Let us go to the Lord in a word
of prayer before we read this blessed passage. Our Father,
we anxiously stand and wait for the reading of this Word. For
these things that are before us here, the great lesson, the
great power of our God, the wonderful display of His power over even
the small food elements of the world. And Lord, the beautiful
picture that is here of Him who is the bread of life and is all-sufficient. There is enough grace and for
all who are in Christ. And we thank You for that. We
all have plenteous grace and mercy, Lord, in abundance. We
pray that we may hear. We pray that our faith might
be increased. We pray, O Lord, that we might
learn lessons here that may have escaped us before, that something
may leap out at us here for the first time, that we might see
a grand truth in this ordeal. We pray it in the name of Christ,
our Lord. Amen. All right, John 6, 1-14. After these things, And Jesus went over the Sea of
Galilee, which is the Sea of Tiberias. And a great multitude
followed Him because they saw the miracles which He did on
them that were diseased. And Jesus went up into a mountain,
and there He sat with His disciples, and the Passover feast of the
Jews was nigh. When Jesus then lifted up his
eyes, saw a great company come unto him, he said unto Philip,
Whence shall we buy bread that these may eat? Watch verse 6. This he said to prove him, for
he himself knew what he would do. Philip answered him, Two
hundred pennyworth of bread is not sufficient for them that
every one of them may take a little. One of the disciples, Andrew,
Simon Peter's brother, saith unto him, There is a lad here
which hath five barley loaves, and two small fishes, but what
are they among so many? And Jesus said, Make the men
sit down. Now there was much grass in the
place, So the men sat down in number, about five thousand.
And Jesus took the loaves, and when He had given thanks, He
distributed to His disciples, and the disciples to them that
were sat down, and likewise of the fishes, as many as they would. And when they were filled, He
said unto His disciples, Gather up the fragments that remain,
that nothing be lost. Therefore they gathered them
together and filled twelve baskets with the fragments of the five
barley loaves, which remained over and above unto them that
had eaten. Then those men, when they had
seen the miracle that Jesus did, said, This is of a truth, that
prophet, that should come into the world. We noted something
as we began studying the miracles of our Lord. Only those that
are found in the Gospel of John, by the way. And that is that
it was a common and an ordinary thing for John to write in his
Gospel things that were omitted in the other Gospels or the first
three. He usually records miracles and
also parables not found in the Synoptic Gospel, or in Matthew,
Mark, and in Luke. He does not match them, miracle
for miracle, or parable for parable, in writing His Gospel. But this miracle of the feeding
of the 5,000, or the feeding of the multitude, is an exception. An exception because this same
miracle is found in all four of the Gospels. It is found in
Matthew 14 and verse 13 through 21. Luke records it in chapter
9, verse 10 through 17. Mark has it in his Gospel in
chapter 6, verse 31 through verse 44. And, if I'm not mistaken, This is the only miracle of all
that our Lord did. The only miracle that our Lord
performed during His earthly ministry that is to be found
in all four of the Gospels. That might tell us something
significant about it. This miracle of the Lord is found
in all of the Gospels and might be a hint to us of the importance
and the significance of this particular gospel. As an example
of that, all four gospels give us an account of the crucifixion,
of the burial, and of the resurrection of our Lord. And yet, it is only
John that records the long discourse next day in which the Lord declares
Himself to be the bread of life. That is, though all these Gospels
have written on this miracle, it is John's account that gives
us the most expanded view and the application of the miracle. Now, even though the miracle
is in the three earlier Gospels, John repeats it again in his
Gospel And he also includes the teaching on the symbolic or the
spiritual meaning of the miracle, as it is, John, one of the bases
of the great I Ams of our Lord. It is John that tells us again
and again, I am, I'm the bread, I'm the way, I'm the shepherd,
I'm the life, and I am the resurrection. Now, a point to remember as we
enter in concerning the words in verse 1, after these things. Now, we might have a tendency
to think that refers to those things immediately before it,
in the end of John chapter 5. But this does not mean that the
miracle of the bread and the fishes, the feeding of the multitude,
followed closely upon the healing of the man at the pool of Bethesda. For the first one in Jerusalem,
the other in Galilee, and John passes over several months, and
he fast-forwards then into the Lord's ministry in Galilee. The Lord had ministries in Judea
and then in Galilee and so forth. And here we find him ministering
in the area of Galilee. John Gill is on it. He says he
thinks that about a year has passed between the man healed
at the pool and this miracle here because of the interval
between the feast days of the Jew. In fact, John passes over
the death of John the Baptist. John, in his gospel, makes no
mention of that, of his beheading. He makes no mention of the return
of the 70 who had been sent out and found great success in preaching
the gospel and the kingdom of God. And he goes over and does
not record the fact that Herod desired to see a miracle from
our Lord when he was sent over unto Him. And thus it is that
John here very carefully retells the miracle of this feeding of
the great multitude of people. George Hutchinson thought that
he might attach it to the teaching of the Lord on the significance
in which the Passover actually melted away into Christianity. John also passes some details
which the other Gospels include even about this miracle. For
example, Matthew and Mark and Luke, all three tell us that
the apostles concerned for the great multitude that they had
nothing to eat. That they were in a desert place. They were far out, as it were,
an urban area. And the people were many. And
they were there by the hundreds. And they had no food to eat. The disciples were concerned
that the day was far spent, and soon the night would come on
and they had no food. And so the disciples suggest,
send them away. Send them where they can provide
for themselves victuals, they can find food, they can make
arrangements for lodging for the night. Spurgeon put it this
way, they represented the place as desolate, the time as late,
the people as many, and their needs as great." The words of
Spurgeon. Their suggested solution, therefore,
send them away. You have taught them wrong. Dismiss
them. Let them go. Let them go into
the villages here, thither and yon, that they might make preparation
for the night. Get them something to eat and
continue at a later time. Now notice the Lord's answer
to the disciples' suggestion. In Matthew 14 and verse 16, He
says to them after they make that suggestion, the Lord said,
They need not depart, give them to eat. No need for them to go. No need to leave. Give them something
to eat. Mark 6, 37. Luke 9 and verse
13 also record the same thing. Now, they began to weigh their
resources, therefore, against the number of the people that
were to be fed. And one said unto the Lord, look,
two hundred penny worth, which must have been all the money
in the treasurer, is not enough to buy that all of them might
even have a small amount. And how shall they furnish bread
for all of this number with so small amount? Then another said,
there is a young lad here who has a lunch, and in it he has
five barley loaves or cakes, and he has two fishes. But what
is that among so many? Not only do we not have enough
money to buy something for all to eat, but the food that we
do have is but a small boy's lunch and no way that it might
feed so many. How shall we feed so many on
such a meager amount as this? Now both Philip and Andrew doubt
that such a thing should be accomplished. accomplished, not with 200 penny
worth of money and not with the lunch that was available. But
John 6 and verse 6, if you look, hangs the key on the door for
our understanding. This Jesus said to prove, Philip,
listen, for He Himself knew what He would do. Or literally, He
knew what He was about to do. They did not know. But Jesus
knew how He would remedy the situation and what He would do. Now verse 6 is one of those many
explanatory clauses that constantly flow from the pen of John. John is famous and he is fond
of using these explanatory clauses to explain something unto his
readers. How often John does this in the
Gospel. He gives a reason, or he gives
an explanation of the meaning of some words of Jesus. He does
it again and again throughout his Gospel, and here is one of
those examples. Now, this explains why the Lord
would not dismiss them early enough to go into town and make
arrangement and provision for the night. And this is why the
Lord did not send to town for anybody to try to get some supplies
and bring them back. Now, of course, the Lord, think
about it, could have as easily multiplied the money as He multiplied
the fish and the loaves. He could have easily filled their
purse so that there was enough to do that. But the Lord has
determined to work a miracle, and He's determined to work a
specific miracle to feed the multitude, and we're told that
they numbered 5,000 men, and Matthew 14.21 said, not counting
women and children. So the multitude was indeed large. In doing so, the Lord would manifest
His glory in the front of so many. as well as relieve and
supply a need of the people. And he would open the opportunity
that he then might proclaim himself as the bread of life that has
come down from God out of heaven to give life unto the world. How will the Lord performed the
miracle. He knew what he would do, what
is in his mind, how he might do it. Now the Lord has all power
at his disposal. He's not limited in any way to
bring it to pass. He has all power in heaven and
in earth. He has power over all of the
elements. He has power over all of the
material world. He has power over all of the
angelic hosts that dwell in the presence of God. He that caused
a raven to come and feed Elijah. I think we might call that a
crow today. He that caused a raven to come
and feed the prophet Elijah. 1 Kings 17, verses 4-6, bringing
him Bread and flesh in the morning
and again in the evening. While he dwelt in the cave, the
raven, by God's sovereign command, brought food unto him. He that
sent quail among the people that they might go out and get them
and eat them. In Exodus chapter 16 and verse 13. For bread they
had in the morning and quail they had in the evening. And
God supplied them that way in the Old Testament. By the way,
let's consider a passage of Scripture found in Psalm 78 and verse 19. It's in a section of Scripture
there dealing with the sinful behavior of the people of Israel
in the wilderness. Among their sins was their questioning
whether God, quote, could furnish a table in the wilderness. Psalm 78 and verse 19. Can God furnish a table in the
wilderness? The occasion of this we must
remember. This was from a people who saw
the Red Sea departed, and they went across on dry land, and
saw Pharaoh and his army drowned and destroyed in that sea. This is the people that came
to Marah And the water was bitter. By casting in a limb, Moses did
make the water fit for them to drink. This is the people that
did march under the pillar of cloud and of fire. This was the people that saw
the rocks smitten and water gushed out that they might drink a plenty. And then, to impudently ask the
question, In their rebellion, can God furnish a table in the
wilderness? Good expositors think that Psalm
78 and verse 19 refers to much of what is found in Exodus chapter
16 and Numbers chapter 11. When the people in the wilderness,
fearing starvation, they said, you have brought us out here
to starve us to death. And when they were without food
at a time, they remembered the flesh pots of Egypt. Exodus 16 and verse 3, quote,
When we did eat bread to the full, unquote. In Numbers 11
and verse 4 and verse 5 and verse 6, they came to a certain place
and they wept and they murmured and they complained And they
cried out, who shall give us flesh that we might eat? We remember
the fish, they said. We remember the cucumber. We
remember the melons and the leeks and the onions and the garlic. Those fine things that we had
to eat back in the land of Egypt. And now they say, our soul is
dried away and nothing is there for us to eat. but this manna
that is before our eyes." Again, in Numbers 21 and 5, they finally
came to the place to where they said, our soul loathes this light
bread. Manna every day. Manna on Monday
and Tuesday and Wednesday. They're manna every day. They
wanted a sumptuous feast, and their taste buds were awakened
at the remembrance of those sumptuous dainties that they had taken
down in the land of Egypt. Matthew Henry called it, and
I'm quoting, a feast second and third course. It's what they
desired in the wilderness. Can God set a table like that
in the wilderness? So God gave them manna in the
morning which was strongly typical and significant of Christ, who
is the bread or the manna of life. In the evening, our Lord
God gave them quail, and they came and lit all about the camp
as much as they would. And in Psalm 78 and verse 25,
it said, Man did eat angels' food. He sent them meat to the
full. Yes, God can set or furnish a
table in the wilderness. Now the miraculous feeding of
many was a thing that had been done by God before as an evidence
of His power and of His sovereignty. So if we might come back now
to John chapter 6, and the people need food. In fact, the Lord
commands the disciples, Matthew 14 and 16, they need not depart,
give them to eat. And in Mark 6 and 37 and Luke
9 and verse 13, the same command is given, feed these people. As John 6 and 6 tells us, Jesus
knew what He would do, that He would feed them, and He knew
how He would feed them, how He would do it. Now will He command
a host of angels to come bearing food out of God from heaven for
them? Is that how He might do it? Or
will He cause quails again to lie in the midst as in the times
of old? Or will He cause fresh manna
to fall down out of the heaven that they might pick up and eat?
Any of these the Lord might have done. The Lord might have solved
it in any of these ways and others that we can't even think of.
Can the Lord furnish a table here in the wilderness? He did
of old with the Jews. Can so many be fed with so little
at hand? Can it be done? For remember,
Mark 6 and verse 36, they have nothing to eat. Among all that
crowd, this lunch is all that is there. All the food to be
found among them was some little young lad. His mom had packed
him a lunch that day as he went to be in the crowd where Jesus
was. And Andrew brings that intelligence
to our Lord and informs Him, there is one little boy here. He has five barley cakes and
he has two small fishes as his lunch. And the Lord calls for
them. He says, bring them here. Matthew
14 and verse 18. But let's harmonize the four
accounts of this miracle in order that we might get all the parts
and all of the facts. The Lord made an orderly arrangement
of the people. He had them sit down orderly
in the grass. Matthew 14 and 18. He separated them then into companies. Mark 6.39 and Luke 9.14 says,
by fifties they sat down in groups. And there were five thousand,
not counting the women and the children. Matthew 14 and verse
21. So here is how our Lord arranges
them. Then the Lord takes the loaves
and He takes the fish. And the Scripture said, He looked
up to heaven. Mark 6 and 41. Luke 9, 16. Matthew 14, 19 and John 6 and
verse 11. He gave thanks then as He looked
up to heaven. All the synoptics say that He
blessed this meager fare before Him. And He also broke the loaves
and the fishes. By His own hand, He broke them. Then the Lord handed them out
to the disciples, evidently baskets of some kind, and they in turn
distributed them to all of the people by fifties, by fifties,
by fifties. And before we consider the nature
and the manner of the miracle, we consider three aspects of
the miracle that really puts it in a proper perspective as
a miracle. Three things about this miracle
that's noted. Number one, the beginning. What
the Lord had to begin with. He did not have an 18-wheeler
full of supplies. What the Lord had to begin with,
the original amount again, was five barley loaves and two fishes. And Gil thinks the barley loaves
were literally small little cakes and the fish were small fish
and they were probably salted and pickled in order that they
might not spoil, dried or cured in the sun. The point is, it
was a small amount carried by a lad. Not a drop in the bucket
to feed so many as were there. That is why Andrew said in John
6 and 9, what are they among so many? In them They were not
sufficient to feed the multitude. That massive crowd could not
be fed, according to their thinking, by what they had in hand. So the young child's lunch was
brought. Secondly, we notice something
else about the miracle. And we notice the sufficiency
of the meal. We notice that none had to scrimp
or none had to do without or pass. John 6.11 They each took
as much as they would. All they wanted. Heaped up plates
or whatever. John 6 and 12 said they were
filled. They were full. Luke 9 and 17,
they, that is the multitude, did eat and were filled. They all ate all that they wanted. Each took a full portion. None
had to forego eating. and take a small portion to make
the food sufficient to last throughout the crowd. None had to eat frugally. None had to share their meal
with another. They could have as much as their
appetites desired. They ate until they were full. The third thing that we notice
about the miracle is, not only did he start with a small amount,
Not only did they eat all that they wanted, everyone, but they
gathered up twelve baskets that were left over after everyone
had eaten to their full. The increase was so great that
there was more in the end than there was in the beginning. One question comes immediately
to mind, of course, and that is, how and when? At what time
or point did the multiplication of this boy's lunch occur that
it made such a surplus? Was it as the Lord broke it and
blessed it? Was it as the Lord passed it
into the disciples' basket? Or was it as people reached in
and took out that it become multiplied? Was it the case that as they
passed out, more appeared. More came, and the basket stayed
fuller and fuller. Now this pursuit shall likely
boggle our minds and get us nowhere, as Scripture is silent as to
when the increase occurred. But even more important than
when the increase occurred is the fact that it was done, the
fact that it happened. It is the what. And it is not
the wind that carries this miracle of our Lord. We must not lose
sight of what was done on this occasion in curiously wondering
how and when. Though certain it is that at
some point a great increase and a great multiplication of these
items occurred And this according to the will and the power of
Christ, who willed it to be that all might eat unto the full.
Like the little widow's cruise of oil, remember her over in
1 Kings 17, her barrel of oil, because the prophet worked a
miracle in her behalf, her barrel of oil did not cease. It wanted not, it wasted not,
she cooked every day, and yet the oil diminished not as long
as the drought was lasting. In accordance with the word of
the prophet, her barrel stayed full to the brim at all times. Now concerning the miracle here
of the feeding of the 5,000, the miracle belonged to Christ. Now, let's put that in proper
perspective. The miracle belongeth to Christ,
who blessed the bread and the loaves and the fishes, and it
belongs not to the apostles who were the ones who passed it to
the people, for Christ handled the food. He said to them in
Matthew 14 and 18, Bring them to Me, that is, the loaves and
the fishes. And He took the food in His own
hand, and He blessed it, And he looked up to heaven, and lo
and behold, making it impossible to transfer this miracle to any
other one than our Lord and Savior, or to attribute it to any faith
in the people's minds. No, not at all. This is an obvious
miracle done by Christ. Joseph Hall wrote in his rather
rich devotional book called contemplation. Had none eaten, it would still
be a miracle in that more was left than when they began. And
had more remained, it was a miracle in that so many ate and were
satisfied." The Lord worked a miracle. Now let's compare the miracle
with the first one that John records, the turning of the water
into wine. In both this and that, the feeding
of the 5,000, the Lord worked both of them upon, or using,
already existing elements. Our Lord used something that
already existed to work the miracle. The water and the food. In neither
miracle did the Lord create something out of nothing. or bring forth
something that was not before. In one, He changed ordinary water
into the very best wine they tasted. And in the present miracle,
He multiplies the quality of an ordinary lunch that it suffices
all. Let us note two things. One,
the reaction of the people to the miracle that they had not
only seen, but had received the benefit of it. And number two,
the Lord's teaching to the people that He is the bread of life
and that this is a type of Him. The impressions which the miracle
made upon the people. In verse 14, when they had seen,
convinced them that the One who fed them miraculously certainly
must be that prophet that Moses promised in Deuteronomy 8.15.
See also Acts 3.22 and 23. Moses wrought great miracles. And Moses, through God, gets
them manna and gets them quail. But so does this man. This, they
said, is that prophet. Verse 14, they immediately take
it in a wrong way. And they had grand delusions
of putting him as the king over their people and nation. What a weapon, they thought,
he would be against their Roman oppressor, and free them from
Roman tyranny, and able to supply their needs by the supernatural
working of his power. In other words, they saw him
as a potential and mighty temporal Deliverer." That's how they looked
upon this One that fed them. Not a wonderful Deliverer from
their sin and the misery of their soul. They would crown Him King
of Israel rather than Lord and Savior. The Lord would later
say to them in verse 26, You do not seek Me because of the
miracles You do not seek Me because of the miracles. You declare
unto Me that you saw Me the bread. You ate. You ate. You filled
your bellies. You saw the easy and bountiful
supply. David Brown called these things
supernatural tokens of a higher presence and of a divine commission."
This man who stands before them is a prophet and more. You only
seek Me because you were filled." How many today are like-minded
and they desire the Lord and God provision for themselves. They want God to protect them,
give them prosperity, greatly bless them, give them health.
More than victory over sin. Why, people today crying out
for miracles want that more than they want victory over sin. The Lord used the occasion, therefore,
to exhort them in verse 27. Listen, He said, do not labor
for that meat that perishes, but labor for that meat that
endures unto everlasting life. Let it be that meat that you
seek that is life eternal. Then comes His discourse in which
He declares that He is the true bread, the bread of life. the
bread that came down from heaven." And this is in verse 32 through
verse 59. Note, these things occurred on
another day and in another place, for they had followed Him over
to Capernaum, and it was in the synagogue. A number followed
Him there. But also note how the Lord identified
Himself with the miracles. When He gave sight to the man
that was born blind, in John chapter 9, he declared himself
to be the light of the world. When he gave sight to a man in
darkness, I am the light of the world. When he raised up Lazarus
from the dead, he declared himself to be, I am the resurrection
and the life. Likewise, having fed the multitude
here, he declared himself to be the bread of life. that bread
that came down from God out of heaven. He feeds these. He says in verse 35, I am the
bread of life. He that comes to Me shall never
hunger. He says in verse 48, I am that
bread of life. He says in verse 51, I am the
living bread which came down from heaven. And in the verses
from verse 35, to verse 58, if you would read them very carefully,
you would see that our Lord speaks in the first person, I or me
or my, at least 58 times in these verses of the Scripture. And
the Lord said to the Samaritan woman, the water that I give
you will quench your thirst forever, and you'll never have to draw
again. So He says to these, that partakes
of Me shall never hunger again." Verse 35, "...and will live forever."
Verse 51, "...who can live without food and without water? The bread
of God is that that comes from heaven and gives life unto the
world." Verse 33, "...the Father gives you the true bread from
heaven, and Jesus is that bread, and none else is." Now, a couple
of closing observations. First, we were sinners ourselves
in the desert of sin, and famished were our souls, and in wont,
and none could feed us. We were feeding upon the filthy
husk of the world. We did not hunger for that bread
of God. nor did we hunger or thirst after
righteousness. But like the wretched prodigal,
we dined on pods of swine, famished for any food to strengthen the
soul. Nothing to buy with did we have. Then by a miracle of grace and
regeneration, by grace multiplied greater than our sin, the Lord
gave us an appetite for the bread of life, to feast on the Lord. And the supply is absolutely
bountiful and is perpetual. A second thing, in all this unbelief,
the Lord in John 6 lets sovereignty carry the matter. But their unbelief
is evident that they are not given to Christ and that they
do not believe on Christ as a result of them not being given unto
Him. They are not His sheep. He says, Since the Father hath
given Me some, all the Father giveth Me will come unto Me. Him that comes to Me I will in
no wise cast out. He says in verse 44 and 45, And
none can come unto Me except to be given to Him of the Father. And then He said, And they all
shall be taught of the Father, He that hath been taught of the
Father and learned cometh unto Me." Does he say that all do
not come to Christ? Does not frustrate the purpose
of God? For all are not given unto Him. All are not His people. But about
verse 37, he hangs it all on the sovereignty of God. You don't
believe, but those My Father giveth Me, come to me, and they
will in no wise be cast out." So even in this, we find the
strong sovereignty of Christ operating in the feeding of the
5,000. I am the bread of life. He that eats of me or literally
believes on me or comes to me shall never hunger. He shall
eat abundantly the everlasting bread of life. I am that breath. All right, let's bow our heads
together, please.