As among the Judean Jews in John 5, Jesus again faces increasing opposition in John 6 from the Galilean Jews. Nevertheless, the opposition of the Galilean Jews will look very different, since the Galilean Jews continue to eagerly seek out Jesus because of the signs that he can perform—up to this point at least. Jesus, for his part, displays remarkable kindness by feeding a crowd of five thousand sign-seekers who come to him in one of our Lord’s most remarkable miracles. Nevertheless, his kindness is not reciprocated, but it only fuels the fires of their greedy intentions to put their Creator to use according to their own designs.

While the sign-seekers benefit from the kindness of Jesus, it is suffering that marks the experience of the disciples. The details for this story that are unique in the Gospel of John give a slant on this story that contrasts the feasting of the unfaithful with the trials of the faithful, both when Jesus asks Philip how to feed the crowd in order “to test him” (John 6:6) and then when the disciples face a fierce storm on the Sea of Galilee (John 6:18). On the surface, the winners of this passage are the sign-seekers, while the disciples are the losers, facing a much more difficult set of circumstances. Nevertheless, John demonstrates through this passage that it is better to suffer with Jesus than to feast without him.

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.

16 When evening came, his disciples went down to the sea, 17 got into a boat, and started across the sea to Capernaum. It was now dark, and Jesus had not yet come to them. 18 The sea became rough because a strong wind was blowing. 19 When they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus walking on the sea and coming near the boat, and they were frightened. 20 But he said to them, “It is I; do not be afraid.” 21 Then they were glad to take him into the boat, and immediately the boat was at the land to which they were going.John 6:1-21, ESV

This morning, I want to ask you a question. What if I offered you a feast and I'll give you some choices. Now, actually, by the way, I do have a feast to offer you. It's the fellowship meal downstairs immediately following the service, and we'd be delighted if you can come. That's not the feast that I'm talking about. What if I gave you a feast and here are your options; twelve fried shrimp. Would you take the first meal was John Wayne Gacy is why he wanted the bucket of chicken to make a sea bomber. Two pints of mint chocolate chip ice cream. Ronnie Lee Gardner, a murderer wanted the lobster tail, the apple pie and to watch the Lord of the Rings while he ate. And Ted Bundy, the infamous serial killer, declined to have a special meal. So he had the standard meal offered to death row inmates with steak eggs, hash browns, toast, butter, jelly, milk and juice.

Well, the context makes a pretty big difference, doesn't it? I mean, if you're talking about a meal that is your final meal, well, that sort of affects the way that meal is going to take taste. You wouldn't probably give up anything in exchange to be in the position to have that meal because of the pretty significant string that is attached.

This story of Jesus; feeding of the five thousand is the only miracle that is included or written about in all four gospels. Matthew, Mark, Luke and John all talk about this miracle, and this is the only one that they all talk about. Which is pretty unique because John usually allows what the synoptic, that is Matthew, Mark and Luke's gospels say to sort of stand as they are. John doesn't see the need to add on to what the Synoptic Gospels have already captured quite well. John doesn't tell us about the baptism of Jesus. John doesn't tell us about the transfiguration of Jesus. John doesn't even tell us about the institution of the Lord's Supper. If the Synoptic Gospels have done it well, if it ain't broke, don't fix it is kind of John's motivation and philosophy. Because John has a different angle, a unique angle and additional angle of vision on who Jesus is.

Now it's not that one of them or one of the four is a false account of Jesus. In fact, John said he could have written a whole lot more. There's so much to talk about Jesus that at the very end of this gospel, John 21:25, he says that if he had written everything about Jesus that he possibly could of, the whole world could not contain all the books to tell the whole story. He's giving us a very specific account, which means he's very picky, very selective. So why then does he include this miracle that has already been told in Matthew, Mark and Luke?

It's because John has a very specific perspective on it. When we read the feeding of the 5000 in Matthew, Mark and Luke, this is a feast, it's a wonderful feast, there's a party, there's no downside. But John, in the way that he writes this feast puts it in a pretty negative light, actually. I mean, this is essentially something like the last meal of someone on death row. This is a story of Jesus feeding people who by the end of the chapter will reject him and walk away from their savior. They get what they want, but they don't get Jesus.

What John tells us in his account of the feeding of the 5000 is this, that it is better to suffer with Jesus than to feast without him. It's better to suffer with Jesus than to feast without him.

Now, one of the big things that John is doing uniquely and we're going to see this much more next week, Lord willing, as we look at the middle section of John chapter six is that John is very is writing this to tie this miracle of the feeding of 5000, together with the miracle of the ancient Israelites during the days of Moses. When Moses, by the power of God, fed the Israelites with men from heaven. Now you may remember Moses was the one who went to Pharaoh when the people of Israel were in bondage in the land of Egypt. Moses preached to Pharaoh, saying, let my people go thus says the Lord God will. Eventually, Pharaoh lets them go. That's by the way, why, in verse four, we read that the Passover peace is at hand, because that's the celebration of when Moses led God's people out of Egypt.

Well, when they go into the wilderness, there's thousands of Israelites who have to eat and God gives them bread from heaven. Now what John is doing, and again, we're going to look a lot more at this next week, but we sort of have to know the context to understand the miracle story itself. What John is doing is not to say that Moses and Jesus are on the same plane, that Moses is sort of really good, and Jesus actually reaches the level of Moses. It's something very different. What John is telling us is that Jesus is greater than Moses, that all that Moses did is a pale shadow compared to the blazing glory of Jesus Christ. Telling us that even if we have to suffer, it's better to suffer with Jesus than to feast without him.

Testing is Better Than Feasting

So let's look at this passage and see exactly how Jesus tells this story. In the first part of this, the first section we see, that testing is better than feasting. That's sort of the first main section if you look at the first 11 verses. Look at verse two with me, "And a large crowd was following him, because they saw the signs that he was doing on the sick." Now, when John tells us this, that people were following Jesus because of the signs they saw him doing on the sick, that should sort of cause the alarm bells to flash in our minds because we've seen this song and dance before. John has told us at a couple of points now that there are a group of people who are interested in following Jesus because he's flashy, because he's interesting because quite frankly, they have an agenda, an ax to grind, a chip on their shoulders, a purpose that they think Jesus can fulfill for them. Jesus is useful to them. Jesus will accomplish what they want to do, and so they're following him around trying to see the next sign that he is going to fulfill.

In John 2:23-25, we read that Jesus didn't entrust himself to the sign seekers because he knew that their faith wasn't living active, genuine saving. Again in John 4:43-45, we read that even though the Galilean Jews, those Jews who lived in the northern part and Galilee, even though they welcomed Jesus, they were excited to have him, they didn't honor him as a prophet so that Jesus has to tell a royal official whose son is dying he has to rebuke him for his faith in verse 48 of chapter four, "Unless you see signs and wonders, you will not believe." That's this group. These are a group of people who are following Jesus to see signs and wonders. They don't want Jesus. They want the stuff that Jesus can give them.

Now, how does Jesus respond to them? Does he rebuke them? Does he say unless you see signs and wonders, you will not believe? Does he test them? Just sort of try to show them and expose them the unbelief of their hearts? Well, Jesus does test, but not the sign seekers. Jesus actually turns to test one of his own. One of his disciples. John alone gives us this detail we find in verse five, that Jesus singles out one of his disciples, Phillip, and asks Philip, Hey Philip, where are we to buy bread so that these people may eat?

Now, what kind of a question is that? I mean, if OK, so if Sally Henderson or Judy Kanas, who are in charge of our fellowship meal suddenly, I mean, this isn't the case today, but let's say there are 400 people today and they're looking around and they're doing a quick little bit of math in their head and they're saying, my goodness, we don't have food for everyone to eat. Do you think they are going to just sit there and say, all right, well, I bet Jesus can feed thousands if they come to the feast. No, they're probably going to do what all of us would do, which is to actually go out and try to get some more food so that no one will have to go hungry. That's the line of thinking that Phillip takes.

Now, Jesus isn't actually asking Philip a question because he wants an answer from Philip. We read in verse six that Jesus is testing Philip. He's testing his own disciple, the one who's forsaking everything to follow him. Jesus doesn't test the crowd; he tests his disciples. This word for test is a word that has a pretty wide meaning. Sometimes it's a negative meaning. So when Satan leads Jesus in the wilderness, it's to test him or to tempt him. That's a negative meaning. It can also be a positive meaning, like in 2 Corinthians 13:5, Paul says to the Corinthians, examine or test yourselves to see whether you were in the faith. Check yourself, check your heart. What are you actually following? What are you trusting? What do you believe in?

Jesus tests his disciple. Now, does that mean, OK, we'll sort of see that Jesus is testing his disciple? That's fine. Is he really going to let these sign seekers have it then? Is he really going to nail them to the wall and exposed to them the shallowness of their faith? No. Jesus gives the sign seekers exactly what they want. There's this crowd of depraved, godless, faithless people who are just after a free lunch and Jesus gives them what they want. They don't want Jesus. They want his gifts, and Jesus gives them what they want. He tests his disciples and gives the sign seekers a miracle. And not just any miracle, but it's a miracle that everyone gets to taste of. They're not seeing someone healed from afar. They all partake of this feast. More than that, a feast was the sign of the Messiah. Isaiah 25:6, for example, says that one day God would feed his people a feast of rich food and, well aged wine. They're saying, we're partaking of the feast, the Messiah is here.

One of the ongoing laments of God's people is how long O Lord. We look at our lives, we look either across the street or across the cubicle or across the classroom or whatever, and we see other people who are not faithfully following the Lord, who are not trusting the Lord, who are not living honestly ethically. Who have in fact taken shortcuts, cheated, lied, backstabbed, fill in the blank and they seem to be doing a whole lot better than we are doing. They seem to be prospering in a way that we are not. They seem to be partying in a way that we are not. They seem to be having the fulfillment of having the desires of their heart in a way that we do not. We look at that and we say, low long O Lord? You're testing me, but not them. The arrogant get to prosper, and I don't? What could your purposes be O Lord?

Jesus wants us to lift our eyes from our circumstances, upon him and his grace and his power and his provision and to trust him, even when our circumstances don't seem to suggest that's a good option. Jesus tests us so that we learn to love the giver rather than his gifts. In that way, testing is better than feasting.

That Nothing May Be Lost

So how long O Lord, how long are the people of God, the disciples in this case going to have to be tested while the ungodly, the wicked get everything they want in this feast? Well, as it happens, this doesn't last very long. In verse 12, we come across a provision that is only contained in the gospel of John. We read here in verse 12 that the disciples are supposed to gather up the leftover fragments, Jesus instructs his disciples to do this, that nothing may be lost.

Now we know that baskets are gathered after the feast and Matthew Mark and in Luke, but we don't know why. In fact, if you read those stories, you think that those are just a demonstration of how abundant the provision of Jesus was. There was so much food that 12 baskets were left over. That's part of what's going on here, but it's more than that. Jesus says the reason I want you to gather up the leftovers is that nothing may be lost. He's giving them another meal or depending on the size of these baskets, another two or three meals, potentially from the miracle that he has just performed.

Now this is remarkable. It doesn't seem that way at first, but it is a remarkable thing because the next day, the sign seekers are going to come to Jesus and ask for another free lunch and Jesus is going to refuse them. He takes care of his disciples, make sure they have something additional to eat, but he declines to give the sign seekers who actually are going to cross the Sea of Galilee to come find Jesus, doesn't give them another meal. Moreover, remember how earlier I said that this is supposed to be a picture a reenactment of Moses feeding the Israelites in the wilderness?

Well, if you remember that, every day the Israelites would wake up and there'd be manna covering the ground. They were supposed to gather enough for that day only. They were forbidden to gather more than they could eat on that day, because if they did, the next morning they'd wake up and their bread would be ruined. It would be filled with worms and it would stink, and it would be moldy and disgusting. Because God wanted his people to depend on him day by day. They weren't allowed to keep leftovers. Yet Jesus gives his disciples leftovers.

John is the only one who gives us this tender picture of Jesus caring for the needs of his disciples. Now, here's the thing, though barley loaves are not the most tasty food. In fact, Josephus, an ancient historian, said that barley loaves were only fit for the poorest of the poor. So Jesus is giving barley loaves to his disciples. Has anyone ever tried to keep bread just sort of sitting out in a basket for any period of time? It turns dry pretty quickly. So this is a meal, but it's not this extraordinary miracle all over again. It's a leftover meal of probably dry bread.

As I was thinking about this, Proverbs 17:1 kept coming to mind, "Better is a dry morsel with quiet, than a house full of feasting with strife." Jesus quietly, not extraordinarily, not miraculously, but quietly tells his disciples to gather up the leftovers to this feast to feed them again a dry morsel, even when there is strife between him and the sign seekers. It's a tender picture of Jesus's love for his people, that the rest of the world does not get to enjoy.

The crowd then in verse 14, starts to talk amongst themselves and say, well, this is indeed the prophet. Then in verse 15, they start to realize this must be the king. So what do they try to do? They try to take him by force and make him the king again. Not because they think that he should be king, not in terms of he should be allowed to reign on his own terms. Not because they want him to be a prophet on his own terms to speak the word of God. In fact, Jesus is going to speak to them the following day, and that's when the people are going to walk away from him. They don't want to hear what he has to say. They think he is useful and they think if they strike now while the iron's hot, while all of Israel is remembering the Passover, when God led his people out of the bondage of Egypt, maybe this could be the moment when they can be led out of the bondage of Rome. They want to take him and force him to be king. Just like on Palm Sunday, a year or two later. They want to make Jesus King.

That is not wrong, but it is the wrong idea because they have a total misconception of the kind of kingdom that Jesus has come to reign. It's not an earthly kingdom that Jesus has come to make, but a spiritual kingdom that he will one day recreate all of creation to reign over the new heavens and the new Earth.

The question then is, do you and I trust Jesus to provide for us? Do we seek to force him, on the other hand, into our agenda? Do we want him to actually feed us in quiet ways, take care of our needs quietly? Or do we really want these massive signs and wonders from heaven? Do we look at the ways that Jesus provides every one of our needs, even spiritually? We are living week by week on the leftovers of the miracle of Jesus Christ's crucifixion and resurrection and ascension into glory. Understand Jesus isn't zapping miracles to happen all over the place still. What he does is, he tells us, keep proclaiming the leftovers of the feast; that Christ has died, that Christ is risen, and that Christ will come again. That's the hope we have. Jesus, week by week feeds us at his table to remind us again our hope is in Christ until he comes again.

The big thing that we learned here, then, is that dry morsels are better than power. A dry morsel with quiet is better than a house full of feasting strife. Do you want Jesus? Do you want the quiet morsels that he gives you? Or do you want feasting? Do you want your own agenda?

The Presence of Jesus is Better Than His Absence

Finally, in this third section in verses sixteen through twenty-one, we discover that the presence of Jesus is better than his absence. Now Matthew and Mark also tell us that the walking on water miracle of Jesus follows after the feeding of the 5000, but only John gives us insight into why Jesus has to walk on water. Here's what's happening. Jesus has fed these people. They want to make him king. They want him to continue feeding them. They want all of these gifts that they want Jesus to give, want, want, want. So Jesus sends his disciples ahead of him on a boat across the Sea of Galilee.

Now we read, we'll read next time in versus twenty-two to twenty-four that the crowd is watching and they sort of doing an inventory and audit of the people, the passengers who enter onto this boat and it's just as disciples. So they hang back looking for Jesus to try to make him king, to try to get him to fulfill all the desires of their hearts because they're greedy. Jesus sends his disciples ahead, withdraws into the mountain and waits until darkness is falling. Until the storm picks up on the sea and his disciples are being rocked about and blown about and it's getting particularly dangerous.

Now at that moment, who has the better life? It's the people on shore, right? It's the crowd who is not subject to the dangers of being at sea in the midst of a storm. The disciples are being put through the wringer again. They're being put through a trial, while everyone is safe in their cozy beds of the crowd. Jesus doesn't just do things, he doesn't just say, hey, I'm going to show you how awesome I am and walk across this water. That's part of it, but he means something more than this. He means to greet these disciples with his presence, to comfort them with his presence in the midst of the storm. He identifies himself saying, "It is I", and they are glad and they are immediately taken to their destination.

Those words, it is I or I am, are the exact same words, John Calvin points out that Jesus says to the crowd of people who come to arrest him in John chapter 18. When he identifies himself, we're looking for Jesus of Nazareth, it is I, they fall to the ground. They're not glad to see Jesus. They're terrified by him. The disciples, though, in terror and in fear, in the midst of the storm, rejoice, because Jesus is here. This is the better miracle of the story. This is the more intimate, the more private encounter with Jesus when he comes to them under the darkness of night, greets them, provides for them, cares for their needs, not apart from the storm, but in the midst and through the storm. This is the way that Jesus takes care of us today.

You wonder why the person across the street or across the office or across the hall from you has a better life than you. They don't. They don't get to know Jesus in the midst of the storm. They don't have the great I am stilling the storms. They don't have the joy of the presence of Christ that God gives to us by his Spirit, who reigns and moves among us today in the midst of life's most difficult encounters. You see, the arrogant can prosper for a while. But the day comes when, no matter what Jesus is kindly graciously giving you from his hand, if you're only trusting in that and just thinking your lucky stars or whatever that you have that gift, the day is going to come when all of that's going to vanish. Either in this lifetime or the next.

Either you will have contented yourself throughout your life with dry morsels in quiet with Jesus or you will have sought a house of feasting, even though you were at strife with him. When Jesus returns as the judge, it will not matter what he has provided you in this life, he will count all of those as evidence exhibits against your lack of faith. You see, Jesus entrusts this good gift to this feast to these people, and they totally reject it. They don't want Jesus, they want more of the gift, give, give, give more and more and more. Whereas the disciples of Jesus are content to walk wherever he sends them.

Application

That's the question that we have to ask ourselves. You see, the presence of Jesus is hard. It is sometimes painful. It is sometimes something that will overturn things in our lives that will confront areas of sin in our lives. Jesus tells us that he will take care of us. Jesus has demonstrated this by going to the cross. If you ever doubted his goodness toward you, look to the cross. Christ died for you, for your sins. To show you that he is trustworthy. To show you that when storms arise, he will be with you, he will provide for you. He will protect you. Maybe not in the exact way or to the degree that you want, but Jesus is promising that he builds his eternal kingdom. You will not be forgotten.

For all those who look to Christ in faith, it doesn't matter where you've been. It doesn't matter where you've been this week. The question Jesus asks is do you trust him? Or are you living on the fumes of his good gifts? One day that's going to wear out and all that will be left is the king, who is already enthroned. No, thanks to us who crucified him, but he reigns and rules and graciously extends you forgiveness by faith.

Pray with me. Father, we ask that you would turn our hearts and our eyes to Jesus. We pray, God, that you would do this by grace. Because, Father, we confess that we are weak. That we have designs on Jesus. We have opportunistic sights set on him and we have a whole host of things that we want to leverage him into doing, and yet he refuses all of that as the king. God soften, our hard hearts. God, overturn our arrogance. We pray God, help us to trust Jesus, through some very difficult storms that some people in this congregation are already facing right now. God, I pray for some people here, especially that you would walk with them through the difficult places they are. We thank you that you hear us and that you have promised to go with us even to the end of the age. It is in your son, Jesus' name we pray. Amen.