John 6 Prepared & Taught by Karen Hodge Thomas
Between John 5 and John 6, several months passed. Feast of Tabernacles was a Sept/Oct event Passover Mar/Apr Both took place in Jerusalem Jerusalem to Sea of Galilee about 70 miles Feeding the 5000 is in all four gospels. Mark 6:30-31 and Luke 9:10 say Jesus took his disciples East of Bethsaida for quiet time.
The Lessons That Trials & Challenges Teach IT DEPENDS: On perspective On attitude On previous experiences On who you listen to
Jesus, Philip, and the Multitude Jesus saw the needs To Physically Feed short term To Spiritually Feed long term Philip saw the problem Not Enough Money Too Many People Multitude saw a miracle worker! John 6:4-14 The crowd of 5000 men (possibly 10k 15k total) was hungry without an obvious means of meeting the physical need. Jesus demonstrated concern for the physical and spiritual needs of the crowd. In v. 14, Jesus is referred to as THE PROPHET. This is likely a reference to Deuteronomy 18:15 where Moses tells the Israelites that God will raise up a Prophet who comes from among the Israelites as Moses did. So it makes sense that they made the comparison to Moses. Moses was associated with God s provision of manna (bread) from heaven and Jesus provided bread miraculously after giving thanks.
Our Needs, Problems, & the Miracle-Worker I would if I only had more. One thing that has kept me from doing more with my life is. I am praying for God to give me more so that I can. Often, we think that we need more of a natural resource or a greater ability in order to accomplish something worthwhile. We may believe we need more money, more support, more education or a wide array of resources. We mistakenly believe that what we have is inadequate. Instead of waiting until we have more, God wants us to trust Him with what we have right now!! The lad s lunch would never have been considered adequate to feed thousands. Yet the boy made his lunch available to Jesus; Jesus miraculously fed the crowd using the small lunch which was multiplied by God s power.
Recipe for a Feast for All A lad s lunch Obedient disciples Jesus miracle worker The natural lunch of a small boy was used to meet the needs of thousands. What we consider to be meager can meet the needs of thousands, too, with God s blessing. Although Jesus is capable of doing anything and everything by Himself, He chooses to use people in many processes. He invites people to join in His work. Freewill gives us the opportunity to choose to join His work (obey) or refuse to join (disobedience). The disciples obeyed by following all of the instructions Jesus gave getting the people seated, organizing them in small groups, distributing food, and collecting leftover fragments. In all that happened, Jesus showed Himself to be a miracle worker.
MORE THAN ENOUGH!! More than 5000 ate until full No one went without There were leftovers John 6:12-13 The 12 each collected leftovers in a wicker basket (kophinos) which contained enough food for a day or two. A kophinos(judges 6:19) Possibly the disciples carried those 12 baskets of leftovers with them as they crossed the Sea of Galilee.
Out At Sea Disciples in Trouble Jesus to the rescue John 6:19-21 (cf Matthew 14:22-33; Mark 6:45-56) Headed to Capernaum on the east side headed toward the west Strong winds, high waves, dark analogous to difficulties or struggles that we face in life. Obedience to God may result in difficulties. The disciples were obeying Jesus directive to leave for Capernaum when they entered the boat and set sail for the rough waters. (See Mark 6 says it s shortly before dawn, so quite likely they had been rowing all night but had made Jesus is the answer for every challenge in our lives. As He approached the boat by walking on water, He responded, it is I (I am). Immediately the boat reached the shore after Jesus entered. Jesus is peace!
John 6:22-71 Crowds for Jesus because He previously fed them. People may seek you out on one pretense, while really seeking what you can do for them. Jesus knew their thoughts and advised them to seek eternal food, not the temporal food that perishes. People asked, What do we do so we may work the works of God? Jesus answered: Believe in Him who He has sent. Man is showing his view of human works. Jesus states that faith, not works, is necessary.
Popular Choices Aren t Always Right (The crowd wanted Jesus as their leader) The pull to follow the crowd The courage to stand alone The wisdom to obey God John 6:14-15 The sign miraculous provision of food. Crowd saw Jesus as the Prophet (Deut 18:15-18; John 1:21) The people were motivated by their full stomachs to have Jesus as their king. Jesus knew their thoughts and retreated from them went off alone. Often when we are being pulled by people to do things, it s wise for us to get away from the crowd, as Jesus did.
John 6:22-27 Jesus emphasized that belief in God supersedes the acquisition of physical food. God can and will supply all our needs, sometimes miraculously (manna from heaven, feeding of the 5000) and at other times from our physical labor. Spiritual food can ONLY come from God. CF Deuteronomy 8:2-3 Israel wandered for 40 years because they failed to trust God. NOTE: WORK for physical food in the text and Son of Man will give spiritual food.
John 6:28-30 GIVE US A SIGN! Only one day after Jesus fed > 5000 from lunch for one, the crowd is looking for a sign! Do you ever fail to fully take in or comprehend what God does for us because we re looking for the next thing? The people asked for a sign although they had just experienced Jesus miracle. We can CHOOSE not to believe what we witness or experience. In this scripture, it appears that the crowd wanted more of what Jesus had provided the day before. Instead of continuously praising God for what He had done, they had their hand out for more. We can often find ourselves in the same stance.
John 6:31-37 BELIEVE! Comparison of Jesus to Moses Provision of manna mistakenly credited to Moses The bread of God is He who comes from heaven Jesus declares, I am the bread of life. Jesus admonishes the people to believe that He is the one whom God sent. Divine Election and Human Volition God calls us to salvation, but we must choose to accept the call by faith. Deuteronomy 18:15-22New International Version (NIV) 15 The LORDyour God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your fellow Israelites. You must listen to him. 16 For this is what you asked of the LORDyour God at Horeb on the day of the assembly when you said, Let us not hear the voice of the LORDour God nor see this great fire anymore, or we will die. 17 The LORDsaid to me: What they say is good. 18 I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their fellow Israelites, and I will put my words in his mouth. He will tell them everything I command him. 19 I myself will call to account anyone who does not listen to my words that the prophet speaks in my name. 20 But a prophet who presumes to speak in my name anything I have not commanded, or a prophet who speaks in the name of other gods, is to be put to death. 21 You may say to yourselves, How can we know when a message has not been spoken by the LORD? 22 If what a prophet proclaims in the name of the LORDdoes not take place or come true, that is a message the LORDhas not spoken. That prophet has spoken presumptuously, so do not be alarmed. New International Version(NIV)Holy Bible, New International Version, NIV Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
John 6:38-40 Everlasting Life is a Gift Jesus declares that He came from heaven. Jesus says that He must do God s (the Father s) will. Everlasting life comes only by faith. We must believe. Man still strives to work for the gift God gives freely. Divine Election and Human Volition God chooses us and we must choose Him in response. Jesus declares His preexistence. Jesus demonstrates that our primary goal should be to obey God, to do His will. Man s good works will never be sufficient for eternal life.
John 6:41-43 Jesus? From Heaven? Jews grumble at Jesus claim that He s the bread that came from heaven Isn t this Joseph s son? How can He make these claims? Audience thought only in human, temporal terms Those who were spiritually minded believed. Those who were carnally minded did not. Isaiah 9 a child is born (human); a son is given (divine) Jesus did not argue with them or persist in the matter. We are not to argue wit nonbelievers, either. We are simply to provide the truth that God gives us
John 6:44-51 Salvation is from God God is the One who draws men unto Himself. God teaches His Word to those who believe. Whoever believes has eternal life! Jesus speaks of bodily resurrection on the last day! I am the bread of life eternal life Verse 44 Jesus says that we can only come to Him as a result of being drawn by God. He also promises to raise believers on the last day. This is a reference to the day of the Rapture, which will be the last day of the church age. Isaiah 54 they shall all be taught by God. We believe, by faith, what we are taught by God. Those who were spiritually minded believed. Those who were carnally minded did not. - Eat my flesh and drink my blood. He doesn t mean trans-substantiation. Trans-substantiation wrong belief that the bread and wine becomes Jesus body and blood. Jesus is speaking metaphorically to get the attention of the Jews who would never drink or eat blood.
John 6:52-71 Is Seeing Believing? Understanding Jesus s teaching was not a head (intellectual) issue, but a heart (faith) issue Jesus to the masses: You can t believe what I m saying? Many disciples turned away. Jesus to the Twelve: Will you leave, too? Parable of the sower (Matthew 13) Some believed but turned away The disciples who turned away were never truly converted. The Twelve Jesus said I chose you, but one is a devil. We must be sure of our salvation.