The second obvious point
from this story is that...
2. Jesus has a power!
John 6. 7-13
"Two hundred
pennyworth of bread is not sufficient for them...!" Does that,
to you, reflect any expectation of a miracle? It certainly does not!
Rather, it reflects a very human reaction to a very flesh-and-blood
situation...the natural hunger of man. "People are hungry and
we don't have the resources to feed them!", Philip exclaimed,
without even a thought that the Creator and Sustainer of the worlds
and universes was sitting right next to him.
This sadly reveals how
little trust we have in the power of God; in other words, how little
faith we have. How do we prove our faith, anyway (?), l remembering
that Jesus was about to test those disciples' faith. While Philip
was calculating that, if a person was to work for so many hours a
day, for so many days of the year, he still wouldn't be able to feed
that crowd...just exactly the way any one of us would react, given
the same circumstances, Jesus doesn't fault Philip for thinking like
a human being, being like a human; He was trying him, when sure
enough, Andrew made a suggestion that Jesus could relate-to! "Here
are five barley loaves and two small fishes; can you do anything with
that, Lord?" Now let me tell you something...if you were to
distribute your own loaves and fishes to those hungry people,
they wouldn't satisfy very many! We need to take our loaves and
fishes to the Lord to break and to bless! Andrew was right when he
said..."what are they among so many?" Even when the
provision is made, the heart of unbelief refuses to rely on the very
power of Jesus! But remember, Jesus wasn't only out to prove the
disciples, but to prove Himself as well!
You know, I dare say that
more than a few of us have had to lean on the arm of the Lord at some
time or another, but when it comes to today's crisis, we are still
helpless, hopeless and hindered in our faith, doubting the very power
of God for our very lives. Notice that Philip had said..."that
every one may take a little". Why is it that we insist on
thinking in small terms when we are dealing with the God of abundant
everything? And Andrew had said..."what are they among so
many?" How many do you suppose the crowd would have to be, that
Jesus couldn't meet their needs?! Thank-you Lord for Your patience
and Your grace; that's all I can say! But then, just as though He
hadn't been listening, Jesus said something earth-shaking..."Make
them sit down". No harsh rebukes, like we might have given
under the same circumstances; no philosophical mind games, and no
put-downs; just a simple command from the Lord of the feast!
Just think for a minute
about our own responses to the commands of our Lord. What do you
suppose might have happened if those disciples, or all those people
had not done what Jesus had told them to do? What do you suppose
happens when we don't do what the Lord tells us to do? If the
Lord says..."sit down", then you had better sit down, and
be prepared to wait on further direction! Well thankfully, although
the faith of those disciples had failed, their obedience did not.
When you're short on faith, be long on obedience, and you'll find
youself with the faith-meter registering a little higher! I guess
you could say that's what the disciples found themselves doing.
Well, those people sat
down, and Jesus began to dispense His blessings, all as the result of
the simple act of obedience...in this case, simply sitting. Now when
you sit down...that is, obey...you will be fed. How simple is that?
And yet, so many Christians fail to see it! There is no way to
calculate the amount of faith a person has, although I believe that
some display more faith than others; in fact some obey more
than others, don't they, while some are more disobedient that others,
aren't they? But don't despair, because although there is great
power in great faith, there is great power in a little faith, as
well! Just think how much faith it takes to move a mountain, after
all!
So Jesus..."took the
loaves"..."and likewise the fishes"...and blest them
and broke them...and the rest is bible history! Now notice here that
Jesus had His work, and the disciples had their work;
His was the increase and their's was the distribution, and it's just
the same today. On the one hand, the powerful Hand of God, and on
the other hand, we His disciples, along with the spriitually
starving, waiting to be fed. It's our duty to pass along the
unsearchable riches of Christ; what we receive from Him, is
nourishment for the hungry souls of this world. That's the spiritual
economy! And we'll find that the supply will exceed the demand,
every time! The Lord only stops giving, should we stop asking;
there's no need of being in a spiritually bankrupt state, but when we
are, He wants to offer us a draught on all the resources of heaven!
When we're weak and worried, or tired and tempted, it only becomes a
problem when we don't trust God. So often, the reason we don't have
our spiritual vessels filled, is because we don't go to Him for a
filling!
So by the time we get to
vss. 11 and 12, instead of the "too little" of v. 7, and
the "too many of v. 9, we have the..."as much as they
would", and the ..."when they were filled"; quite a
contrast! And v. 13, twelve baskets filled with the leftovers. Now
there's the evidence of a miracle! When Jesus feeds us, there is no
wanting; you'll never walk away unsatisfied.
Do you know what it's like
to be filled? If not, you're in a sad state, my friend, because as I
have said, the lack of filling comes from a lack of obedience, just
as a lack of obedience indicates a lack of faith. Those disciples
learned a valuable lesson from the Lord Jesus that day, even though
the five or more thousand that were fed, simply enjoyed the picnic!
Finally, from the last
verses of this passage we will see...
3. Jesus, "that
Prophet? 6.14,15
Well, we've seen the Plan
and we've see the Power, and now simply, we see the people, with all
their pride and their prejudice. There are always the people to
contend-with. It may seem to a little mouse on that hillside that
these men were ready to recognize Jesus as their Messiah, but instead
of falling down before Him like the sinners they were, in repentance,
and pleading for mercy from the judgement to come, they would rather
"take Him by force to make Him their King" (vs. 15)! And
not for Jesus' sake either, but for their own. Their hearts hadn't
been changed, because there was no evidence of any light there...just
a hunger for glory. You know, this is a very enlightening verse.
Jesus wasn't the least deceived by their smooth talk, because He
heard their hearts and minds speaking so loudly (chapt. 2.24, 25)!
But there is another truth
here...Jesus didn't need anyone to make Him King, because He was born
into royalty...and the Kindom was not their's to give! Just like all
other "king-makers", these men were mainly concerned with
their own futures. Jesus wasn't concerned with redistributing
wealth, or with building equity in the things of this world; His
interest was and is, in the making of men to be fit for His service.
He wasn't interested in "the trickle-down economy" or in a
guaranteed annual income. He didn't have any political ambitions;
sure, He knows perfectly well that 12% of Canadians are earning
poverty wages; and He knows all about the problem of homelessness,
and that in the mid 1990's the richest 10% of people in Canada made
314 times more than the poorest 10%!! In fact however, Jesus was not
afraid to make some very political statements, but the
politics of that day were of no concern to Him. Jesus didn't come to
bring us "heaven on earth"...He came to meet our greatest
need...to be filled to overflowing with spiritual bread and meat.
He really is, all the
Bread you really need!
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