Gospel of John - You Feed Them

 

Oldest woven basket in the world found in Israel, dates back 10,000 years

By ROSSELLA TERCATIN   Published: MARCH 16, 2021 20:37 Jerusalem Post

“You Feed Them”

John 6:1-15

In keeping with the purpose and plan of God, Jesus is being led by the Spirit through the Galilean region. Let’s look at the text, “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 signs he had performed by healing the sick. Then Jesus went up on a mountainside and sat down with his disciples.”

Jesus and the disciples have been living in the Galilean region along the sea of Galilee. Jesus has been teaching and healing: Peter’s mother-in-law, two paralytic men, the man with leprosy, centurion’s servant, calming of the storm on the sea of Galilee, dead girl and lady with issue of blood, and the blind and the mute, and the list goes on. Jesus was fulfilling the scripture of the coming messiah, the forgiving of sins and the healing of the poor and to those who call upon him for deliverance from oppression. The reading of Isaiah 61 was being fulfilled in the sight of all those villages and towns of Galilee, and many from the large cities too were coming out to hear Jesus’ teachings. It was just before this trip to the mount that Jesus heard about the death of John the Baptist by the hands of Herod the Tetrarch. Jesus saw the weariness and hunger of his disciples and he ordered them to sail to a solitary place to rest. The mount was in a solitary place called Bethsaida (Lk. 9:10). But the people recognized them and traveled to the solitary place as well. They, in their earnest zeal, wanted to have more healings and hear the teachings from the man sent from God. They traveled on land with those infirmed to the place where Jesus was resting with his disciples.

Application - Today we can go just about anywhere in the world via the internet to hear teachings about Jesus. Some are short hour long messages, others are retreats of days up to a week. Some are in private secluded places while others are in an open forum in a metropolis to the masses. We, like the people, want to see and hear of miracles, deliverances from satanic powers, and teachings of the Gospel message of hope and salvation through faith in Jesus Christ. In these venues, there are people who are curious or want to rationalize these messages for validity, others are desperate, hungry, and thirsty for an answer to their prayers or solutions to their problems. But all have one drawing desire, Jesus, and some will come at great expense, traveling days by car or many miles on foot to hear the message from the Spirit of God. This is our modern day mount experience. We are searching for answers from God’s word in a time of moral famine, increasing lawlessness, overreaching oligarchical mandates to suppress and eradicate truth. Like the people in the text, many are frightened, oppressed, and subjugated, as Jesus said “sheep without a shepherd.” 

Jesus came into the world for those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, to receive healings, deliverance from oppression, and to hear the truth from the only true source of truth, Son of God, and this is still the purpose and plan of God.

Next, as Jesus was sitting on the mount near Bethsaida, he could see the crowd of people making their way up the mountain to where he and disciples sat. Weary and yet excited to have found Jesus, the people began to seek Jesus for miracles of healing and words of wisdom and revelation about God. It was Jesus who sensed the true needs of each person, and he knew that the second Passover was near since beginning his divine ministry. 

Jesus purposely went to the east side of the Sea of Galilee to share the Gospel with the gentiles. Now the disciples would have carried their own food with them in small narrow necked baskets in order to not eat unclean food or food handled by gentiles. Jesus knew the situation and wanted the disciples to learn a lesson on sharing the bread of life. Let’s look at the text, “The Jewish Passover Festival 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, “It would take more than half a year’s wages to 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 they sat down (about five thousand men were there). 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.”

The disciples were weary from the travel, and were now asked by Jesus to feed the mass of people who were sitting in groups on the grassy knolls of the mountain side. Phillip was first to reply to Jesus' command to feed the people, “Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat?”... “It would take more than half a year’s wages to buy enough bread for each one to have a bite!” Jesus knew what the Father wanted to do, it was a test to see if the disciples could understand the importance of the living bread from God the Father, we will learn about later. 

Andrew comes to Philip’s rescue with a jewish boy’s small lunch of five small barley loaves and two small fish. Jesus, seeing a little faith, asks for the bread and fish.

Jesus commanded everyone to sit in groups of fifty, over one hundred groups sat on the grassy knoll. Jesus then speaks to the Father to bless not only the bread and fish but to bring glory to the Father and the Son. Jesus hands the broken loaves of bread first to his disciples and tells them to give the bread to the people and have them eat as much as they would like. The disciples in obedience gave to the first groups, of the broken bread and fish they had been given from the hands of Jesus, and the bread and fish never ran out even to the last groups. The baskets continued to have more and more bread and fish until everyone had as much as they could eat and were satisfied. Then Jesus tells the disciples to go back and collect all the bread scraps that weren’t eaten by the people. They came back with twelve baskets filled with broken bread pieces. 

Application - Today many are still seeking someone to satisfy them with the basic needs as well as healing and oppression from a cruel world system. Some have filed into healing events and various self-help venues, seeking to receive an answer to their needs. Yet like sheep, they look to someone to lead and protect them, providing needs they can’t provide for themselves. Sheep are naturally fearful animals, and fear is definitely rampant these days in which we live. It is spread through biased corporate state media like the Pravda in Russia or Xinhua of China, or run by corporate and government owned media outlets and oligarchical mandates to control with extreme legal measures.  

When someone tells them about Jesus or they hear about Jesus working miracles, they are willing to travel to hear about the Jesus of the Gospel, to receive healing, deliverance, or hope in a world that doesn’t give much hope. What they don’t expect is to taste the spiritual bread of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, and to hear the inspired Word of God speaking to their hearts and souls. Like the people at Bethsaida, they leave satisfied and even desire to make Jesus King and Lord of their lives. And like the people in the lesson, after Jesus left them, they are left yearning for more of Jesus and the bread of life.

Last, Jesus knew the hearts of the desperate people and the plans of their carnal minds. The people were filled not only with the food (bread and fish) but with ambitious dreams and contrived desires for Jesus. They wanted more than food, miracles, and wisdom and understanding from Jesus. They wanted this man from God to be their king, instead of the Roman procurator and the evil Herod dynasty. Let’s look at the text, “After the people saw the sign Jesus performed, 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.” 

The disciples and Jesus spent the rest of the day on the mountain. Towards evening, Jesus speaks to his disciples to get back into the boats and to go to the other side of the sea of Galilee, while he dismisses the crowd of people. As the disciples obeyed, Jesus goes up the mountain to pray into the evening to talk with the Father. 

Application - As Psalms 44:21 states, “would not God have discovered it, since he knows the secrets of the heart?”

Jesus knows everything about us, our every desire, pain, or hidden sin. Jesus wants everyone to come to him for salvation, this is the plan and purpose of God the Father. And it is not just wanting to make Jesus into what we want, it is all about us accepting salvation through Jesus, and letting him be Lord and King in our lives by yielding and submitting to the Holy Spirit and the Word of God. When we come to Jesus and try to contrive a plan for Jesus in our lives, and then tell Jesus what he needs to do, we have done like many in Jesus’ days on earth. Jesus is not an earthly king, he is an eternal king. He reigns in our hearts (inner being) and speaks to us through His Spirit and the Word of God, and sometimes we hear the still small voice in the midst of the chaos of these last days, speaking wisdom, comfort, and guidance in doing his will. Remember, the disciples didn’t understand the whole plan as they were on the mount. They listened and submitted to the words from Jesus, even when it didn’t make any logical sense, or seemed impossible and beyond science possibilities. And when we have seen the hand of God work miracles, they are for a specific purpose that will bring all Glory to God. If Jesus tells us to do something that seems to go against the norms and logic of this world, remember he is not bound by this world. He is sitting victorious on the Throne of God, listening and interceding for his disciples. Just as he did at the end of the day on the mount after feeding 5,000+ hungry souls.

Jesus' admonition to Philip and the other disciples is still the same for His disciples today, “You feed them.” God gave us His Word not to just feed ourselves spiritually, God wants us to feed others by sharing the bread of life with them, and we might be amazed to see miracles and salvation come to those who taste and see that the bread of the Lord is good.

I’m again including the ABC’s of salvation (JD Farag). Please, Jesus, God the Son, came to this world to save all who would believe and trust in him. He desires to reveal himself to you, He is the Light that overcomes the darkness of this lawless world. He hears your prayers, and all authority in heaven and earth have been given to him. He will answer you if you will truly believe. If you haven’t asked him to be your Lord and Savior, today could be that day.

 First, A - Admit that you are a sinner. This is where that godly sorrow leads to genuine repentance for sinning against a righteous God and there is a change of heart, we change our mind and God changes our hearts and regenerates us from the inside out. Romans 3:10 - As it is written: "There is none righteous, no, not one." Romans 3:23 - For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. (We are all born sinners which is why we must be born spiritually in order to enter the Kingdom of Heaven). Romans 6:23 - For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. The bad news is that the wages of sin is death, in other words our sin means that we have been given a death sentence, we have the death penalty hanging over our heads, that's the bad news. But here's the good news: The good news is that the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Ephesians 2:8-9 - For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith —and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast. Second,

 B - Believe in your heart that Jesus Christ died for your sins, was buried, and that God raised Jesus from the dead. This is trusting with all of your heart that Jesus Christ is who he said he was. Romans 10:9-10 - That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. Third, 

C - Call upon the name of the Lord. Every single person who ever lived since Adam will bend their knee and confess with their mouth that Jesus Christ is Lord, the Lord of lords and the King of kings. Romans 14:11 - For it is written: "As I live, says the Lord, Every knee shall bow to Me, And every tongue shall confess to God." Don't wait until later — do this now. Romans 10:13 - For "whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved." "O God, I am a sinner. I'm sorry for my sin. I want to turn from my sin. I believe Jesus Christ is Your Son; I believe that He died on the cross for my sin and that He was buried and You raised Him to life. I have decided to place my faith in Jesus Christ as my Savior, trusting only in His shed blood as sufficient to save my soul and to take me to heaven. Thank You, Lord Jesus, for saving me. Amen."

Please share this with someone this week, the Lord knows that we and they need it.

If you would like other lessons, please go to http://pmdinhisservice.blogspot.com 

Until next week, In His Service Mike Davis

 

I am developing a new webpage on Spiritual warfare

Please give it a look. I’m adding answers each week to questions that pertain to our time today.  Thank you

http://uss-warfare3.webnode.com