Close Encounters with Jesus – John 6 – 10.7.18

This is our first Sunday for the month of October-and it seems like this is one of everyone’s favorite months. Who loves October? It amazes me how every year the changing of the season greets us with new excitement and wonder. We’ve all experienced Autumn before-but somehow when it arrives again it’s extraordinary. Leaves are starting to change, the weather is getting cooler, and once again we’re fascinated by all things pumpkin! Pumpkin bread, pumpkin pie, pumpkin donuts, pumpkin coffee and pumpkin lattes. But I don’t know about you-the pumpkin thing can go a little far. Does anyone get sick of pumpkin flavored food? I came across a hilarious article online entitled-65 Pumpkin Spiced Foods that have no business being Pumpkin Spiced. Check out some of these products-pics. Some of these might make you really hungry, and some of these might not! But this morning our passage is all about hungry people-which is something we can all relate to. If you remember from last week we talked about being thirsty in John 4 and how Jesus quenches and satisfies the thirst of our hearts. This week we’re talking about being hungry and how Jesus perfectly provides and fills the hunger of our hearts.

So open your Bibles to John 6 as we’re continuing our series-Close Encounters with Jesus. And if you’ve noticed we haven’t examined every verse in the book of John-instead we’re intentionally highlighting the specific conversations and incredible events that happen when people encounter Jesus. John does a great job of showing us all the unexpected but amazing things that Jesus says and does and how people respond. We’ve seen the disciples response, Nicodemus’s response, the Samaritan woman’s response, even the response of the Samaritans themselves-and that’s John way of teaching us how we ought to respond to Jesus when we encounter Him. And of course the primary way we do that is through His Word. So take a look at it-today’s account picks up in John 6:1-3. As we mentioned at the start of this series-that phrase with his disciples is a common one. Just as they were there for the wedding in Cana so they’re here with Jesus hanging out on the mountain. However, they’re not alone with Jesus, a huge crowd has tagged along and Jesus has spent the day teaching and healing everyone. There was lots of ministry to get done and before anybody knew it, the sun had started to set and it became evening. Look at the description in Luke 9:12. Basically they’re saying to Jesus-It’s time to wrap this up and tell these people to head home! The problem is that they’re in the middle of nowhere-as the disciples said-it was a desolate place. So what we’ve got is a late-afternoon crowd of tired, worn-out, hungry people! Try to imagine that? Think of yourself when you’re tired and hungry-what’s your temper like? Are you pleasant and easy to get along with? Probably not! Usually tired and hungry equates to grumpy and irritable! Now multiply that by thousands of people-and you’ll have a good idea of what John 6 is all about. Not a peaceful scene. Unfortunately, we tend to caricature these scenes as quaint little stories with the crowds politely asking Jesus for some bread to eat. But the reality is more a crowd of starving men, crying babies and stressed out moms-all really hungry. So, if you’re one of the disciples, you’re thinking-Okay, time to go home now-it’s been a busy day. The crowd can take care of themselves. But verse 5 in John’s gospel says-v.5. And that’s the question at hand. They’re on a mountain, it’s a desolate place. McDonald’s or Wendy’s aren’t an option, neither is the nearest pizzeria or surf shack. They’re stuck. But that’s precisely why Jesus is asking the question-how will they eat? He fully understands the predicament. He’s not scratching His head in puzzlement, wondering what to do. In fact, notice John’s comment-v.6. Jesus has a plan, as He always does, but He’s worded his question to Philip in such a way to force him to think. Clearly they don’t have enough money to buy enough bread for everyone-so the only option is to trust Jesus. In saying-Okay, Lord you know our finances are limited-this is a ton of people so you’re going to have to do something incredible-which we know you can. But of course that doesn’t cross Philip’s mind; Jesus’ question goes right over his head and he answers with the same lack of vision that we usually have-v.7. Unfortunately that’s enough for 200 men-because a denarius was a day’s wage. So maybe if everybody shared they could feed 500 men with that much money. But the problem is there’s 5,000 men so it’s an immediate roadblock for Philip. He’s stumped, thinking-Well, this is impossible. We don’t have enough money to buy food for everyone, and even if we did we’d have to go all the way back into town to buy it anyway, and Costco won’t be invented for another two thousand years-so yeah-we’re stuck.

But what’s Jesus wanting Philip to remember? His previous miracles. What did Philip see at that wedding not long ago when the stressed out groom had no ability to go buy anymore wine? He saw Jesus provide it in a remarkable way by doing the impossible and turning water into wine. And if He could do that-don’t you think He can also create enough food for everybody here on this mountain? Jesus’ question isn’t trying to trick Philip, it’s trying to jog Philip’s mind to remembrance-v. 5. Wait a minute Jesus, I see what’s happening here-another wedding maneuver. Nice! That’ll totally work here! But unfortunately Philip’s mind, like ours, quickly forgets God’s miraculous provision-and goes right back to seeing all the earthly roadblocks and giving up. And so he fails the test. But Philip’s not the only one with a short memory-v.8-9a. And Andrew should have stopped there and demonstrated his faith that Jesus can do the miraculous-What about this, Jesus? Last time you used jugs of water-this time we’ve got some real ingredients. Can you make this little amount work? But that’s not what he says, he too goes on to see the earthly roadblocks-v. 9b. This is nothing, it’s like a tiny drop in the bucket compared to all these people. But Andrew forgot that Jesus-the Son of God-can do a whole lot with a little drop! What would Jesus later say in Luke 17:6. That’s miraculous-but so is what Jesus is going to do here.

Look at what happens-v.10a. And pause a second because this is a moment of faith. Jesus wants this huge crowd to sit and eat with just a plate of two fish and five loaves. Makes you wonder if there were a lot of confused looks in the crowd-or even from the disciples themselves. You seriously want us to make everyone sit down with this meager amount? Now you’ll notice that the verse says these were barley loaves. That means these weren’t long baguettes of French bread, or big hearty loaves of bread-Pic of bread. This is what we tend to picture, but barley loaves were the lowest quality of bread available at the time. It was mainly those who lived in poverty that ate bread made from barley. Most Bible commentators believer that they weren’t big at all-in fact one commentator says barley loaves were like little cakes similar in size to Twinkies. So this is what we’re talking about instead-Twinkies pic. But then the fish wasn’t nice big fillets of cod or trout or tilapia or sea bass. We tend to picture some good size fish in the boy’s basket. But again, most Bible scholars say they were small fish used to flavor the barley cakes-basically like sardines-pic. So how does that sound for lunch? Twinkies and sardines? Anybody getting hungry now? Take that to work tomorrow for lunch and see people’s reaction-but that was this boy’s lunch. It wasn’t large at all, in fact it was quite meager, just enough for him to eat. So do you think the disciples were confused or perplexed, wondering if Jesus had finally lost it, when He asks them to get the crowd seated? Sure, we can seat everybody, Jesus, but we’ve got 5 Twinkies and 2 sardines for 5,000 men-are you doing the math? Whether they’re minds were full of doubt or whether they had an inkling that He was going to do something, they get the crowds to sit-and I love the next part of the verse-v.10b. What a detail John remembers! No one likes sitting on the dirt and the rocks, when it’s dusty and hard. That’s not comfortable-so this was an ideal setting, a splendid evening for a picnic on the soft, green grass. And then notice the next detail John gives-v.10c. As we’ve already mentioned, this crowd is five thousand men-and that means if you add up the women and children, we’re talking between ten to fifteen thousand people-or more. That’s mind blowing! Can you imagine if 15,000 people all sat down together on a grassy hillside-at dinner time when everyone’s hungry-and the only food in sight is one little plate of Twinkies and sardines? That sounds like a riot just waiting to happen! But that’s the scene John is painting, that’s the depth of this dilemma. But it says in-v.11.

There it was-the miracle. Did you catch it? Just like the time Jesus turned water into wine-the miracle happened before we even had a chance to process it. Jesus prays for the food and then starts passing it out. Of course, he hands out the five loaves, but then He hands out a sixth, a seventh, an eighth and so on. Same thing with the fish-He hands out the two fish, but then a third, a fourth, a fifth.  And it doesn’t stop. Can you imagine how big the disciple’s eyes would have gotten? Jesus is making food out of thin air. He doesn’t have some secretly stashed oven where He’s cranking out bread-and He’s not quickly catching a bunch of fish either-He’s on a grassy hillside that’s not near the water. So we’re forced to recognize this miracle for what it is-something from nothing. As John’s gospel tells us, Jesus is the Word, who was with God and was God and created all things. And here He is again creating-this time it’s enough bread and fish to feed twenty thousand people-just like that! What’s more-everybody’s full-as the text says-v.11b-12a. Here’s a pic from the Jesus Storybook Bible-but Jesus didn’t do the minimum. He didn’t give out rations, saying-Okay, we’ve got a lot of people here and if everyone takes a small bite there should be enough to go around. No, He wasn’t being skimpy. Men who’ve been starving all day could have seconds, thirds, fourths. Teenagers with hollow legs could eat and eat and eat. It was an unlimited buffet with no end in sight! Sort of like an endless supply of breadsticks. So v. 13. Even the amount of leftovers is staggering! From a little drop in the bucket-to an overflow of blessing-that’s what Jesus did. Taking the emptiness and filling it up-and the result is a happy, satisfied crowd; amazed at what Jesus has done-v. 14-15. And that’s when He goes off for some peace and quiet, to be alone with God the Father-and later on catches up with the disciples by walking on water (a full day of miracles!)

But as we said earlier, this was a big moment in Jesus’ ministry-and our task today is to think and process what it’s all about using the grid we’ve been working through each week. So Pt1:What Did Jesus Do? Provided a solution when everything looked hopeless. Now that might sound like an obvious point but we dare not overlook it-because if you’re like me, that’s the obvious point I overlook all the time. When there’s a difficult situation that I’m facing or a problem that looks really hopeless and scary, I tend to instantly respond like Philip and Andrew-How am I ever going to deal with this? I don’t have the ability; I don’t have the resources; what I have is a drop in the bucket-so there’s nothing I can do-this is hopeless. I’m done for! Have you found yourself speaking this way when you’ve encountered big challenges in life? It could be a relationship problem, a difficult work issue, a strained marriage, a fear of the unknown, maybe it’s the frustration of a goal you can’t seem to reach, a health concern, or even a financial problem like the disciples are facing here. And you, like them, have instantly concluded that there’s no way this will work-all is hopeless. Maybe you’ve looked at your meager resources or your lack of abilities, just as Andrew looked at that small plate of food-and immediately determined that it was a lost cause-give up now. Have you been there? Even this week, have you looked at your problems, like the disciples looked at that huge crowd of hungry people, and thought, “Game over-I’m done for”? Unfortunately it’s easy to do-especially when our problems feel like a crowd of 15,000 hungry people staring at us-but the truth of this passage is saying that if Jesus is there-it’s not hopeless. Not at all! In fact, we need to remember exactly what it says in v. 6. That hasn’t changed. The Lord knows what He’s going to do in your situation, just as He knew what He was going to do here-what He’s after is your faith in that fact. To trust that the Lord does have a plan in the midst of your problem-no matter how bleak or hopeless it looks. In fact, the more bleak or hopeless it is, the greater His glory will shine as you see His hand at work. What “hopeless” situation are you facing? If you’re a follower of Jesus, He’s not going to hang you out to dry.  He’s not going to abandon you, or blow you off or say-Wow-that problem is too big-wish I could help but I can’t. Remember the disciples wanted Jesus to just send the crowds away-make them find their own food. But Jesus said-No, no-have them stay with Me and I’ll provide. This story in John 6 vividly highlights Ps 46:1-2. And that’s a big problem-when the earth gives way-but even then the Lord will provide a solution when everything looks hopeless.

And the disciples are witnesses to that fact. What Did the Disciples See? The abundance that Jesus provides. If you look at v. 12 again, Jesus was very intentional in His command-v. 12-13.          So here’s these disciples, who just a moment ago thought there was no way this crowd could ever be fed, now collecting the leftovers. Think about it-these guys are tangibly seeing the foolishness of their doubts. As they put all that bread into the baskets I’m sure they said to one another-What were we so worried about? Look at how much is here-it’s incredible! But Jesus brought an overflow of abundance-and He’ll do the same with us. Now let me say-this doesn’t mean that if you’re feeling financial struggles that Jesus is going to instantly bring you an abundance of cash-but He’ll certainly bring you an abundance of contentment as you trust in Him. He’ll certainly provide you with an abundance of peace and joy in the things you already have. Or likewise, if you’re dealing with a relational conflict, it doesn’t mean that Jesus will instantly heal the rift and mend the relationship, but He will bring you an abundance of patience and grace for dealing with that person. No matter the situation-the key is to pray-Lord, fill me with an abundance of your Spirit, an abundance of your grace and love that I can display to others; fill me with an abundance of your strength to persevere. And that’s a prayer request He’ll always answer. Look at how Paul experienced this-Phil 4:11-13 NIV.

So What Do We Learn? Jesus always provides what we need.  And that usually forces a shift in our thinking. Here in John 6, what did the disciples think they needed? More money-in order to go buy food for everyone. What did Jesus know the disciples needed? More faith in Him. Their ministry fund didn’t need to grow, their trust in Jesus did. And it’s no different with us. The Lord will test us, He’ll allow us to go through lots challenges and difficult seasons in life, He’ll stretch us and put us well outside our comfort zone-but He does it so that He can provide us with the character building He knows we need. Like it says in James 1:2-4 NIV. And that’s the kind of person who’s satisfied in Christ, who’s been shaped and matured in Christ and isn’t lacking anything. Here’s the piece I don’t want you to miss in John 6. After encountering Jesus, no one’s hungry anymore or lacking anything. Have you thought about that? Stomach’s aren’t growling anymore, starving kids aren’t crying, moms aren’t stressed out anymore-after Jesus steps in, everyone’s full, everyone’s content. That’s such an important truth to understand. Not only does Jesus always provide what you need, Jesus always satisfies the hunger of our souls. Last week we talked about thirsty hearts-this week it’s hungry souls. Look at verse 35-this is Jesus’ summary statement on this story-v. 35. Satisfaction is found in Him. Just think of how you feel after a big, delicious meal. You push your chair away from the table, you lean back-Ahh, now that was good. And Jesus is applying that feeling of satisfaction in your stomach to the satisfaction in your soul when you encounter Him-v. 35. That’s a tremendous statement-but let’s be honest-it’s hard to believe sometimes, isn’t it?  We’re a hungry/thirsty people, aren’t we?  Lord, I need this in life, I need that. I’ve got to have the perfect spouse, the perfect house, the perfect family, the perfect job, the more-than-perfect salary, the perfect body, the perfect life, the perfect vacations, on and on and on. We hunger and thirst for so many things-but what’s the answer? Jesus says, “It’s Me.”  If you’re someone who likes to mark in your Bible I encourage you to mark that tiny little word, Me, which represents the Creator of the universe, the Savior of the world.  So the next time your heart sees something in this world and says  “I’ve got to have that, my life won’t be complete without it, I’ll do anything to get it”-that you would stop and look at this verse and remember that Jesus says, “What you need is Me. I will satisfy your soul.”  That’s what we have to believe-and that brings us back to the first point.

Earlier, we said that Jesus provided a solution when everything looked hopeless-and that is no more true than in the case of our lives. We didn’t have a lack of food like this crowd, but a lack of righteousness. Because of our sin, because of our refusal to follow God and our stubborn insistence on going our own way and thinking we could live without God in our lives, we were lost and hopeless. Look at Rom 6:23-and by death it means punishment and separation from God-a hopeless condition for each of us to die in our sins when life is over-but it goes on to say that the free gift of God is-what? A few extra blessings, a little extra help or assistance when we need it? It’s eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord! Talk about an abundance and overflow! In Jesus there is complete forgiveness and the immeasurably huge gift of eternal life. It’s like baskets not merely overflowing with leftover bread-but overflowing with life! We celebrate living 100 years-that’s just a tiny drop-but we saw what Jesus does with a tiny drop. He turns it into an abundance-and there’s nothing more immeasurably, gigantically abundant than eternal life. So if you’ve never trusted in Jesus, if you’ve never surrendered yourself to Him do it today. His invitation from v. 35 still stands-v. 35; 48-51a-there’s the abundance! To live forever! And no one and nothing else can provide that than Jesus. And yet listen to how Jesus describes this bread-v. 51b. He gives us Himself. He’s not talking about baked bread anymore or barley loaves like the boy had-Jesus says His body is the bread that we need-because His body was broken and put to death so that we could live. And that’s what brings us to communion this morning.