WEBVTT 00:00:00.300 --> 00:00:03.339 Amen and let us take our Bibles now and open 00:00:03.339 --> 00:00:13.919 up to John chapter 6. John 6 as we continue in 00:00:13.919 --> 00:00:17.940 our sermon series through some of the miracles 00:00:17.940 --> 00:00:22.460 of Jesus. We're gonna look at verses 1 through 00:00:22.460 --> 00:00:28.960 15 and what we're looking at is a familiar story. 00:00:29.199 --> 00:00:32.520 familiar miracle that actually I think isn't 00:00:32.520 --> 00:00:34.820 really all that familiar to us. We think we know 00:00:34.820 --> 00:00:38.719 this well, but there is so much to uncover in 00:00:38.719 --> 00:00:44.820 the feeding of the 5 ,000. This is such an important 00:00:44.820 --> 00:00:47.600 miracle, and I think the Gospels are screaming 00:00:47.600 --> 00:00:51.399 this to us to take notice of this because this 00:00:51.399 --> 00:00:55.979 miracle of Jesus is in all four Gospels. In addition 00:00:55.979 --> 00:00:59.579 to John 6, you can find it in Matthew 14. Mark 00:00:59.579 --> 00:01:04.299 6 and Luke chapter 9 and so let us give our attention 00:01:04.299 --> 00:01:07.540 to this and pay careful attention Because there 00:01:07.540 --> 00:01:11.379 is a lot here to see about our Lord and Savior 00:01:11.379 --> 00:01:14.719 Jesus Christ Listen to this for this is the word 00:01:14.719 --> 00:01:21.280 of the Lord After this Jesus went away to the 00:01:21.280 --> 00:01:24.819 other side of the Sea of Galilee Which is the 00:01:24.819 --> 00:01:29.060 Sea of Tiberias? And a large crowd was following 00:01:29.060 --> 00:01:32.579 him, because they saw the signs that he was doing 00:01:32.579 --> 00:01:37.019 on the sick. Jesus went up on the mountain, and 00:01:37.019 --> 00:01:40.280 there he sat down with his disciples. Now the 00:01:40.280 --> 00:01:43.280 Passover, the feast of the Jews, was at hand. 00:01:43.640 --> 00:01:47.180 Lifting up his eyes then, and seeing that a large 00:01:47.180 --> 00:01:50.579 crowd was coming toward him, Jesus said to Philip, 00:01:52.280 --> 00:01:55.420 where are we to buy bread so that these people 00:01:55.420 --> 00:02:00.319 may eat? He said this to test him, for he himself 00:02:00.319 --> 00:02:04.680 knew what he would do. Philip answered him, 200 00:02:04.680 --> 00:02:08.439 denarii worth of bread would not be enough for 00:02:08.439 --> 00:02:12.560 each of them to get a little. One of his disciples, 00:02:12.620 --> 00:02:16.139 Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, said to him, there 00:02:16.139 --> 00:02:19.699 is a boy here who has five barley loaves and 00:02:19.699 --> 00:02:24.280 two fish, but what are they for so many? Jesus 00:02:24.280 --> 00:02:28.810 said, Have the people sit down now. There was 00:02:28.810 --> 00:02:34.210 much grass in the place So the men sat down about 00:02:34.210 --> 00:02:38.349 five thousand in number Jesus then took the loaves 00:02:38.349 --> 00:02:40.889 and when he had given thanks he distributed them 00:02:40.889 --> 00:02:44.770 to those who were seated so also the fish as 00:02:44.770 --> 00:02:47.509 much as they wanted and when they'd eaten their 00:02:47.509 --> 00:02:50.689 fill he told his disciples gather up the leftover 00:02:50.689 --> 00:02:55.770 fragments that nothing may be lost So they gathered 00:02:55.770 --> 00:02:59.229 them up and filled 12 baskets with fragments 00:02:59.229 --> 00:03:02.129 from the five barley loaves left by those who 00:03:02.129 --> 00:03:05.050 had eaten. When the people saw the sign that 00:03:05.050 --> 00:03:07.229 he had done, they said, indeed, this is indeed 00:03:07.229 --> 00:03:11.210 the prophet who is to come into the world. Perceiving 00:03:11.210 --> 00:03:13.810 then that they were about to come and take him 00:03:13.810 --> 00:03:17.969 by force to make him king, Jesus withdrew again 00:03:17.969 --> 00:03:22.810 to the mountain by himself. This is God's holy 00:03:22.810 --> 00:03:31.360 word. Let us pray. Father, what a miraculous 00:03:31.360 --> 00:03:36.699 miracle this is. We see and hear the great care 00:03:36.699 --> 00:03:40.340 of Jesus for his people. And so I pray that as 00:03:40.340 --> 00:03:42.879 we study this, we would see the compassion of 00:03:42.879 --> 00:03:46.620 Christ and know how much you care for us because, 00:03:46.879 --> 00:03:50.400 God, you prove your love to us in the while we 00:03:50.400 --> 00:03:54.000 are yet sinners. Christ died for us. Help this 00:03:54.000 --> 00:03:58.360 truth to sink deep down into our hearts. These 00:03:58.360 --> 00:04:00.939 things we ask, praying for understanding in the 00:04:00.939 --> 00:04:10.099 name of Christ. Amen. The great reformer Martin 00:04:10.099 --> 00:04:15.580 Luther wrote many things in his lifetime. Luther 00:04:15.580 --> 00:04:19.730 was known for his commentary on Galatians. Luther 00:04:19.730 --> 00:04:23.610 wrote many things about Genesis. Indeed, Luther's 00:04:23.610 --> 00:04:27.329 writing ministry, it was impressive and prolific. 00:04:30.050 --> 00:04:34.649 Anybody know what Martin Luther wrote? His last 00:04:34.649 --> 00:04:39.870 words? It was found in his pocket after he died 00:04:39.870 --> 00:04:46.529 that Luther wrote this. We are beggars. This 00:04:46.529 --> 00:04:51.199 is true. We are beggars. This is true of all 00:04:51.199 --> 00:04:53.560 that Luther could have said he could have written 00:04:53.560 --> 00:04:56.560 something down about Justification by faith alone 00:04:56.560 --> 00:04:59.500 and Christ alone to the glory of God alone He 00:04:59.500 --> 00:05:01.920 could have written all kinds of things, but the 00:05:01.920 --> 00:05:07.220 last thing that Luther said We are beggars This 00:05:07.220 --> 00:05:11.399 is true It's been said many times. We're all 00:05:11.399 --> 00:05:15.100 just beggars trying to tell other beggars where 00:05:15.100 --> 00:05:21.220 to find bread Jesus tells us where. We look no 00:05:21.220 --> 00:05:25.959 further than Jesus, because Jesus is the true 00:05:25.959 --> 00:05:31.000 bread from heaven. As I said, this is a familiar 00:05:31.000 --> 00:05:33.639 text that actually isn't all that familiar, so 00:05:33.639 --> 00:05:36.360 let's look at some of the details here in verse 00:05:36.360 --> 00:05:43.980 one. The location. The Sea of Galilee, also known 00:05:43.980 --> 00:05:49.019 as the Sea of Tiberias. This is near some northern 00:05:49.019 --> 00:05:52.360 Galilean towns like Bethsaida. And I think that 00:05:52.360 --> 00:05:54.459 this is an important point, and I'll come back 00:05:54.459 --> 00:05:57.100 to it later, that we should recognize that some 00:05:57.100 --> 00:06:01.879 of the disciples were from this region. So you 00:06:01.879 --> 00:06:04.399 have the disciples there with Jesus. You have 00:06:04.399 --> 00:06:07.500 this crowd that has been following Jesus. He's 00:06:07.500 --> 00:06:11.139 been teaching them. And verse two says that he 00:06:11.139 --> 00:06:15.500 has performed many signs on the sick. And so 00:06:15.500 --> 00:06:17.399 this is why they're following him. They've seen 00:06:17.399 --> 00:06:21.860 him at work. Now, we're only in chapter six of 00:06:21.860 --> 00:06:24.420 John, and if you go back through the first five 00:06:24.420 --> 00:06:26.980 chapters, you actually don't see that many miracles 00:06:26.980 --> 00:06:31.100 yet from Jesus, which tells us that Jesus has 00:06:31.100 --> 00:06:33.660 performed many more miracles than are written 00:06:33.660 --> 00:06:36.720 down. Matter of fact, that's what we see at the 00:06:36.720 --> 00:06:40.379 end of the book of John, that if... If one were 00:06:40.379 --> 00:06:43.420 to write down all that Jesus did, John says the 00:06:43.420 --> 00:06:45.759 world would not be able to contain all the books 00:06:45.759 --> 00:06:48.560 that could be written. And so there's a lot more 00:06:48.560 --> 00:06:53.560 that Jesus is doing that we don't see. Jesus 00:06:53.560 --> 00:06:55.819 goes up onto this mountain with the disciples 00:06:55.819 --> 00:06:59.519 and then we get this fascinating tidbit of information 00:06:59.519 --> 00:07:05.199 in verse four. Now the Passover, the feast of 00:07:05.199 --> 00:07:10.430 the Jews was at hand. Why is this important? 00:07:10.810 --> 00:07:13.129 Why is this important to know that the Passover 00:07:13.129 --> 00:07:16.930 is coming? Well friends, what's really happening 00:07:16.930 --> 00:07:21.930 in John chapter 6 is that the Holy Spirit is 00:07:21.930 --> 00:07:25.629 communicating through the writer of John a retelling 00:07:25.629 --> 00:07:28.889 of the Exodus. That's what's happening in John 00:07:28.889 --> 00:07:31.649 6. In a way, it's a retelling of the Exodus. 00:07:31.949 --> 00:07:35.350 Think about it. Why was Passover celebrated? 00:07:35.550 --> 00:07:38.850 Well, it commemorates when God saved Israel from 00:07:38.850 --> 00:07:42.750 Egypt. John six is reenacting this history because 00:07:42.750 --> 00:07:46.870 as Israel escaped Egypt and went into the wilderness, 00:07:47.550 --> 00:07:51.449 what did they need? They needed food. And so 00:07:51.449 --> 00:07:55.470 what did God provide? He provided for them manna 00:07:55.470 --> 00:07:59.790 from heaven, bread from heaven, right? Here in 00:07:59.790 --> 00:08:02.649 John six, that's exactly what Jesus does. He 00:08:02.649 --> 00:08:05.990 provides the bread. He provides. the meat. But 00:08:05.990 --> 00:08:10.550 what else? As we see later in John 6, Jesus walks 00:08:10.550 --> 00:08:13.490 on the water. Are we not here reminded of the 00:08:13.490 --> 00:08:16.769 time that the Israelites walked through the parted 00:08:16.769 --> 00:08:21.970 Red Sea, getting out of Egypt? Additionally, 00:08:23.389 --> 00:08:27.490 the Israelites began to, in Exodus, recognize 00:08:27.490 --> 00:08:31.759 that Moses was a prophet. And here, In verse 00:08:31.759 --> 00:08:34.399 14, that's what the people say. This is indeed 00:08:34.399 --> 00:08:37.759 the prophet who is to come into the world. The 00:08:37.759 --> 00:08:41.100 whole point of this is to say that an even greater 00:08:41.100 --> 00:08:45.840 Moses has come and an even greater Moses promises 00:08:45.840 --> 00:08:51.440 a greater deliverance. And so we see Jesus provide 00:08:51.440 --> 00:08:55.899 the bread. Now I think there's something important 00:08:55.899 --> 00:08:59.100 to recognize about this. Who is the one who first 00:08:59.100 --> 00:09:02.980 mentions the bread? It's Jesus, look in verse 00:09:02.980 --> 00:09:06.519 five, about halfway through. Jesus said to Philip, 00:09:06.919 --> 00:09:10.679 where are we to buy bread that these people may 00:09:10.679 --> 00:09:16.019 eat? Jesus knows their needs, and Jesus knows 00:09:16.019 --> 00:09:21.159 your needs too. It's a sad fact that sometimes 00:09:21.159 --> 00:09:25.200 we reduce God to one who only cares for our salvation. 00:09:25.500 --> 00:09:28.320 Of course, God cares for our salvation, but do 00:09:28.320 --> 00:09:31.360 we believe that Jesus cares for us in every single 00:09:31.360 --> 00:09:35.240 conceivable way? Do we trust that God cares for 00:09:35.240 --> 00:09:39.379 us? Do you believe this today? Here, within John 00:09:39.379 --> 00:09:44.240 6, we see Jesus is not aloof. Jesus is not insensitive 00:09:44.240 --> 00:09:47.279 to the needs of his people. He's the one who 00:09:47.279 --> 00:09:53.100 brings it up. We can also see this in the Lord's 00:09:53.100 --> 00:09:56.679 Prayer. that we've already prayed today. Jesus 00:09:56.679 --> 00:10:02.320 teaches his disciples, give us this day our daily 00:10:02.320 --> 00:10:06.759 bread. Think about that for a minute. Of all 00:10:06.759 --> 00:10:09.019 of the things that Jesus taught his disciples, 00:10:09.139 --> 00:10:11.080 of all of the things that he could teach his 00:10:11.080 --> 00:10:14.159 disciples to pray, he says, pray for your food. 00:10:14.879 --> 00:10:18.320 And so before Jesus distributes this food here, 00:10:18.600 --> 00:10:26.149 he prays in verse 11. Jesus again shows us how 00:10:26.149 --> 00:10:30.610 much he cares for his people Jesus is the good 00:10:30.610 --> 00:10:33.649 shepherd and what does a good shepherd do but 00:10:33.649 --> 00:10:36.450 protect the sheep and rescue the sheep and provide 00:10:36.450 --> 00:10:40.149 for the sheep and lead the sheep Jesus does all 00:10:40.149 --> 00:10:43.289 of this for us and because the Holy Spirit has 00:10:43.289 --> 00:10:46.289 this recorded for you you can look at this chapter 00:10:46.289 --> 00:10:51.830 and know how much God loves you in Christ Jesus 00:10:52.429 --> 00:10:55.950 And so Christian, don't hesitate to go to God 00:10:55.950 --> 00:11:03.330 with every godly need, every godly desire, every 00:11:03.330 --> 00:11:07.090 confession, trusting in God that he will meet 00:11:07.090 --> 00:11:11.250 those needs in Christ Jesus according to his 00:11:11.250 --> 00:11:16.149 will. I like how 1 Peter 5 -7 puts it, cast your 00:11:16.149 --> 00:11:20.779 cares upon him because he cares for you. God 00:11:20.779 --> 00:11:24.840 cares about every single need that you have. 00:11:25.639 --> 00:11:28.399 God cares about this, and so he sends Jesus, 00:11:28.720 --> 00:11:31.220 and Jesus is here on the mountain. The other 00:11:31.220 --> 00:11:33.840 gospels tell us that Jesus has been teaching 00:11:33.840 --> 00:11:36.879 the disciples, he's been teaching the crowd, 00:11:37.100 --> 00:11:40.860 but he doesn't just teach them, he provides for 00:11:40.860 --> 00:11:45.879 them. Jesus, as we have noted recently with Christmas, 00:11:46.059 --> 00:11:50.179 is incarnate. He has a true body. Jesus is probably 00:11:50.179 --> 00:11:52.820 hungry too. And so he's the one who brings it 00:11:52.820 --> 00:11:56.220 up. He's the one who puts it into their minds 00:11:56.220 --> 00:12:02.299 as if to say, hey guys, what's for lunch? I could 00:12:02.299 --> 00:12:07.259 eat. But we should also note this, many of us 00:12:07.259 --> 00:12:11.159 today will go from this sanctuary and we'll go 00:12:11.159 --> 00:12:15.899 home. Many of us, most of us, I hope all of us 00:12:15.899 --> 00:12:18.970 have food. We have food in the cabinets, food 00:12:18.970 --> 00:12:21.889 in the fridge, food on the table. I hope that 00:12:21.889 --> 00:12:24.289 that's the case. We should understand that's 00:12:24.289 --> 00:12:27.230 not necessarily the case with this crowd, right? 00:12:27.690 --> 00:12:30.610 Matter of fact, most of this crowd, they probably 00:12:30.610 --> 00:12:33.049 don't have all that they need all the time. They 00:12:33.049 --> 00:12:38.350 probably were hungry, right? Isaiah 55, one through 00:12:38.350 --> 00:12:42.649 two, illustrates this point. Isaiah 55, one through 00:12:42.649 --> 00:12:46.399 two, says, come, everyone who thirsts. Come to 00:12:46.399 --> 00:12:50.600 the waters, and he who has no money, come buy 00:12:50.600 --> 00:12:54.940 and eat. Come buy wine and milk without money 00:12:54.940 --> 00:12:57.940 and without price. Why do you spend your money 00:12:57.940 --> 00:13:01.080 for that which is not bread and your labor for 00:13:01.080 --> 00:13:05.159 that which does not satisfy? Listen diligently 00:13:05.159 --> 00:13:09.340 to me and eat what is good and delight yourselves 00:13:09.340 --> 00:13:14.960 in rich food. Jesus, as we're starting to see 00:13:14.960 --> 00:13:20.179 here, offers real food, but what he really offers 00:13:20.179 --> 00:13:25.460 is himself. And so Jesus asks this question of 00:13:25.460 --> 00:13:29.860 Philip. Where do we go to buy bread? As I mentioned, 00:13:29.940 --> 00:13:32.500 some of the disciples were from this region, 00:13:33.019 --> 00:13:36.000 and Philip is one of them. And so I believe the 00:13:36.000 --> 00:13:38.840 reason that Jesus asked Philip, where do we go 00:13:38.840 --> 00:13:41.279 to buy bread, is because Philip would probably 00:13:41.279 --> 00:13:43.779 know. Not that there's a 7 -Eleven on top of 00:13:43.779 --> 00:13:45.940 the mountain. But somewhere in the surrounding 00:13:45.940 --> 00:13:50.039 area, there's a place to buy bread. And so he 00:13:50.039 --> 00:13:55.299 asks Philip this question. But Philip highlights 00:13:55.299 --> 00:13:58.779 what is in his mind a bigger problem. It's not 00:13:58.779 --> 00:14:01.500 really about where to buy the bread. It's the 00:14:01.500 --> 00:14:04.980 fact that we don't have enough money to pay for 00:14:04.980 --> 00:14:11.559 enough bread for everybody. Look there, just 00:14:11.559 --> 00:14:15.200 after Jesus asks the question. What Phillips 00:14:15.200 --> 00:14:19.860 says in verse 7? 200 denarii worth of bread would 00:14:19.860 --> 00:14:23.659 not be enough for each of them to get a little. 00:14:24.120 --> 00:14:26.299 A denarius many of you know, and you may have 00:14:26.299 --> 00:14:28.679 a footnote in your Bible that says this, a denarius 00:14:28.679 --> 00:14:32.580 is about equivalent to a day's wage. It's payment 00:14:32.580 --> 00:14:35.320 for work. And so some of your Bibles actually 00:14:35.320 --> 00:14:38.360 go ahead and do some of this math for you saying 00:14:38.360 --> 00:14:40.580 that it would take seven to eight months wages 00:14:40.580 --> 00:14:43.299 to pay for enough bread for everybody to have 00:14:43.299 --> 00:14:47.389 a taste. Now, I'm no mathematician, but if I'm 00:14:47.389 --> 00:14:49.429 there with Jesus and Philip, I'm probably saying 00:14:49.429 --> 00:14:51.850 to Philip, hey, Philip, that's really good math 00:14:51.850 --> 00:14:57.590 there. He does this calculation, right? But the 00:14:57.590 --> 00:15:02.590 problem was Philip did the calculation without 00:15:02.590 --> 00:15:06.009 considering the great multiplier. He did the 00:15:06.009 --> 00:15:08.649 calculation without the great multiplier. James 00:15:08.649 --> 00:15:14.110 Montgomery Boyce says he calculated But he calculated 00:15:14.110 --> 00:15:19.909 without Christ This is a bad error on Phillips 00:15:19.909 --> 00:15:24.370 part, but before we criticize Philip We should 00:15:24.370 --> 00:15:28.470 understand that we do this as well The disciples 00:15:28.470 --> 00:15:31.549 have seen Jesus work. We've also seen Jesus work 00:15:31.549 --> 00:15:35.429 Jesus has given us new hearts to love him Jesus 00:15:35.429 --> 00:15:38.389 has done incredible things and do we not still 00:15:38.389 --> 00:15:42.190 doubt him? This is Jesus who could do more than 00:15:42.190 --> 00:15:47.669 we could ever ask or ever imagine. I like how 00:15:47.669 --> 00:15:53.590 Psalm 78, 19 puts it when it says, can God spread 00:15:53.590 --> 00:15:57.769 a table in the wilderness? And the implied answer 00:15:57.769 --> 00:16:02.230 is, of course he can. Of course he can. And so 00:16:02.230 --> 00:16:06.549 today, are you trusting in Jesus? Do you know 00:16:06.549 --> 00:16:09.909 Jesus? Do you have doubts about Jesus? Last Sunday, 00:16:10.440 --> 00:16:14.580 we looked at Mark chapter 9 and we looked at 00:16:14.580 --> 00:16:18.399 how that father is concerned for his dying son 00:16:18.399 --> 00:16:21.100 who's got the unclean spirit and what did the 00:16:21.100 --> 00:16:24.740 father say I believe help my unbelief and as 00:16:24.740 --> 00:16:29.159 I said this should be a prayer on our lips that 00:16:29.159 --> 00:16:31.399 God would strengthen our faith that we would 00:16:31.399 --> 00:16:37.580 not doubt the very power of God And so I think 00:16:37.580 --> 00:16:39.500 that Philip here is doubting, well, what about 00:16:39.500 --> 00:16:42.259 the other disciple mentioned in verse eight? 00:16:43.200 --> 00:16:48.279 Andrew, Simon Peter's brother. I'll be honest 00:16:48.279 --> 00:16:50.799 with you, I was studying this passage this week, 00:16:51.379 --> 00:16:55.179 and Andrew's statement puzzled me, and maybe 00:16:55.179 --> 00:17:00.019 it puzzles you too. Why does Andrew even bring 00:17:00.019 --> 00:17:04.799 this up? All right, this. five loaves of barley 00:17:04.799 --> 00:17:09.640 bread and a couple of fish, I was truly stumped 00:17:09.640 --> 00:17:12.420 by this. Because we should understand this, that 00:17:12.420 --> 00:17:14.279 when we're talking about the feeding of the 5 00:17:14.279 --> 00:17:19.339 ,000, that's only including the men. And so let's 00:17:19.339 --> 00:17:21.880 say that there's as many women as there are men. 00:17:22.140 --> 00:17:24.920 Now we're up to 10 ,000. And let's say that some 00:17:24.920 --> 00:17:26.920 of those men and some of those women are married 00:17:26.920 --> 00:17:29.900 and they have children. Now we're up to 15 or 00:17:29.900 --> 00:17:34.210 20 or even 25. thousand people on this mountain 00:17:34.210 --> 00:17:37.089 to be fed, and Andrew's like, here's this little 00:17:37.089 --> 00:17:38.589 boy, he's got a little bit of bread and a little 00:17:38.589 --> 00:17:46.609 fish. Why does Andrew even bring this up? Additionally, 00:17:47.390 --> 00:17:49.809 let's understand what kind of bread and what 00:17:49.809 --> 00:17:53.309 kind of fish. The text mentions that these are 00:17:53.309 --> 00:17:57.069 barley loaves. Friends, barley bread was the 00:17:57.069 --> 00:18:01.130 cheapest bread that you could possibly buy. It 00:18:01.130 --> 00:18:04.589 was poor people's bread. It probably didn't taste 00:18:04.589 --> 00:18:07.509 all that good. And the fish that the boy has, 00:18:07.769 --> 00:18:14.450 these are probably two small sardines. And so, 00:18:14.650 --> 00:18:18.410 Andrew, what are you talking about? This is not, 00:18:19.009 --> 00:18:23.069 this wouldn't make a dent in anybody's appetite 00:18:23.069 --> 00:18:27.910 other than maybe one small boy. But as I thought 00:18:27.910 --> 00:18:33.160 about it more, I thought, well perhaps Andrew 00:18:33.160 --> 00:18:37.339 believes that Jesus can do a lot with a little. 00:18:38.380 --> 00:18:43.180 Jesus can do a lot with a little. We see this 00:18:43.180 --> 00:18:46.180 throughout Scripture. God routinely does this 00:18:46.180 --> 00:18:49.720 kind of thing. God chooses the weak to shame 00:18:49.720 --> 00:18:52.839 the wise. Jesus says that if you have faith the 00:18:52.839 --> 00:18:55.460 size of a mustard seed, you can move mountains. 00:18:55.740 --> 00:18:59.279 And God uses unlikely people to be his servants, 00:18:59.380 --> 00:19:04.839 just like we see with these disciples. God does 00:19:04.839 --> 00:19:08.180 this time and time again. Matter of fact, he 00:19:08.180 --> 00:19:12.059 did this with the Israelites. Listen to these 00:19:12.059 --> 00:19:18.460 words from Deuteronomy, Deuteronomy 7, 6 through 00:19:18.460 --> 00:19:24.619 9. For you are a people holy to the Lord your 00:19:24.619 --> 00:19:28.359 God. The Lord your God has chosen you to be a 00:19:28.359 --> 00:19:31.640 people for his treasured possession out of all 00:19:31.640 --> 00:19:33.799 the peoples who were on the face of the earth. 00:19:34.099 --> 00:19:36.740 It was not because you were more in number than 00:19:36.740 --> 00:19:38.819 any other people that the Lord has set his love 00:19:38.819 --> 00:19:41.660 on you and chose you, for you were the fewest 00:19:41.660 --> 00:19:45.059 of all peoples. But it is because the Lord loves 00:19:45.059 --> 00:19:47.759 you and is keeping the oath that he swore to 00:19:47.759 --> 00:19:50.380 your fathers that the Lord has brought you out 00:19:50.380 --> 00:19:53.259 with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the 00:19:53.259 --> 00:19:56.140 house of slavery. from the house of Pharaoh, 00:19:56.380 --> 00:19:59.799 king of Egypt. Know therefore that the Lord your 00:19:59.799 --> 00:20:07.279 God is God." God does this time and time again. 00:20:09.839 --> 00:20:12.579 And Jesus does this as well. Jesus, as I said, 00:20:12.839 --> 00:20:15.359 selects those disciples who aren't making a who's 00:20:15.359 --> 00:20:19.740 who of anything, really, and he forms the church 00:20:19.740 --> 00:20:23.250 from them. 1st Peter chapter 2 verse 9 reflects 00:20:23.250 --> 00:20:26.789 on this passage and says that believers are the 00:20:26.789 --> 00:20:30.529 treasured possession of God and God doesn't choose 00:20:30.529 --> 00:20:34.349 you because of your good looks and he doesn't 00:20:34.349 --> 00:20:37.730 choose you because of how smart you are and he 00:20:37.730 --> 00:20:39.789 doesn't choose you because of your talents or 00:20:39.789 --> 00:20:43.150 your wealth God chooses you and places his love 00:20:43.150 --> 00:20:47.630 upon you simply because he loves you and he rescues 00:20:47.630 --> 00:20:51.390 you from your enslavement to sin and the punishment 00:20:51.390 --> 00:20:54.589 thereof. You see, friends, this miracle, it's 00:20:54.589 --> 00:20:57.630 about bread and it's about fish and it's about 00:20:57.630 --> 00:21:01.069 people up on a mountain. But it's about a whole 00:21:01.069 --> 00:21:04.650 lot more than that. It's about rescuing. If this 00:21:04.650 --> 00:21:07.450 is a recap of Exodus and the wilderness wanderings, 00:21:07.470 --> 00:21:11.490 it's about rescuing. And as Jesus takes this 00:21:11.490 --> 00:21:14.789 food here and he multiplies it, he does that, 00:21:14.809 --> 00:21:18.009 but it's only temporary because Jesus is pointing 00:21:18.009 --> 00:21:20.960 to something greater than that. Jesus is pointing 00:21:20.960 --> 00:21:25.839 to a food that never perishes Jesus is pointing 00:21:25.839 --> 00:21:32.900 to himself Look at John 6 just go further down 00:21:32.900 --> 00:21:43.980 to verse 25 and on John 6 25 through 35 Because 00:21:43.980 --> 00:21:46.339 this goes right along with what we're looking 00:21:46.339 --> 00:21:50.450 at when they found him On the other side of the 00:21:50.450 --> 00:21:53.390 sea, they said to him, Rabbi, when did you come 00:21:53.390 --> 00:21:56.549 here? And Jesus answered them, truly, truly, 00:21:56.549 --> 00:22:00.109 I say to you, you are seeking me, not because 00:22:00.109 --> 00:22:03.369 you saw signs, but because you ate your fill 00:22:03.369 --> 00:22:06.490 of the loaves. Do not work for the food that 00:22:06.490 --> 00:22:09.769 perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal 00:22:09.769 --> 00:22:12.670 life, which the Son of Man will give to you. 00:22:12.789 --> 00:22:15.670 For on him, God the Father has set his seal. 00:22:15.990 --> 00:22:19.390 Then they said to him, what must we do? to be 00:22:19.390 --> 00:22:21.910 doing the works of God. And Jesus answered them, 00:22:21.950 --> 00:22:25.269 this is the work of God, that you believe in 00:22:25.269 --> 00:22:29.269 him whom he has sent. So they said to him, then 00:22:29.269 --> 00:22:32.029 what sign do you do that we may see and believe 00:22:32.029 --> 00:22:35.069 you? What work do you perform? Our fathers ate 00:22:35.069 --> 00:22:37.250 the manna in the wilderness. As it's written, 00:22:37.650 --> 00:22:40.930 he gave them bread from heaven to eat. Jesus 00:22:40.930 --> 00:22:43.849 then said to them, truly, truly, I say to you, 00:22:44.369 --> 00:22:46.769 it was not Moses who gave you the bread from 00:22:46.769 --> 00:22:50.779 heaven. But my father gives you the true bread 00:22:50.779 --> 00:22:53.920 from heaven For the bread of God is he who comes 00:22:53.920 --> 00:22:56.759 down from heaven and gives life to the world 00:22:56.759 --> 00:23:01.180 and they said to him sir Give us this bread always 00:23:01.180 --> 00:23:06.019 and Jesus said to them. I am the bread of life 00:23:06.019 --> 00:23:09.140 Whoever comes to me shall not hunger and whoever 00:23:09.140 --> 00:23:14.410 believes in me shall never thirst Friends Jesus 00:23:14.410 --> 00:23:17.589 is the bread from heaven. Jesus is the manna 00:23:17.589 --> 00:23:20.109 from heaven We need to understand this today 00:23:20.109 --> 00:23:23.890 that Jesus he's on this mountain with the disciples 00:23:23.890 --> 00:23:29.130 and he is the host of the meal But Jesus is also 00:23:29.130 --> 00:23:33.950 the meal Jesus is the shepherd, but he's also 00:23:33.950 --> 00:23:38.690 the lamb Jesus is God, but he's also man. He 00:23:38.690 --> 00:23:42.559 is innocent but made guilty He is the way to 00:23:42.559 --> 00:23:46.660 heaven, but he endured hell. You see, within 00:23:46.660 --> 00:23:53.220 this text and within our theology, we understand 00:23:53.220 --> 00:23:56.779 that the people here on the mountain are not 00:23:56.779 --> 00:24:03.119 the only ones who are satisfied. Jesus satisfies 00:24:03.119 --> 00:24:07.759 the Father, too. Because Jesus... who offers 00:24:07.759 --> 00:24:10.819 himself as the bread of heaven and has his blood 00:24:10.819 --> 00:24:16.660 poured out. God is satisfied with this because 00:24:16.660 --> 00:24:20.259 he's the perfect substitute for our sins. Jesus 00:24:20.259 --> 00:24:23.339 was nailed to the cross, enduring the pain and 00:24:23.339 --> 00:24:26.400 the shame and the father's wrath was satisfied 00:24:26.400 --> 00:24:29.279 because it was poured out on the perfect substitute. 00:24:29.640 --> 00:24:33.779 God was satisfied. Isaiah 53 says, it was the 00:24:33.779 --> 00:24:39.509 will of God to crush. him. Because it was the 00:24:39.509 --> 00:24:43.650 only way. The only way was to have Jesus really 00:24:43.650 --> 00:24:47.589 offered up on that cross for you and me, the 00:24:47.589 --> 00:24:52.950 righteous for the unrighteous. Now perhaps I 00:24:52.950 --> 00:24:55.470 should have saved this sermon until next Sunday 00:24:55.470 --> 00:24:58.509 when we, Lord willing, will have the table before 00:24:58.509 --> 00:25:01.089 us, but you remember what happens at that table. 00:25:01.549 --> 00:25:04.269 You remember what the bread signifies the body 00:25:04.269 --> 00:25:07.269 of Christ broken and the cup signifying his blood 00:25:07.269 --> 00:25:11.150 poured out for the forgiveness of sins those 00:25:11.150 --> 00:25:15.490 signs Point to something even greater and that's 00:25:15.490 --> 00:25:18.710 what Jesus is helping us to see to look beyond 00:25:18.710 --> 00:25:21.910 those simple things even as great as that miracle 00:25:21.910 --> 00:25:24.769 was to look beyond the bread and look beyond 00:25:24.769 --> 00:25:28.710 the fish and look to Jesus who truly satisfies 00:25:28.710 --> 00:25:32.700 and so the bread of life takes this boy's lunch, 00:25:32.720 --> 00:25:35.819 and I believe this boy who has the bread and 00:25:35.819 --> 00:25:37.960 the fish, I believe he's trusting in Jesus more 00:25:37.960 --> 00:25:40.880 than anybody else in the story. Jesus blesses 00:25:40.880 --> 00:25:44.299 it, he distributes it, and everybody is filled. 00:25:44.799 --> 00:25:48.119 Look in verse 11. Jesus then took the loaves, 00:25:48.420 --> 00:25:50.779 and when he had given thanks, he distributed 00:25:50.779 --> 00:25:54.720 them to those who were seated. So also the fish, 00:25:55.140 --> 00:26:00.420 as much as they wanted. And then you see 12 baskets 00:26:00.420 --> 00:26:04.319 of bread left over. I don't see any fish left 00:26:04.319 --> 00:26:06.720 over, so apparently these people aren't carb 00:26:06.720 --> 00:26:10.720 lovers like I am, but the people see this and 00:26:10.720 --> 00:26:14.059 they are completely stunned. They are completely 00:26:14.059 --> 00:26:18.579 amazed. Like Moses in Egypt, the people are stunned 00:26:18.579 --> 00:26:21.799 and they say, this is the prophet who is to come 00:26:21.799 --> 00:26:24.460 into the world. You see what Jesus does here 00:26:24.460 --> 00:26:27.420 in this text? He fills more than their stomachs. 00:26:27.680 --> 00:26:34.539 Jesus fills their hearts. But friends, there's 00:26:34.539 --> 00:26:40.299 also a warning here. These people in John 6 are 00:26:40.299 --> 00:26:44.059 very, very similar to the Israelites wandering 00:26:44.059 --> 00:26:47.660 in the wilderness. Those people grumbled before 00:26:47.660 --> 00:26:51.119 Moses and before God. And so this is a warning 00:26:51.119 --> 00:26:55.119 not to look to Jesus to do our bidding, but that 00:26:55.119 --> 00:26:58.900 we look to Jesus to do His will. We should do 00:26:58.900 --> 00:27:02.279 this. The people here in verse 15, they wanted 00:27:02.279 --> 00:27:05.339 to make Him King by force, perhaps thinking, 00:27:05.640 --> 00:27:09.180 if Jesus is on the throne, then we will always 00:27:09.180 --> 00:27:15.380 have bread on the table. These people are concerned 00:27:15.380 --> 00:27:20.160 about getting more barley bread when what Jesus 00:27:20.160 --> 00:27:23.720 offers isn't even made in the same bakery. Look 00:27:23.720 --> 00:27:28.019 in chapter 6, 41 and 42. So the Jews grumbled 00:27:28.019 --> 00:27:32.500 about him, because he said, I am the bread that 00:27:32.500 --> 00:27:36.440 came down from heaven. And they said, is not 00:27:36.440 --> 00:27:40.019 this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and 00:27:40.019 --> 00:27:43.079 mother we know, how does he now say, I have come 00:27:43.079 --> 00:27:49.180 down from heaven? How quickly we forget. He has 00:27:49.180 --> 00:27:53.529 just fed all of these people with five tiny pieces 00:27:53.529 --> 00:27:56.470 of bread and two fish, and now they're criticizing 00:27:56.470 --> 00:28:01.630 him. This is exactly like the Israelites in the 00:28:01.630 --> 00:28:06.250 wilderness wandering about where it sounds like 00:28:06.250 --> 00:28:08.809 they have amnesia or something, forgetting about 00:28:08.809 --> 00:28:11.289 how God got them out of Egypt, forgetting about 00:28:11.289 --> 00:28:14.470 the plagues of Moses, forgetting about walking 00:28:14.470 --> 00:28:18.130 through the Red Sea with a wall of water on each 00:28:18.130 --> 00:28:22.069 side. You see, these people here are only satisfied 00:28:22.200 --> 00:28:29.960 when they're stuffing their faces. And yet, don't 00:28:29.960 --> 00:28:34.420 we see this all the time within ourselves, that 00:28:34.420 --> 00:28:39.500 we are satisfied by tiny, minuscule things when 00:28:39.500 --> 00:28:44.440 Jesus offers eternal life? Children, did any 00:28:44.440 --> 00:28:47.740 of you receive a good gift this Christmas that 00:28:47.740 --> 00:28:52.359 came in a cardboard box? Do sometimes we play 00:28:52.359 --> 00:28:56.680 with the box more than we do with the gift inside? 00:28:58.380 --> 00:29:01.799 That's how we are. We can be like that. Jesus 00:29:01.799 --> 00:29:04.460 offers eternal life that he lived for and he 00:29:04.460 --> 00:29:07.539 died for in excruciating fashion, and we're still 00:29:07.539 --> 00:29:09.460 wondering, hey, can I get some more of those 00:29:09.460 --> 00:29:11.359 sardines and some more of that barley bread? 00:29:13.720 --> 00:29:18.490 C .S. Lewis said it well when he wrote, It would 00:29:18.490 --> 00:29:21.609 seem that our Lord finds our desires not too 00:29:21.609 --> 00:29:25.890 strong, but too weak. We are half -hearted creatures, 00:29:26.309 --> 00:29:29.029 fooling about with drink and sex and ambition 00:29:29.029 --> 00:29:33.150 when infinite joy is offered to us, like an ignorant 00:29:33.150 --> 00:29:36.670 child who wants to go on making mud pies in a 00:29:36.670 --> 00:29:39.789 slum because he cannot imagine what is meant 00:29:39.789 --> 00:29:44.170 by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are 00:29:44.170 --> 00:29:51.730 far too easily pleased. Church, you cannot imagine 00:29:51.730 --> 00:29:56.009 what Jesus has in store for you. Try it now. 00:29:56.549 --> 00:29:59.930 Try and imagine a world without sin. Try and 00:29:59.930 --> 00:30:03.730 imagine a world without the curse of it. Imagine 00:30:03.730 --> 00:30:07.809 a better promised land. Jesus rescues us from 00:30:07.809 --> 00:30:10.809 something, but Jesus rescues us to something, 00:30:10.970 --> 00:30:14.710 this better promised land that he calls paradise. 00:30:15.339 --> 00:30:21.660 And Jesus cares for us all along the way to there. 00:30:22.779 --> 00:30:27.339 Beggars, look no further. Jesus is the bread 00:30:27.339 --> 00:30:31.059 of life. Believe in Jesus and you shall be saved. 00:30:31.240 --> 00:30:36.900 For as Psalm 16 says, in his right hand are pleasures 00:30:36.900 --> 00:30:42.039 forever. Philippians 4 .9, and I close with this. 00:30:43.259 --> 00:30:48.319 And my God, supply every need of yours according 00:30:48.319 --> 00:30:53.519 to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus. Amen. 00:30:54.019 --> 00:30:54.420 Let's pray.