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Sermon #44 JohnÕs Gospel Title: Calculating
without Christ Text: John
6:1-14 Subject: Feeding
the Five Thousand Date: Sunday
Morning — March 22, 2009 Tape: John
#44 Reading: Malachi
1:1-14 Introduction: Of all miracles performed by
our Lord Jesus, the feeding of the five thousand is the only one recorded by
each of the four Evangelists (Matthew 14:13-21; Mark 6:32-44; Luke 9:10-17;
John 6:1-14). Of all the great works Savior performed, none was done so
publicly and before so many witnesses as the feeding of the five thousand.
There must be something about that great miracle that is unique and of
special importance. LetÕs read JohnÕs account of this great miracle in John
6:1-14. The title of my message is Calculating without Christ. My
reason for choosing that title will become obvious as we read our text.
— Calculating without Christ. (John
6:1-14) ÒAfter these things
Jesus went over the sea of Galilee, which is the sea of Tiberias. (2) And a great multitude followed
him, because they saw his miracles which he did on them that were diseased.
(3) And Jesus
went up into a mountain, and there he sat with his disciples. (4) And the passover, a feast of the
Jews, was nigh. (5) When Jesus then lifted up his eyes, and saw a great company come unto him, he
saith unto Philip, Whence shall we buy bread, that these may eat? (6) And this he said to prove him: for
he himself knew what he would do. (7) Philip answered him, Two hundred pennyworth of
bread is not sufficient for them, that every one of them may take a little.
(8) One of his
disciples, Andrew, Simon PeterÕs brother, saith unto him, (9) There is a lad here, which hath
five barley loaves, and two small fishes: but what are they among so many?
(10) And Jesus
said, Make the men sit down. Now there was much grass in the place. So the
men sat down, in number about five thousand. (11) And Jesus took the loaves; and
when he had given thanks, he distributed to the disciples, and the disciples
to them that were set down; and likewise of the fishes as much as they would.
(12) When they
were filled, he said unto his disciples, Gather up the fragments that remain,
that nothing be lost. (13) Therefore they gathered them together, and filled twelve
baskets with the fragments of the five barley loaves, which remained over and
above unto them that had eaten. (14) Then those men, when they had seen the miracle that
Jesus did, said, This is of a truth that prophet that should come into the
world.Ó ÒAfter these thingsÓ (v. 1). — ÒThese thingsÓ refers to those things mentioned in chapter 5:
— the healing of the impotent man, — the persecution of the Jews
because the Lord Jesus had performed that miracle of mercy on their Sabbath
day, — and his lengthy discourse on his deity, power and mission as the
Son of Man, the Messiah, the God-man Mediator. After all those things,
because they believed him not, our Savior left Jerusalem and went over the
Sea of Galilee. He left them to themselves, left them to be damned, believing
a lie and clinging to their religious traditions. What a warning to every religious
ritualist! Though he left Jerusalem, a
great multitude followed him, Òbecause they saw his miraclesÓ (v. 2). Like countless others in every age, these
poor souls loved excitement, and found gratification in wonders, but they
totally failed to perceive the SaviorÕs doctrine. They did not trust him as the
Son of God, the Savior of sinners, and the promised Messiah (John 2:23-25;
John 6:25-26). We see the same thing today. – People everywhere follow
clever evangelists, faith healers, miracle workers and religious showmen, but
few are interested in Christ the Redeemer, the Savior of poor, needy sinners. In verses 3 and 4, our Lord
withdrew himself even from the crowd that followed him across the Sea of
Galilee. Weary with their unbelief, weary with their self-righteousness and
empty traditions, he took his disciples up into a quiet, secluded place. The
Passover was at hand; and John notes that LordÕs Passover had degenerated
into Òa feast of the Jews.Ó Though the
Passover was near; the Òthe Lamb of God,Ó who was in their midst, was unknown and unwanted! Tender Care First, I call your attention to our SaviorÕs tender care
for the needs men. After a while, the Lord Jesus came own from the mountain, and
the great multitude that had followed him was still there. Matthew tells us, ÒHe
had compassion on them and healed their sickÓ
(Matthew 14:14-15). The Master then put Phillip to a strong test. He knew
what he was going to do (v. 6); but to test PhillipÕs, he asked him, — ÒWhence
shall we buy bread, that these may eat?Ó Phillip was a man much like you
and me. He looked at the crowd, saw the need, and began to calculate. He
said, ÒWe donÕt have enough money to buy a little snack for this many people,
let alone to feed them! Two
hundred pennyworth of bread would only give each one a ÒlittleÓ to eat.Ó What a sad portrait of us! á
How often in our daily trials and difficult
situations, we start to calculate the need, and draw back! á
How often when seeing a work to be done for Christ
and the souls of men, we start calculating the need, and draw back! á
Phillip began to calculate his own resources and
abilities to accomplish the task of feeding this huge crowd, and said, ÒLord,
we canÕt do it.Ó — Imagine talking of ÒlittleÓ in the presence of infinite power and riches!
What is our feebleness compared to his power? á
What is our emptiness compared to his fullness? á
Instead of looking to him, Phillip, like us, looked
to himself and his own strength. á
Unbelief is a horribly infectious thing. — In
verses 8-9 Andrew, who had been a disciple longer than any of the others,
said the same thing; and all the others agreed (Mark 6:37). (John
6:8-9) ÒOne of his disciples,
Andrew, Simon PeterÕs brother, saith unto him, (9) There is a lad here, which hath
five barley loaves, and two small fishes: but what are they among so many?Ó Andrew, Phillip and all the
rest of the disciples seem to have forgotten what they had seen, and heard,
and learned. They all seem to have been temporarily blinded to the glory and
power of Christ. — ÒThere is a boy here with five pieces of bread and
two little fish, but we canÕt feed all these people with that!Ó There is just
one problem with their calculations: — They were calculating without Christ!
(Psalms 78:19-22). — ÒIs any thing too hard for the LORD?Ó (Genesis 18:14). (Psalms
78:19-22) ÒYea, they spake
against God; they said, Can God furnish a table in the wilderness? (20) Behold, he smote the rock, that
the waters gushed out, and the streams overflowed; can he give bread also?
can he provide flesh for his people? (21) Therefore the LORD heard this, and was wroth: so a fire was
kindled against Jacob, and anger also came up against Israel; (22) Because they believed not in God,
and trusted not in his salvation:Ó ÒThe birds without
barn or storehouse are fed; From them let us
learn to trust for our bread. His saints what is
fitting shall neÕer be denied, So long as Ôtis
written — ÔThe Lord will provide.Õ No strength of our
own, nor goodness we claim; Yet, since we have
known the SaviorÕs great name, In this our strong
tower for safety we hide, — The Lord is our
power; — ÔThe Lord will provide!ÕÓ If our Lord Jesus was moved
with compassion upon these multitudes, many of whom he knew were not his own,
and so moved that he performed an astounding miracle to provide for the needs
of their bodies, shall he not, without a doubt, provide for every need of our
souls and our bodies? My brother, my sister, let nothing tempt you (Let
nothing tempt me!) to be cast down with fear and unbelieving! As Hawker put
it, ÒBoth your bread that perisheth with using, and that which endureth to
everlasting life, shall be given, and your water sure.Ó (Isaiah
33:16) ÒHe shall dwell on high:
his place of defence shall be the munitions of rocks: bread shall be given him; his
waters shall be sure.Ó (Philippians
4:19) ÒBut my God shall supply
all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.Ó Disciples Used Second, notice that our Lord Jesus chose to use these
same disciples to feed the crowd. How patient the Lord was with his
unbelieving disciples! There was not even a hint of rebuke (Psalm 103:13-14).
The Lord Jesus simply said, ÒMake the men sit downÓ (v. 10), and proceeded to perform another
miracle, using those poor, weak, unbelieving disciples, just as though they
had believed him perfectly and unhesitatingly! (Psalms
103:13-14) ÒLike as a father
pitieth his children,
so the LORD
pitieth them that fear him. (14) For he knoweth our frame; he remembereth that we are dust.Ó Mark tells us they sat down by
companies in ranks by hundreds and fifties (Mark 6:39-40). I see four things
here. 1.
The Lord Jesus told the disciples to seat these
people in an orderly manner, because our God is a God of order (1 Corinthians
14:33). 2.
Not only that, our Lord required these people to be
seated because the activities of the flesh must come to an end if we are to
be fed the Bread of Life (Psalm 23:2). 3.
Our great and gracious God and Savior does not need;
but he condescends to use such insignificant, weak and worthless things as we
are to perform his great works in this world (1 Corinthians 1:26-29; 1 Peter
1:23-25). — ÒTake ye away the stone!Ó 4.
He even accepts and uses the most insignificant gifts
we might put into his hands. We read in verse 11 that ÒJesus took the
loaves.Ó — He did not scorn the loaves because they were few nor
the fish because they were small. God uses small and weak things. Distributing Bread Third, we see that the work of GodÕs servants in this
world is distributing bread to hungry souls. (John
6:11-12) ÒAnd Jesus took the
loaves; and when he had given thanks, he distributed to the disciples, and
the disciples to them that were set down; and likewise of the fishes as much
as they would. (12) When they were filled, he said unto his disciples, Gather up the
fragments that remain, that nothing be lost.Ó á
The Lord Jesus Òtook the loavesÓ and the fish. á
He gave Òthanks.Ó
— Thus, he teaches us to acknowledge God as the Giver of every good
gift and to own him as the one who provides all things! á
He distributed to the disciples. á
The disciples distributed to the people. God uses men
to perform his wonders of grace in this world. Let us never despise the means
he uses (Ephesians 4:10-13; 2 Corinthians 4:7; 2 Corinthians 5:18-21). (Ephesians
4:10-13) ÒHe that descended is
the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, that he might fill all
things.) (11) And
he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some,
pastors and teachers; (12) For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the
ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: (13) Till we all come in the unity of
the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto
the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ.Ó (2
Corinthians 4:7) ÒBut we have
this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of
God, and not of us.Ó (2
Corinthians 5:18-21) ÒAnd all
things are of
God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us
the ministry of reconciliation; (19) To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the
world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath
committed unto us the word of reconciliation. (20) Now then we are ambassadors for
Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in ChristÕs stead, be ye
reconciled to God. (21) For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that
we might be made the righteousness of God in him.Ó Go back to John 6. The
disciples did not make the loaves and fish increase and multiply; but they
increased and multiplied. By a strange, heavenly kind of arithmetic, they
were multiplied by division and increased by subtraction! — GodÕs gifts
grow in the hands of those who use them for the benefit of others, especially
for the benefit of his people. It was the SaviorÕs almighty
power that provided an unfailing supply of food. It was the work of his
disciples to receive humbly, and distribute faithfully. That is a very vivid picture of
the work every gospel preacher is meant to do. The preacher is not a mediator
between God and man. The pastor has no power to put away sin, or impart
grace. The preacherÕs work is to receive the bread of life which his Master
provides, and to distribute it among the souls among whom he labors. He
cannot make men value the bread, or receive it. He cannot make the bread
effectual, beneficial and saving. He cannot cause the bread to meet any need,
or compel anyone to eat it. That is GodÕs work, not the preacherÕs. Preachers
are not responsible for those things. The whole work of the gospel ministry
is the faithful distribution of the Bread of Life. á
The preacher must seek the Bread by earnest prayer
and diligent study. — Deacons were ordained in the Church so that GodÕs
preachers might devote themselves to seeking the Bread of Life and have no
concern about earthly bread (Acts 6). á
The preacher must faithfully distribute the Bread
among hungry souls. Divine Omnipotence Fourth, this miracle stands before us as an undeniable
display of divine omnipotence. We see our Lord Jesus feeding five thousand
men with Òfive barley loaves and two small fish.Ó When the day was over Òtwelve baskets
of fragmentsÓ remained after all those
thousands had eaten all they could hold. Nothing less than the creative omnipotence
of the Almighty God could have done this thing! This man, the God-man, called
food into existence that did not exist before. In healing the sick, and
raising the dead, he mended and restored that which had previously existed. Here
something had to be created which had no prior existence. This miracle ought to be
specially instructive and encouraging to all who seek to do good to souls. It
shows us that the Lord Jesus Christ is God, Òable to save to the uttermost.Ó He has all power over dead hearts. Not only can he
mend that which is broken, — build that which is cast down, — heal
that which is sick, and —strengthen that which is weak. He can do and
does greater things than these. He calls into being that which was not before
(2 Corinthians 5:17), and calls it out of nothing! With a Savior who, by his
Spirit, can create a new heart, nothing is impossible! All Filled Fifth, look at verse 12. The Spirit of God tells us that
ÒThey were filled.Ó All those
thousands of people, when fed by the miraculous power and grace of the Son of
God, were filled. When the Lord Jesus feeds us, he fills us with grace and
satisfies our souls with fatness (Colossians 2:9-10). (Colossians
2:9-10) ÒFor in him dwelleth all
the fulness of the Godhead bodily. (10) And ye are complete in him, which is the head of
all principality and power.Ó His grace is all-sufficient
grace (Romans 5:20-21; 2 Corinthians 12:1-10). (Romans
5:20-21) ÒMoreover the law
entered, that the offence might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did
much more abound: (21) That as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace
reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord.Ó (2
Corinthians 12:1-10) ÒIt is not
expedient for me doubtless to glory. I will come to visions and revelations
of the Lord. (2) I knew a man in Christ above fourteen years ago, (whether in the body,
I cannot tell; or whether out of the body, I cannot tell: God knoweth;) such
an one caught up to the third heaven. (3) And I knew such a man, (whether in
the body, or out of the body, I cannot tell: God knoweth;) (4) How that he was caught up into
paradise, and heard unspeakable words, which it is not lawful for a man to
utter. (5) Of
such an one will I glory: yet of myself I will not glory, but in mine
infirmities. (6) For though I would desire to glory, I shall not be a fool; for I will
say the truth: but now I forbear, lest any man should think of me above that
which he seeth me to be, or that he heareth of me. (7) And lest I should be exalted above
measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a
thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be
exalted above measure. (8) For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might
depart from me. (9) And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength
is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my
infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. (10) Therefore I take pleasure in
infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses
for ChristÕs sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.Ó Nothing Lost Sixth, I want us to take notice of the fact that our
Savior required his disciples to ÒGather up the fragments that
remain, that nothing be lost.Ó When they
did, they had twelve heaping baskets full (vv. 12-13). There was abundance
for all, and the boy had twelve baskets to take home. The liberal soul is
made fat (Proverbs 11:25). (Proverbs
11:25) ÒThe liberal soul shall be
made fat: and he that watereth shall be watered also himself.Ó I do not think
the LordÕs intention here was merely to teach use to be frugal with our
earthly goods. No, his instruction is far more needful. He required this
gathering up of the fragments to teach us that we must take great care not to
lose by our neglect the bounties of the gospel (Hebrews 2:1-4). (Hebrews
2:1-4) ÒTherefore we ought to
give the more earnest heed to the things which we have heard, lest at any
time we should let them slip. (2) For if the word spoken by angels was stedfast, and every
transgression and disobedience received a just recompense of reward; (3) How shall we escape, if we neglect
so great salvation; which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and
was confirmed unto us by them that heard him; (4) God also bearing them witness, both with signs and
wonders, and with divers miracles, and gifts of the Holy Ghost, according to
his own will?Ó Let us take
care that we do not lose that which God has given us in this place. á
Let us never be moved away from the hope of the
gospel. á
Let us never be turned aside from the simplicity that
is in Christ! á
Let us never be entangled with the yoke of bondage
and the works of the law! Come, hungry
souls, and eat this Bread. Eat this Bread and live forever (John 6:47-50,
53-58). (John
6:47-50) ÒVerily, verily, I say
unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life. (48) I am that bread of life. (49) Your fathers did eat manna in the
wilderness, and are dead. (50) This is the bread which cometh down from heaven, that a
man may eat thereof, and not die.Ó (John
6:53-58) ÒThen Jesus said unto
them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of
man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you. (54) Whoso eateth my flesh, and
drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last
day. (55) For
my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. (56) He that eateth my flesh, and
drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him. (57) As the living Father hath sent me,
and I live by the Father: so he that eateth me, even he shall live by me.
(58) This is that
bread which came down from heaven: not as your fathers did eat manna, and are
dead: he that eateth of this bread shall live for ever.Ó Amen. Don Fortner Listen to sermons
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