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Turn with me in your Bibles to 
John's Gospel. We're in chapter 6. John chapter 
six, our focus will be on the first section, verses one to 
15. We're in the book of signs or 
the public ministry of our Lord Jesus. It begins in chapter one 
at verse 19 and continues to chapter 12 at verse 50. So what 
we find here is specifically in verses one to 15 is the feeding 
of the 5,000. It's one of the miracles along with the resurrection 
that is mentioned in all four gospels. The parallels are, similar 
in nature, though with theological emphases that differ just a little 
bit. But I want to read beginning in verse 1, and we'll read to 
verse 21, and then focus on verses 1 to 15. So, after these things, 
Jesus went over the Sea of Galilee, which is the Sea of Tiberias. 
Then a great multitude followed Him, because they saw His signs, 
which He performed on those who were diseased. And Jesus went 
up on the mountain, and then He sat with His disciples. Now 
the Passover, a feast of the Jews, was near. 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? 
But this he said to test him, for he himself knew what he would 
do. Philip answered him, 200 denarii worth of bread is not 
sufficient for them, that every one of them may have a little. 
One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, said to 
him, there is a lad here who has five barley loaves and two 
small fish, but what are they among so many? 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. 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. So when they 
were filled, he said to his disciples, Gather up the fragments that 
remain, so that nothing is lost. 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. 
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. 
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. Now when evening came, His disciples 
went down to the sea, got into the boat, and went over the sea 
toward Capernaum. And it was already dark, and 
Jesus had not come to them. Then the sea arose, because a 
great wind was blowing. So when they had rowed about 
three or four miles, they saw Jesus walking on the sea and 
drawing near the boat. And they were afraid. But He 
said to them, that is I, do not be afraid. then they willingly 
received him into the boat. And immediately the boat was 
at the land where they were going. Amen. Well, let us pray. Our 
Father, we thank you for your word. We pray now for the ministry 
of the Spirit who gave us this word. Again, open our hearts 
and eyes to receive the truth as it is in Jesus. And may we 
stand again and marvel at this one who is altogether lovely 
and chief among 10,000. Open the eyes of unbelievers 
such that they may see him as willing and able to save all 
who come to him in faith. Forgive us again for our sins, 
supply the Holy Spirit now, illumine our minds and our hearts, we 
pray in Jesus' name, amen. Well, chapter 6 is similar to 
chapter 5. Both chapters start off with 
a miracle, and then there is discourse, and then there is 
self-disclosure. So Jesus does the miracle in 
chapter 5, he then discloses that he is equal with the Father, 
and then he has to confirm that when he is called out by the 
religious leaders. Here in chapter 6, he does this 
miracle, and it serves ultimately as the stage, or sets the stage 
rather, for the Bread of Life discourse that will follow in 
John chapter 6. So we'll look this morning at 
verses 1 to 15 under two main considerations. First, the setting 
of the sign in verses 1 to 9, and then secondly, the significance 
of the sign in verses 10 to 15. Notice in the first place with 
reference to the location. It says in verse one, after these 
things, Jesus went over the sea of Galilee, which is the sea 
of Tiberias. Now these things refer to his 
time in Jerusalem. However, there's probably been 
an almost year long span between chapters five and six. If you 
go back to chapter five at verse one, you'll notice that, I'm 
sorry, back to chapter two at verse 13, you'll notice that 
the Passover of the Jews was at hand, and Jesus went up to 
Jerusalem. And then in verse 23 of chapter 
2, it says, now when he was in Jerusalem, at the Passover, during 
the feast. The feast mentioned in chapter 
5, in verse 1, is likely the Feast of Pentecost. But when 
we turn back to chapter 6 and verse 4, there is another reference 
to Passover being near. So the Passover of chapters 2 
and 3 had already passed, it had already completed. And now 
there's about a year-long span when Jesus resumes his ministry. 
Actually, he doesn't resume his ministry, John now resumes his 
report. The other synoptic gospels give 
us information between that particular time frame. So as we go back 
to the text, notice he goes over the Sea of Galilee, which is 
the Sea of Tiberias, so that means he is presently in Galilee. He is in the northern part of 
Israel. Remember, Judea is in the southern 
part, and that's where Jerusalem is. And then also, we have the 
identification in Luke's gospel that he was in the city of Bethsaida. 
So in Luke chapter 9, at verse 10, we have a parallel account 
of the feeding of the 5,000. Also, when Jesus specifically 
asks Philip, where should we send people to buy bread? He 
asks Philip, because according to John 1.44, Philip is from 
Bethsaida. So they're in the city or the 
region of Bethsaida in this particular instance. And then in verse 2, 
it tells us a great multitude followed him. And that is what 
we see throughout the gospel records. Jesus was a public figure. Jesus, through his preaching 
and his teaching, his ministry, his miracles, his healings, all 
those sorts of things, he was quite popular. His fame was spreading 
throughout the earth. And so what we find in this particular 
text, however, is that the great multitude followed him. And then 
there's a because in verse two, because they saw his signs, which 
he performed on those who were diseased. Now, John gives us 
seven signs that the Savior did, and he does so for theological 
reasons. Again, Matthew, Mark, and Luke, 
what we call the Synoptic Gospels, give us other signs that are 
not recorded in John's Gospel. And they don't do that because 
there's contradiction, they don't do that because there's paradox, 
they don't do that because they're liars, they don't do that because 
they've conspired together to try to pull the wool over people's 
eyes. They do that because they're theologians. They're not simply 
writers of history, but they have theological purposes in 
view. Matthew writes to a Jewish audience, Mark writes to a Roman 
audience, Luke writes to a Gentile audience, and John writes to 
both, both the pagans and the church, so that he can set forth 
faith in Jesus Christ as the means by which sinners come to 
everlasting life. And so in the construction of 
their narrative, they are recording history, but they are doing theology 
as well. You find that in the prophets 
of the Old Testament, specifically the former prophets, the ones 
called Joshua Judges, 1 and 2 Samuel, and 1 and 2 Kings. We call those 
men prophets, former prophets, but We also notice that they do theology 
as they go through writing history, and the New Testament gospel 
authors do the very same thing. So with reference to the signs, 
if you're keeping track at this particular point, there's not 
been a whole lot of signs that Jesus has done. But if you go 
back for just a moment to chapter 2, you'll notice an allusion 
to more signs that John has not given us in his written record. Notice in verse 23 again. Now, 
when he was in Jerusalem at the Passover, during the feast, many 
believed in his name when they saw the signs which he did. And then in John 21, John gives 
us this information in verse 25. There are also many other 
things that Jesus did, which if they were written one by one, 
I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the 
books that could be written. So John acknowledges and John 
knows and John realizes and recognizes that Jesus did a multitude of 
signs. He did more than seven signs. 
But John also tells us why he gave us these particular signs. Notice in John 20 at verses 30 
and 31. And truly Jesus did many other 
signs in the presence of his disciples which are not written 
in this book. And then he gives us the purpose 
for why he wrote this book. And if you're not a Christian 
today, listen to what John has to say. He says in verse 31, 
but these are written that you may believe, that you particularly, 
not the pagans out there, not the heathen over there, not the 
persons in far removed countries, but John wants you to not only 
know the signs of our Lord Jesus Christ, but to see the power 
of our Lord Jesus Christ who affected these signs and who 
has the ability to save everybody who comes to him in faith. That's 
what John says in verse 31. These are written that you may 
believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing 
you may have life in his name. If you're not a Christian here 
this morning, you might want to ask yourself, when I die, 
where do I think I'm going to go? It's a very important question. I don't think we give enough 
attention to. In our particular Western society, we give a lot 
of attention to tomorrow. We give a lot of attention to 
next week. We give a lot of attention to what university or to what 
job or to what guy or girl I'm going to marry. But we don't 
always give a lot of attention to the 11th hour. to that time 
when we're going to come to die. We don't give attention to where 
will we fly when we depart from this particular world. Will we 
go into the presence of God Most High and enjoy everlasting life, 
because by grace we believe the gospel? Or will we be cut off 
and consigned to hell, which was prepared for the devil and 
his angels? This is the most important thing ever. Notice 
what the Apostle says. These are written that you, that 
you specifically and you personally, may believe that Jesus is the 
Christ, the Son of God, and that believing in Him, you may have 
life in His name. That's everything. Where you 
go to university or who you marry will certainly affect your life 
for good or ill, one way or the other. But where you go when 
you depart from this present world is going to affect you 
for eternity. So it is most important that 
we understand the Christ that we see in John chapter 6. Going back, the multitudes come 
to Him because they are either curious or because they have 
a necessity. They're curious in this one who's 
able to heal people. They're curious about this one 
who preaches the kingdom of God. But as well, there were probably 
those who had necessity. They themselves were diseased. 
They themselves were injured. They themselves were hurting. 
They themselves needed some sort of a healing. So it doesn't surprise 
us, or it shouldn't surprise us, that they drew near to hear 
Him. And then notice in verse 3 of chapter 6, it tells us that 
Jesus went up on the mountain, and there he sat with his disciples. 
Intriguingly, in Mark's gospel, Jesus tells the disciples, at 
this place, come aside by yourselves to a deserted place and rest 
a while. God is pro-rest for his people. God is not against persons taking 
the necessary rest that he gives them. The Sabbath is a day of 
rest. Why is that? Because our God 
is a good and gracious master. He is not a slave driver. He 
is not an oppressor. He is not one who beats his children, 
but rather he gives us rest and refreshment and blessing. So 
back to the text, notice again the reference. Jesus went up 
on the mountain. And then notice in verse 4, Passover. Klink makes the observation, 
one of the commentators I use, Edward Klink. Alongside verse 
4, he's talking about the mountain, Jesus going up on the mountain. 
It is very likely that the narrator's setting of the scene is intended 
to echo the scene at Mount Sinai with Moses, who will be alluded 
to shortly in verses 31 to 33. I think that's what's happening. 
I think the placement of the feeding of the 5,000, such that 
the discourse concerning the bread that came down from heaven 
is John's theology of a new exodus. Notice verse 4, now the Passover, 
a feast of the Jews, was near. I've already mentioned in chapter 
2, we see reference to Passover. You see a reference here, and 
then you'll see a reference later on when we get to the Passion 
narrative. It's a structuring device in John's Gospel. But again, the theology is that 
Christ is bringing a new exodus. What happens in the first exodus? 
The children of Israel are plagued by an oppressor. The children 
of Israel are treated horribly by an oppressor. The children 
of Israel have their firstborn murdered by an oppressor. So 
God, through power, God, through might, God, through glory, frees 
his people from that bondage. Well, the same thing obtains 
in this new covenant setting. Only the oppressor isn't Pharaoh. 
The oppressor is our sin. The bondage is with Satan. The 
wretchedness is the effect that sin brings on the hearts and 
lives of people. And so Christ, in this new exodus, 
brings deliverance. Through the power of the gospel 
of Christ our Lord, he brings vindication, he brings liberty, 
he brings freedom, he breaks the back of the oppressor and 
lets his people go. It is a most blessed theme, and 
John highlights that. Again, the Passover as a background, 
Jesus going up on the mountain, the giving of bread, and then 
the invoking of Moses as the one who gave bread that they 
ate and ultimately died. Notice what Jesus says in chapter 
6 at verse 32. And then notice in verse 34, 
then they said to him, Lord, give us this bread always. And 
Jesus said to them, I am the bread of life. He who comes to 
me shall never hunger and he who believes in me shall never 
thirst. So Passover bread provided miraculously in a wilderness 
setting. It invites the comparison between 
the old exodus and the new exodus. And again, what we find in Egypt 
with reference to the children of Israel was barbarism. Brethren, when you see civil 
government pursuing the course of tyranny, think Pharaoh. It 
is no joke, it is not a game, it is not a blessedness, it is 
not a good thing. We ought to pray against that. 
We ought to be concerned for children and for our grandchildren. As persons who are bringing children 
up in this present evil world, we ought to pray to God to restrain 
the hearts of men such that they don't imbibe the ethics of Pharaoh. Pharaoh was such that he commanded 
the murder of the firstborn babies in Israel. It was wretched. It 
was vile. And God brings judgment to bear 
upon him. The death of the firstborn son 
was the lex talionis. It was the law of retribution. 
In other words, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, stripe for stripe, 
life for life. So when people say, oh, that's 
horrific that Yahweh would kill the firstborn of Egypt, Why don't 
they say it was horrific when Pharaoh killed the firstborn 
of Israel? With reference to civil government, 
brethren, Pharaoh is a bad model. And when our leaders start to 
ape him, we ought to be a prayerful people with reference to God's 
intervention and God's Proverbs 21 oneness in the restraint of 
these men's hearts so that they don't make life miserable. Now, 
if it is God's will that they make life miserable, then we 
need to be faithful. We need to be persevering. We 
need to be upright. We need to be godly. We need 
to maintain our calling and our vocation of shining as lights 
in a crooked and perverse generation and holding forth the word of 
truth. But there's no crime, no sin, no rebellion against 
asking God Most High to turn the heart of government officials 
in the way of leaving the church alone so that we may lead peaceable 
and quiet lives. Now back to our particular text. 
It's a structuring device in the Gospel of John. The theological 
significance here is to invite the comparison between old Exodus 
and new Exodus. And then notice, as we look at 
this situation in verses four to nine, we see the compassion 
of our blessed Savior. So verse four, now the Passover 
of Feast of the Jews was near. Beautiful, isn't it? Compassion. 
Jesus isn't so out of touch that he doesn't know that people are 
hungry. Civil authority today tell us, 
well, you know, higher gas prices mean you should buy electric 
cars. If I can't afford a gallon of gas, how do you think I can 
afford an electric car? Jesus wasn't that type of an 
individual. Jesus knew the needs of people. 
not only because he's God, but because he's man that's righteous 
and holy and has a clue. And so he sees these people drawing 
nigh to him, he knows it's time to eat, and so he has compassion 
upon them. The other texts tell us about 
his compassion. John doesn't give us that, but 
the fact that he's asking the question, where can we send to 
buy food enough so that we can provide for all these people 
shows us something concerning our blessed Savior. But notice 
what he says. So he says to Philip, because 
again, Philip is from Bethsaida, Philip would know where the local 
7-Eleven was, Philip would know where the Costco was, Philip 
would know where to go to Walmart in order to get enough supplies 
so that they could feed these 5,000 people. So notice, verse 
6 tells us, this he said to test him, for he himself knew what 
he would do. He's testing and concerning his faith. It's not 
just Philip, but it's all the disciples. It's not just Philip, 
but it's all the disciples. Remember chapter 5 and the particular 
discourse there. Verse 18, the religious leaders 
are upset because he, being a man, made himself equal with God. 
Jesus answers that in the affirmative in a lot of verses. Jesus answers 
that in the affirmative by saying, yes, I am equal with God. Well, 
here we have a particular situation where we need a bunch of food 
in order to feed a bunch of people. And so Jesus asks the question, 
is there a place where we can buy food? He understands that 
the answer is going to be, no, there's not a place where we 
can buy food. And so he is doing this to test 
Philip because Jesus knows what he's going to do. Jesus understands 
the parameters of his mission. Jesus knows the contours of his 
ministry. And so Jesus does this for the 
benefit of his disciples. So verse six tells us as much, 
he said this to test him for he himself knew what he would 
do. So essentially we have two responses from the disciples, 
from Philip and then Andrew. Again, Andrew's from Bethsaida 
also. Notice Philip's answer in verse 
seven. 200 denarii worth of bread, which is about a half a year's 
salary or a half a year's wages for a working man, 200 denarii 
worth of bread is not sufficient for them, that everyone of them 
may have a little. So what he's saying is, we don't 
have enough money. We don't have enough money to 
feed all these people. You've probably been in this situation 
before, where you've invited people over after church, and 
that number multiplied, and you're hoping that the soup pan doesn't 
run out. You're hoping that God will miraculously supply so that 
everybody can get a little bit of a taste. So basically, Philip 
says, we don't have enough money. There's just too many people. 
Now notice what Andrew says in verse 8. One of his disciples, 
Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, said to him, there is a lad here 
who has five barley loaves and two small fish, but what are 
they among so many? So he says, or Philip says, we 
don't have enough money, and then Andrew says, we don't have 
enough food. We've got five loaves, we've got two fish. These probably 
aren't big salmon, they're probably cheap little fish that you make 
a paste out of, they're dried out and then you rub it on the 
bread and you have a little taste for lunch. But five loaves and 
two fish, that's not nearly enough for what we will find out to 
be 5,000 men. And Matthew supplies further information in Matthew 
14, 21, besides women and children. So it wasn't just the 5,000 men 
that are present, but there's a whole lot of women and children. 
And you know as well as I do, children can eat, man. They can 
mow down. We watch our grandkids and all 
they ever want is food. I think they only come over because 
of the pantry, meatball, grandma, more food. It's like you have 
to throw it at them. So there's a lot of hungry people 
here. This is a serious situation. What's Jesus going to do? Is 
He just faking it with this compassion? This is a beautiful illustration 
of what we have in the gospel. Jesus not only has compassion, 
He not only has this sort of sympathy toward needy sinners, 
but He actually has the power to save them. He doesn't just 
look at hungry people and say, man, if it were in my power, 
I'd like to feed every single one of you, but it's not in my 
power. No, of course it's in his power. Of course he's able 
to feed every single one of them, just like he's able to save every 
single one that comes to him in faith. There's a beautiful 
expression here in terms of his ability and in terms of his willingness. Now let's move to the significance 
of Well, before we move to the significance of the sign itself, 
there is an allusion, I think, to Numbers 11. In Numbers chapter 
11, the children of Israel are pretty well fed up with manna. 
They are pretty tired of manna. They want meat. Now, I can't 
say that I blame them, honestly. I don't want to put myself in 
the camp of the grumblers to be sure, but man, I would want 
meat too. And so, of course, they cry out 
to Moses. We're tired of the manna. We want some meat. We 
want that protein. We want that grease. We want 
that goodness dripping down our throats. And in Numbers chapter 
11, of course, Moses has consternation. Moses can't make meat. Moses 
isn't, you know, Bill Gates. Moses is Moses. So Moses essentially 
turns himself to the Lord, and the Lord says, I want you to 
appoint elders, I want you to appoint men, I want you to appoint 
the Sanhedrin, that it would later become, in order to govern 
over these people. And then God says this to Moses 
in Numbers 11, 23. Has the Lord's arm been shortened? Is he incapable of providing 
meat? Is it the case that he can't 
so make it that quail fall to the earth so that you're able 
to eat that food? The Lord God Most High has sovereignty 
over creation. It's another sort of a window 
by which we approach John chapter 6. So we see in John chapter 
5 that he makes himself equal with the Father, and then in 
John chapter 6, he is sovereign over nature. He can multiply 
loaves and fishes. He can walk on the water. He 
is the living bread that comes down from heaven, such that whoever 
eats this bread will have everlasting life. There's a lot of Old Testament 
allusion going on here to invite us again to consider who Jesus 
is relative to his Father, and to the people He's come to seek 
and to save that which was lost." Now notice the significance in 
verses 10 to 15. He feeds them. Not only has the 
will, not only has the desire, not only has the compassion, 
but He has the ability. Again, I couldn't imagine a more 
miserable so-called gospel, which would not be a gospel, if we 
had a Savior who wanted to save, but it was all up to us to be 
saved. No, because as the Bible tells 
us, our hearts are deceitful above all things and desperately 
wicked. We need a savior who comes to 
seek and to save that which is lost. Not only compassion, not 
only sympathy, but the power and the ability, the competence, 
the omnipotence that is enabling him or enables him to save us 
from our sins. So he sees the condition, he 
sees the situation. I think we're supposed to interpret 
that the little kid gave up his five loaves and his fish willfully. He didn't get shaken down by 
the apostles. Give us your food. I think I've 
told you before that liberals, and I don't mean leftists in 
our own generation, I mean the liberals of the church, theological 
liberals in the early part of the 20th century, that denied 
the supernatural, they denied the miraculous, they denied the 
various things that you see in passages like these. One of them 
explains it this way. Well, you know, the crowd was 
so moved by the generosity and the willingness of this little 
boy to share his five loaves and two fish that it that it 
moved each of them to take the secret stash of food that they 
had and to produce it into a common sort of a garner and we can all 
eat together. What a horrible way to treat 
the Bible. What an absolute rejection of all scripture is given by 
inspiration of God and profitable for doctrine, reproof, correction, 
and instruction in righteousness. Why would we think that we are 
able to take our unholy hands and deny the power of the Savior 
as it comes to us in the pages of Holy Writ? We are not supposed 
to do that. We're supposed to marvel at the 
sign. We're supposed to stand amazed 
at the power of the Savior. We're supposed to love the fact 
that He's compassionate, and that He's able, and that He can 
not only feed sinners, but He can save sinners by His grace 
and for His glory. So the little boy coughs up his 
food, and then notice what Jesus says in verse 10. He gives them 
a command, make the people sit down. Now there was much grass 
in the place to provide the answer as to where will they sit. So 
the men sat down in number about 5,000. Again, Matthew 14, 21 
tells us besides women and children. Lots of hungry people, lots of 
people licking their chops, ready to mow down. Notice in verse 
11, Jesus took the loaves, and when He had given thanks, this 
was Jewish custom, it should be Christian custom. It is the 
case that God in His mercy doesn't owe us anything, but He gives 
us much. He gives us an abundance. The 
psalmist says he blesses the Lord because the Lord daily loads 
him with benefits. I think we in the Western world 
can acknowledge that. I think we in the Western world 
have proven the faithfulness of our God to supply our wants, 
our God to supply our needs, but our wants as well. So Jesus 
does what is typical for people to do. in terms of thanking God 
for their food. The typical prayer was, Blessed 
are you, O Lord our God, King of the universe, who brings forth 
bread from the earth. So notice, Jesus took the loaves, 
verse 11, when he had given thanks, he distributed them to the disciples 
and the disciples to those sitting down. If you're using a non-King 
James or a non-New King James Bible, you will not have that 
reference to the disciples. The margin in the New King James 
tells us that that is a difference in the manuscript tradition. 
The other parallel passages all have Jesus giving the food to 
the disciples and then the disciples distributing it among the multitude. So there was this particular 
order. So notice, He gave the disciples 
the food, and then they gave the food to those sitting down. And then notice at the end of 
verse 11, and likewise of the fish, as much as they wanted. As much as they wanted. So all 
your little kids that were there were saying, can I have more? 
Yeah, you can. You can have as much as you want. 
Eat as much of this bread, eat as much of this fish, eat as 
much of this as you can possibly fit down your gullet into your 
stomach and enjoy it. And in this we have illustration, 
we have analogy, we have parallel, we have symbolism, we have typology, 
we have Jesus Christ, the grand provider in the messianic kingdom. We saw it in John chapter 2, 
you can go back there, John chapter 2, the wedding at Cana of Galilee, 
when there was a problem and the master of the ceremony, or 
the leader there, saw that they had run out of wine. And so in 
chapter 2 at verse 6 we read, now there were set there six 
water pots of stone according to the manner of purification 
of the Jews, containing 20 or 30 gallons apiece. Jesus said 
to them, fill the water pots with water. And they filled them 
up to the brim. And he said to them, draw some 
out now and take it to the master of the feast. And they took it, 
when the master of the feast had tasted the water that was 
made wine, but did not know where it came from, but the servants 
who had drawn the water knew, the master of the feast called 
the bridegroom. And he said to him, Every man at the beginning 
sets out the good wine, and when the guests have well drunk, then 
the inferior. You have kept the good wine until 
now. Now, when we looked at that passage, 
we looked at it not only in terms of a beautiful miracle over Jesus 
over nature, making water into not just wine, but good wine, 
very good wine, the best wine that these men had had, but it's 
also antitypical of the prophets. There's going to be a time, there's 
going to be an age, it's under Messiah, it's under Jesus where 
there's great bounty and great blessing and great provision. And you see it not only in the 
wine miracle of chapter 2, you see it in the food miracle of 
chapter 6. This leads Ritterbos to make 
this observation. The great theme of the miracle 
story is the eschatological abundance that Jesus supplies and the messianic 
authority given Him by the Father. Yes, He's feeding sinners with 
reference to their physical needs. But he's giving us an analogy 
to the sinner's spiritual needs. It is a most beautiful thing. 
Notice in chapter 6 at verse 48, I am the bread of life. Your fathers ate the manna in 
the wilderness and are dead. This is the bread which comes 
down from heaven, that one may eat of it and not die. I am the 
living bread which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of 
this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I shall give 
is my flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world." We'll 
get to that flesh statement when we get to that flesh statement. 
But the point is, is bounty, provision, effuseness, I think 
is the word. Now, before that, notice C.H. Spurgeon made this observation. 
He says, some would give the poor only the barest necessities. Some would give the poor only 
the barest necessities. I differ with Spurgeon there 
a little bit, at least and say most. If civil government in 
our generation is anything to judge by, yeah, they'd only give 
the barest necessities. He says bread only. Our Lord 
adds fish. What a feast was this! Christ 
for master of the feast, apostles for butlers, thousands for numbers, 
and miracles for supplies. What a far more glorious feast 
is that which the gospel spreads for hungry souls! What a privilege 
to be fed by the Son of God! That's a wonderful take on the 
passage. Yes, appreciate that Jesus, being 
equal with the Father, has sovereign power and authority over nature. 
He can multiply loaves, He can multiply fish, He can walk on 
the water, He can still the wind and the waves, but He can save 
your guilty soul from hell. He can deliver you from the wrath 
and fury of God Most High. He can call you out of darkness 
into marvelous light to proclaim His praises, to glorify His name, 
to extol His majesty and His honor, to when you die to end 
up with Him. So see the bread, but may you 
see in it the One who gives the bread, the One who's able to 
give life, the One who's able to give all things profusely 
to sinners who stand in need. Notice the leftovers. He not 
only gives enough so that everybody is filled, but he gives enough 
so that there's 12 baskets of fragments. Notice in verse 12, 
so when they were filled, he said to his disciples, gather 
up the fragments that remain so that nothing is lost. 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." Probably that's been a curious statement for you before. 
You've read your Bible and you wonder, what is the significance? 
In fact, when you read older commentators in the history of 
the church, you see a lot of Wild speculation about numbers 
and about different things and the sort of references and all 
that. I think back to my own days as 
growing up as a young papist in a Catholic school, they really 
emphasized don't waste food. Don't waste food. I think behind 
their thought was this particular passage. Don't waste food. Always 
seemed a good rule to me. You never know when it's gonna 
run out, so you shouldn't waste it. That's certainly a moralistic 
interpretation we can derive from this. But then notice in 
verse 13, Now this commentator I mentioned, he's a modern one, 
Edward Clank. I don't agree with him on everything, 
but I think he's given me the most 
satisfactory answer to the significance of verse 13. You may or may not 
agree with this. I mean, there's obviously a judgment 
call to be had, but he makes this observation concerning verse 
13. He says, in light of the disciples' 
mild rebuke of Jesus for his initial question, go back to 
verse five, where shall we buy bread that these may eat? Philip 
says, we don't have enough money. Andrew says, we don't have enough 
food. So keep that in mind. In light of the disciples' mild 
rebuke of Jesus for his initial question, there remains for each 
disbelieving disciple their own basket of leftovers to carry. I quite like that. Again, it's 
tough at times to get the absolute meaning of a particular text, 
but that does commend itself, in my judgment, to being a very 
helpful interpretation in this case. You didn't have the faith 
that God Most High could provide bread and fish enough for 5,000 
plus women and children? Go ahead and carry that basket. 
While you're eating out of that basket, you recall each and every 
fragment that you munch the power of the Savior. I think that is 
a very beneficial way to look at that. Now let's look finally 
at the significance of the sign. See, John doesn't leave us to 
try to figure it out. John tells us what goes on. Notice 
in the first place the declaration of the people in verse 14. The 
declaration of the people. 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. If you go back to John 5, notice 
in verse 20, the Father has sent me. Turn 
over to John 10, verses 37 and 38. He underscores the same purpose 
for the signs in this gospel. Notice in 10, 37. If I do not 
do the works of my Father, do not believe me. But if I do, 
though you do not believe me, believe the works, that you may 
know and believe that the Father is in me and I in him. So going 
back to John chapter six, the sign worked. The sign was successful. The sign did what it was intended 
to do. It evoked from these men this 
confession or this declaration that this is the prophet. Now, 
in John's gospel up to this point, we've had two other persons Ask 
about the prophet. John the Baptist is questioned 
as to whether or not he's the prophet. John 1 verse 19. This is the testimony of John 
when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask 
him, who are you? He confessed and did not deny, 
but confessed, I am not the Christ. They asked him, what then, are 
you Elijah? He said, I am not. Are you the 
prophet? And he answered, no. And then 
in John 4, the woman by the well, the Samaritan woman, specifically 
at verse 19, after Jesus asks her to go call her husband and 
then says, yep, you're right, you don't have a husband. The 
woman says to him in verse 19, sir, I perceive that you are 
a prophet. Now this goes back to Deuteronomy 
chapter 18. There was a promise by God through 
Moses that God would raise up a prophet like Moses, him you 
shall hear. Yesterday in the theology class 
we talked a little bit about the messianic expectation on 
the part of the Jews. It was multifaceted. You had 
those that were looking for the Deuteronomy 18 prophet, you had 
those that were looking for this figure that would come to save 
Israel from their issues, their problems. So there was a lot 
of different sort of ideas concerning the messianic expectation. The 
question specifically was, were they expecting one who was divine? Well, there's enough in the Old 
Testament to tell us they should have. Psalm 110.1, Yahweh said 
to my Lord, sit at my right hand till I make your enemies your 
footstool. All that to say there was this sort of multi-faceted 
composite with reference to a messianic expectation. The fact that they're 
questioning whether or not he's the prophet, or rather they declare 
that he's the prophet, indicates that as far as they were concerned, 
he's the one that's been promised in the Old Testament. So not 
only Moses, but the prophets had foretold that this is in 
fact the one. It's the most glorious thing. 
This is truly the prophet who is to come into the world. So 
that's their declaration. But then notice in verse 15, 
their desire based on that. And this teaches us something 
about their expectation and about our Lord's instruction. Notice 
in verse 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. So the intention of the 
people was to take him by force. The word literally is to grab 
or seize suddenly so as to remove or gain control, to snatch or 
take away. They wanted to grab Jesus. Why? Because a man who can take five 
loaves and two fish and feed upwards of 10,000 people is a 
man who can subjugate our enemies, namely the Roman Empire. He is 
a man that can give us geopolitical prestige. He is a man that can 
restore us to what David had and to what Solomon had. So this 
drives these men to try to grab Jesus by force and to put him 
on a throne in Jerusalem so that he could do all that they had 
in terms of their expectation. So I think we learn from this 
with reference to Jewish expectation of the Messiah in the first century. It was physical and temporal. They wanted what Roosevelt promised, 
a chicken in every pot. They want what politicians promised, 
low gas prices, low bread prices, low house prices. They wanted 
the Roman government to be under them. And as a result, they want 
to take Jesus by force and put him on a throne. That's their 
expectation. But notice what Jesus does. It says in verse 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. What's Jesus teaching? What's 
his message? His kingdom is not first and 
foremost physical, it is first and foremost spiritual. His kingdom 
is not first and foremost temporal. I say first and foremost because 
it does affect the physical, it does affect the temporal, 
but the primary emphasis of Jesus coming in his first coming is 
on the spiritual element and on the eternal element. The bread 
of life has come down out of heaven such that you may eat 
it and have what? Everlasting life. They were content 
with this bread, and with this fish, and with a subjugated Roman 
army, and with a geopolitical power for the space of 60 or 
70 years, and then off they go. No, Jesus doesn't come to do 
that in His first coming. Jesus comes to save His people 
from their sins, to free them from that bondage that no other 
person can. Jesus comes to bring salvation 
to sinners, not in the first place, the bread and the fish 
and a preeminent kingdom on this earth. The kingdom of Christ 
is spiritual and eternal. It does encompass the entirety 
of the cosmos, though. It does affect us physically. 
It does affect us temporally. But in terms of the coming of 
the Lord Jesus, in that first coming, it's eternal and spiritual 
in its emphases. As well, with reference to these 
men. Now, they wanted bread. They 
wanted fish. And I'm extending it a bit, but 
I think it's a good extension. They wanted the subjugation of 
the Roman Empire. They didn't want to be sort of 
a, you know, under the thumb of the Romans. They didn't want 
to have that sort of a polity. But with reference to that, that's 
not necessarily wrong, okay? I just sort of mentioned that 
about pray that we don't have pharaohs, pray that we're not 
oppressed, pray that we're not in slave camps, eating cups of 
bugs every day, working in the factories for the master. That's 
a legit prayer. It's not wrong that we want the 
subjugation of God's enemies. But it's wrong when we try to 
force it. It's wrong when we try to bring 
it in our time frame. It's wrong when we try to usher 
it in. It is wrong when we don't respect 
that God Most High has all things under control. that even when 
it looks like it looks like right now, even when it is most discouraging, 
brethren, it is most discouraging out there. If you are not a Christian, 
if you don't have God, you don't have a Christ at the right hand 
of God most high, I don't know how you get out of bed on a daily 
basis. I don't know how you function. 
I don't know how you can flow and move throughout society. 
We are seeing something that is unprecedented in our own generation 
relative to civil power. That should terrify people or 
cause the people of God to find great comfort and solace and 
stability in their blessed God. We cannot force the kingdom. 
We cannot make the kingdom, we cannot usher in the kingdom. We need to understand the subjugation 
of the king's enemies is perfectly legit and lawful, but it must 
come in God's timeframe. It must be according to his sovereignty. 1 Corinthians 15, verses 20 to 
28. 1 Corinthians 15, verses 20 to 
28, gives us assurance of God's victory over all things. It gives 
us assurance of Christ's victory over all enemies. And we need 
to live in light of this blessed promise, even in the midst of 
the chaos. 1 Corinthians 15, 20. But now Christ is risen from 
the dead, and has become the firstfruits of those who have 
fallen asleep. For since by man came death, by man also came 
the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even 
so in Christ all shall be made alive. But each one in his own 
order. Christ the firstfruits, afterward those who are Christ's 
that is coming. Then comes the end. So there's a fundamental 
difference between the first Advent and the second Advent. 
The first advent, John tells us in John 1.14, the word became 
flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld his glory, the glory 
as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. 
We saw that. We witnessed that. It was a blessing. 
But we saw, as it were, a man of sorrows, a man acquainted 
with grief. There was no form, no comeliness 
about him. He didn't have a halo. He didn't 
have, you know, 19-inch pipes. He didn't walk around just, you 
know, doing things and always be drawing attention to him. 
The first advent is significantly different in terms of the second. The second advent, what do we 
see? He comes as king of kings, lord 
of lords. He comes not to be incarnate, 
he is, he's always man and God in one person forever. But in 
terms of that second advent, here's what you have. So verse 
23 tells us at his coming, and then verse 24, then comes the 
end. When he delivers the kingdom 
to God the Father, when he puts an end to all rule and authority 
and power, For he must reign till he has put all enemies under 
his feet, the last enemy that will be destroyed is death. For he has put all things under 
his feet. But when he says all things are 
put under him, it is evident that he who put all things under 
him is accepted. Now when all things are made 
subject to him, then the Son himself will also be subject 
to him who put all things under him, that God may be all in all. 
So here's the point. Not wrong that the people of 
God cry out for the subjugation of the enemies of God, but it's 
wrong when they try to force it. It's wrong when they try 
to take things into their own hands. It's wrong when they don't 
wait upon God. Christ is coming. Christ is going 
to vindicate His bride. Christ is going to punish His 
enemies. Christ is going to right every wrong. On Wednesday night, 
one of the questions after was about the administration of justice. 
You want to demoralize a body politic? You want to break the 
backs of people in the body politic? You want to hurt people? Is teach 
them that there are two tiers of justice. Teach them that there 
is no justice for a certain group in society. What happens to the 
people of God at that point? Hopefully we cry out to God Most 
High, even so come Lord Jesus, vindicate your bride, vindicate 
your honor, and set things in order. But we don't do anything 
to hasten that. We pray, we faithfully persevere, 
and we do what God has called us in this lower world. In conclusion, we see the expectation 
concerning Messiah. The Jews wanted to take him by 
force and make him a king. Christians at times today function 
in a similar manner. We are on God's timetable, and 
I confess with everybody, I'm an impatient person. If God were 
to say to me, when do you want me to vindicate the church and 
put down the enemies? I'd probably say yesterday would 
be great, right? It's tough living in a world 
where babies are aborted. It's tough living in a world 
where euthanasia is celebrated. And we're not just at the place 
of babies aborted. We're at the place of people 
shouting their abortions. We're at the place of notable 
figures in society saying it was a good thing that I aborted 
my baby for my career. You know, it used to be that 
women saw their babies as primary. It used to be that family was 
everything. There are so many wedges injected 
today in the family. There is so much division being 
spread today. There is so much disunity and 
fracture. There is so much of that. And 
we trace it back to the father of lies. We trace it back to 
the one who's a murderer from the beginning. So there is the 
longing in the people of God, even so come Lord Jesus. But 
to be faithful in the midst of it, that's the challenge. That's 
where in we need grace. Secondly, the demonstration of 
the glory of Christ. We see His sovereignty. We see 
his power, we see his authority, we see his compassion, we see 
him confirm what he says in chapter 5. You make yourself equal with 
God. Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, he says. So what does he do in chapter 
6? He makes bread. He makes fish. He walks on the 
sea. He does those things associated 
with divine prerogative. Now you say, well, other prophets 
did miracles, but there are predications concerning Yahweh of Israel, 
specifically with reference to being ruler over the waves. There 
are predications with reference to Yahweh of Israel as the supplier 
of food. We sang it, or I read it in Psalm 
146. He executes justice for the oppressed, 
who gives food to the hungry. The Lord gives freedom to the 
prisoners. What's John telling us? John is telling us the one 
who claims to be equal with his Father is equal with his Father. He is trustworthy. He is faithful. He is the Savior. He is the Lamb 
of God who takes away the sin of the world. Look to him in 
faith and you'll be saved. Look to Him in faith and you'll 
have everlasting life. Look to Him in faith and you'll 
pass from death unto life. That's John's purpose. Let us pray. Father, we pray 
that you would take the word and apply it to hearts today. 
And God, not just here, but all over the earth today, we pray 
that sinners would be saved. It is a wonderful and a glorious 
miracle that we find in John 6, where Jesus multiplies loaves 
and fish and feeds upwards to 10,000 people. But God, it parallels, 
it's an analogy to what he does in terms of being the bread of 
life. those who eat have everlasting life. And I pray that you'd open 
hearts to the truth, that you would give the graces of faith 
and repentance such that sinners may believe and know the joy 
of being found in Him. And God, bless and encourage 
our hearts as we stand in awe at our blessed Savior and at 
what He has done for us and the fact that He now ever lives to 
make intercession for us in the presence of God Almighty. And 
we ask this through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. Well, please 
stand and we'll close by singing the doxology on page 568. ♪ Praise 
God the Lord, all blessings flow ♪ ♪ Praise him, all ye who hear him 
roar ♪ ♪ Praise him, all ye who hear him roar ♪ ♪ Praise Father, 
Son, and Holy Ghost ♪ of the Lord Jesus Christ and 
the love of God and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you 
all. Amen. Father, thank you for your word. 
Thank you for the gospel of our salvation. Thank you for the 
Lord's day. Help us to call it a delight. 
Help us to enjoy the presence of God and fellowship with your 
people. And we pray through Jesus Christ, 
our Lord. Amen. Please be seated for a brief 
time of meditation.