June 21, 2015 John 5:46 – 6:15

Download discussion questions:  John 5_46-6_15 feeding 5000

Sometimes reading a familiar story in Scripture can be a challenge.  The story of Jesus feeding a huge crowd is so well known that we may be tempted to skim over it too quickly.  Familiar stories require our special attention so we don’t rely on our “hearsay impressions” of what the Bible says.  We risk missing something the Holy Spirit wants to show us.

Jesus has just finished an extended response to the Jews who were offended by His claims to be God’s Son, “making Himself equal to God.”  He left that encounter and traveled from Jerusalem (where the controversy had taken place, John 5:1) to the other side of the Sea of Galilee.  John mentions that by the time he wrote his Gospel later in the first century the lake or sea was call the Sea of Tiberius, probably in case his readers didn’t know its older name.  In our discussion we didn’t notice the fact that Jesus traveled all the way from Jerusalem.  The phrase “to the other side” may be a reference to the fact that He spent most of His time on the west side of the water (around Capernaum for example) and this narrative took place on the east (“the other”) side.  One pertinent point for the discussion of this passage is the time for the travel.  During our discussion one person pointed out the time interval between the end of chapter five and this story.  Jesus’ comments about Moses (5:46-47) do not have an immediate connection (which I tried to make) with the crowd’s reference to the Prophet (6:14).  One sign of a great discussion group is when the members point out where the leader of the group is missing something in the text!!

The interactions between Jesus and two of His disciples, Philip and Andrew, take center stage in the beginning of this passage.  Philip’s concern was the unimaginable sum that would be needed to feed such a huge crowd.  (A denarius was typically a day’s wage, so 200 denarii would be several month’s pay.)  It is easy to criticize Philip.  He had seen Jesus do miracles.  Why would he only think of a financial solution to the problem?  But one person made the observation that Jesus asked the leading question, “Where are we to buy bread?”  Not only was Jesus testing Philip but it seems like a trick question.  Or perhaps Jesus was simply putting the scope of the need into terms that Philip could understand.  At least one time before the disciples had the responsibility to buy food (John 4:8).  Like those first followers of Jesus, we often think in monetary terms:  “How much will it cost to solve this problem?”  Instead of immediately doing the miracle, Jesus wanted to test Philip.  The test for Philip included the stress of seeing how impossible the situation was.  The best way for the disciples to appreciate the miracle that Jesus was about to do was to hear Philip’s response to the question.  Sometimes we only really turn to reliance on God’s power when we recognize a problem as completely beyond our capabilities or our resources.

However, Andrew provides another important perspective.  Lest we interpret and apply Philip’s dilemma as need to “Let go and let God” (a popular expression that is not in the Bible), Andrew shows another approach.  There is no record of Jesus asking Andrew for his suggestion.  Andrew took the initiative and pointed out a young boy with his own lunch.  There is no suggestion that he thought this was a solution to the problem – a few loaves of bread and a few fish – and he acknowledges their inadequacy.  Andrew initiated in spite of his doubts.  He took what resources there were and he moved into the overwhelming situation, offering what was available for the Lord’s use.  He had doubts, and he voiced his doubts, but he did not let those doubts keep him from acting.  He had just heard Philip give an apparently inadequate answer to Jesus.  It would be easy to just keep silent so he would not look as mistaken as Philip did.  Our own doubts can often do the same thing.  We see the meager resources we have and we choose not to move into a difficult situation because we might fail.  We avoid a strained relationship because it might be awkward, or we don’t engage in a conversation because we might look foolish.  Andrew took a risk.  Andrew took the initiative and moved into a difficult situation.  He found what he could and made it available to the Lord, having no idea how (or even if) it would be useful.  Andrew can be a good model for us.  We can move into uncertain, risky circumstances, even when we have no idea if our resources are adequate or what the outcome might be.

The recorded interactions with Philip and Andrew show that feeding the crowd was not Jesus only agenda, perhaps not even His main agenda.  He was training His disciples, using every opportunity to build their understanding of who He is and to pursue their growth and trust in Him, their spiritual formation.  As a participant in the discussion mentioned, this is one more of the numerous times we have seen Jesus focus on relationships, on the connections between the disciples and Himself, and between the disciples and each other.

Now He is ready for the crowd.  He simply begins the process by having them sit down.  The text says there were five-thousand men.  John’s writing uses two distinct words:  “people” (v.10a, 14; anthropous, men, persons, human beings, cf. anthropology), and “men” (v.10b, andres, males, husbands).  The inference could be that only the male members of the crowed were counted (a much less politically-correct culture than today).  If the men had families then the crowd could have been much larger – maybe ten- or twenty-thousand individuals.

Part of the familiarity with the passage is the ease with which “the feeding of the five-thousand” (or more) rolls off the tongue.  What does a crowd of five- or twenty-thousand look like?  How long would it take to pass out the miraculous multiplying food?  Doing a little math suggests that the real-estate needed to accommodate the crowd might be from a few acres to over a dozen acres.  (As a familiar reference, an American football field is just over one acre).  The number of people, the amount of food, the lengthy process of distributing food and then collecting remnants over that area begins to show us a more understandable scope of what happened that day.  That visual image also helps us to understand both Philip’s exasperation and Andrew’s boldness as they looked over such a gathering.

And the crowd?  Jesus was immediately their favorite.  They saw the similarity between “the Prophet” promised by Moses (Deuteronomy 18:15-18) and this prophet from Nazareth.  Like manna from Moses, Jesus provided bread.  Few things gain a following like free food.  The crowd phrased their interest in somewhat spiritual language about “the Prophet.”  Jesus knew what they really wanted.  They wanted a king, a leader who could keep on providing meals for them.  This is not the first time crowds have been attracted to Him because of miraculous signs (cf. John 2:23).  Neither is this the first mention of Jesus’ clear perception of the motives of sign-seekers:  “Jesus, on His part, was not entrusting Himself to them, for He know all men” (John 2:24).  The story of Jesus feeding five-thousand is an important example of His miraculous care for people and His continuing training of the disciples.  But the story in the larger context of John’s overall narrative is important as a turning point we will see in the next few passages.  What Jesus was offering was not always exactly what the crowds were looking for.  When the crowds began to realize that, things would change.