The Feeding of the 5,000

Order of Service

• Call to Worship — Romans 8:38-39
• Hymn — Lord, with Glowing Heart I'd Praise Thee
• Prayer of Invocation
• Confession of Sin — Psalm 51:1-4
• Assurance of Pardon — Psalm 51:17
• Scripture Reading — Malachi 1:1-5
• Hymn — What Wondrous Love Is This
• Prayer
• Prayer of Offering
• Hymn — The Lord's My Shepherd
• Sermon
• Hymn — Come, Ye Sinners, Poor and Needy
• Benediction — Numbers 6:24-26
• Doxology

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Sermon Title: The Feeding of the Five Thousand

Scripture: John 6:1-15

I. The Abundance of God Amidst the Poverty of Man

A. The dire poverty of what is offered

1. John uniquely specifies barley loaves — the bread of the poor — and two small fish
2. The Greek word for "boy" (pais) and "barley loaves" echo 2 Kings 4:42-44, where Elisha's servant feeds 100 men with 20 barley loaves; Christ is the greater Elisha, feeding 5,000 men with only five loaves
3. Philip's estimate of 200 denarii (roughly eight months' wages) underscores that no human resource could meet the need

B. The lavish abundance of what is given

1. The crowd ate "as much as they wanted" (John 6:11) and "had eaten their fill" (John 6:12)
2. Twelve baskets of fragments remained after all were satisfied
3. Throughout the Old Testament, abundance of food signaled God's covenant blessing and presence; famine signaled his absence and curse (cf. Deuteronomy 28)
4. Christ, the covenant-keeping Son, distributes this blessing freely — "without money and without price" (Isaiah 55:1)

C. Application: God's covenant blessing is not proportional to what we possess spiritually or materially; all that is required is to feel our need of him

II. The Power of God Amidst the Weakness of Man

A. The weakness and doubt of the disciples

1. Jesus tests Philip, who fails: 200 denarii would not suffice (John 6:7)
2. Andrew brings the boy but also doubts: "What are they for so many?" (John 6:9)

B. The power of Christ's thanksgiving

1. Before distributing the bread, Jesus gives thanks to the Father (John 6:11); John 6:23 labels the place as where they ate "after the Lord had given thanks," suggesting the miracle is inseparable from his prayer
2. Jesus does nothing apart from the Father's will (cf. John 5:19); he gives thanks for what the Father will distribute through the Son

C. God's power is displayed through human weakness, not around it

1. The miracle uses the poor boy's barley loaves and fish — the same humble elements, now satisfying thousands; the fragments gathered in John 6:13 are still identified as "the five barley loaves"
2. Parallel: Gideon's 300 men in Judges 7 — God depletes the army to display his might through weakness
3. Supremely, the Incarnation: the power of God unto salvation comes not by skirting human weakness but by the Son becoming the weakest man on earth, hanging helplessly on the cross

D. Application: Weakness, frailty, and exhaustion of circumstance may be precisely where God intends to manifest his glory

III. The Kingdom of God Amidst the Kingdom of Man

A. The crowd's response: "This is indeed the Prophet who is to come into the world" (John 6:14)

1. Almost certainly a reference to Deuteronomy 18:15 — Moses's promise of a coming prophet; Moses was the supreme figure in first-century Jewish expectation
2. Jesus is indeed the fulfillment of Deuteronomy 18:15 and Israel's true King

B. Jesus withdraws from the crowd's attempt to crown him by force (John 6:15)

1. The crowd's kingship vision is political and military — a king to break Roman rule by the sword, not the cross
2. This mirrors 1 Samuel 8: Israel demanding a king "like all the nations," thereby rejecting God as their King
3. The disciples may themselves have been influenced by the crowd; in Mark 6 Mark notes their hearts were hardened and they did not understand the feeding; two chapters after Matthew's account (Matthew 14), Peter rebukes Jesus over the cross and receives "Get behind me, Satan" (Matthew 16:23)
4. Satan had already offered Jesus the kingdoms of the world apart from the cross; this crowd reprises that temptation — Jesus flees to the mountain to pray, as Mark records

C. Contrast: Citizens of the kingdom of man vs. citizens of the kingdom of God

1. Kingdom of man: power-hungry, money-oriented takers (cf. Simon the Magician in Acts 8)
2. Kingdom of God: weak, helpless, naked, poor receivers of free grace
3. The free offer of the gospel: come, buy, eat without money (Isaiah 55:1); receive the Kingdom of God in the face of the King