John 6:8-11 - Time to eat

6:8,9

Then Andrew, another of the disciples, brought a boy to Jesus, and this boy had the famous five loaves and two fish. John emphasises that the loaves and fish were both small, though he could hardly have been carrying around two large fish! Barley loaves were the food of the poor.

Why did Andrew bring the boy and the food to Jesus? It could be because the boy wanted them brought to Jesus and had taken the initiative. However, this seems unlikely given the lack of importance children had in that society. Or maybe his parents had made the suggestion. Whatever the case, Andrew didn’t have much faith that this was going to help much.

It is worth looking at 2 Kings 4:42-44. There they had twenty loaves and one hundred men to feed and this wasn’t thought to be enough. There Elisha told them just to give the food to the men and promised that they would have more than enough.

6:10,11

Jesus instructed His disciples to get the people to sit down, Mark 6:39,40 tells us more about this, with the people being ordered into groups of fifty or a hundred. That the grass was green indicates that it was in the spring, ie consistent with it being Passover time. This is another of those little incidentals that adds to the authenticity of the account.

The number of men was five thousand, Matt 14:21 tells us that there were women and children as well, so the grand total was probably around ten thousand.

Jesus then took the bread and gave thanks. Our starting point in any situation should always be to give thanks for what we do have, rather than worrying about what we don’t have.

John 6:3-7 - How shall we feed them?

6:3,4

Jesus’ favoured position for teaching was to sit down. he probably went up the hillside so he could address the large crowd more effectively. As we know from subsequent verses there were five thousand men there, so probably about ten thousand in total. Mark 6:34 tells us that Jesus had compassion on them. Now Jesus had tried to get away from the crowds with his disciples. How do we react when our peace is disturbed? Then note in Mark how Jesus’ compassion manifested itself: He taught them. If we have compassion for people we will teach them the truth about Jesus. The Passover was at hand. This is why the crowds were so large, for there would have been a large number of people in Jerusalem. John also calls it “the Feast of the Jews”, indicating that he expected many of his readers to be Gentiles.

6:5-7

“Jesus said to Philip”. Now this little phrase seems innocuous enough, but it is actually quite important in helping to confirm the authenticity of the gospels. Why did Jesus ask Philip where they could get food from for all the people? Maybe it was just that Philip was the nearest, but it is more likely that it was because Philip was nearby Bethsaida, so he was the obvious person to ask. There are several little details in the gospels that all add to the authenticity, little details that tie in.

Jesus recognised that the people would be hungry. Now Jesus knew what He was about to do, so the question was designed to get Philip, and the others thinking. Naturally speaking the situation was hopeless, there was no way they could provide for the people. It would have cost an awful lot of money. The NIV says almost a year’s wages. The Greek says 200 denarii, and one denarii was a days wage. Even if they had enough money the practicalities of getting the food would have rendered the task hopeless.

God sometimes confronts us with situations that seem utterly beyond us, and indeed without Him they would be. But God never intended us to live purely out of our own strength. Rather He intended us to live in fellowship with Him and that makes everything different. We need to be prepared for Jesus to take us beyond ourselves. This can be very stressful until we come to the point of trusting Him, then we find a peace far greater than anything we ever knew before.

John 6:1,2 - The Big Picnic

6:1

The miracle of the feeding of the five thousand is recorded in all four gospels. Indeed, it is the only one that is recorded in all four gospels, excepting the resurrection of course. We have already seen in John miracles where Jesus healed people, we now have two miracles coming up where His Lordship over nature is demonstrated. Healing miracles can sometimes be explained away as having a psychological element to them. However, this cannot be done with the nature miracles, and the nature miracles also imply that the healing miracles were straightforward healings. Ie the word of God bringing about physical change. This is not to say there is no relationship between a person’s psychological state and their physical state, there clearly is, but we must not limit God’s power. Jesus has the power to heal, and this includes bringing about miraculous physical change.

John says this happened “some time later”, the other gospels (Matt 14:13-21; Mark 6:32-44; Luke 9:10-17) can help us place the time of the incident. It happened after John the Baptist had been beheaded. It happened by the Sea of Galilee. The Roman name for this sea was the Sea of Tiberias and was the name used in the later part of the first century.

6:2

Remember that John does not report anything like all the miracles that Jesus did, but he does allude to them from time to time. John also refers to them as signs. The miracles of healing were noteworthy not just because they were miracles, but because they pointed to who Jesus is. Now why do the healings point to who Jesus is? Well first they demonstrate His authority. Secondly they demonstrate His compassion. These are two key features of God that everyone needs to know, including those of us who are already Christians, for we so readily forget, or think that God does not have authority, or does not care about us. It was the signs that attracted the large crowd.

John 5:43-47 - Seeking the right kind of glory

5:43

Jesus came in His Father’s Name. He was sent by the Father, He is the Son of God, He comes in His Name. Any attempt to understand Jesus from any other perspective is completely flawed from the start. Jesus then draws a comparison to highlight the hypocrisy of the Pharisees approach. “Prove who you are” seems a very reasonable demand at first, but then someone else comes along with purely human ideas and he is much more readily accepted.

This was not just a general statement. Throughout the OT times the Jews were forever accepting false prophets.  In NT times various rebel leaders, such as Theudas and Judas the Galilean, were accepted and followed (Kruse).

5:44

The problem is the glory that we seek. Now note that the problem is not seeking glory in itself, rather it is the form of glory and the source of glory that is the problem. The Jews were utterly accepting glory from one another. Again, let us in the church be very much on our guard against this. Glory as well as splendour refers to moral excellence and importance. The Jews assessed whether or not something or someone was important by what others thought of them. They assessed their own worth on what others thought of them. Now we need to beware extremes, what others think of us is relevant, and someone who cares not at all what others think of them may well be mentally ill, but it must not become out ultimate measuring stick. What does God think of us? That is the most important assessment.

5:45-47

The Jewish leaders might have been thinking that it was all well and good for Jesus to be claiming to have been sent by the Father, and to have the Father’s testimony on His side, but any charlatan or imposter could claim that, so they were very wise to be doubtful about His claims. But Jesus had one further witness, Moses. Now the Jewish leaders prided themselves on being faithful to Moses and the Law. The Sadducees, who did not believe that much at all, accepted the Pentateuch, the first five books of the Old Testament. The Pharisees accepted all the Old Testament. So they were all included when Jesus referred to Moses.

Jesus is saying that Moses pointed forward to Jesus. If the Jewish leaders had truly understood the Law then they would have recognised Jesus. So the root of the Jewish leaders’ failings was that they did not believe the Old Testament.

Again this reminds us that when we read the Old Testament we should ask how it points forward to Jesus.

John 5:39-42 - Studying the Scriptures?

5:39,40

This is a severe warning for anyone who thinks that by studying the Scriptures alone we get eternal life. Now the Scriptures are the word of God, they do give life, but only if we read them with faith, with a humble and contrite heart. If we read them with pride, imposing our own views on them we will get nowhere. The Pharisees devoted much effort to studying the Scriptures, the respected the Scriptures, yet it did them no good.

For the Scriptures bear witness to Jesus. Remember too that this is the Old Testament that Jesus is referring to, for that is all they had. When we read the Old Testament we need to read it as pointing to Christ. If we are reading something in the Old Testament and don’t seem to be able to make sense of it we should try asking ourselves, “how does this point forward to Christ?”.

The tragedy is that if only the Pharisees had gone to Christ in faith they would have received life.

5:41,42

The Pharisees delighted in receiving the praise of men. This is something that we all need to be very careful with. It is perfectly good to show appreciation of one another, indeed we should do so, but we need to be on our guard if we find ourselves relying on, or living for, the praise of others.

The Pharisees based their judgements and assessments on what others thought. They were man centred rather than God centered. The world bases its judgement of religion in general, and Christianity in particular, from a purely man centered perspective. This is why their conclusions are utterly wrong. Now this does not mean that they never raise any valid points, nor ask interesting questions, but ultimately their judgement is bound to be wrong. Likewise, there are plenty in churches who assess things from a human point of view.

Is the love of God in our hearts? This is a basic question we need to ask ourselves. In assessing the views of someone else it should also be a fundamental question. Now I believe Catholicism is seriously wrong in many of its teachings, and I greatly value Calvinistic teaching, but a Roman Catholic who genuinely loves God is more likely to speak the truth than a Calvinist who doesn’t.

John 5:36-38 - Works

5:36

Jesus had referred to John’s testimony, largely as a starting point, giving His hearers every chance to pay attention. Next He points to the works He has been doing. Not just the works He has been doing, but the works the Father gave Him to do. Remember that the Father has also prepared good works for us to do (Eph 2:10).

In Jesus’ case these works refer to the miracles and the healings. While John the Baptist was in prison he sent his disciples to enquire as to whether or not Jesus really was the Messiah, Jesus answer was to point to the blind seeing, the lepers being cleansed, the deaf hearing, the dead being raised and the poor hearing the good news (Matt 11:3-5). The miracles of Jesus are absolutely essential. Some foolish people try to read the gospels discounting the miracles, without the miracles there is no Jesus.

This is also a crucial question we should all ask ourselves: are we doing the works the Father has given us to do?

5:37,38

So we have had the witness of John the Baptist and the works that Jesus has been doing. Now we have the witness of the Father Himself, and this is the witness above all witnesses. The Jews had never heard the voice of God, nor had they seen His form, nor does His word abide in them. Consider how offensive this would be. The Pharisees were Jews, not only that they were the most devout of Jews, and they devoted themselves to the Scriptures. They sought to base their whole life on the word of God and to help the nation do so as well. Yet Jesus says they have absolutely no idea of who God is.

What is His basis for saying this? It is simply that they do not believe in Jesus Himself. Belief, or otherwise, in Christ is the test of whether or not someone truly knows God. Jesus is the focus of all God’s plans, so if we reject Jesus we reject God.

I wonder of Jesus would be arrested these days for “hate speech” or something like that, offending other religions?

John 5:34,35 - A lamp that burned

5:34

Earlier we read that Jesus would not entrust Himself to men for He knew what was in their hearts (John 2:24). We need to recognise that the “proof” that Jesus is God does not come from human testimony. In the same way, the “proof” that the Bible is indeed the word of God does not come from archaeological evidence, nor the testimony of the church. God is His own witness and no other witness is needed.

“but I mention it to you that you might be saved”. Nevertheless, Jesus mentioned John the Baptist to help the Jews see the truth. Atheists and sceptics are forever complaining that God doesn’t give enough evidence of His existence. The truth is that He gives far more than is needed, the failure lies entirely on our part.

So Jesus referred to John for he was someone they had all seen heard. In the same way with the Bible the historical evidence for the reliability of the Bible is orders of magnitude greater than the evidence for the veracity of any other documents of similar antiquity.

5:35

At this time John’s ministry had finished. The exact time of this incident is not given, so we don’t know if John was dead by now, or imprisoned, but his task had been completed.

John is referred to as a lamp in John’s gospel, only Jesus is the light. John provided light which pointed the way to Jesus, Jesus Himself is the light, the source of light.

For a time the people listened to John. “you chose for a time to enjoy his light”. Now the Jewish leaders were at best lukewarm towards John, but many of the people definitely were much more enthusiastic about John and did enjoy the light. So this might indicate that the words we read hear are directed much more towards the people, not just to the Jewish leaders.

Jesus is also saying to them, remember what John said, now follow it through, ie believe in Jesus, the one to whom John was pointing.