Jesus Feeds the Five Thousand

HOOK

Previously here at THE MESSAGE—

The healing at the pool

The authority of the Son

Testimonies about Jesus— that completes chapter 5 of the Gospel of John

This morning we will begin chapter 6--- notice that after a miracle, Jesus would normally follow it through with teachings

This chapter that we are to begin today started with the accounts of yet another great miracle of Jesus— Jesus feeds the five thousand

Go ahead and open Your Bible to chapter 6 of John— we will cover the first half of the story today and finish it tomorrow

We will take up only five verses now because it branches out to some very important and interesting information that I though you would appreciate to learn

BOOK

LOOK

A GREAT CROWD OF PEOPLE FOLLOWED HIM

People followed Jesus not more on who He is [remember He just made powerful statements about who He is]— but John said, people followed Him because they saw the signs [miracles]

It’s very typical of people even in our present generation— people follow because of what they see— and Jesus of course being 100% human and 100% God knows that— early on in chapter 1, when John’s disciples followed Jesus, they asked Him, “Rabbi, where are you staying”— he replied, come and you will see— “come and see”

As you come to know the Lord more and more you will see that He will keep on turning up the heat— as You follow Jesus, He will progressively raise the bar from “come and see” to “come and die”— we will get to that part later on

So, here you see people followed Jesus because of what they saw— they safe the miraculous healing of the invalid man

JESUS CLIMBED A HILL

Another character of Jesus that you’ll notice as you get to know Him more is His habit of retreating to the mountains to pray [talk to His Father]— countless times Jesus would go to the mountains, He would not do that for nothing— he is teaching us to pick up and form this habit of going to mountains

Today we call it “retreat”— I remember when I was back in high school, but our retreats then became opportunities to spot on the girls we liked— hehe following our crush [boys competing for the campus celebrity] haha!

But later on in my life— I begun to to understand the importance of going on a “retreat”— at Agape we do it least once a year as a church— but I personally do it more than that— Just back in January me, my wife and Anton were up at Palomar Mountain— I encourage you— go on a “retreat”

TIME FOR THE JEWISH PASSOVER CELEBRATION

Remember I kept saying that when You study a passage, ask the right questions of what, when, where, who, why, how— In this passage

What— Jesus feeds the five throusand

Where— See of Galilee [about 80 miles straight distance from Jerusalem]— let me take you there quickly

When— around the time for Passover[Nisan in the ancient Jewish Calendar— April in our present day Gregorian Calendar]— let me show you a side to side diagram of these calendars

Who— Jesus, His disciples, and a huge crowd of people who followed Him all the way from Jerusalem

Why— to show people another sign [miracle]

WHAT IS THE PASSOVER CELEBRATION

The origin of this celebration dated all the way back when Mosel led the exile of God’s people from Egypt

God hardened the heart of the Pharoah so he would not release the Israelites being their slaves— and then God sent ten plagues [a contagious bacterial disease— an outbreak]— and one of those plagues was the “plague of the first born”— EXODUS 12:12, 21-23

When Jesus went to Jerusalem on the week that He was crucified— it was also time for “Passover”— what is the significance? — Jesus became our Passover Lamb

This Covid-19 is similar to this plague— we are hunkered down in our homes—the blood of Jesus is the symbolic mark at our door frames to protect us from this contagious bacterial disease— this outbreak— global pandemic

Again you’ll see that the entire Bible points to Jesus— this plague of 1450 years before Jesus pointed to the self sacrifice of Jesus

TOOK

ONCE YOU SAW SOME SIGNS OF JESUS— FOLLOW HIM

RETREAT TO THE MOUNTAINS OCCASIONALLY

REMEMBER THE PASSOVER FESTIVAL