Jesus Feeds His People
Notes
Transcript
What makes a follower to Jesus different than the world?
What makes a follower to Jesus different than the world?
1 You who sit down in the High God’s presence, spend the night in Shaddai’s shadow,
2 Say this: “God, you’re my refuge. I trust in you and I’m safe!”
3 That’s right—he rescues you from hidden traps, shields you from deadly hazards.
4 His huge outstretched arms protect you— under them you’re perfectly safe; his arms fend off all harm.
5 Fear nothing—not wild wolves in the night, not flying arrows in the day,
6 Not disease that prowls through the darkness, not disaster that erupts at high noon.
7 Even though others succumb all around, drop like flies right and left, no harm will even graze you.
8 You’ll stand untouched, watch it all from a distance, watch the wicked turn into corpses.
9 Yes, because God’s your refuge, the High God your very own home,
10 Evil can’t get close to you, harm can’t get through the door.
11 He ordered his angels to guard you wherever you go.
12 If you stumble, they’ll catch you; their job is to keep you from falling.
13 You’ll walk unharmed among lions and snakes, and kick young lions and serpents from the path.
14 “If you’ll hold on to me for dear life,” says God, “I’ll get you out of any trouble. I’ll give you the best of care if you’ll only get to know and trust me.
15 Call me and I’ll answer, be at your side in bad times; I’ll rescue you, then throw you a party.
16 I’ll give you a long life, give you a long drink of salvation!”
Ps
The Book of John is found in the New Testament. It’s the 4th book in the New Testament. We are in Chapter 6 of that book. It’s called the Gospel of JOhn
The whole of Chapter 6 all 71 verses begins to flesh out the whole of Jesus ministry.
The whole chapter records two signs, the feeding of the multitudes, His walking on the sea.
His miracles, Including today’s passage where a great number of people are fed.
He also spends extensive time with his disciples
His miracles, Including today’s passage where a great number of people are fed.
His statements to his disciples that he is the “bread of life,” and how his disciples must eat his flesh and drink his blood. After that teaching Jesus has to deal with His closet people… abandoning him.
His statements to his disciples that he is the “bread of life,” and how his disciples must eat his flesh and drink his blood. After that teaching Jesus has to deal with His closet people… abandoning him.
These are all foundational statements that are preparing those who follow for his coming death. They are also very challenging for us even today to grasp and to live along side.
His persecution is now dramatically increasing… Of course we are building towards Christ ultimate sacrifice on the Cross at Calvary.
Each year I’m troubled… on one hand I say STOP, repent and believe, people of the 1st century, and maybe we could have saved Jesus from a gruesome death.
The other part of me is so grateful for this perfect lambs willing sacrifice on the cross. He hung on that cross so that I would not have to. I am a sinner saved by Grace. If you have not realized that up to now. Please don’t let another day pass by without a commitment to God and His Son Jesus.
So let’s set this passage up a bit for you
1 Some time after this, Jesus crossed to the far shore of the Sea of Galilee (that is, the Sea of Tiberias),
John like to make these type of statements… we don’t how closely this is connected with the chapter before but it was “some time after.”
2 and a great crowd of people followed him because they saw the signs he had performed by healing the sick.
And a great crowd… The Gospel of Mark adds a bit of new information
2 “I have compassion for these people; they have already been with me three days and have nothing to eat.
3 If I send them home hungry, they will collapse on the way, because some of them have come a long distance.”
Mark
The group that was following Jesus had been with them for 3 days or more without anything to eat. Of course Jesus was a GREAT host and wanted to feed them.
Notice the “I” statements in this passage. Jesus is taking a personal commitment to His disciples and the people following him. In this passage here are a couple of examples
“I have compassion...”
“If I send them home...”
This is definitely Jesus talking
PRINCIPLE #1 - WHEN JESUS MAKES A PERSONAL STATEMENT… LISTEN UP!!
Jesus took his disciples up on a mountain, likely to pray and to teach.
When Jesus gets your attention… Listen
Jesus teaching moment comes in verses 5 & 6
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.
John 6.
This was Jesus party, the disciples were there to observe and see what Jesus could do.
Why was it necessary for Jesus to keep proving himself to His disciples over and over and over.
For the same reason that we, even after seeing his Grace, and Mercy and Provision in our lives turn our backs to him and go our own way.... Until our way turns badly and then we run back to our source, Jesus!
It is obvious that even after Philip says it “would take more than half a years wages to buy enough bread.” The all of the bread in the surrounding villages could not have fed this many people.
We have a couple of options here...
#1 - We can believe the text as it is written that from the “five small barley loaves and two fishes” 5000 people were fed
-OR-
#2 - We can explain it away by saying that no one would would leave their family for many days without a food supply. This diminishes the miracle by saying that they brought their own food and simply sat down where Jesus was sitting.
I will go with #1
PRINCIPLE #2 - JESUS CAN AND DOES MAKE SOMETHING OUT OF NOTHING
If the testimony in my life does not make you stand up and walk with Jesus, then I have about 10 other friends with the most radical, life changing events in their lives that brought them to their knees, crying out for Jesus in their lives.
HE DOES MAKE SOMETHING OUT OF NOTHING!
Jesus found the sources of his miracle interestingly enough with a child
9 “Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far will they go among so many?”
Philip is doubting or wondering how is it going to be possible for Jesus to do what He is purposing.
Remember our Principle #2 — Jesus can and does make something out of nothing.
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).
The only significance for our message today is the number being fed.
This is not your brother-in-law bringing an extra guest to Thanksgiving, this is real number, “about 5000 men” lets say that 4000 women came with them. That’s 9000 and each of those women had 4.2 sons and daughters. That’s 16,800 children +4000 women +5000 men. I’ve done the math so you don’t have to
That could be nearly 26,000 people on this hillside.
And He is going to fed them all with a few loaves and fishes...
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.
Jesus fed them all… everyone of them!
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.”
And there was leftovers… or used food as I like to call it.
There are literally millions of kids that at one time or another have not been shamed, cajoled, bribed, threatened when there is liver, kidney, chicken gizzards Broccoli, Lima Beans, Kale, Collard Greens on their plate. I can hear it now...
Jesus said not to waste any food
That’s when we also hear… waste not, want not, like it is scriptural, it’s not. Mom’s and Dad’s of the world... LAY OFF!!!
PRINCIPLE #3 - WHEN JESUS DOES A MIRACLE, EXPECT LEFTOVERS!
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.
John 6
The miracle that God did in my life some 35 years ago saved me, I got saved that day in the Burger King Parking lot in Puyallup. I was forgiven my sin and I now had a savior. That was for my benefit.
These scrapes left over from my miracle planted life in our sons Tyler and Josh. And in our marriage and so on and so.
These leftover scrapes brought me to a place where I today am your Pastor..
What are the scrapes that Jesus left in your life after he saved you? How have you used that extra that was given to you?
Hey Jeff - I didn’t realize that I have some stuff to do with the “leftovers” — Great, that fabulous, come talk with me.
Jesus said… “Let nothing be wasted.”
Don’t waste what has been given to you… your very life and salvation. Don’t squander away the “extra” that was left...
USE IT!!
The last two verses really get to the point of what Jesus was after in feeding the 5000 with fish and bread for a small family.
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.
A couple of notes here… It was the people that recognized the sign or miracle. Where where the disciples… The text doesn’t say. They could have been standing around wondering how Jesus had pulled this one off… with leftovers or they could have been one of the “people” that Jesus is talking about in V.14
PRINCIPLE #4 - DON’T BE THAT GUY, OR GAL THAT CONSTANTLY DIMINISHES JESUS AND HIS MIRACLES.
The people saw, believed what they had been told… “Surely this is the Prophet who is to come into the world.”
It’s Jesus, He is the messiah, He is the one promised in scripture, He is the one that the world has been waiting for 4000 years. Finally he has come.
Let’s at V.15
15 Jesus, knowing that they intended to come and make him king by force, withdrew again to a mountain by himself.
The people were caught up in this fervor. They knew his was THE ONE. THAT ONE.
They were living in such terror, from the very government that was suppose to protect them.
They had read the scripture… They had followed Jesus from afar and now had a one-on-one up close evidence that he was the Messiah, of course they wanted to make him King. That’s what they knew about this “coming savior.”
He did want to be their King… He wanted to seek and save the lost. He wanted to serve in ways that only His Father knew would happen in a very short time.
Miracles
There are miracles that we see everyday
Jack’s sister Geneva
Do you go to the doctor… when he or she examines you, diagnosis you and prescribes some sort of medicine or procedure… that is a miracle of God through their hands and minds.
Miracles are a way that God feeds our souls. It gives us the confirmation that we need to keep moving forward, never retreating and waking up every morning know this is the day that the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it.
Joe