feeding the multitude - revisted

[B-A-C]

John 6:1; After these things Jesus went away to the other side of the Sea of Galilee (or Tiberias).
John 6:2; A large crowd followed Him, because they saw the signs which He was performing on those who were sick.
John 6:3; Then Jesus went up on the mountain, and there He sat down with His disciples.
John 6:4; Now the Passover, the feast of the Jews, was near.
John 6:5; 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 these may eat?"
John 6:6; This He was saying to test him, for He Himself knew what He was intending to do.
John 6:7; Philip answered Him, "Two hundred denarii worth of bread is not sufficient for them, for everyone to receive a little."
John 6:8; One of His disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, *said to Him,
John 6:9; "There is a lad here who has five barley loaves and two fish, but what are these for so many people?"
John 6:10; 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.

A huge crowd is following Jesus... because "they saw signs He was doing". But then Jesus takes His disciples "up on the mountain".

It seems Jesus likes to take us up to the high places. He likes to take us up on the mountain with Him. There is a whole thread that could be discussed about that.
I have to love Jesus here. He sees the crowd gathering around Him. So then Jesus, in His way... asks Philip... "where's the nearest McDonalds".
I don't suppose there were a lot of grocery stores or fast food chains in the hills of Israel in those days.

Verse 6 is the one I want to focus on here... It says that Jesus asks Philip about buying the bread... "to test him". Test him? In what way?
This wasn't about tempting Philip to sin. This wasn't even Satan doing the testing here. It was Jesus. Does Jesus test us? In what way?

It says here that Jesus already "knew what He was intending to do". Ha... if only we knew in advance, what God was "intending to do".
In verse 10 it says there were 5,000 men. That's just men. It doesn't us how many women and children were there, this crowd could have possibly been 10 or 20 thousand people.
Is there a town near where you live with a population of 20,000 people? Imagine all those people coming to see you for lunch. How many sandwiches are you going to make?

Nothing catches Jesus by surprise. God isn't surprised by anything. The people didn't lead Jesus away from the town. Verse 2 above says they "followed" Jesus.
Jesus led them away from the town. Was He surprised there were no stores here? Was He surprised the people were hungry? ... but Jesus already knew what He intended to do.

I wonder, how many times does Jesus lead us someplace. Some place unfamiliar to us. Some place away from the rest of the world. ... and then what? He just leaves us stranded there?
Jesus tested Philips faith here. The people are hungry Philip, what are we going to do about it? How many times has God put in a place where your faith was tested?
God I lost my job, God I have no money. God I'm sick today, God I'm hurting today. My car broke down, my refrigerator quit working. My *gasp* cell phone quit working.

Do these things catch God by surprise? Does God sit up in heaven and say... "oh my goodness, what am I going to do now?" Did you ever stop to consider, maybe these are the times,
the times when Jesus tests us. To see where our faith is. Is it in Him, or in the world and in our own ability.

Philip tells Jesus, a years worth of wages wouldn't even feed these people Jesus. Philip, like most of us... was focusing on the material. On what we could do, instead of what God could do.

 

[B-A-C]

John 6:9; "There is a lad here who has five barley loaves and two fish, but what are these for so many people?"
John 6:10; 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.
John 6:11; 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.
John 6:12; When they were filled, He *said to His disciples, "Gather up the leftover fragments so that nothing will be lost."
John 6:13; 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.
John 6:14; 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."
John 6:15; So Jesus, perceiving that they were intending to come and take Him by force to make Him king, withdrew again to the mountain by Himself alone.

I imagine this was quite the picnic. The people were already following Jesus because of the signs He did. I wonder if they were expecting lunch?
I suppose Mom packed a lunch for little Timmy today. She was hoping he wouldn't lose it, or some bully wouldn't take it away... and now someone is suggesting that he
should share it with 10 or 20 thousand people. I wonder how thin we should slice the bread? Isn't it truly amazing that God can takes less than what we think is needed
and still have something left over. How does that work?

Now of course Jesus feeds the multitude. I wonder how long it took just to serve 20,000 people. It seems that they didn't have to slice the bread as thin as paper after all.
Verse 11 above says... everyone got "as much as they wanted". It strikes me that God never leaves us wanting. He never gives us less than we need.

I wonder about the little boy with the lunch basket. What a story he had to share for the rest of his life. I wonder if his Mom believed the story when he told her.
Of course we know they gathered up 12 baskets of "extra"... left overs for later I suppose. I always wondered if it was a basket for each of the disciples.

Now "when the people saw" what Jesus had done. They recognized who He was, they understood what He was. ( later in this chapter Jesus says He is the bread of life )
Next time life throws us a curve... we can say, what are we going to do now? Or we can realize this didn't catch God off base, and "He already knows what He intends to do".

 

[Br. Bear]

Thank you B-A-C

I suppose any good Israelite chap ought to remember the LORD feeding (and leading) the many in the wilderness and simply carry on trusting that He is the same today as He was yesterday and will be forever.
Praise and honour and glory to Him

I now know two people who say that any event in one's life does not catch God by surprise. Something worth , well worth, remembering.

Thank you again

Bless you ....><>

 

[Dave M]

Hey @B-A-C Just curios if these bible studies you share are in preparation for bible study you are doing with your church or group ?? they are truly a blessing and I really appreciate you sharing them with us.

 

[B-A-C]

Hey @B-A-C Just curios if these bible studies you share are in preparation for bible study you are doing with your church or group ?? they are truly a blessing and I really appreciate you sharing them with us.

Sometimes both, sometimes neither. This one is a takeoff of another subject. The difference believing believing in God and trusting God.
Kind of like the Jews in the wilderness. God said only take what you can eat. But some people wanted to hoard a little more (just in case, God didn't come through).
They believed "in" God, but they didn't always trust Him.

 

[Br. Bear]

Kind of like the Jews in the wilderness. God said only take what you can eat. But some people wanted to hoard a little more (just in case, God didn't come through).
They believed "in" God, but they didn't always trust Him.

it always makes so little sense when thinking about people (of which lot, I am one) and how we like to think we are so 'evolved' and advanced and clever! Yet simply trusting the Mighty LORD Who alone does miraculous things like stated in this thread, seems so difficult to the mere man to comprehend and run with or walk, for that matter..... or simply stand!

The devil lies and offers no proof substantiating any of his twaddle and yet the LORD in His everlasting lovingkindness PROVES Himself to man over and over..... but we have such great difficulty remembering the4 faithfulness of our Lord.
Same goes with Salvation... seems easier to get debating all the things He never did or said that to simply and wholeheartedly trust Him, Who alone can be trusted.

He has provided.

And with Dave, thanks again B-A-C


Bless you ....><>