John 6:1–15 (ESV)
6 After this Jesus went away to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, which is the
Sea of Tiberias. 2 And a large crowd was following him, because they saw the signs that
he was doing on the sick. 3 Jesus went up on the mountain, and there he sat down with
his disciples. 4 Now the Passover, the feast of the Jews, was at hand. 5 Lifting up his eyes,
then, and seeing that a large crowd was coming toward him, Jesus said to Philip, “Where
are we to buy bread, so that these people may eat?” 6 He said this to test him, for he
himself knew what he would do. 7 Philip answered him, “Two hundred denarii worth of
bread would not be enough for each of them to get a little.” 8 One of his disciples, Andrew,
Simon Peter’s brother, said to him, 9 “There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and
two fish, but what are they for so many?” 10 Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.” Now
there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, about five thousand in number.
11 Jesus then took the loaves, and when he had given thanks, he distributed them to those
who were seated. So also the fish, as much as they wanted. 12 And when they had eaten
their fill, he told his disciples, “Gather up the leftover fragments, that nothing may be
lost.” 13 So they gathered them up and filled twelve baskets with fragments from the five
barley loaves left by those who had eaten. 14 When the people saw the sign that he had
done, they said, “This is indeed the Prophet who is to come into the world!”
15 Perceiving then that they were about to come and take him by force to make him
king, Jesus withdrew again to the mountain by himself.
6 After this Jesus went away to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, which is the
Sea of Tiberias. 2 And a large crowd was following him, because they saw the signs that
he was doing on the sick. 3 Jesus went up on the mountain, and there he sat down with
his disciples. 4 Now the Passover, the feast of the Jews, was at hand. 5 Lifting up his eyes,
then, and seeing that a large crowd was coming toward him, Jesus said to Philip, “Where
are we to buy bread, so that these people may eat?” 6 He said this to test him, for he
himself knew what he would do. 7 Philip answered him, “Two hundred denarii worth of
bread would not be enough for each of them to get a little.” 8 One of his disciples, Andrew,
Simon Peter’s brother, said to him, 9 “There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and
two fish, but what are they for so many?” 10 Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.” Now
there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, about five thousand in number.
11 Jesus then took the loaves, and when he had given thanks, he distributed them to those
who were seated. So also the fish, as much as they wanted. 12 And when they had eaten
their fill, he told his disciples, “Gather up the leftover fragments, that nothing may be
lost.” 13 So they gathered them up and filled twelve baskets with fragments from the five
barley loaves left by those who had eaten. 14 When the people saw the sign that he had
done, they said, “This is indeed the Prophet who is to come into the world!”
15 Perceiving then that they were about to come and take him by force to make him
king, Jesus withdrew again to the mountain by himself.
Dear fellow redeemed: What do you make of this little snippet of history? What is the
takeaway? What would have been your impression if you had been part of the crowd who ate
their fill for free? What kind of food did Jesus give the people here?…
takeaway? What would have been your impression if you had been part of the crowd who ate
their fill for free? What kind of food did Jesus give the people here?…
WHAT KIND OF FOOD IS THAT?
FOOD THAT ROTS OR ETERNAL FOOD?
I. What Did the People See and Hear?
II. What Did Jesus Say About It?
III. How Will It Change You?
I. What Did they See and Hear?
The first thing is that the people followed Jesus because he was healing the sick, so the
followed Him and His disciples up onto the mountain. Understand what this meant; people suffered from illness differently than today. Basically, infections either killed you or your got better,
but sometimes they left permanent injury, like deafness or blindness. Then there were injuries
that couldn’t be treated or chronic illnesses like palsies or leprosy.
So then people who faced imminent death from acute disease or a lifetime of suffering
were being healed. Where Jesus went, many sufferings of this broken world were undone.
Next comes the crowd. John comments on the fact that the Passover is approaching, so
I’m guessing that helps to account for the size of the crowd. It’s a remote area, they have followed
Jesus a long way, and they are getting hungry. Luke and Matthew comment on that and tell us
that the disciples saw the problem as well. Jesus brings up the question of food, 5 Lifting up his
eyes, then, and seeing that a large crowd was coming toward him, Jesus said to Philip,
“Where are we to buy bread, so that these people may eat?”
Jesus has the disciples grapple with the situation. They give an assessment of the problem in a very tangible way: 7 Philip answered him, “Two hundred denarii worth of bread
would not be enough for each of them to get a little.” How much would it cost you to cater a
meal for 5000 men and their families? Eight months’ income was Philip’s estimate, plus the fact
that they were nowhere near a place to buy food. I think the boy with barley loaves and fish must
have been trying to make a little money by selling food, but that wouldn’t feed the crowd.
The people saw Jesus take the bread and the fish, bless it, and then distribute it – as
much as anybody wanted! And there was tangible evidence of the miracle with the twelve bas-
kets of remnants gathered at the end.
14 When the people saw the sign that he had done, they said, “This is indeed the
Prophet who is to come into the world!” By “the Prophet,” they referred to the prophesies of
the Messiah, which sometimes spoke of Jesus as a prophet, the successor of Moses. And they
thought that just as Moses had fed the people with manna, his successor would distribute free
food for the people.
II. What Did Jesus Say About It?
Did the people have the right read on it? Clearly not, because 15 Perceiving then that
they were about to come and take him by force to make him king, Jesus withdrew again
to the mountain by himself. After this, Jesus walked across the Sea of Galilee, remember,
meeting the disciples mid–lake and then conveying them to the shore near Capernaum.
There He gave his own commentary, which John records later in this same chapter. Jesus
makes two main points. The first “Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you are
seeking me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. Do
not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the
Son of Man will give to you. For on him God the Father has set his seal.” (John 6:26–27,
ESV) They had made the mistake of seeing only the carnal, fleshly, earthly, worldly advantage
of someone who gives away food. Jesus is telling them that they should look at what the sign
MEANS! They should look for the food that lasts forever because it gives eternal life.
The second point is that HE is the one who gives eternal life. “Then they said to him,
“What must we do, to be doing the works of God?” Jesus answered them, “This is the
work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.” (John 6:28–29, ESV) “For the
bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”” (John 6:33,
ESV)
In case anybody misses the point here, the Jews grumbled about Jesus’ saying “I have
come down from heaven.” So Jesus spelled it out: “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes
has eternal life. I am the bread of life. Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and
they died. This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and
not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread,
he will live forever. And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.”
(John 6:47–51, ESV)
III. How Will It Change You?
So how should this change you and me? What I mean is this: We are people just like
those following Jesus up the mountain, so we might very well think the same way they do, and
we need to face up to it, listen to what Jesus says, and change accordingly.
Like the people following Jesus we are prone to act like this life is all there is, and the
concerns of this life are most important. What could be more important than making a living,
feeding your family, surviving in retirement, or living in a dry warm house with enough to eat? Or
that they were nowhere near a place to buy food. I think the boy with barley loaves and fish must
have been trying to make a little money by selling food, but that wouldn’t feed the crowd.
The people saw Jesus take the bread and the fish, bless it, and then distribute it – as
much as anybody wanted! And there was tangible evidence of the miracle with the twelve bas-
kets of remnants gathered at the end.
14 When the people saw the sign that he had done, they said, “This is indeed the
Prophet who is to come into the world!” By “the Prophet,” they referred to the prophesies of
the Messiah, which sometimes spoke of Jesus as a prophet, the successor of Moses. And they
thought that just as Moses had fed the people with manna, his successor would distribute free
food for the people.
II. What Did Jesus Say About It?
Did the people have the right read on it? Clearly not, because 15 Perceiving then that
they were about to come and take him by force to make him king, Jesus withdrew again
to the mountain by himself. After this, Jesus walked across the Sea of Galilee, remember,
meeting the disciples mid–lake and then conveying them to the shore near Capernaum.
There He gave his own commentary, which John records later in this same chapter. Jesus
makes two main points. The first “Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you are
seeking me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. Do
not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the
Son of Man will give to you. For on him God the Father has set his seal.” (John 6:26–27,
ESV) They had made the mistake of seeing only the carnal, fleshly, earthly, worldly advantage
of someone who gives away food. Jesus is telling them that they should look at what the sign
MEANS! They should look for the food that lasts forever because it gives eternal life.
The second point is that HE is the one who gives eternal life. “Then they said to him,
“What must we do, to be doing the works of God?” Jesus answered them, “This is the
work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.” (John 6:28–29, ESV) “For the
bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”” (John 6:33,
ESV)
In case anybody misses the point here, the Jews grumbled about Jesus’ saying “I have
come down from heaven.” So Jesus spelled it out: “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes
has eternal life. I am the bread of life. Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and
they died. This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and
not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread,
he will live forever. And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.”
(John 6:47–51, ESV)
III. How Will It Change You?
So how should this change you and me? What I mean is this: We are people just like
those following Jesus up the mountain, so we might very well think the same way they do, and
we need to face up to it, listen to what Jesus says, and change accordingly.
Like the people following Jesus we are prone to act like this life is all there is, and the
concerns of this life are most important. What could be more important than making a living,
feeding your family, surviving in retirement, or living in a dry warm house with enough to eat? Or
how important is it if government policies debase the currency and drive us into poverty? How
important is it that parents and schools do a bad job of preparing people to be wise and compe-
tent members of society, but spend their energy on sexuality and diversity?
Those things are important, but if you don’t grasp Who gives us these things, really, then
your priorities and perspective are all wrong. Of all the people you think you rely on in this world,
the One you should honor above all is our Lord. Of all the things that you value in this world, not
one of them, or all of them together, comes close to the treasure of heaven.
Of all the things that occupy our time, not one of them is so important as being reconciled
with our Maker, and having a place with Him once this life ends. The greatest change that comes
to us as believers, as Christians, as the faithful, is that we see the world through a wider lens,
encompassing heaven as well as earth, eternity as well as time, and above all knowing Jesus
Christ, who is our salvation.
We most certainly live on earth, and the problems of life are real and often urgent, but our
horizon is an eternal one. We see the brokenness of this world as the result of sin, and the
solution as being reconciled with God in eternity. We see the conflicts in this world as the conflict
of light against darkness, life against death, good against evil.
The most important thing in all of life is knowing Christ.
I’ll let Paul say it for us: “But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of
Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing
Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them
as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness
of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the
righteousness from God that depends on faith— that I may know him and the power of
his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, that by
any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.” (Philippians 3:7–11, ESV)
AMEN
tent members of society, but spend their energy on sexuality and diversity?
Those things are important, but if you don’t grasp Who gives us these things, really, then
your priorities and perspective are all wrong. Of all the people you think you rely on in this world,
the One you should honor above all is our Lord. Of all the things that you value in this world, not
one of them, or all of them together, comes close to the treasure of heaven.
Of all the things that occupy our time, not one of them is so important as being reconciled
with our Maker, and having a place with Him once this life ends. The greatest change that comes
to us as believers, as Christians, as the faithful, is that we see the world through a wider lens,
encompassing heaven as well as earth, eternity as well as time, and above all knowing Jesus
Christ, who is our salvation.
We most certainly live on earth, and the problems of life are real and often urgent, but our
horizon is an eternal one. We see the brokenness of this world as the result of sin, and the
solution as being reconciled with God in eternity. We see the conflicts in this world as the conflict
of light against darkness, life against death, good against evil.
The most important thing in all of life is knowing Christ.
I’ll let Paul say it for us: “But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of
Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing
Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them
as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness
of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the
righteousness from God that depends on faith— that I may know him and the power of
his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, that by
any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.” (Philippians 3:7–11, ESV)
AMEN