Feeding Five Thousand

[Read John 6:1-25]

I want to pose a question I’ve been thinking about quite a bit lately. What was Jesus’ main problem with the Pharisees? I mean, everyone knows the Pharisees had a problem with Jesus and Jesus had a problem with the Pharisees, but the question is, “What was the main problem?” I think many people would immediately say something like, “Legalism. The Pharisees were legalistic, that’s why Jesus had a problem with them. They loved the law more than they loved people.” Yet, even that last statement points to something deeper. Jesus had a deeper problem with the Pharisees than just their “legalism.” I’m increasingly convinced Jesus’ main problem with the Pharisees was their hypocrisy. They wanted everyone to think they were legalistic, but they weren’t actually legalistic. They wanted everyone to think they loved the law, but they really didn’t love the law. They were hypocrites. 

That’s why Jesus said some difficult things to the Pharisees, like, ““Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but within are full of dead people’s bones and all uncleanness. So you also outwardly appear righteous to others, but within you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.” (Matthew 23:27–28, ESV). He’s not rebuking them for their “righteousness” but for their FAKE righteousness—their hypocritical righteousness. They seemed to be righteous on the outside, but their hearts were far from righteousness. On the outside, they looked legalistic, but on the inside, they were full of lawlessness. On the outside, it looked like they loved the law of God, but on the inside, they didn’t actually love it. They were hypocrites. 

This is why Jesus spends so much time talking about the heart. It’s not because our actions don’t matter, but because our actions need to overflow from our hearts, otherwise we’re being hypocrites—otherwise we’re whitewashed tombs. That’s basically the main point of the Sermon on the Mount, isn’t it? You think you’re fine because you’re not outwardly murdering anyone or outwardly committing adultery, but if you’re doing it in your heart, you’re still doing it. Your heart matters. What motivates you matters. What drives you matters. What satisfies you matters. 

It may seem like this entire conversation doesn’t have much to do with our passage this morning, but I’m pretty sure it has everything to do with this passage. These are two miracles we’re very familiar with. Most people know of Jesus taking five loaves and two fish to feed five thousand. Most people know of Jesus walking on water. Yet, John tells these stories with a different twist and for a different purpose. He’s not just telling these stories to show us that Jesus can do cool things. Remember, John calls these miracles “signs” because they are always pointing out something about who Jesus is. These signs are revealing something about Jesus AND, throughout the Gospel of John, he is constantly showing us contrasting pictures of the way people respond to these revelations of Jesus’ character. 

These two miracles are designed to be read together and they are written in such a way that they contrast the disciples and the crowds. Jesus reveals himself to both groups through a sign—through a miracle—yet both groups respond differently to Jesus. And the question we need to be continually asking throughout these stories and these miracles is, “What is driving them? What is motivating them? What is satisfying them? What’s going on in their heart?” So, we’re going to look at these miracles in a slightly different way than normal. Rather than just walking through the passage, we’re going to look at the passage through the lens of these two groups. We’ll begin by looking at these two miracles through the lens of the crowds, then we’ll look at these two miracles through the lens of the disciples. Again, as we look at these two groups, keep asking yourself, “What is driving them? What is motivating them? What is satisfying them? What’s going on in their heart?”

We begin by looking at the crowds. Our passage begins by saying, “After this Jesus went away to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, which is the Sea of Tiberias. And a large crowd was following him, because they saw the signs that he was doing on the sick.” (John 6:1–2, ESV). On the surface, this may not seem like a big deal, but it’s a bigger deal than we think. Jesus heads out into a desolate place with his disciples (something we see him doing over and over again). I mean, he’s out in the middle of nowhere—kind of a desert place. And these people keep following him out there. And that’s the language used in this passage. It’s not that they are simply following him. It’s that they KEEP ON following him wherever he goes—even into places that are desolate and treacherous and don’t have any food. They’re not following him around in all of the nicest parts of Israel, they’re following him out into some of the roughest places. There’s some real commitment and dedication there. They’re willing to do some hard things and go to some hard places in following Jesus. 

Then, when we get to the next miracle, we see the same thing. We read, “So when the crowd saw that Jesus was not there, nor his disciples, they themselves got into the boats and went to Capernaum, seeking Jesus.” (John 6:24, ESV). The crowd notices that Jesus and his disciples are no longer there, so they once again travel a great distance (most likely at great cost) to keep following Jesus—to keep seeking after him. On the surface, these people seem “sold out” for Jesus. They’re willing to go to great lengths and do drastic things, at great costs to follow Jesus. And the question is, “Why? What motivated them? What drove them? What satisfied them? What is going on in their heart?”

We’re given this answer right away at the beginning of the passage: “And a large crowd was following him, because they saw the signs that he was doing on the sick.” (John 6:2, ESV). They were willing to do all of these hard, drastic, difficult, and costly things because they saw Jesus healing the sick. They saw the signs Jesus did and wanted more—and if we remember anything from the Gospel of John so far, simply following Jesus because of his signs is not a good thing. But this is what motivated them.

And we can even see this in how they respond after the miracle, don’t we? We read this statement: “Jesus then took the loaves, and when he had given thanks, he distributed them to those who were seated. So also the fish, as much as they wanted. And when they had eaten their fill, he told his disciples, “Gather up the leftover fragments, that nothing may be lost.”” (John 6:11–12, ESV). They ate as much as they wanted. They ate their fill. They were provided for, and cared for, but were they satisfied? No. That’s why we read, “Perceiving then that they were about to come and take him by force to make him king, Jesus withdrew again to the mountain by himself.” (John 6:15, ESV). They weren’t satisfied with the miracle. They wanted more. They weren’t satisfied by eating as much as they wanted—eating their fill—they wanted more from Jesus. They looked at him and said, “Look. This is someone who can fix all of our problems. This is someone who can give us everything we need. I mean, come on, someone who can heal the sick. This guy can fix all of our healthcare issues! Someone who can multiply food and feed massive amounts of people. This guy can easily take care of inflation and the rising costs of food!” They didn’t want Jesus. They only wanted what Jesus could give them. They didn’t want Jesus, they only wanted his gifts. So, we read, “Jesus withdrew again to the mountain by himself.” (John 6:15, ESV).

Then we have the disciples. They followed Jesus too, didn’t they? They followed Jesus into all of the same difficult places and situations and locations. They followed Jesus at a great cost too. And what I love about this contrast with the crowds is that the disciples aren’t painted in a perfect light. I mean, they’re still confused and questioning what’s happening. So, we read, “Lifting up his eyes, then, and seeing that a large crowd was coming toward him, Jesus said to Philip, “Where are we to buy bread, so that these people may eat?” He said this to test him, for he himself knew what he would do. Philip answered him, “Two hundred denarii worth of bread would not be enough for each of them to get a little.” One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said to him, “There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish, but what are they for so many?”” (John 6:5–9, ESV). I love that Jesus asks them this question even though he already knows what he’s going to do. It’s an opportunity to reveal to the disciples their lack of understanding, and by asking them this question, Jesus brings it fully into the light. How are we going to feed all of these people? And the disciples respond by saying, “It’s impossible!”

I mean, I don’t necessarily blame them. This is a massive group of people. The story tells us that there are five thousand men, which means there are more women and children. I’ve heard commentaries place this number as high as twenty thousand people—that’s bigger than the population of Beaver Dam. And they see this massive group coming toward them and say, there’s no way we could feed that many people. It’s impossible.

They say that two-hundred denarii couldn’t even give them a little bite. To translate that into today’s terms, a denarius is an average day’s wage. So, I looked up an average hourly wage in 2023, multiplied it by 8 hours, then by 200 days. It comes out to $45,600. So, they’re seeing this massive group of people and saying, “We could spend almost $50,000 and not hardly give them a bite to eat.” This is crazy! 

On top of that, they hardly had any food for themselves. Most likely the boy with the five loaves and two fish was one of the servants of the disciples. So, this was most likely the disciple’s food. They’re looking at this meager amount of food they have for themselves, and then looking at this massive group of people coming to them, and saying, “It’s impossible. There’s no way we can feed them. This is crazy talk!”

Yet, here’s what’s powerful about all of this. Despite all of the craziness and impossibility of this situation, when Jesus tells them to have the people sit down, they listen to him. They don’t question him at this point. When Jesus tells them to go around and “Gather up the leftover fragments, that nothing may be lost.” (John 6:12, ESV), despite how ridiculous that sounded, they listened to him and didn’t question him. And after they gather up the leftovers, we read, “So they gathered them up and filled twelve baskets with fragments from the five barley loaves left by those who had eaten.” (John 6:13, ESV). Each of the disciples got to take their own basketful of food with them—that’s why there were twelve baskets. They began with, possibly, one basketful of food for the twelve disciples, and ended with each person having their own basketful. Jesus provided and provided in abundance. 

Then, that night, they find themselves in a really difficult situation. They are sailing to another city on the Sea of Galilee, a storm comes up and blows them WAY of course. They are being pushed in the wrong direction, they are struggling to keep the boat afloat, they are in the deep darkness, and then they see Jesus. And, of course, they were immediately frightened: “When they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus walking on the sea and coming near the boat, and they were frightened.” (John 6:19, ESV). Again, these are real people. I’m not sure how many of you have ever been in a boat on really rough water to the point where you were worried you were going to capsize your boat. I’ve been there and it’s not fun. However, I’ve never been in that situation in complete darkness AND I’ve never watched someone walking on the water. Of course, your first reaction would be FEAR. 

It’s their second reaction that we need to pay attention to. We read, “But he said to them, “It is I; do not be afraid.” Then they were glad to take him into the boat, and immediately the boat was at the land to which they were going.” (John 6:20–21, ESV). They were afraid because they didn’t know WHO was walking on the water, but the moment they heard the voice of Jesus, and knew it was him, they were glad to receive him into the boat. John doesn’t tell us anything about calming the storm. He just says that immediately the boat made it to the other side. There are a couple of ways to take that statement. It could definitely be understood that Jesus miraculously transported the boat to the other side of the Sea of Galilee OR it could simply mean that they had no problems the rest of the way. Either way, the story is showing that once Jesus was in the boat, the disciples were glad and things went smoothly for them on the rest of their journey. And in this miracle, we see Jesus doing the same thing he did in feeding the five thousand, just in a different way. He meets them in their difficulty and provides for them—and provides for them abundantly. He also satisfies them. They were satisfied with Jesus just being in the boat with them.

Notice the differences between these two groups of people and the differences in Jesus’ reaction to these groups of people. Jesus reveals himself in the same way. These miracles BOTH reveal Jesus as the one who ultimately provides—and provides abundantly—and ultimately as the one who satisfies. The crowds see that and are unsatisfied with it, they want more. They don’t want Jesus, they just want what He can give them. And the result? Jesus withdraws himself from the crowd. On the other hand, we see Jesus drawing near to the disciples. They aren’t perfect by any means. They question and fear, but they are satisfied by Jesus himself, not just his gifts. That’s why they obey him when he tells them to do something crazy. That’s why they’re glad to receive him into the boat. They just want Jesus. They were satisfied with Jesus himself. And Jesus drew near to them. 

This all brings those questions to bear on our own hearts: “What is driving you? What is motivating you? What is satisfying you? What’s going on in your heart?” Because THAT is the main question. Are you seeking Jesus because you want HIM or because you want what He can give you? That’s a matter of the heart. As we’ve already seen, seeking Jesus for his gifts can look good on the outside, it can motivate you to follow Jesus into all sorts of crazy, difficult places. It can cause you to do some really hard things. It can look impressive to many people. Yet, that’s not a sincere faith. It’s a hypocritical faith. It’s actually a whitewashed tomb. Are you seeking Jesus because you want HIM or because you want His gifts? 

This question becomes much clearer when things become difficult—when we enter into trials, when we’re in a place where we’re lacking bread, or when we’re being tossed all over the place by the wind and the waves. These are the moments that reveal where our hearts are—these are the moments that reveal whether we’re seeking Jesus for himself or for what he can give us. When you find yourself in those places, are you satisfied simply knowing that Jesus is with you in those trials and difficulties, or do you need something more from him? That’s a clarifying question. Is it enough that Jesus walks with us through the valley of the shadow of death? Is it enough that Jesus is with us in the boat in the midst of the storm? Is it enough that Jesus is with us when money runs tight and health begins to fail and jobs begin to dry up? Is that enough, or do you want more from him? Are you satisfied with Jesus or simply with his gifts? What motivates you? What drives you? What satisfies you?

A true, sincere faith—a non-hypocritical faith—says that Jesus is enough and believes that deep down in our hearts. Jesus is enough because we trust Him with our lives—we trust Him with everything. That’s why we’re satisfied just knowing he’s with us. We know he’s the abundant provider who will satisfy our souls, so we’re glad he’s with us and we trust him. It may not always make sense, sometimes it may seem crazy and impossible, but we trust Him anyways and listen to Him and follow Him. We’re not following him because of what we’ll get from him. We’re following him because we trust him and are satisfied in him. That’s what a true, sincere faith looks like.