The Feeding of Five Thousand is the only miracle of Jesus, aside from the resurrection, that is mentioned in all four of the Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John). It is important to realize the significance of bread in Bible times. Bread was the staple of the people’s diets; if there was no bread, it was pretty much the same as saying, “There’s no food.”
With this miracle, Jesus manifests God’s limitless power and resources to provide bread for the physical needs of His people and preludes His goodness and mercy to provide spiritual bread for His people – “the Bread of Life”. We’ll see that the Bread of Life is Jesus Himself.
John 6:5-15
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.
7Philip answered Him, "Two hundred denarii worth of bread is not sufficient for them, for everyone to receive a little."
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?" 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.
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.
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.
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." • One denarius was equivalent to a day’s wages. A denarius was a silver coin used in Roman times.
• Takes place near Bethsaida. A multitude had formed to see Jesus.
• Additionally, in Exodus, God allows manna to fall from the sky to feed the hungry Israelites in the hot desert following their escape from Pharaoh.
o Manna was like flakes of bread that covered the ground every day like white frost.
o It was abundant, but God told His people not to save any for the next day, and at the end of the day, the manna rotted and was filled with worms.
o God wanted the Israelites to trust Him in that He would provide for their needs daily.
(v.6) Jesus already knows the miracle he is about to perform, so why does he ask this rhetorical question?
Because he wants to see what Philip's response will be.
When God tests us, we can respond in three different ways.
1. In fear
2. In confusion
3. In faith
Satan would have you respond in fear or in confusion, but God wants you to respond in faith.
o In 2 Kings 4:42-44, Elisha feeds 100 men with 20 loaves of bread. “God has said that we will eat, so we WILL eat.” And have some left over, mind you!
Two Take Home Messages
1. Absolute Surrender to God
a. The little boy didn’t believe he had enough food to feed five thousand people, let alone five people. He could have easily kept it for himself. However he chose to give all of the food to Jesus. And Jesus multiplied what he’d had.
b. When we give what we have to God, by using those things to love God, love people, share Jesus, and make disciples, God can multiply them one hundred fold. He can take what little we believe we have and work miracles.
c. Don’t doubt God’s ability to do what men and women cannot do. Remember God's promise - He'll NEVER call you to do something that He has not fully equipped you to do.
i. God to Abraham, promising he and his elderly wife a son (Genesis 18:14)
ii. Jesus to His disciples, talking to the rich young man (Matthew 19:26, 6:25-33)
Jehovah Jireh - the Lord Our Provider
2. You Need the Bread of Life!
a. Just as you would die if you didn’t have enough food to eat, you would experience spiritual death without the Bread of Life – Jesus.
b. John 6:35 - Then Jesus declared, "I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty.
c. For lost people, they are spiritually starving, and Christ is the ONLY bread that can provide sustenance to their hunger.
No comments:
Post a Comment