John 6:1-24 - The Miraculous Jesus: Who Is He? There was a woman in the news just recently who believes that she has experienced a miracle. Let me show you the picture that was released, so you can see what has caused all this excitement in her life. [show iron picture] This is a picture of her iron. A week or so ago she noticed that pattern on itʼs surface. Let me quote from the news article: A Massachusetts woman who recently separated from her husband and had her hours cut at work says an image of Jesus Christ she sees on her iron has reassured her that life is going to be good.... She and her two college-age daughters agree that the image looks like Jesus and is proof that he's listening. It goes on to say that she hopes her story will inspire others during the holidays. 1 I think itʼs a bit of a sad story actually. I think this woman is hurting and in need, and in her pain she sees what she wants to see. Thatʼs not a picture of Jesus, and well, thatʼs not how He ministers to His people. And so her hope is misguided by a false miracle. Sadly, in todayʼs passage, the people are face to face with Jesus Himself, and they witness two definite miracles, yet their hope is misguided too. Remember we saw last week that by this time in His ministry, Jesus has been causing a bit of a stir. We saw that some were unhappy with Him, but still He is without a doubt a very popular figure. Letʼs read the first paragraph in our passage to get an idea of whatʼs happening in the story. Some time after this, Jesus crossed to the far shore of the Sea of Galilee (that is, the Sea of Tiberias), and a great crowd of people followed him because they saw the miraculous signs he had performed on the sick. Then Jesus went up on a mountainside and sat down with his disciples. The Jewish Passover Feast was near. Basically, the common people are really excited about Jesus. Theyʼve seen Him do the impossible - He miraculously healed the sick. And so they want more of this. They want to have their illnesses taken care of, and they want to see what all the hype is about - they want to see this healer in action. Well Jesus crossed over the Sea of Galilee, by boat, Iʼd assume. But the people are so hungry for Him that that they cross over the north shore of the Sea by foot to find Him. Today weʼre going to explore what happens here, through looking at two miracles. In doing this, weʼll answer the question, What do the miracles tell us about Jesus? So letʼs look at the first miracle of the loaves and fish. Letʼs read through it, and Iʼll comment along the way. Letʼs start with verse 5: 1 Available: http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ ALeqM5ixAqpRvTNKKmHzrv9Cdu2YtHCNDQD9C820S00. Cited 28 November 2009. Bern Merchant Grenfell Presbyterian 29 Nov 09 page 1 of 5
When Jesus looked up and saw a great crowd coming toward him, he said to Philip, Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat? He asked this only to test him, for he already had in mind what he was going to do. Here we have thousands of people coming to Jesus. And He asked Philip, How are we going to feed them? But of course, Jesus already knew that Heʼd perform a miracle. It says that: Philip answered him, Eight monthsʼ wages would not buy enough bread for each one to have a bite! Well, based on his answer, Philip obviously didnʼt expect a miracle. He didnʼt have any ideas. He basically said that it would be impossible to buy enough food for such a big crowd. Then we hear from another disciple. Another of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, spoke up, Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far will they go among so many? Andrewʼs response is, Thereʼs no food to be had. All I can see is this boy and his packed lunch. Just a tiny bit of bread and fish. But Jesus didnʼt see a problem. Jesus said, Have the people sit down. There was plenty of grass in that place, and the men sat down, about five thousand of them. Jesus then took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed to those who were seated as much as they wanted. He did the same with the fish. And hereʼs the miracle. Jesus approached this as a common meal, and had the people sit down to get ready to eat. Now, this is one place where I think your Bibleʼs headings arenʼt as helpful as they could be. The NIV labels this passage Jesus Feeds the Five Thousand. But according to the story, there are 5000 men. Thatʼs not including the women and children. Most writers assume that there are men here with their families, meaning Jesus actually fed between maybe 20-25000 people. And He simply gave thanks. He said grace. And when they passed around the food there was enough for 20,000 people to have a full stomach. The next couple of verses tell us that there were even twelve baskets of bread left over. What do we learn about Jesus from this miracle? Thereʼs probably a lot we can say, but let me highlight a couple of things. One is that Heʼs compassionate. Some might argue that Jesus only did the miracle to show who He was. But I donʼt think so. That doesnʼt fit in with the picture of Jesus in the rest of the Bible. And the other Gospel accounts of this miracle say clearly that Jesus had compassion on the people when they arrived, and taught them and healed their sick, before He fed them in the evening. See, Jesus couldʼve performed a flashy miracle that was self-indulgent. He couldʼve said, Look at me, but instead He showed His power by feeding people who were hungry after a long day. This shows that He isnʼt blind to the realities of our world, that He knows our needs, and that Heʼs generous and loving and giving. Bern Merchant Grenfell Presbyterian 29 Nov 09 page 2 of 5
But I also think this miraculous feeding shows the abundant power of God. If you look closely at this miracle, everything is in extremes. John highlights how much it would cost in wages to feed them,. There were 20,000 people, not just a small crowd. Even the food the boy had was insignificant - just a couple of sardines and barley bread. Bread made from barley was the cheap stuff, the bread of the poor. And from that, Jesus provided so much that no one went away hungry. Listen as I read Amos 9:13: The days are coming, declares the LORD, when the reaper will be overtaken by the plowman and the planter by the one treading grapes. New wine will drip from the mountains and flow from all the hills. When God prophecies through Amos that He will restore all things, He says that Heʼll do it in mind-blowing abundance. Wine dripping from the hills. Enough bread for 20,000 people. Jesus is saying through this miracle, I can meet every need. I can pour out blessings beyond your wildest dreams. When you have new life in me, youʼll never hunger or thirst again. I can satisfy way more than bread. Very simply, this miracle shows Jesus to be our compassionate, loving, satisfying, abundantly blessing God. What about the second miracle? Letʼs read verses 16-21: When evening came, his disciples went down to the lake, where they got into a boat and set off across the lake for Capernaum. By now it was dark, and Jesus had not yet joined them. A strong wind was blowing and the waters grew rough. When they had rowed three or three and a half miles, they saw Jesus approaching the boat, walking on the water; and they were terrified. But he said to them, It is I; don't be afraid. Then they were willing to take him into the boat, and immediately the boat reached the shore where they were heading. After the encounter with the people, Jesus withdrew to a private place. He did this because of their reaction to Him. and other Gospels add that withdrew to pray. I also would guess that He was exhausted and needed to rest. But the disciples were to go on ahead without Him, back across the lake. Now letʼs think about what it wouldʼve been like. You leave at evening and get into a boat and start to row across a gigantic lake, which is what the Sea of Galilee really is. Night comes and it gets dark and all you have is the light of the moon and stars. Then the wind that has been blowing gets worse and the waters turn rough in a storm. And when youʼve gone five or six kilometres, you look out over the waters youʼve travelled to see a ghostly figure coming towards you, walking on the stormy lake. How would you feel? The Bible tells us that these men were terrified. But then when this figure gets to the boat, He says, Itʼs me, itʼs Jesus, donʼt be afraid. And then they took Him on board and they quickly reached the shore at Capernaum. What would you be thinking when this man climbed into the boat and sat next to you? This miracle, again, tells us that Jesus is God. But this one highlights His awesome and terrifying power. Jesus doesnʼt need a boat, He can walk on water. The storm and darkness are not a problem for Him. Heʼs in complete control, and Heʼs the one who offers comfort. They donʼt yell to Jesus, Come on, climb on board or you might drown. Jesus comes to them in the storm and says, Hey, itʼs okay, it me. Bern Merchant Grenfell Presbyterian 29 Nov 09 page 3 of 5
Thereʼs actually a lot of symbolism in this story. See, to the Jewish mindset, the sea represented chaos and disorder, something to be feared. And to them, God was the one who controlled and subdued the sea. Listen to Psalm 65:5-7 as an example: You answer us with awesome deeds of righteousness, O God our Saviour, the hope of all the ends of the earth and of the farthest seas, who formed the mountains by your power, having armed yourself with strength, who stilled the roaring of the seas, the roaring of their waves, and the turmoil of the nations. What do we learn from the miracle of walking on water? Jesus is not just a mere man, at the mercy of the sea. Creation is at His mercy. Heʼs our God whoʼs in complete control, who is awesome and not to be trifled with. He is to be feared. And so the question for us is, Who do we see in these miracles? Are we like the characters in these Biblical stories, or do we let these miraculous signs point to something else? Letʼs think about the reactions here. One reaction comes from the disciples. They just donʼt get it yet. When the crowd first approached, they had no idea that Jesus could handle the situation, even though theyʼd seen miracles before. Their answers were, Thereʼs not enough money or food to feed so many. Who is Jesus to them? Just a teacher, but not God. They didnʼt even get it when He walked on water. At this point He is a powerful and special teacher. Is that your view of Jesus? Just a good teacher, someone we can learn from. A teacher who was powerful enough to do some amazing things? Or what about the crowd? We see several reactions from them. First of all we notice that theyʼre following Jesus because of the miraculous healings. But John warned back in chapter 2 that Jesus was wary of people who believed just because of miracles. And then in verses 14 and 15 we see their other reactions. Please look at those verses with me: After the people saw the miraculous sign that Jesus did, they began to say, Surely this is the Prophet who is to come into the world. Jesus, knowing that they intended to come and make him king by force, withdrew again to a mountain by himself. Some people thought Jesus was the promised prophet. They thought He was the one promised by Moses in Deuteronomy 18, which I referred to last week. And so for some, here was another Moses, one who could deliver them from the Romans, and lead another exodus to freedom, just like their ancestors experienced when slaves in Egypt. Here, finally, is the one who can give bread like manna in the desert. So letʼs make him king. He satisfies our needs, He heals us, He gives us full bellies. So where did they go wrong? I mean, arenʼt they right? Isnʼt Jesus a king? Isnʼt He the one promised by Moses? Well yes. But they were misguided. Listen as I read from John chapter 18. Here is Jesusʼ answer when Pilate asks Him if He is a king: Bern Merchant Grenfell Presbyterian 29 Nov 09 page 4 of 5
Jesus said, My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jews. But now my kingdom is from another place. The people misunderstood what kind of King Jesus was. They thought He was just an earthly king. One of the fun things about being a Dad, especially as Anouk approaches the age of 2, is that Iʼm getting to learn about all the toys and characters and fun things that are out there for children. I get to relive my childhood a bit, and I have a valid excuse for doing it. Now one of the big things Anouk is into these days is Thomas the Tank Engine. She has a Thomas placemat, and a little Thomas nametag for her bag, and she has at Thomas DVD movie. Now I donʼt know how many times Iʼve watched it, but one thing Iʼve noticed is that the trains are very concerned about being useful. In the movie Thomas finds an old train engine and he and his friends try to fix him up, because theyʼre afraid heʼll be scrapped if heʼs not useful. Thomas himself is often called a very useful engine. Itʼs almost a term of praise. And thatʼs the how the people are viewing Jesus. A very useful king. Theyʼre not seeing the significance of the miracles, or understanding anything Jesus is saying about new life. All they see is someone who can meet their needs, who can heal them and fill their stomachs. And so they want to make Him king by force, force him into a position where his provision for them never ends. Who do you see here in these miracle stories? Who do you see in Jesus? A good teacher? A prophet? A king whoʼll satisfy earthly needs? Or God? A loving and abundant, yet terrifying and awesome God? See, one thing we must do, and we have no excuse given that we have the full revelation of the whole Bible, is to accept Jesus on His terms. We canʼt go to Him and say, Look, I know youʼre God, but I donʼt want all those spiritual things, I just want you to fix the problems in my life. Jesus says that our biggest need is the forgiveness of sins and new life in Him. I mean, yes, He will care for us, He loves us. Weʼll see that expressed in this life and blessings now. It does say in Scripture that God knows what we need in terms of things like clothes and food. But we canʼt reduce Jesus to just that kind of provider, when thatʼs not who He is. We have to accept Him on His terms. Heʼs the King of the Kingdom of God. And that points us to a great thing in this passage. We, us Christians, have much more than just an earthly King. Jesus hasnʼt come to be a quick snack, but to be the bread of life that satisfies all hunger, deepest hunger. Heʼs not here to just rule for a time, but to be our King forever. Heʼs not just an earthly king whoʼll get rid of oppression, but God, whoʼll stamp out every enemy, and defeat sin and death and Satan, and wipe every tear from our eyes, and bring us to the eternal glorious kingdom. Who do you see here? And who do you want? Jesus the breadmaker, Jesus on the iron, or Jesus the generous and loving yet awesome God, whoʼll satisfy the deepest hunger in your soul?... Letʼs pray. [to speak with Bern about this sermon: bernm@iinet.net.au, (02) 6343 2013] Bern Merchant Grenfell Presbyterian 29 Nov 09 page 5 of 5