Read John 6
Jesus Feeds the Five Thousand
1 Some time after this, Jesus crossed to the far shore of the Sea of Galilee (that is, the Sea of Tiberias), 2 and a great crowd of people followed him because they saw the signs he had performed by healing the sick. 3 Then Jesus went up on a mountainside and sat down with his disciples. 4 The Jewish Passover Festival was near.
5 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?” 6 He asked this only to test him, for he already had in mind what he was going to do.
7 Philip answered him, “It would take more than half a year’s wages to buy enough bread for each one to have a bite!”
8 Another of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, spoke up, 9 “Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far will they go among so many?”
10 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). 11 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.
12 When they had all had enough to eat, he said to his disciples, “Gather the pieces that are left over. Let nothing be wasted.” 13 So they gathered them and filled twelve baskets with the pieces of the five barley loaves left over by those who had eaten.
14 After the people saw the sign Jesus performed, they began to say, “Surely this is the Prophet who is to come into the world.” 15 Jesus, knowing that they intended to come and make him king by force, withdrew again to a mountain by himself.
Jesus Walks on the Water
16 When evening came, his disciples went down to the lake,17 where they got into a boat and set off across the lake for Capernaum. By now it was dark, and Jesus had not yet joined them. 18 A strong wind was blowing and the waters grew rough. 19 When they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus approaching the boat, walking on the water; and they were frightened. 20 But he said to them, “It is I; don’t be afraid.” 21 Then they were willing to take him into the boat, and immediately the boat reached the shore where they were heading.
22 The next day the crowd that had stayed on the opposite shore of the lake realized that only one boat had been there, and that Jesus had not entered it with his disciples, but that they had gone away alone. 23 Then some boats from Tiberias landed near the place where the people had eaten the bread after the Lord had given thanks. 24 Once the crowd realized that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there, they got into the boats and went to Capernaum in search of Jesus.
Jesus the Bread of Life
25 When they found him on the other side of the lake, they asked him, “Rabbi, when did you get here?”
26 Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, you are looking for me, not because you saw the signs I performed but because you ate the loaves and had your fill. 27 Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For on him God the Father has placed his seal of approval.”
28 Then they asked him, “What must we do to do the works God requires?”
29 Jesus answered, “The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.”
30 So they asked him, “What sign then will you give that we may see it and believe you? What will you do? 31 Our ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written: ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’ ”
32 Jesus said to them, “Very truly I tell you, it is not Moses who has given you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. 33 For the bread of God is the bread that comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”
34 “Sir,” they said, “always give us this bread.”
35 Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. 36 But as I told you, you have seen me and still you do not believe. 37 All those the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away. 38 For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me. 39 And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all those he has given me, but raise them up at the last day. 40 For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day.”
41 At this the Jews there began to grumble about him because he said, “I am the bread that came down from heaven.” 42 They said, “Is this not Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How can he now say, ‘I came down from heaven’?”
43 “Stop grumbling among yourselves,” Jesus answered. 44 “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them, and I will raise them up at the last day. 45 It is written in the Prophets: ‘They will all be taught by God.’ Everyone who has heard the Father and learned from him comes to me. 46 No one has seen the Father except the one who is from God; only he has seen the Father. 47 Very truly I tell you, the one who believes has eternal life. 48 I am the bread of life. 49 Your ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness, yet they died. 50 But here is the bread that comes down from heaven, which anyone may eat and not die. 51 I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats this bread will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.”
52 Then the Jews began to argue sharply among themselves,“How can this man give us his flesh to eat?”
53 Jesus said to them, “Very truly I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. 54 Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day. 55 For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink. 56 Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in them. 57 Just as the living Father sent me and I live because of the Father, so the one who feeds on me will live because of me. 58 This is the bread that came down from heaven. Your ancestors ate manna and died, but whoever feeds on this bread will live forever.” 59 He said this while teaching in the synagogue in Capernaum.
Many Disciples Desert Jesus
60 On hearing it, many of his disciples said, “This is a hard teaching. Who can accept it?”
61 Aware that his disciples were grumbling about this, Jesus said to them, “Does this offend you? 62 Then what if you see the Son of Man ascend to where he was before! 63 The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you—they are full of the Spirit and life. 64 Yet there are some of you who do not believe.” For Jesus had known from the beginning which of them did not believe and who would betray him. 65 He went on to say, “This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless the Father has enabled them.”
66 From this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him.
67 “You do not want to leave too, do you?” Jesus asked the Twelve.
68 Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. 69 We have come to believe and to know that you are the Holy One of God.”
70 Then Jesus replied, “Have I not chosen you, the Twelve? Yet one of you is a devil!” 71 (He meant Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot, who, though one of the Twelve, was later to betray him.)
Go Deeper
Today, the significance of bread as a source of life could be lost on us. We can run to the store and grab a loaf of bread from the bakery and be back home in less than 15 minutes. For the people we read about in the Bible, the significance was substantial. Bread was hard work—the product of painful toil from the ground (Genesis 3:17). Perhaps they had it down to a science. If you do this, this, and this the ground will most likely yield a good crop. But there are always factors outside of our control (storms, droughts or thieves to name a few). Jesus often used concrete concepts to teach spiritual truth. Have you ever found yourself attempting that same equation? Our end goal may not be fresh bread, but we could be working to earn salvation, peace, or acceptance. John’s listeners may have been less focused on their crop, but they were distracted by their attempts to attain salvation through keeping the law. If you do X, Y, and Z, God will forgive you and you will be saved.
Here, in the first of Jesus’ “I Am” statements, He tells us that He is the bread of life and He came to dispel the lie that we can work our way to salvation. He fulfilled the law so that we can lean into His completed work and worship Him. In John 6:27 He reminds us, “Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you. For on him God the Father has set his seal.” The crowd’s response to Jesus’ statement may not be much different than what ours would have been (or maybe is). We may think things like, “How do I earn this bread? Can I get it on sale? I am pretty busy, but I guess I could squeeze in a few more hours at work.” To which Jesus graciously would reply “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent.” It’s that simple. The work of salvation was finished in Jesus. He has done the heavy lifting.
In John 6, Jesus shows that He is not only the sustainer of our physical needs, but He is the only One who can satisfy our deep spiritual needs. We can strive and work as the world does or we can show the world that all of our needs, both physical and spiritual, are met in Jesus. When we start our day confident that God has already met our needs, it frees us up to serve others well. When we grasp the truth that Jesus chose to die for us, that He chose to give up His body and blood for the sake of our redemption, our attempts to work for salvation seem so small. Instead of working for food that perishes we can be completely satisfied by the Bread of Life.
Questions
- What areas of your life are you trying to work for God’s favor instead of trusting in the work of God?
- Jesus says to the crowds, “You are seeking me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves.” What areas of your life do you find yourself seeking physical contentment rather than a deeper relationship with Jesus?
- Jesus says, “Whoever comes to me will not hunger and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.” Do you take your longings to Him knowing He will truly satisfy?
Did You Know?
Jesus was born in Bethlehem. The word Bethlehem means “house of bread”. The bread of life was born in the house of bread.
4 thoughts on “John 6”
There’s much to process as Jesus begins to reveal his true purpose for coming into the world. He performs sign after miracle to show the nature of his power and love. He always meets people at their point of need to encourage all to believe in him. The BIG question that must be answered is do we desire Jesus or what he can do for us?
Today I was struck by verses 5-6: ““Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat?” 6 He asked this only to test him, for he already had in mind what he was going to do.”
These verses seem to encapsulate the co-existence and co-operation of God’s sovereignty and human agency. I often ponder the precise workings of divine preordination and human free will, and usually don’t get very far! I know others in my small group wrestle with the same. Jesus knew the people’s need and had the power to fulfill it. But he wanted to use his disciples as his agents to bring blessing to thousands. He knew that this would strengthen their faith.
What an amazing privilege that we today still get to be God’s agents of blessing, helping to meet material and spiritual needs. May we heed the Holy Spirit’s promptings and step into those opportunities.
Proverbs 3:5-6 Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. 6 In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. Jesus trusted His Father. He kept going off to prayer. He gave thanks, as He prepared and broke the bread to pass out to all those people. Primarily these people were wanting a “show”. But since He had them all gathered He gave them a sermon. Jesus knew people were just seeking their own interests. How sad it must have been, even though He already knew, that most His disciples left. We have a spiritual meter within us. We were created to be God’s children, each one of us. Whether we listen and obey that “unctioning” of the Spirit is up to us.
God thank You for obedience. Thank You that You so desire me that You have given me Your Word, Your Son, and Your Holy Spirit. God let me have listening ears to hear, open eyes to see, and a loving heart to follow what You need/want me to do for You today in Jesus name amen.
WOOHOO!!!!
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