2.
The Amazing Provision of Jesus : 6:38-44
The problem? Dulled Perspectives. The answer ? Divine Power.
This is the only miracle of Jesus that is recorded in all four Gospels. It
is presented as the great climax of the Lord's public ministry. It
is the miracle witnessed by the largest gathering of spectators, and in which
the greatest number of people took part. Read 6:38 All
the Disciples could find was a small boy's lunch box. Inside
were five small rolls and two fish. These were not loaves in the sense we would
understand. Nor were the fish anything to write home about. They were sprats,
the kind a fisherman would throw back because they were too small. But Jesus
would have the disciples and us know that He wants and works with what we have,
only it must be all we have. Sprats not salmon or trout. Sprats is all Jesus
needs for a miracle. He does not expect more but He will not take less. Graham
Scroggie said once, "Some people see only difficulties in opportunities,
but he who sees opportunities in difficulties thinks with God." How tense
with expectation everyone must have been. Read 6:41. Jesus took the bread and
the fish, looked up to heaven, blessed the food and began to break it into pieces,
and Jesus went on and on breaking the bread and fish until everyone was satisfied.
Jesus had demonstrated God's great generosity, liberally
providing more than enough food for everyone. So much so there were twelve baskets
full of uneaten food to take home for those who hadn't made it. The
Anxious Problem of the Disciples. The Abundant Power of the Lord, and
3. The Abiding Principle of the Story
Why did Jesus feed the crowd? So they were a little
hungry but they weren't starving. They had eaten at home a few hours before.
They could have endured a little rumbling of the tummy,
after all it was Jesus they had come to see. Why did Jesus feed the crowd? His
motive for this great miracle can be found in the sermon that He gave the very
next day, recorded in John's Gospel. John 6:22ff
"The next day the crowd got into the boats and went to Capernaum in
search of Jesus. When they found him on the other side of the lake, they asked
him, "Rabbi, when did you get here?" Jesus answered, "I tell
you the truth, you are looking for me, not because you saw miraculous signs
but because you ate the loaves and had your fill. Do not work for food that
spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will
give you. On him God the Father has placed his seal of approval." Then
they asked him, "What must we do to do the works God requires?" Jesus
answered, "The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent."
So they asked him, "What miraculous sign then will you give that we may
see it and believe you? What will you do? Our forefathers ate the manna in the
desert; as it is written: 'He gave them bread from heaven to eat.'" Jesus
said to them, "I tell you the truth, it is not Moses who has given you
the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from
heaven. For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life
to the world." "Sir," they said, "from now on give us this
bread." Then Jesus declared, "I am the bread of life. He who comes
to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty.
I tell you the truth, he who believes has everlasting life. I am the bread of
life. Your forefathers ate the manna in the desert, yet they died. But here
is the bread that comes down from heaven, which a man may eat and not die. I
am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread,
he will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life
of the world."
The feeding of the twenty five thousand was nothing less than a foreshadowing
of the cross of Calvary. We see here the heart attitude of the Lord Jesus toward
the sinner. Jesus was the Bread from Heaven soon to be broken and given to the
world. The multitude could not have been fed had not Jesus first broken the
bread. Lets try and apply this specifically. I used to enjoy watching that American
detective series based on real life crimes. At the end of the credits they would
say "Only the names have been changed to protect the innocent". Well
the other day I came across a modern paraphrase that puts back the cutting edge
to this rather familiar miracle in the same way. Let me read it to you, from
verse 36.
"The Disciples said to Jesus, "there are too many people here Lord,
send them away to the surrounding churches so they can find somewhere else for
their children to learn about you." But Jesus answered, "You build
them an adequate Sunday School". But they said to Him, "It would take
at least 8 years of a man's wage. Where are we going to find that kind of money?"
"How much have you got?" He asked, "go and see." A small
boy came forward clutching his piggy bank. Inside were five pound coins and
two premium bonds". So Jesus directed them to sit down in groups and watch.
Taking the five pounds and the two premium bonds, and looking up to heaven,
He gave thanks and began dividing it among them. And when He had finished they
gathered it all up and found it came to £275.000. And they were all amazed."
Substituting coins for loaves would put a new slant on this familiar miracle.
I believe Jesus may be saying to us precisely what he said to the Disciples.
"You provide for the people". Its then we will realise our own inadequacy.
You may not feel your contribution in May can do very much for the Millennium
Project. But we can all be like the small boy, bringing what we have, willingly
giving it to the Lord. He can and will multiply it, but only if we give it to
Him first. Before the disciples even knew that there would be enough food left
for themselves, they first passed on what the Lord had given them to the multitudes.
They must have passed out a lot of food before they ate themselves. Just as
the food did not begin to multiply until after the disciples started distributing
it, so their own needs were not met until they had satisfied the crowds around
them. They would have looked silly hanging onto a scrap of bread when each had
to carry a basket of food back to Capernaum. Likewise it is as we are willing
to be his servants, wisely managing and distributing what the Lord Jesus has
already given us provides, that others will benefit from this project.
The Anxious Problem for the Disciples
The Amazing Provision of Jesus
The Abiding Principle of the Story
Grains of wheat never become bread until they are
crushed and broken. Lets pray.