Sermon Notes - John 6:1-15 - Feeding 5,000 - Littleby Baptist Church - February 12, 2022

 

1.     The last Sign we looked at was Jesus healing a man who had been paralyzed for 38 years.

a.      It brought an opportunity for Jesus to share about the relationship between the Father and Him, the Son.

b.     How the Son knew the Father’s will.

c.      How the Father had granted the Son the power over life and the ability to judge.

d.     How the work of the Son, the signs Jesus is performing, testify about who He is.

2.     At the end of the 5^th chapter, Jesus calls out the people saying that they do not know Him because they do not love God.

a.      Their actions of persecuting Jesus for healing a man on the Sabbath, speak volumes about where their focus is.

b.     They wanted their rules followed more than loving others.

c.      They and we are to Love God with all that we are.

d.     That Love for God will be seen in how we respond to those around us.

3.     The Fourth Sign, the feeding of Five Thousand.

a.      The resurrection of Jesus is recorded in all 4 Gospels.

b.     The feeding of the 5,000 is the only other miracle performed by Jesus that is recorded in all four of them.

c.      Remember the Bible is God ordained, meaning through man God wrote every word.

d.     The fact that this is the only Sign recorded in all 4 Gospels, while Jesus was ministering to the public should tell us that it is important.

e.      It was also a very public Sign, in that there were 5,000 men and who knows how many women and children there at that time.

f.      One of those signs that you would not have to go very far to find someone who was there.

g.     A Sign that peaked people’s interest to find out who Jesus really was.

h.     But, when Jesus shared some hard truths, they turned away.

i.       Even with this sign people did not want to believe that Jesus was God.

4.     John 6:1

a.      After this… after some time.

b.     If we were to stack the Gospels together and look at the order of events, we see that before the feeding of the 5,000 we find:

                                                    i.     John the Baptist was killed.

                                                  ii.     The Disciples went out preaching the Word.

c.      The estimation is that from the end of chapter 5 to the beginning of chapter 6, roughly 6 months have passed.

d.     Not a hard fast fact, but it is believed that some time has passed between these events.

e.      We see that Jesus crosses the Sea of Galilee or also known as Tiberias.

                                                    i.     The Sea of Galilee is the commonly known name.

                                                  ii.     It’s other name, Tiberias, was also the name of a prominent city on its western shore.

                                                iii.     Both names are included to help people understand where these events happened.

                                                iv.     Helps people to relate to what is being told.

5.     John 6:2-3

a.      People were following Jesus wherever He went.

b.     Being that we are only talking about His fourth sign, it is likely they were following Him for other miracles He performed.

c.      None of the gospels contain all that Jesus did.

d.     John 21:25

e.      In writing to point out that Jesus is man and God, John is only scratching the surface.

f.      It is possible some are following Jesus for healing the paralytic man, but they are also likely following Him for the many miracles He did that we do not get to read about.

6.     John 6:4

a.      This is the second of three Passovers mentioned by John in this gospel.

b.     This Sign likely takes place a little more than a year before Jesus climbed on that cross.

7.     John 6:5-6

a.      Jesus knew the answer.

b.     He understood that humanly speaking feeding all of these people was not going to happen.

c.      His question to Philip was all part of teaching His disciples.

d.     He wanted them to think through the situation.

e.      Maybe to understand how impossible it was.

f.      Philip was from the area; he knew the little villages that were around them.

g.     He would have had a feel for if 5,000 men plus ladies and children would have been able to even find enough bread.

h.     Chances are there was nowhere near enough bread being baked in the area to feed all of these people.

i.       In asking this question, Jesus was trying to grow the faith of His disciples.

j.       He wanted them to see that the miracle for what it was.

8.     John 6:7

a.      Two hundred denarii are not enough.

b.     A denarius is equivalent to a days’ worth of work.

c.      Two hundred days of work would not be enough to feed this group of people.

d.     If we think about this in our standard 5-day work weeks, we are talking about roughly 10 months of work to maybe give everyone a few bites.

9.     John 6:8-9

a.      Andrew looked to see what food was available.

b.     Five barley loves and two fish.

c.      Probably a good meal for maybe two or three people.

d.     Less than a bite full for more than 5,000 people on the hill that day.

e.      The stage is being set for a Sign that emphasizes Jesus’ love and compassion, as well as His power as God.

10.  John 6:10

a.      Jesus is preparing the people to be a part of something magnificent.

b.     In John we only see the 5,000 men.

c.      Matthew 14 adds to the number by stating there were also women and children present.

d.     Pure speculation, but there were likely more than 10,000 people sitting on that hill.

e.      5 barley loaves and two fish were nothing more than a drop in the bucket for a mortal man to feed so many.

f.      Jesus is a man, But He is also God.

g.     He is the creator of all things.

h.     He is the giver of life.

11.  John 6:11

a.      Jesus gave thanks and distributed the food.

b.     Mark 6 tells us that Jesus handed bread and fish to His disciples and gave to all who were sitting there that day.

c.      An ordinary man would have handed out the 5 loaves and two fish and been done with it in a matter of seconds.

d.     Jesus, man and God, kept handing the food out.

e.      I would expect the disciples were questioning where it was all coming from.

f.      Yet, every time they came back to Jesus for more it was there.

12.  John 6:12a

a.      When they were full…

b.     When roughly 10,000 stomachs were full.

c.      The food kept coming until they were all full.

d.     It was a miracle, a sign that Jesus is God.

13.  John 6:12b-13

a.      5 loaves of bread, feed more than 10,000 people and there are 12 baskets of leftovers.

b.     If you are numbers person like me, the numbers flat out do not add up.

c.      Why not stop at exactly at just enough?

d.     Why have so much more than was actually needed?

14.  Why in this, the only miracle performed by Jesus that is found in all four of the Gospels, did He give more than was needed?

a.      Mark 8:17-21

b.     Jesus was trying to teach His disciples something important.

c.      Ephesians 3:20

d.     Jesus is able to do ‘above and beyond’ what we ask for.

e.      Psalms 23:5

f.      When walking with God, our cup overflows.

15.  What was He trying to teach the Disciples?

a.      That Jesus is more than we need!

b.     That He can do more than simply meet the needs of those who follow Him.

c.      That He can and has covered every sin we have every committed and those we have yet to commit.

d.     He wipes away all of that sin.

e.      His sacrifice is more than we need to spend forever with the Father.

f.      If we are doing the work of the Father, by believing in the one the Father sent, we cannot sin too much for Jesus.

g.     His love and His sacrifice are more than enough.

16.  John 6:14-15

a.      Thousands of people where personally touched by this Sign and believed that Jesus was the prophet Moses told them about.

b.     Deuteronomy 18:15

c.      They remembered Scripture telling them that Moses fed the people and led them out of slavery.

d.     Here was this Jesus who had just performed a miracle to feed them, so they jumped to the conclusion that Jesus could free them from the Romans.

e.      They were ready to elevate Him from a carpenter to a king.

f.      They wanted Jesus to be that Lion that has yet to come.

g.     John 1:29

h.     When Jesus came to this world some 2,000 years ago, He came as the Lamb of God.

i.       He came to be our sacrifice.

j.       The time for His rule was not then and has still yet to arrive.

k.     Revelation 5:1-7

l.       The Lion of Judah, the one like a slaughtered lamb, and the one who took the scroll are all the same.

m.   There is a time when our Lord will rule, but that time is still in the future.

17.  As we sit here today, we know that time is coming.

18.  We don’t know when, but it is coming.

19.  We need to make sure we are following Jesus.

20.  We need to draw near to Him so that we are not lead astray.

21.  If Jesus is the Lord of your life and your Savior, Hallelujah!

22.  Look to Him as you walk this earth.

23.  No matter how dark it looks, Look to Jesus!

24.  If you are unsure of where you stand with Jesus, I would love to talk with you.