John • #4 of 7 signs

John 6:1-15 • The feeding of the 5000...

• John's motivation to write? That we might receive eternal life by believing in Jesus.

John 20:30-31 → 30Therefore many other signs Jesus also performed in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; 31but these have been written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name.

• The signs that John mentions are 7 which he recorded in his gospel. They are...

► Sign 1, Water to Wine, Jesus is the master of the ELEMENTS → John 2:1-12

► Sign 2, Nobleman's Son, Jesus is the master over DISTANCE → John 4:46-54

► Sign 3, Lame Man at Bethesda, Jesus is the master over TIME → John 5:1-18

► Sign 4, Feeding of 5,000+, Jesus is the master over DIMENSION → John 6:1-15

► Sign 5, Jesus walks on water, Jesus is the master over NATURE → John 6:15-21

► Sign 6, The Man Born Blind, Jesus is the master over HISTORY → John 9:1-41

► Sign 7, The Raising of Lazarus, Jesus is the master over DEATH → John 11:1-46

• Sign 4, Feeding of 5,000+, Jesus is the master over DIMENSION

John 6:1-15 → 1After these things Jesus went away to the other side of the Sea of Galilee (or Tiberias).

• This comes immediately, in the text, after Jesus healed the lame man in Jerusalem, and faced the murderous intent of the Jews because of Jesus' intentional linking of Himself with the Father. Most of the commentators I've read believe it to have occurred about 6 months after chapter 5.

• When it says that He went to "the other side of the Sea of Galilee", John is referring to the north side, near Capernaum and/or Bethsaida.

► The Sea of Galilee is also know as the Sea of Tiberias, Kinneret Lake, and Genezareth Lake.

► At 695ft below sea level, it is the lowest freshwater lake and 2nd lowest lake in the world (after the Dead Sea, a salt water lake; 1,443ft below sea level).

► 13 miles long (north to south); 8.1 miles wide (east to west).

2A large crowd followed Him, because they saw the signs which He was performing on those who were sick. 3Then Jesus went up on the mountain, and there He sat down with His disciples. 4Now the Passover, the feast of the Jews, was near.

• Jesus' reputation as a healer is growing, causing Him to have a following.

• The mention of the "Passover" lets us know that this event took place in the spring. This is the 2nd Passover of 3 recorded in John, the 1st having been in John 2:13, and the 3rd in John 11:55.

• He apparently spent this Passover in the north as there is a growing movement in Jerusalem to kill Jesus (John 7:1)

5Therefore Jesus, lifting up His eyes and seeing that a large crowd was coming to Him, said to Philip, “Where are we to buy bread, so that these may eat?” 6This He was saying to test him, for He Himself knew what He was intending to do.

• Jesus question to Philip "where are we to buy bread, so that these may eat?" is purely to open the door for Jesus to once again reveal His power, mostly to His disciples, but also to the people.

• This was planned by Jesus, not just something He walked into and had to fix.

7Philip answered Him, “Two hundred denarii worth of bread is not sufficient for them, for everyone to receive a little.”

• "Two hundred denarii" would be the equivalent of about 8 months wages for a common laborer.

8One of His disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said to Him, 9“There is a lad here who has five barley loaves and two fish, but what are these for so many people?”

• Not sure what Andrew was thinking, even mentioning the sack lunch that this kid brought. Is the lad the only person who thought to pack a lunch? I always think of this lunch as 2 Filet-O-Fish sandwiches from McDonalds, with an extra 1/2 bun.

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

• 5,000 "men". With women and children it could have been upwards to 20,000 people there.

11Jesus then took the loaves, and having given thanks, He distributed to those who were seated; likewise also of the fish as much as they wanted.

• I could almost see Jesus, thanking the kid for being willing to share his lunch, then holding up the paper sack so everyone could see, neatly folded at the top with a napkin tucked inside, and praying to God, thanking Him for providing the food.

• Then He just keeps reaching in the bag and pulling out yet another, and then another, and then another, fish sandwich (wrapped in paper), to be distributed to the people.

12When they were filled, He said to His disciples, “Gather up the leftover fragments so that nothing will be lost.” 13So they gathered them up, and filled twelve baskets with fragments from the five barley loaves which were left over by those who had eaten.

• So we start with a sack lunch, everyone is full, and there ended up being 12 baskets (one for each disciple?) full of left-overs! When God provides, there is always an over-abundance!

14Therefore when the people saw the sign which He had performed, they said, “This is truly the Prophet who is to come into the world.”

• I can see how, in that environment, on a hillside, the wind blowing, people talking, that it might be hard to hear, if you're on the outer perimeter, to exactly what Jesus was saying, but it would be hard to miss what you could see of the mass distribution of food. It's like Jesus opened up a sack lunch and poured out a semi-truck load of groceries!

• This "Prophet" Jesus probably was, but their focus was on what He was providing, in the way of food (in this instance) and healing, rather than on who He was, the Messiah.

15So Jesus, perceiving that they were intending to come and take Him by force to make Him king, withdrew again to the mountain by Himself alone.

• This is what I think of as a transitionary verse, in that it could belong to this passage, as well as the next.

• Jesus' concern that the people, in their zeal for Jesus, were going to try to push Him into a political role, specifically as the King who would force out the Romans. But that is not on Jesus' agenda, so He goes off by Himself to avoid all of that.

• I can see how it would be very easy to see, and/or hear about, all of the miraculous things that Jesus was doing, and really want to have some of that for myself. Disease or disfigurement instantly gone; hunger and/or poverty replaced by at least enough to be content, if not with a little extra. But we need to remember, it's not about what we can get from Him for ourselves, at least in regards to physical things. We need to remember that all of these signs are to point us to a correct understanding of who Jesus is, and what He did for us from an eternal perspective. He has removed the sin barrier that keeps us from God, by paying for our sins Himself on the cross. And then He rose from the dead. All so that we, by faith in who He is and in what He has done, might receive eternal life. Don't settle for what Jesus could do for you physically - reach out and receive for yourself what He has done for you spiritually.

• Jesus is the master over DIMENSION