The Gospel of John (12-16-12)
Lesson 15 – John 6:1-13
Chapter 6
As we begin chapter 6 it should be noted or restated that
John’s Gospel like the other Gospels does not cover the events of Jesus’ life
chronologically or in complete detail. To do so John says in chapter 21 would
be impossible. This is the case we find here as we begin this chapter. In
studying the other Gospels along with this one we find that there are a lot of
events that are not included between chapter 5 and v. 47 and chapter 6 v. 1.
C. I. Scofield in his reference Bible has a footnote stating
that between 5:47 and 6:1 there are about 10 chapters of events and details
that are found in Matthew’s Gospel alone, 4:12-14:12, that John omits between
these two verses. When looking at this section in Matthew, 4:12-14:12, we see
some pretty significant events recorded there. Events like the Sermon on the
Mount, numerous detailed healings, teachings on the Kingdom, the seventy sent
forth, the casting out of demons and healing of the man of Gerasa. These events
are significant when we read some of the things that we will find in this
chapter.
One might ask why John omitted so many important events. As
we skim through and read some of them we might think that John should have
included at least some of these events in his account, however, we must
remember that John had a purpose in mind in writing this Gospel and that was to
give us enough of his personal experience that we might believe that Jesus is the Christ. He did not intend to include
every detail. As stated in one of our previous lessons one commentator believes
that the entire Gospel of John comprises about 22 days of Jesus’ life during
His active ministry years.
It is true that this Gospel contains a lot of details and
pertinent facts that should be laid on the foundation of faith that Jesus is
the Christ. In other words, this Gospel contains some deep theological truths.
However, John’s main thrust is to give enough of his experience to believe that
Jesus is Who He said He is. In doing so John will give us numerous theological
and doctrinal statements that will do just that, point us to Jesus as the Promised
One, the Savior God of eternity.
It is good to remember what we just saw at the end of
chapter 5 where Jesus makes a broad statement saying that the Scriptures…all of
them, point to Him in some fashion, 5:39. At the end of chapter 5, vs. 39-47,
we do not see Him referring to one or several specific verses or passages which
point to Him, but instead the only reference that we see is His reference to
Moses and his writings which most believe are a large and broad account
covering the first 5 books of the Bible.
We see at the beginning of chapter 6 a much larger ministry
than what we even saw just a few verses ago. Many Bible commentators see
Chapter 6 as a natural progression of John’s perspective and purpose of writing
this Gospel even though there is a time gap between these two sections. Another
Passover was at hand, so we see that some time had passed. Although it is not
easy to determine the exact amount of time, some commentators say as much as
two years may have passed since the miracle of the healing of the impotent man
at the Pool of Bethesda.
In this chapter John will demonstrate however to us some
practical examples of what Jesus had discussed with the Jewish leaders in
chapter 5 showing Himself in a practical way in chapter 6 as the ‘Bread of
Life’ or the One Moses wrote about.
We see Him here at the Sea of Galilee, also known as the Sea
of Tiberias as well as many other names, passing over it to the other side.
Jesus made several forays across this lake and although this lake being called
a sea is a relatively small body of water compared to the seas of the world, 64
square miles, 8 miles wide and 13 miles long, and it has been known to be
extremely unpredictable, often becoming very dangerous at a moment’s notice.
Some believe this to be due to the unique geography found
here in that this lake is well below sea level, 693’ below sea level, being the
second lowest lake on earth, and has relatively high hills surrounding it with
some somewhat significant mountains near it. Some believe that this combination
can drive the winds, forcing them downward with greater force making the
relatively shallow waters very turbulent very quickly which we will see later
in this chapter. This area of Israel near and around the Sea of Galilee was a
fertile area for Jesus’ ministry, Jesus spending a considerable amount of time
here.
By this time a great multitude followed Him almost
everywhere that He went. In v. 2 John gives his observation as to why the crowd
sought Him at this time saying that they essentially sought Him out at this
point in His ministry for their own personal gain, looking for healing and His
ability to meet earthly needs, not fully believing in Him at this time as
Savior. Later on in this chapter we will see just how shallow their commitment
to Jesus was when He shared with them some of the not so glorious parts of
being a follower of His, at that time many turning and leaving.
We must remember that Jesus’ life and ministry here on earth
was essentially evangelistic. He had not come just to show off His powers, but
had come to rescue those that were lost. Because of this He often challenged
those He came in contact with with this Truth. Unfortunately some chose not to
receive it.
However, at this time in His ministry many sought Him out
even though it was basically for what they could get from Him. We see that
Jesus reaches the other side of the Sea of Tiberias and He retreats to the
mountains with His disciples for some down time. However, at this point He is much too
popular, and a multitude of people seeks Him out and finds Him, taking His
disciples by surprise finding them basically unprepared to meet the needs of
such a crowd.
But, Jesus was not unprepared. Although He may have been
somewhat surprised by the crowd showing up, He was not at a loss as to what to
do. Jesus and His disciples at this point in their relationship operated on
different wave lengths as to how they saw and approached life. His disciples
had something to learn from the Master.
His disciples were a lot like us, basically operated by the
numbers, always crunching the numbers to see if life was going to fit or add up
and adjusting life accordingly often leaving people out in the process if
necessary. Jesus on the other hand had understood that there was a lot more to
life than just what one could see reckoning on the principles of God’s Kingdom which had provisions far
greater than anything that this world has to offer those in need.
In v. 5 Jesus begins to challenge and test His disciples
challenging them to change their view and perspective from an earthly view to a
heavenly one. This is His challenge to us! He begins to challenge their belief
system by asking them the obvious question that was on their mind, ‘Where are
we going to buy enough bread to feed so many’? Jesus Himself knew exactly what
He was going to do, but His purpose in this situation was to not just get the
job done, feeding the many, but to transfer to His followers the principles and
keys of the Kingdom that could handle and meet the needs of any person no
matter how impossible or how large the need, or, any number or multitude of
people that may show up on one’s doorstep lacking the basic necessities of
life. Jesus had come to establish His Kingdom, Mk. 1:14-5 attempting to teach
them Kingdom principles in the process.
You see, Jesus had been here before. This was not the first
time that He was called upon to take care of such a large group needing more
than was earthly possible to provide. He had seen the numbers game played
before…numbers that did not match…too much need, too little resources to draw
from…from an earthly perspective there was too little product to fill the
order. But, Jesus had seen a crowd like this in need before,…numerous times,…a
crowd even much larger than the one present here,…needing to be cared for
repeatedly day after day…40 years worth.
If Jesus was who He said that He was then He was the One
that provided for the children of Israel day after day for forty years in the
wilderness providing for them food, or manna, in the morning and food, or
quail, in the evening not missing a day. There is a much bigger challenge given
to those present here than most would see. His goal was not to get His
disciples to occasionally exercise faith to see God answer an impossible
situation occasionally here and/or there. But, He challenges them, and us, to
see Him as Faithful providing for us all the necessities of this life including
even the basic daily necessities like food. They were looking for a free lunch.
Jesus was looking for a change in their perspective seeing Him as the Giver of
Life, the Giver of all things, physical, spiritual and emotional.
Here Jesus challenges us to make the jump from our earthly
perspective of doing things only by the numbers, which by the way was the
Pharisee’s problem, and begin to focus on the realities of God’s Kingdom,
applying the Kingdom principles of the God Provider to our life here on earth.
i.e. Matt. 6:33 In doing so they would see the love of the Father being in
relationship with Him and not just having the needs of this life met in an
impersonal and sometimes cruel way by a world and its system that barely knows
that you exist. (Scene from Mr. Poppers Penguins following the Slow Mo Scene)
Jesus had accused those who were following Him of seeking a
sign and this annoyed Him so to speak. Their problem was that they were not
looking to Him as the Provider of the culmination of this life, but instead saw
Him as the one time fix of their need. He is God Jehovah Jireh, ‘the Lord will
Provide’ sufficient to meet all of the needs of our life, not just the big or
difficult ones. These people like us were functioning in a world that had
usurped His position, taking His place. These people in reality were
functioning as if there was no God and didn’t mind it a bit as long as they got
what they wanted. In other words this world system had become their ‘Big Daddy’
replacing the God and His love and provision that created them.
Even His disciples missed this. In v. 5 when Jesus asked
them how they would feed this crowd. The answer came back showing where their
faith was…more money was the answer not God. It is true that Jesus led them on
in His initial question to them asking where they would buy bread to eat. But,
it says in verse 6 that He asked this question in this way to test them and
their perspective knowing that this world system requiring money was not enough
to meet their need.
When asked this question they all knew what they lacked and
saw the Kingdom of earth as the answer that was in reality not an answer at
all. What they had would not even feed those present even a morsel which would
do nothing but prolong their agony of hunger. As we will see God’s Kingdom on
the other hand can and would provide more than enough not only meeting the need
of food and hunger, but God communing with those present in the process.
One disciple, however, at least had a thought in the right
direction, maybe not having a fully matured faith, but having the thought that
maybe something could be done at least for some by a young boy that definitely
did not have enough to meet the greater need no matter how you divided it up. But,
at least Andrew for a moment offered this meager amount up to the True
Provider. Who knows what was really in Andrew’s heart. It does appear however
that he does offer the lad’s food, although reservedly, with at least a mustard
seed of faith.
In v. 10 Jesus takes this faith offered to Him and begins to
act on it making provisions for what really is His. It is a scary world that we
live in. As we see technology continue to advance it is interesting to see the
world of people rely more and more on what it can do bypassing God altogether.
Instead of asking God we are first found asking Google. Futuristic movies are
never found as portraying God as the answers to man’s problems, but always
portray man or the kingdom of men as the hero.
Of course, this is not to say that we should shun the
advancements of this world. God had given us a brain to use to help provide
answers to the problems that we face in this world, but not at the exclusion of
its creator God. As we will see those present came basically for what they
could get wanting a show with the dinner.
We notice in v. 11 a difference in the process of Jesus
supplying this worlds needs vs. this world’s system taking a stab at it. In looking at the details of this process we
are often found using the excuse that those were different days then and that
we however live in a different world being more advanced. But, in looking at
the details we will notice that the setting is in reality not much different.
There was a need, a need that needed an answer.
The first thing we notice as Jesus begins to meet the need
at hand is that Jesus prays stopping to give thanks to the One True Provider not
just acknowledging God creator, but truly appreciating His provision. It says
that He gave thanks actually being thankful to God for His provision, the five
small loaves and the two fish, even though they were small. Jesus knew the
secret was not in the numbers, but in the Provider...the One that made them.
It is possible and actually probable that Jesus had no idea
exactly what the Father would do, He only knew the Father and His nature to
answer Him, not only having the ability to meet this need, but also able to
pile it on if He chose to, more often than not giving more than enough for the
situation. It is important to notice that faith was demonstrated in the action
of Jesus first praying asking God’s blessing followed by acting in faith
knowing that God would answer, knowing that God’s answer would be His will for
the situation. It is good to ask God specifically for our need, but God does
not have to show up according to our standards. This is why we do not always
recognize God’s answer when we receive it only to realize later that God in
reality had given us just what we needed.
It says in v. 11 that Jesus gave thanks and God the Father
came through again this day satisfying their need being hungry. It is
interesting in this verse that we see Jesus passing this blessing and miracle
through the disciples who in reality had no part in the happening of this
miracle except that they were associated with Him. It also says that those
present were full having eaten as much as they wanted of both the bread and
also the fish. We must remember that these people were in all likelihood
hungry…I mean really hungry. Coming by a good meal in those days was not
common. They were not use to the three square meals a day that we are most often
accustom to in our society. They were offered an ‘all you can eat buffet’ and
they had come for receiving from this generous Giver. Theys were going to get
their money’s worth even though they it had cost them nothing.
In looking at this miracle we also notice something else.
The meal is over. The miracle was now history and those that came were
satisfied. Now,…on to the next event…carrying nothing forward learning from the
experience. How often do we do this in life? Jesus satisfies our wants and
needs and so often we barely acknowledge what He just did for us. I am all too
often guilty of this. We will see that even His disciples at least initially
appear to learn little to nothing from this miracle. Mk. 6
But, Jesus makes sure that this does not happen this time.
He tells them to collect what is left over. I am sure that many knew what He
had started with. In passing out the food I am sure that the details were
probably made known letting those present know that there was not much and the
food would probably run out soon, so everyone should not expect to end up
eating. This was not like a family dinner of 23, but instead ne of 5000 plus. But, the disciples kept going
back to the source of supply for more and to their surprise there was still
more to take and give sto the people.
Now being full Jesus wants to make a point and asks them to
now go back to the people and collect what is left in the areas where they were
dining. It is a good thing to remember that in addition to what was eaten by
those being present being full and satisfied, that most in all likelihood would
have taken a doggie bag of leftovers for a snack later as food was not always
easy to obtain on a journey. These people had gotten to this place having
nothing to eat; they would have at least given some thought to having a little something
for later. In other words the food collected would in all likelihood have been
the food that was left lying around by their dining area after the meal.
They now collect the leftovers and now probably for the
first time they begin to see the full magnitude of this miracle. They had
collected 12 baskets full. These probably were not small containers, but were
in all probability large baskets about the size of a small to medium garbage
basket. They had never seen or heard of anything like this. After letting them see
the full parameters of this miracle they now begin to realize Who they have in
their presence raising Jesus in their awareness acknowledging that Jesus is at
least one of the greats of their history and faith. One might ask a question
here at this point. How does this account and story affect us as we read John’s
record? Are we as equally impressed, or is this just a story to us? What action
does this story lead us to take in our own personal life? It says that this miracle
changed their perspective of Jesus now identifying Him with the promised
Prophet that was to come referenced in the O. T. We will take a look in our
next study seeing if they were right and just Who this promised Prophet was.
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