The Feeding of the Five Thousand

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The Fourth Sunday in Lent
The Feeding of the Five Thousand
March 14, 2010

TEXT:  NKJ John 6:1 After these things Jesus went over the Sea of Galilee, which is the Sea of Tiberias. 2 Then a great multitude followed Him, because they saw His signs which He performed on those who were diseased. 3 And Jesus went up on the mountain, and there He sat with His disciples. 4 Now the Passover, a feast of the Jews, was near. 5 Then Jesus lifted up His eyes, and seeing a great multitude coming toward Him, He said to Philip, "Where shall we buy bread, that these may eat?" 6 But this He said to test him, for He Himself knew what He would do. 7 Philip answered Him, "Two hundred denarii worth of bread is not sufficient for them, that every one of them may have a little." 8 One of His disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, said to Him, 9 "There is a lad here who has five barley loaves and two small fish, but what are they among so many?" 10 Then Jesus said, "Make the people sit down." Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, in number about five thousand. 11 And Jesus took the loaves, and when He had given thanks He distributed them to the disciples, and the disciples to those sitting down; and likewise of the fish, as much as they wanted. 12 So when they were filled, He said to His disciples, "Gather up the fragments that remain, so that nothing is lost." 13 Therefore they gathered them up, and filled twelve baskets with the fragments of the five barley loaves which were left over by those who had eaten. 14 Then those men, when they had seen the sign that Jesus did, said, "This is truly the Prophet who is to come into the world." 15 Therefore when Jesus perceived that they were about to come and take Him by force to make Him king, He departed again to the mountain by Himself alone.
 
This is a familiar story—the feeding of the 5000—most of these 5000 that Jesus fed were there to listen to Him—because they were seeking a new understanding of God’s Word and how to be obedient to God—they desperately wanted the kingdom of God—but the things Jesus was teaching did not match the things the Pharisees and the scribes taught them all their lives—this provided an opportunity for Jesus to teach—the 5000—His disciples—and all believers who would ever read God’s Word—a valuable lesson—several lessons in fact
 
In our text, notice that Jesus sees the great multitude of followers—and asks Philip how they could be fed—even though Jesus knew exactly what was about to happen—Jesus was teaching His disciples—He noticed all the people following them—these people were following to hear God’s Word—and perhaps witness a miracle—they had heard of this great Rabbi, Jesus—little did they know that the miracle would come—and that they would experience it first-hand—this feeding is a demonstration of Jesus’ teaching in the sermon on the mount—the people are seeking the kingdom of God—and Jesus is about to show them a glimpse of that kingdom
 
NKJ Matthew 6:33 "But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.
 
Jesus shows that those who seek the Kingdom of God—will not be forsaken—Jesus saw those seeking Him—the Word—and provided for their needs—He demonstrates for all to see that the Word of God has the power to feed the world—spiritually—and physically—the only thing constraining the vastness of this miracle was the limited number of people present
 
Another verse that comes to mind when we review this story—the words of Jesus when He was in the wilderness being tempted by the devil—and the devil suggested that Jesus turn stones into loaves of bread—Jesus quoted a verse from the Old Testament [Deuteronomy 8:3]
 
NKJ Matthew 4:4 But He answered and said, "It is written, 'Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.' "
 
Although Jesus knows how He will feed the multitude of people—but He still asks Philip how he would suggest they get bread and feed the people—before they complain or ask him—therefore one lesson for us is that Jesus cares more and sooner for us than we do ourselves
 
TEXT:  NKJ John 6:7 Philip answered Him, "Two hundred denarii worth of bread is not sufficient for them, that every one of them may have a little."
 
Philip knew better—he has seen the miracles Jesus performed—he knows God the Father spoke from the heavens when Jesus was baptized—he knows the Holy Spirit came down and set upon Jesus at His baptism—Philip knows Jesus can easily perform a miracle like making bread for the mass of hungry people—but Philip is looking at things through worldly eyes—he is not considering the spiritual things of Jesus, the Christ
 
The feeding of the 5000 is a demonstration of Christ’s love for the people—He sits them all down—not just the believers—but all the people that followed Him—those that were there as curiosity seekers—those who are there to listen for teachings that might contradict the teachings of the priests, the rabbis, and the Pharisees—and those that were there to listen to the Word—we learn this from the Words Jesus spoke later
 
NKJ John 6:26 Jesus answered them and said, "Most assuredly, I say to you, you seek Me, not because you saw the signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled.
 
This is a demonstration of God’s unconditional love for man—Jesus fed those that believed and those that did not believe—all that came could eat—ours is a loving and compassionate God—and we need to understand that the spiritual feeding of the 5000 is no different than the physical feeding—the Word was spoken to the believers and the unbelievers—we can trace this lesson back to the Prophet Isaiah
 
Isaiah 55:6  Seek the LORD while He may be found, Call upon Him while He is near. 7 Let the wicked forsake his way, And the unrighteous man his thoughts; Let him return to the LORD, And He will have mercy on him; And to our God, For He will abundantly pardon. 8 "For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways," says the LORD. 9 "For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways, And My thoughts than your thoughts. 10 "For as the rain comes down, and the snow from heaven, And do not return there, But water the earth, And make it bring forth and bud, That it may give seed to the sower And bread to the eater, 11 So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void, But it shall accomplish what I please, And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.
 
Jesus taught us in the Sermon on the Mount that the rain falls on the just and the unjust—thus the Word falls upon the ears of both the believers and unbelievers—and the Word does its work
 
NKJ Matthew 5:45 "that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.
 
Our text exposes the imperfections we have as believers—Philip comments that even if there was a market nearby—they couldn’t buy enough food for all these people—most town markets wouldn’t have this much food—Andrew states how little food there is among them—then Jesus responds by taking control of the situation—having the people sit down—the power of the Word—and the love of God was about to be dramatically demonstrated
 
The richest among those following Jesus that day could not have bought a loaf of bread—yet the poorest could eat all they wanted—when all were finished eating Jesus instructed His disciples—"Gather up the fragments that remain, so that nothing is lost."—physically, Jesus is teaching us to be good stewards of what He gives us—and not to tempt God—we are assured that God will always provide—but we shouldn’t always expect such a miraculous delivery of our daily needs
 
Spiritually, we understand that the Word—the Bread of the Word—fell upon the ears of those who understood and believed—but it also fell upon unbelieving ears—so the disciples physically collect the scraps of bread for others to eat at a later time—and they spiritually gather the Word of the message to share with others at a later time
 
We must never let His gifts lie unused—or allowed to spoil—use whatever gifts you are given—and believe in receiving the things you need to do the Lord’s work—and expect that which you need—and God will provide according to Jesus’ example and promise to His disciples—and us—we should take notice also that our Lord nor His disciples profited personally from the gifts—they didn’t sell the bread—they gave it in the spirit of love to their neighbors in need—they didn’t sell the Word—it was offered to all with ears to hear
 
NKJ John 14:13 "And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 "If you ask anything in My name, I will do it.
 
That is what is behind the power of prayer—the promises of God—when we pray—we pray with the faith that God keeps His promises
 
NKJ James 1:6 But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind.
 
Luther’s spiritual interpretation of this lesson
 
The Grass signifies the people—who flourished like the grass—as Isaiah stated
 
NKJ Isaiah 40:6 The voice said, "Cry out!" And he said, "What shall I cry?" "All flesh is grass, And all its loveliness is like the flower of the field. 7 The grass withers, the flower fades, Because the breath of the LORD blows upon it; Surely the people are grass.
 
Surely the people are grass—the 5000 were as great a number as a person could practically address—this great number is like the grass in the field—you see the grass—but it is difficult to see each blade—Jesus had the people sit in the grass as a sign of humility—and humility before God is necessary to understand the teachings of Scripture—true believers must despise signs of outward holiness and face God in humility
 
The Five Loaves represent the Word of God—the bread of life—consider these references—first Jesus speaks of the Pharisees who practice an outward ministry—not the preaching of the Holy Spirit in our hearts—but the doctrine of man for the recognition of man to the authority of the Pharisees—and the second verse is Jesus explaining that He is the bread of God sent from heaven
 
NKJ Matthew 16:12 Then they understood that He did not tell them to beware of the leaven of bread, but of the doctrine of the Pharisees and Sadducees.
 
NKJ John 6:33 "For the bread of God is He who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world."
 
The loaves are in the basket—that is—the Word was in the Scriptures—and the Scriptures were entrusted to the Jewish priests and Rabbis—but they did not properly discharge their duties—as we hear from a Hebrew’s Hebrew
 
NKJ Romans 3:1 What advantage then has the Jew, or what is the profit of circumcision? 2 Much in every way! Chiefly because to them were committed the oracles of God.
 
Christ Took the Loaves in His Own Hands
 
[Luther]  “But that Christ took these into His own hands, and they were thereby blessed and increased, signifies that by Christ’s works and deeds, and not by our deeds or reason, are the Scriptures explained, rightly understood and preached.  This He gives to His disciples, and the disciples to the people.  For Christ takes the Word out of the Scriptures; so all teachers receive it from Christ and give it to the people, by which is confirmed what Matthew says:
 
NKJ Matthew 23:10 "And do not be called teachers; for One is your Teacher, the Christ.
He sits in heaven, and He teaches all only through the mouth and the word of preachers by His Spirit, that is, against false teachers, who teach their own wisdom.
 
The Five Fish are the example of the Old Testament patriarchs and prophets whom the Apostles cited to strengthen their doctrine.  Representative of the 5 Books of Moses—or the 5 divisions of the Old Testament—Books of Moses—ancient prophets and historical books—poetic and wisdom books—minor prophets—major prophets
 
The Twelve Baskets Of Fragments Represent all the writings and books of the Apostles and Evangelists—12 baskets—12 Apostles—12 Tribes of Israel—their writings written for all Christians for all time
 
Philip’s Suggestion to Buy Bread represents human teachers—their efforts pointless to help the soul—it is impossible to feed so many with our own counsel—our human doctrines are a disgrace—useless without God’s Word—and the Spirit—man distributes the Word of God—not the doctrine of man
 
ALL GLORY BE TO GOD!