Wednesday In The Word - 1.23.19 - John 6.1-14

Let's get into our Wednesday in the Word which takes us to John chapter 6 and verses 1 through 14, which read,

v.1 - After these things Jesus went away to the other side of the Sea of Galilee (or Tiberias).

Some context is some time has elapsed between the end of chapter 5 and the start of chapter 6.  It could be six months to a year.  Chapter 5 events happen in Judea of the south and in and around Jerusalem.  Chapter 6 events happen in Galilee of the north and in and around Capernaum.  

v.2 - A large crowd followed Him, because they saw the signs which He was performing on those who were sick.

Why are people gathering to be around Jesus?  Is it for His words or is it for His miracles?  It seems that they were waiting for the next spectacular sign showing Jesus' power.  

v.3 - Then Jesus went up on the mountain, and there He sat down with His disciples.

Jesus escapes the crowds to get alone with His disciples.  He puts Himself out of touch with His world to give focus directly to those who would carry on the ministry after His death, resurrection, and ascension.

v.4 - Now the Passover, the feast of the Jews, was near.

This little verse lets us now the timeline of Jesus.  In chapter 5 verse 1 Jesus was in Jerusalem for a feast of the Jews.  Now we have Jesus in chapter 6 verse 4 in the north, up a mountain with His disciples, and referencing another feast of the Jews, the Passover, which would be soon.  Another trip to the south would follow soon to be apart of this feast.

v.5, 6 - Therefore 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 they may eat?"  This He was saying to test him, for He Himself knew what He was intending to do.

The people have discovered where Jesus had gone and were coming His way.  Being up on the mountain, He had a vantage point to see the crowd along with the rest of His disciples.  Apparently Philip needed a test from Jesus.  Philip received some personal instruction from Jesus with this question.  How will Philip answer?  Will he pass the test?

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

A denarii is a day's wages for a common laborer.  So this would be about 8 months of wages of a common laborer to buy enough bread to give each one a little morsel.  Somehow Philip came up with this number with his assessment of how many he thought was there.  This is definitely an "impossible statement" to Jesus' question.

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

Philip's lack of confidence has passed onto Andrew.  Andrew has found a boy with a small lunch who wants to share but there is no way it would be enough for this large crowd.  Philip says we don't have enough money and Andrew says we don't have enough resources.  They are telling Jesus who turned the water into wine and healed the paralytic man of 38 years along with many other miracles that this beyond His ability.  Many times we do the exact same thing that Philip and Andrew did when faced with something big and discount the ability of our God.

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

Jesus puts His disciples to work.  They needed to communicate with this large crowd to sit down in this grassy area for a picnic that they didn't know about.  The other gospel accounts tell us that they sat in groups of hundreds and fifties.  Most believe that the group included the women and children would have been about 20,000 in number.  Order had been established to not only see what Jesus was going to do next but to also distribute efficiently this miracle of Jesus.

v.11-13 - Jesus 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.  When they were filled, He said to His disciples, "Gather up the leftover fragments so that nothing will be lost."  So they gathered them up, and filled twelve baskets with fragments from the five barley loaves which were left over by those who had eaten.

Jesus puts His disciples to work again to distribute the loaves and fishes to the people but also to gather up what was left over.  The people were not just given a morsel but were filled to the max with what they had and not with some financial amount they thought they needed to give them each a little bit.  The disciples have seen another miracle of Jesus, a miracle of creation, that was sufficient for all gathered and exactly enough for each of them to have a lunch box for the next meal.  Jesus is not only very generous but He is also very precise.  We need this event to sink into our minds when we are pulling a Philip and Andrew answer to something that is big in front of us.  Present what you have, bless it and give thanks, and see what Jesus can do with it.

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

What was the motivation for this statement of the people?  We will see that it is more physical than spiritual.  They were coming to Jesus to make their lives more comfortable rather than coming to Jesus to surrender to His will for their lives.  They were not coming to deny themselves, take up a cross, and follow Him.  They were coming to fill up themselves, eat from the gravy train, and be there for the next miracle.  To deny myself is to think of Jesus more than me.  To take up a cross is to be willing to die proclaiming that Jesus is Lord.  To follow Jesus is to trust and act on His words and ways more than you trust and act on your own.  

What do we walk away from this event learning?  Jesus is going to test us where we need to be tested.  Jesus is going to put something in front of us that we think is impossible and say, "What are you going to do?"  We can make excuses or we can turn it back around and ask Him, "What are You going to do?  I ready to be used of You."  

If you want to see God do something then it has to be out of your realm of ability.  Maybe we never get out of our realm to see Him do what He can do.  Maybe we give our excuses that show the scope of our realm and never take the next step of faith and start going in the direction God wants us to go and start seating the people.  Let us pray.

"Heavenly Father, all I have is 200 denarii and some borrowed loaves and fishes but help me to bring it to You so I can see a God-size miracle.  Forgive me for all the times I have hid behind my excuses and never took the next step in obedience.  I realize how much I have not seen because I have made You my size.  Amen."

Pastor Adam