John 6, Feeding 5000

Here are some notes from last week's Resolved Bible study. When I started working on this study I didn't intend it to be a critique on "Prosperity Theology". In studying I found out this a favorite passage to use within the Prosperity movement. They love to use it to teach that if you have adequate faith God will mulitply your money just like Jesus multiplied the fish and loaves. However, when you look at it honestly Jesus seems to be teaching principles contradictory to this movement's theology. This is seen even more clearly when you put this miracle in the context of what Jesus said in did in the days after it happened. Enjoy.


John 6: Feeding 5k/Bread of life.
Interesting note, this is the only miracle recorded by all four gospels.

1 After this, Jesus crossed the Sea of Galilee (or Tiberias ). 2 And a huge crowd was following Him because they saw the signs that He was performing on the sick. 3 So Jesus went up a mountain and sat down there with His disciples.
(What motivated most to follow Him? The same thing that motivates many today. Too many Christians/preachers/teachers focus only on miraculous prosperity and never take the time to look at Jesus’ other teachings. “Christ’s miracles drew many after Him that were not effectually drawn to him.” Matthew Henry. It almost sounds like Jesus wants to get away from the people who are only there to see what they can get and be with the people who want to know Him.)

4 Now the Passover, a Jewish festival, was near. 5 Therefore, when Jesus looked up and noticed a huge crowd coming toward Him, He asked Philip, "Where will we buy bread so these people can eat?" 6 He asked this to test him, for He Himself knew what He was going to do.
(He asks Phillip because Phillip’s home town is near here. So Phillip would most likely have known many in the crowd and been more worried about their hunger than the other disciples. Phillip was also one of the earliest followers of Jesus and had seen all of His miracles. Jesus was not only giving Phillip a chance to show he had faith in the abilities of Jesus, He was giving Phillip a chance to let that faith help his own community. Sometimes God lets a tricky situation come in just to ask you “what are you going to do?” This question must have freaked Phillip out. “What are you doing asking me?!!! I’m following you here!” God is never caught off guard or at a loss for what to do.)

7 Philip answered, "Two hundred denarii worth of bread wouldn't be enough for each of them to have a little." 8 One of His disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, said to Him, 9 "There's a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish—but what are they for so many?"
(How ridiculous this must have sounded. I wonder how dumb Andrew felt just saying this. But that was all they had, so they brought it to Jesus to see what He would have them do with it. Barely loaves were seen as less quality than the wheat loaves they were used to on the other side of the lake. Some insist that the only provisions God is involved in are Rolls Royce’s and $4K suits, etc. Yet here Jesus looks at the most ordinary, humble meal there was and says, “This will do.” He teaches us here not to demand the finest of everything but to be content with whatever God provides, even if it is more humble than we expected.)

10 Then Jesus said, "Have the people sit down." There was plenty of grass in that place, so they sat down. The men numbered about 5,000. 11 Then Jesus took the loaves, and after giving thanks He distributed them to those who were seated and; so also with the fish, as much as they wanted. 12 When they were full, He told His disciples, "Collect the leftovers so that nothing is wasted." 13 So they collected them and filled 12 baskets with the pieces from the five barley loaves that were left over by those who had eaten.
(Let nothing be wasted. How does that compare to some of the teachings popular in some circles today?)

14 When the people saw the sign He had done, they said, "This really is the Prophet who was to come into the world!" 15 Therefore, when Jesus knew that they were about to come and take Him by force to make Him king, He withdrew again to the mountain by Himself.
(When you follow God only because of miracles, or when the only thing that excites you about serving Jesus is what magic trick He will do for you, there is a problem.)

25 When they found Him on the other side of the sea, they said to Him, " Rabbi, when did You get here?" 26 Jesus answered, " I assure you: You are looking for Me, not because you saw the signs, but because you ate the loaves and were filled. 27 Don't work for the food that perishes but for the food that lasts for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you, because God the Father has set His seal of approval on Him."
(They were following Jesus not because they were in awe of the power and love of God, but because Jesus did something that made them feel good. The signs Jesus performed didn’t cause them to understand the true identity of the Messiah, as was intended. The signs gave them a full belly and they wanted more of that. Their devotion to Him was based on “what can I get out of you?” It was self seeking devotion.)

28 "What can we do to perform the works of God?" they asked. 29 Jesus replied, "This is the work of God: that you believe in the One He has sent." 30 "What sign then are You going to do so we may see and believe You?" they asked. "What are You going to perform? 31 Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, just as it is written: He gave them bread from heaven to eat. "32 Jesus said to them, " I assure you: Moses didn't give you the bread from heaven, but My Father gives you the real bread from heaven. 33 For the bread of God is the One who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world." 34 Then they said, "Sir, give us this bread always!" 35 "I am the bread of life," Jesus told them.
(The Jews had become very works oriented. Pleasing God was all about doing the right things. So their question was their way of asking, “How are we to interact with God?” Jesus’ answer seems overly simple: Believe in the One God sent. Asking what sign He would perform to prove He was from God took an incredible about of guts, or stupidity, since this is the same group He miraculously fed the day before. And then, to show Him what a “real” sign would look like they recall how Moses prayed and God sent bread from heaven. It becomes clear quickly that they were following Jesus to see what the magic man would do next for them. What does Jesus mean by “I am the bread of life?”)

41At this the Jews began to grumble about him because he said, "I am the bread that came down from heaven." 49Your forefathers ate the manna in the desert, yet they died. 50But here is the bread that comes down from heaven, which a man may eat and not die. 51I 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."
(Jesus points out that God used Moses as a tool to do a miracle, but Jesus is the miracle. As with pretty much everything in OT, the manna in the desert was a foreshadowing of the real deal; Jesus.)

52Then the Jews began to argue sharply among themselves, "How can this man give us his flesh to eat?" 53Jesus said to them, "I tell you the truth, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. 54Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. 60On hearing it, many of his disciples said, "This is a hard teaching. Who can accept it?" 61Aware that his disciples were grumbling about this, Jesus said to them, "Does this offend you? 62What if you see the Son of Man ascend to where he was before! 66From this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him.
(What happens to a faith based on prosperity and parlor tricks when life gets messy and real? What happens when our genie requires more of us than making wishes? Following Jesus is free, but not always easy. The character of the “miracle chasers” is revealed by their leaving when Jesus’ teachings become less fluffy.)