesn’t say how he did it, but it gets done. He is not trying to trick Philip when he asks him the question, but he wants Philip to trust Jesus to provide the answer because Philip is incapable to do so. The food is only the means to the end to demonstrate His Miracle and His power.

It is the same with us when God asks us, how do we feed them? How are you going to do this or that? How are you going to get through this situation? Are you going to rely on yourself and your own efforts or are you going to bring the bread and fish that you have on hand and then God for what you have on hand and get out of His way and watch him work?

C. Who benefits?

In short, Everyone. The disciples see first-hand How Jesus takes their impossible situation and takes the small offering of 5 loaves and two fish and turning it in the overabundance that resulted in 12 full baskets of bread left over.

The crowd gets to eat a meal or experience they otherwise would not have gotten if they would have stayed home. Most of the people were probably oblivious to how the food got there they were probably just amazed they had it. The word probably spread because they do say

TS: This next layer is like the chicken in our turducken, or maybe the thin icing between cake layers. You know it holds the two layers together, you taste it, but you have tasted it before. If you are doing a reading plan, it may be tempting to skip or skim the passages that are already in the three other Gospels. But I encourage you to look at the similarities and the differences and ask why the writers put the information they did in their Gospels to help see what they want to tell their audience.

II. John’s Second Layer Links to the other Gospels (1-4)

A. Similarities

This miracle organ is one of the only ones that is in all four gospels. The overall story is the same and the main details of the 5000 people and the 5 loaves and two fish are the same. Matthew, and Luke most likely used Mark as their source, but John was most likely independent enough because of his eye witness.

B. Differences

John is a little more specific with some of the details. He mentions the barely bread specifically whereas the other gospels just say bread or loaves.

Another difference is that John names Philip and Andrew instead of just the disciples. This makes sense because they were the ones that were from the area.

Application: The differences enhance the truthfulness of the gospels because they are not exact copies of each other, but each witness gives us small details that help us build the whole picture.

Illustration: This is like us all going to a baseball game and then writing out what we saw. Somethings would match, but we each look for different things that are important to us. Our favorite player, or maybe we miss something because we were busy getting cotton candy or an Angel dog. Also, the writers are telling a story to a specific audience. So certain details go into the story to make sure the correct point gets across to the audience.

TS: When we read the Bible, we have to keep this in mind. That the writers and more importantly God, are relaying a message to us. Many times, the message has a surface level meaning and also an underlying level that points to the larger picture that the Bible talks about. Who God is and what moves history toward God’s ultimate plan.

III. John’s Third Layer is Eschatological (13-15)

The people realize at least on some level that Jesus is special. They remark in verse 14 that this is the prophet who has come into the world. They start to think that this person is something special.

Remember when John said it was around Passover. This is not just a timestamp, but also a marker to tell people that the crowd was a little bit more zealous or proud to be Jewish. One commentator points out that Passover was a time for nationalistic zeal.

This was like the Fourth of July for us. The Declaration of Independence from England made us America. And American. The Passover made the Jews, Jewish. The people were very happy and around this time they were looking. For the next Moses to lead them in their freedom.

A. Preparation for the Bread of Life (possible first Eucharist tie in)

Unlike Moses who just passed on the instructions for gathering the manna, Jesus, because he is God gives them manna or bread from heaven. He mentions this in . And he shows them his power by producing extra or an abundance. Later in chapter 6 Jesus gives one of his I am speeches about being the bread of Life. He says in verse 35 “I am the bread of life, whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.” John turns this into a demonstration and then explanation. By pointing out that he couldn’t have performed the sign if he wasn’t the great I am. If he wasn’t God.

The prophet Elisha also fed 100 men with 20 loaves of Barley bread and “they ate and had some left, according to the word of the Lord”

Unfortunately, the people are still focused on the natural realm as well because again the larger or maybe more vocal part of the crowd want to make Jesus a king, but only an earthly King, but he knows that it is not yet his time to be king or caught so he retreats to up the mountain again.

B. A King, but not yet

The word prophet came to be linked with king as the messianic role matured in Jewish theology.

The people came to seize him but Jesus is not one “who can be violently constrained.” he is crucified as the king of the Jews. But that title was meant as a false title from the Jews and the Romans. But you see, Jesus went to the authorities at the appointed time to be the Passover lamb, in a year from this event that John details as a sacrifice for the rebellious people. He did this to make people right with God.

For the last few weeks we have looked at and 5 and seen God on the throne and also the Lamb on the throne as well. The lamb who is Jesus was the only one worthy to open the scroll to start the final phase of history.

He is also the only one worthy to take our sins. In chapter 6 more people show up to talk to Jesus they chase him down and Jesus answers you were seeking me because you ate your fill of loaves, but do not work for food that perishes but for food that endures eternal life.

Conclusion:

Are you stuck at the Turkey level of our turducken. At the surface level. You are happy with that and don’t want to try anything else or learn anything else because that would entail you to look a little deeper.

Are you looking at God and wondering what He will do or are you stuck saying it would take e 800 denarii to make this happen and I don’t have it so it won't happen?

Are you reading the Bible just to read it or are you reading it critically to see what the authors are telling you?

And are you a follower of the one true king who sits on his throne in heaven directing and guiding them? Events of the world and your life. Not in a puppeteer it way, but in a way that draws you to him. God the Holy Spirit Working with our free will to change our will from what we want to realizing we should become followers of God.

The things that go on in your life, the signs if you will As Jesus said This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom he has sent.

So, the question at hand today is do you believe in Jesus not just that he existed, but he is the one who was the incarnation of God, that he lived a sinless life ad he died on the cross and then was resurrected on the third day in order to justify you to God. If you say yes, I believe this is true in your heart, not just your mind, and you repent of your sins against God then you are saved. You are not putting your hope in something that disappears, it you are putting your Hope in the one person that lasts; God.

Transition to The Lord’s supper

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