1. The Crowd (verses 1-4)
2. The Test (verses 5-7)
3. The Sign (verses 8-13)
4. The Response (verses 14-15)

As many of you know, our third (and youngest) daughter, Stephanie, is getting married in a month (27 days to be exact), on December 14, 2024 in Louisville, Kentucky. I know that some of you will be joining with us in our celebration of the union of Ethan and Stephanie. We, as a family, are in the process of helping her to plan the reception. (When I say, “we,” I mostly mean Yvonne and Carissa).

It’s a lot of organizational work, to figure out the venue, the layout of the tables. Where is the head table? Where is the table for the cake? What about a snack table? Then, you have to figure out the decorations. Colors? Streamers?Llights? Balloons? The place settings, the center pieces, the activities during the reception. Introductions, Prayers, Speeches, Music. And perhaps, most important of all, the food. Because, the food makes the party. What kind of food? How many options? Who will cater the food? Who will serve the food? Who will clean up the food? Now for us, the plan is for 150 people in Louisville. A few weeks later, we are planning on a reception here in Rockford, where we need to figure out many similar questions.

Well, this morning, in our time in the Scriptures, we will see Jesus feeding, not 150 people in Louisville, but 5,000 people near the Sea of Galilee. We will see this in John, chapter 6. So, if you haven’t yet opened your Bibles there, now would be a good time to do so. Our text will be the first 15 verses of John, chapter 6. As you are turning there, now would be a good time for us to review where we have been in the gospel of John.

We will do this, again, by using the pictures that are in Tom Lach’s excellent booklet entitled, “The Stories of the Gospel of John.” Here is the picture that we have for chapter 1. If you remember, chapter 1 has to do with the first things. The gospel of John begins with the prologue, the first 18 verses, that anticipate many of the themes of the gospel of John, beginning with Jesus, the word of God, who created all things. It also mentions John the Baptist, who was baptizing in the river Jordan.

Then, we come to chapter 2, which looks a bit like a married couple bowing in worship at the altar. This reminds us that chapter 2 covers the miracle of turning the water into wine at the wedding of Cana. Also in the background, you will see the temple. This reminds us that Jesus cleansed the temple in chapter 2, overturning the tables of the money changers, and driving them out of the temple, saying, “Do not make my Father’s house a house of trade” (John 2:16).

Next we come to chapter 3, which reminds us of the beady eyes of Nicodemus, who came to Jesus by night. and Jesus spoke to him about the new birth. Then we come to chapter 4, which looks a bit like a well. This reminds us that John, chapter 4 tells the story of Jesus speaking with the woman at the well.

Now, one of the failings of these pictures is that these pictures don’t include everything in the chapter, because chapter 4 also includes the story of the healing of the royal official’s son. Remember, the father had traveled from Capernaum to Cana to ask Jesus to come and heal his son who was at the point of death? And Jesus said, “Go; your son will live” (John 4:50). Indeed, from that hour, the boy was healed. But that picture isn’t in our picture. But that’s OK, at least we have one picture that’s in each chapter.

Next is chapter 5, and it looks like a guy in a wheel chair, which reminds us that John, chapter 5 tells the story of the lame man who was healed. We have been considering this story for the past few weeks. He was at the pool, awaiting for the water to stir, so that he might be the first one into the water, so that he might be healed. Jesus said to him, “Get up, take up your bed, and walk" (John 5:8), and this man, who had been 38 years without walking, got up, took up his bed, and walked! What a wonderful display of the grace of Jesus and the power of God! All should have been rejoicing at the healing power of Jesus, only one problem. Jesus healed him on the Sabbath. As a result, the Jews were persecuting him, and even wanted to kill him! They hated the healer. They hated his claims to deity.

Well, today, we come to chapter 6, and we come to our picture, of a six. Now, when you look at it, it’s really a pretty sorry looking number 6. But it looks sort of like a “b” that stands for “bread.” In chapter 6, we see Jesus feeding bread to the multitudes (and he walks on water, which we will look at next week). But this week is Jesus feeding the 5,000, which story is told in the first 15 verses of this chapter, which is the title of my message this morning, “Jesus Feeds the 5,000.” Let’s read the story.

John 6:1-15
After this Jesus went away to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, which is the Sea of Tiberias. And a large crowd was following him, because they saw the signs that he was doing on the sick. Jesus went up on the mountain, and there he sat down with his disciples. Now the Passover, the feast of the Jews, was at hand. Lifting up his eyes, then, and seeing that a large crowd was coming toward him, Jesus said to Philip, “Where are we to buy bread, so that these people may eat?” He said this to test him, for he himself knew what he would do. Philip answered him, “Two hundred denarii[a] worth of bread would not be enough for each of them to get a little.” One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, said to him, “There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish, but what are they for so many?” Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.” Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, about five thousand in number. Jesus then took the loaves, and when he had given thanks, he distributed them to those who were seated. So also the fish, as much as they wanted. And when they had eaten their fill, he told his disciples, “Gather up the leftover fragments, that nothing may be lost.” So they gathered them up and filled twelve baskets with fragments from the five barley loaves left by those who had eaten. When the people saw the sign that he had done, they said, “This is indeed the Prophet who is to come into the world!”

Perceiving then that they were about to come and take him by force to make him king, Jesus withdrew again to the mountain by himself.

This is a wonderful story! It shows the power of Jesus. It shows the compassion of Jesus. It shows the provision of Jesus. It’s such a wonderful story that one might think that such a miraculous display of God’s power would lead the multitudes to believe, but it didn’t. All you need to do is read ahead in chapter 6, and you will see Jesus having conflicts again with the Jews. In verse 41, we see the Jews grumbling at the words of Jesus. In verse 61, we see the disciples grumbling at the words of Jesus. After Jesus says many hard things (verse 60), we read in John 6:66, "After this many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with him."

In this way, chapter 6 is like chapter 5. Jesus does a great thing, like healing a lame man and feeding 5,000 people, only to be met by opposition from the Jews. It’s like despite the power that Jesus shows these people, they simply won’t believe in Jesus! But this didn’t take Jesus by surprise. Look at John 6:64: "Jesus knew from the beginning who those were who did not believe, and who it was who would betray him." Though the Jews of Jesus’ day didn’t believe, John writes for us to believe in Jesus.

I trust that you remember why John wrote: Let us all remind ourselves once again why John writes: "Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name" (John 20:30-31).

One of the signs that John records for us is the feeding of the 5,000. As we look at this passage, I want for us to look at what this passage shows us about Jesus. In other words, I want for us to revel in the glory of Jesus in this story. In later weeks, we will look at how hard the hearts of the people were against Jesus.

My first point is this:

1. The Crowd (verses 1-4)

This is the main point of what John brings to our minds in the first four verses. Verse 1 begins with a time reference:

John 6:1
After this....

Whenever you see a phrase like that, you should ask yourself, “After what?” Well, it’s after the events of chapter 5, which we are told in verse 1, took place during “a feast of the Jews.” Chapter 5 gives us no insight as to which feast, but chapter 6 will be during the feast of the Passover. That’s what verse 4 says,

John 6:4
Now the Passover, the feast of the Jews, was at hand.

If you know your Jewish feasts, you know that they all occur during two specific months of the year. Half of the feasts took place during the first month of the year. Half of the feasts took place during the seventh month of the year. Chapter 5 took place during one of the feasts. Chapter 6 took place during the Passover. This means that chapter 6 was either six months or an entire year after the events of chapter 5. It all shows how John is not trying to give us every detail about the life of Jesus. Rather, we are getting some snapshots of his life, that we might believe, that we might have life in his name.

Verse 1 continues with a geographical reference:

John 6:1
After this Jesus went away to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, which is the Sea of Tiberias.

The Sea of Galilee is in the northern part of Israel, where Jesus did most of his ministry. We don’t exactly know where “the other side” of the Sea of Galilee is. other than, it’s not at Capernaum. We know this because in the next story in John, Jesus will walk on the water, arriving at Capernaum, on the north-eastern side of the sea of Galilee. The big significance of this, however, is that these events didn’t take place in Jerusalem, where the events of chapter 5 took place. It’s a change of location from chapter 5. Jesus is now in the north.

We read in verse 2:

John 6:2
And a large crowd was following him, because they saw the signs that he was doing on the sick.

Here we see John mention “a large crowd.” Later (in verse 10) we will find out the size of this crowd: 5,000 men. Now, in verse 2, we are given the reason why the crowd had gathered: “They saw the signs that Jesus was doing on the sick.” Again it shows that John is leaving out a bunch of details in his telling of the life of Jesus. He is healing a bunch of sick people. The crowds are coming to him, hoping that their loved ones will be healed as well.

In verse 3, we read:

John 6:3
Jesus went up on the mountain, and there he sat down with his disciples.

Now, when you hear, “mountain,” don’t think Colorado and the Rocky Mountains. Based upon the topology around the sea of Galilee, it’s better to think of something more akin to “hills.” Jesus is retreating into the hills with his disciples, during the days of the feast of the Passover (according to verse 4).

Then, in verse 5, we see the crowds coming to Jesus:

John 6:5
Lifting up his eyes, then, and seeing that a large crowd was coming toward him,

We have heard this phrase before, back in chapter 4:35, when Jesus was speaking with his disciples at the well. Jesus said to them, "Do you not say, ‘There are yet four months, then comes the harvest’? Look, I tell you, lift up your eyes, and see that the fields are white for harvest" (John 4:35). Jesus tells his disciples to lift up their eyes and see the ministry opportunities that you have with the people around you. For you and me, this is a call for us to “lift up our eyes” to see the needs of the people around us, that we might minister to them.

This is what Jesus saw. He saw crowds coming toward him. He saw a ministry need. Are there people in your life, who have a ministry need, that you can help? But your eyes are down, and you don’t see it? Lift up your eyes like Jesus did, and look upon who has a need that you can fulfill. Other gospel accounts say that Jesus “had compassion on” the crowds (Matthew 14:14). That’s why he wanted to feed them. In this case, Jesus sees the ministry need of feeding the crowds, something that he alone could do. But first comes, what I’m calling,

2. The Test (verses 5-7)

John 6:5
Lifting up his eyes, then, and seeing that a large crowd was coming toward him, Jesus said to Philip, “Where are we to buy bread, so that these people may eat?”

I’m calling this the test because of what verse 6 says.

John 6:6
[Jesus] said this to test him, for he himself knew what he would do.

Jesus knew that he planned on feeding all of these people. But Philip didn’t know. Philip responded, not by answering the question that Jesus proposed, but by objecting to their ability to purchase bread for so many people. Jesus said, “Where are we to buy bread?” (verse 5). Philip answers, “We don’t have the resources.” Look at verse 7.

John 6:7
Philip answered him, “Two hundred denarii worth of bread would not be enough for each of them to get a little.”

A denarius is a day’s wage. Philip was saying, “It would take 200 days of labor to feed a snack to all of these people.” Now, planning for our daughter’s wedding, I know a bit about the resources needed to purchase food for the crowds. I don’t think that Philip was too far off in his answer. We read in verse 10 that there were 5,000 people in this crowd. If you want to feed them a little bit, you give them a snack, Say it's $5 snack for each person. That’s $25,000 all of a sudden! As we shall see, there may have been more than 5,000 people. That’s a bunch of money for a little bit of snack!

That’s Philip’s point. He is saying that they don’t have the resources to purchase enough food to feed the crowds. But he missed the question and failed the test of faith. Jesus didn’t ask “How are we to purchase food for everyone?” Rather, he asked, “Where are we to purchase food?” In trying to figure out our daughter’s wedding, my wife surfed the internet, looking for catering places, seeking a place that can serve 150 people on December 14, 2024.

That’s what Jesus was asking. To answer the question to pass the test, Philip should have said something like this: “We are in a desolate place. There is a town down the road, but Gamaliel’s Falafel Shop is quite small. I’m not sure they are able to feed such a large crowd on such a short notice. There may be a place in the next town that can handle this size of crowd. But it may take a while to prepare the food for so many people. Jesus, we don’t have anywhere to buy so much food on such short notice!” I think that such a response would have passed the test. “There is no place available for us to purchase so much food to feed so many people.” Isn’t this where God wants for us to live? In a place of utter dependence upon him, trusting the Lord to do what only he can do?

This is where God wants for you to be. Trusting in the Lord for the financial provision for your life. Trusting in the Lord for the salvation of your children. Trusting in the Lord for him to resolve the conflict in our disputes with others. Trusting in the Lord to heal our sicknesses. Trusting in the Lord for daily strength to face the difficulties of each day. Trusting in the Lord to overcome temptation. Trusting in the Lord to be with you in your grief. Trusting in the Lord to sustain you in your marriage. Trusting in the Lord to calm your fears of the future.

Proverbs 3:5-6 says "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. 6 In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths." This is what Jesus was calling Philip to do. To acknowledge his inability and trust what only God can do. Of course, by application of the entire book of John, is the case of our sins. We can’t pay the debt that our sins have brought us before God. We must look to Jesus, and believe in him! That his sacrifice upon the cross was sufficient to pay for our sins! That we might have life in the name of Jesus. This is what the gospel of John is calling us to do. It’s calling us to see our lack of standing before God and to trust in Jesus, who can forgive our sins and bring us to God.

Let’s move on to my third point, which is

3. The Sign (verses 8-13)

This is where we see the wonder of this story.

John 6:8-9
One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, said to him, “There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish, but what are they for so many?”

Jesus had asked, “Where are we to buy bread, so that these people may eat?” (verse 5). Andrew comes with their option: A boy has five barley loaves and two fish. When you think of five barley loaves, don’t think about big loaves of bread that can make a bunch of sandwiches. Think more about a pita bread, or a hamburger bun, big enough for a sandwich. Perhaps even the size of a dinner role. When you think about the two fish, don’t think about giant fish that could feed many. Think about enough fish to fill his pita bread. Perhaps even the size of a slice of bologna.

The assumption here is that this boy might be willing to sell his lunch that he brought. At any rate, Andrew brought this boy to Jesus with the only resources that they could muster. There is humor in Andrew’s comments here. “What are they for so many?” Of course, you couldn’t feed 5,000 people with so little. Jesus took up the challenge.

John 6:10
Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.” Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, about five thousand in number.

At this point, Jesus is simply trying to organize the crowd. When you are mobilizing people, there’s a big difference between 5,000 people milling around, and 5,000 people sitting down. Now, many have pointed out that the number of people may have been far beyond 5,000, because verse 10 mentions that there were 5,000 men! It doesn’t mention women or children. The fact that there was a boy with his lunch shows that there were some children in the crowd. It may well be that there were 10,000 or 15,000 people there. S. Lewis Johnson actually entitled his sermon on this passage, “The Feeding of the 15,000.”^[1] John tells us 5,000. We will stay with that. But there may well have been more. But they had a place as John tells us that “there was much grass in the place” (verse 10). This comment helps to secure the time of the season. It was in the spring, during the Passover, when the grass was green. Then, in verse 11 we read,

John 6:11
Jesus then took the loaves, and when he had given thanks, he distributed them to those who were seated. So also the fish, as much as they wanted.

This is miraculous! We have no idea how this all worked. Perhaps Jesus had his magic carpet bag like Mary Poppins, and kept bringing out more and more bread to give to his disciples to distribute. Perhaps the disciples each had a basket from which to pull out the fish and the loaves, and every time that they put their hand into the basket, there was more bread and more fish to give. Perhaps when the bread was in the hands of the people, and when they broke the bread into two parts, it regenerated into two fresh loaves. We have no idea, whether Jesus was creating all of the bread to give out, or whether the bread was multiplying in the hands of the disciples or the crowds, all we know is this: it was miraculous!

The idea of feeding so many people wasn’t that everyone got just a little bit. The last phrase in verse 11 says that they all had

John 6:11
...as much as they wanted.

Verses 12 and 13 tell of the abundance of bread and fish that was multiplied that day.

John 6:12-13
And when they had eaten their fill, he told his disciples, “Gather up the leftover fragments, that nothing may be lost.” So they gathered them up and filled twelve baskets with fragments from the five barley loaves left by those who had eaten.

That is, when all was said and done, when all of the crowd had eaten their fill, there was more left over than when they had first begun with the five loaves and the two fish. Each of the twelve disciples were able to take a doggy bag home that day, to have as leftovers the next day. If you try to explain how all of this happens, you have missed the point.

William Barclay in his commentary gives three options for how this was done. First off, he says,

We may regard it simply as a miracle in which Jesus multiplied loaves and fishes. Some may find that hard to conceived of; … If we are puzzled, there are two other explanations.” The second explanation is that “this was really a sacramental meal,” much like we celebrate the Lord’s Supper, each gets a little, and we have all shared of the same loaf. But this contradicts the idea of how all ate to the abundance.

Barclay then gives a third explanation:

There may be another and very lovely explanation. It is scarcely to be thought that the crowd left on a nine-mile expedition without making any preparations at all. If there were pilgrims with them, they would certainly possess supplies for the way. But it may be that none would produce what he had, for he selfishly—and very humanly—wished to keep it all for himself. It may then be that Jesus, with that rare smile of his, produced the little store that he and his disciples had; with sunny faith he thanked God for it and shared it out. Moved by his example, everyone who had anything did the same; and in the end there was enough, and more than enough, for all. It may be that this is a miracle in which the presence of Jesus turned a crowd of selfish men and women into a fellowship of sharers. It may be that this story represents the biggest miracle of all—one which changed not loaves and fishes, but men and women.^[2]

That’s flat out unbelief! Don’t believe all that you read. Just because it’s in a book. Just because some really smart person said it. This cannot be the case, because you don’t have the sort of reaction to Jesus we see in verses 14 and 15 if this is a miracle of sharing. We see this in our fourth and final point: 

4. The Response (verses 14-15)

John 6:14
When the people saw the sign that he had done, they said, “This is indeed the Prophet who is to come into the world!”

The people responded in faith! In Jesus, they saw a prophet. In fact, they say, “the Prophet.” They were probably referring to Deuteronomy 18:15, when Moses told the people: "The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your brothers—it is to him you shall listen." When Moses was leading the people, the LORD was providing bread for those in the wilderness. Here was a man who provided bread for thousands! Certainly, they thought, “This is the one! This is the prophet!”

Yet, as John chapter 6 progresses we will see them failing to follow the counsel of Moses. Moses told them Deuteronomy 18:15 it is to him you shall listen. They didn’t listen to Jesus. They were excited that Jesus provided them with bread, and rightly so! They identified Jesus as the prophet that Moses spoke about! All was well and good! But they didn’t want to obey Jesus. Instead, they wanted a welfare state, where they all would receive bread from his hand! That’s why they wanted to make him king. But Jesus would have nothing of it. Look at verse 15,

John 6:15
Perceiving then that they were about to come and take him by force to make him king, Jesus withdrew again to the mountain by himself.

It was not his time. The hour would come when he would be called the king of the Jews. Remember when Pontius Pilate had Jesus on trial? He said to the crowd, “Behold your King!” (John 19:14). They said, “Away with him, away with him, crucify him” (John 19:15). When Jesus was crucified, the inscription on the cross above him said, “Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews” (John 19:19). Jesus was crucified for being the king of the Jews. He needs to be king in your life in the right way.

Jesus doesn't want people who on one hand will give allegiance to Jesus as king and then later will deny him and crucify him for claiming to be king. That's what John talks about, the fickleness of people. That's what John 6 is about. Verse 66 says "after this many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with him." Jesus doesn't want people who are going to say good things about him or lift him up in the moment, he wants lifetime followers. He wants to be king of your life forever. So as you believe, don't believe like these Jews believed. Don't only believe when circumstances are good. Jesus calls us to follow him regardless. Believe and trust in Jesus fully. Follow and obey the compassionate and powerful Jesus that fed the 5,000.

This sermon was delivered to Rock Valley Bible Church on November 17, 2024 by Steve Brandon.
For more information see www.rockvalleybiblechurch.org.

[1] https://sljinstitute.net/gospel-of-john/the-feeding-of-the-15000/.

[2]William Barclay, The Gospel of John, Volume 1 (Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1975), 204.