JOHN 6, 1-15
Some time after this, Jesus crossed to the far shore of the Sea of Galilee (that is, the Sea of Tiberias), and a great crowd of people followed him because they saw the miraculous signs he had performed on the sick. Then Jesus went up on a mountainside and sat down with his disciples. The Jewish Passover Feast was near.
When Jesus looked up and saw a great crowd coming toward him, he said to Philip, “Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat?” He asked this only to test him, for he already had in mind what he was going to do.
Philip answered him, “Eight months’ wages would not buy enough bread for each one to have a bite!”
Another of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, spoke up, “Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far will they go among so many?”
Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.” There was plenty of grass in that place, and the men sat down, about five thousand of them. Jesus then took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed to those who were seated as much as they wanted. He did the same with the fish.
When they had all had enough to eat, he said to his disciples, “Gather the pieces that are left over. Let nothing be wasted.” So they gathered them and filled twelve baskets with the pieces of the five barley loaves left over by those who had eaten.
After the people saw the miraculous sign that Jesus did, they began to say, “Surely this is the Prophet who is to come into the world.” Jesus, knowing that they intended to come and make him king by force, withdrew again to a mountain by himself.
Have you ever experienced a miracle in your life? I’m sure most of us will answer “Yes! Most definitely!” And if we had time for you to relate your story, we’d be amazed at how awesome our God is!
Of course, we need to be careful about the people we share these stories with. If we tell our miracle story to some people, they will think we’re foolish, childish, maybe even senile, to believe in such things. But we are still not swayed. We believe that God works miracles even for unimportant people like us! And yet, we also admit, doubts and questions can arise! Was it really a miracle? Or was it only my imagination?
This morning, we study this miracle where Jesus feeds over 5,000 people with five loaves of bread, and two small fish, so we can answer the question, “WHAT IS A MIRACLE?”
I
The first thing we learn about miracles is this. When man says something is impossible, and God does it anyway, that is a miracle.
Jesus and His disciples are in a desolate area, and huge crowds surround Him. Jesus will spend time teaching them, healing them, driving out demons, because that’s what Jesus does. And this will take some time! So, as Jesus sees this crowd coming, He asks Philip, “where shall we buy bread for these people to eat?”
Philip comes up with an answer. “Eight months wages would not buy enough bread for each one to have a bite!” No problem, Lord! We can take two thirds of someone’s annual salary, and buy some bread for this crowd. Of course, even with that much money spent, we could give each person maybe two bites of bread, and we would need to be careful in our distribution to make sure no one took too much!
But then Philip begins to think! We do not have that much money in our treasury! And if we did, where would we go to purchase that much food? And even if we could go buy that much food, what good would one or two bites do for this crowd? So, Philip’s real conclusion? “No, Lord! We just can’t buy enough food to feed this crowd! What you suggest is impossible!”
Another disciple, Andrew, hits on a possible solution. “Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish.” But the words weren’t even out of his mouth, when he realizes how foolish that solution is! “But how far will they go among so many?” That wouldn’t even feed Jesus and the disciples, let alone a crowd this big. So, no. We can’t do it.” Man’s answer? “It’s impossible! It just can’t be done!”
Jesus’ solution? Have the people sit down. He blesses those five loaves of bread and two small fish, and He begins to give them to the disciples to distribute to the crowd. And before you know it, Jesus has fed 5,000 men. How many women and children were in that crowd that day? Perhaps Jesus actually fed more like 7,000 or 8,000 people. And not only did the disciples give each person one or two little bites. They distributed to the crowd, “as much as they wanted.” You want seconds? No problem! You want thirds? No problem. Everyone had as much as they wanted.
And when the disciples picked up the leftovers, after over 5,000 people had feasted on those five loaves of bread and two small fish, they gathered up 12 baskets full of leftovers. From five loaves of bread and two small fish. Not bad! What man says is impossible. Jesus did! That’s a miracle!
II
But there’s something else about the way God does miracles! Notice how Jesus performed this miracle? He didn’t tell the crowd, “See these five loaves of bread and these two small fish? Watch. I’m going to do something that will amaze you. I’m going to feed you all with just this amount of food.” No! He simply reached into that basket that had the two small fish, and five loaves of bread, gave some to the disciples, and they distributed it, and then He reached back into the basket and got a little more food to be distributed and then reached in again, and again, and again, until everyone was satisfied. No one even knew Jesus did a miracle, until it was all over! Only when they got twelve baskets full of left overs did they realize what Jesus had done!
Consider how modern-day miracles workers do their job. When they come to an area, they spend months advertising, and telling everyone they are coming, and telling them about all the successes they’ve had and all the people they have healed, and all the miracles they have done.
Not Jesus! Jesus didn’t come to be a miracle worker. The most important thing Jesus did that day was not feeding 5,000 people with five loaves of bread, and two small fish. The most important thing He did was to teach them God’s Word, to show them God’s Messiah, to share with them the forgiveness of sins that God gives, and the hope and confidence they could have for their spiritual life.
Man wants to see power and majesty. But Jesus doesn’t come to impress you! He came to save you! Jesus doesn’t change hearts with power and glory! Jesus changes hearts with His humble gospel. It’s not by powerful miracles that people are saved. It’s by the humble sacrifice Jesus made! It’s by simple faith in Jesus. That’s what a miracle is. At least the type of miracle Jesus performs.
III
The last thing about Jesus’ miracles is this. Jesus is concerned with our physical life. He doesn’t want to see us suffer! But Jesus is much more concerned with our spiritual life. And if some physical suffering will help our spiritual life, or the spiritual life of someone else, we know what He will choose! Don’t we?
Jesus was concerned about these people and their physical life. Oh, no one is going to starve to death, if Jesus doesn’t feed them. But they would be uncomfortable. And Jesus didn’t want that. He was concerned about their physical well-being. So, He gave them this meal, even if it meant performing a miracle!
But He was more concerned about the spiritual food He was giving them through His preaching and teaching. He gave them this physical food so they wouldn’t have to worry about it, so they could concentrate on the spiritual food He was giving them.
And from John’s gospel it seemed like these people got the message. “After the people saw the miraculous sign that Jesus did, they began to say, ‘Surely this is the prophet who is to come into the world.” The miracle they had just witnessed proved to them that Jesus was the “Prophet” God had promised to send them. He was the Messiah God had promised to Adam and Eve. Yes, the food Jesus gave them filled their stomachs, and took away their hunger. But more than that, it proved that Jesus was truly the Messiah they had been waiting for. And we think, “Great! These people got it! They understood who Jesus is! Praise the Lord.”
And then right away we read, “Jesus, knowing that they intended to come and make him king by force, withdrew again to a mountain by himself.” It wasn’t a prophet they wanted for their soul! It was a king they wanted for their body. With Jesus as their king, they could throw off the shackles of Rome and make Israel a world power once again. They didn’t want a Savior from sin! They wanted a King for a glorious life!
That’s what many people still want from Jesus! They want a doctor who will heal every one of their sicknesses, even if it demands miracles. They want a counselor who will solve every emotional issue, and heal every burden we carry, even if it demands a miracle! They want a judge who will bring justice to this world, and make people suffer for the hurts they’ve inflicted upon our lives, even if it takes a miracle.
Jesus does care about our physical life, and our emotional comfort and our unjust sufferings. His heart goes out to each of us when we need to suffer this type of garbage. But He cares more for your spiritual life and your eternal future. And not just your eternal future, but the eternal future of every soul we know, including those people who hurt us. And that will make a huge difference in what type of miracles Jesus works for us. When we are in a crisis, we want God to deliver us, because it will be better for us. But God knows that if He allows us to go through this crisis to the end, we will have an opportunity to witness our faith to 13 people who may find themselves in heaven because of it. So, which way do you think Jesus will take us?
Have you ever experienced a miracle from God? Oh, sure! But how many? One? Two? Maybe five your entire life? Why so few? Why doesn’t God work more miracles for you? Because you don’t need them in order to believe. It’s not miracles that assure us that God exists, or that God loves me! It’s God’s Word! It’s Holy Communion where God visits us with His personal message of forgiveness, just for me! It’s the faith Jesus placed in my heart. I don’t need to see evidence of God’s love by miracles in my life! I already know of God’s love because of the greatest miracle of all! The almighty God of the Universe sacrificed His Son on a cross, to save wretched sinners like us! And Jesus constantly forgives us ungrateful sinners, every day of our lives, and works day and night to keep us firmly planted in our faith! You want to see a miracle? Just look at the cross, and see the extent of what God has done for you, and keeps on doing every day of your life, just to keep you firmly planted in your faith! Now THAT’S A MIRACLE!
