John 6:1 After this, Jesus crossed over to the far side of the Sea of Galilee, also known as the Sea of Tiberias. 2 A huge crowd kept following him wherever he went, because they saw his miraculous signs as he healed the sick. 3 Then Jesus climbed a hill and sat down with his disciples around him. 4 (It was nearly time for the Jewish Passover celebration.) 5 Jesus soon saw a huge crowd of people coming to look for him. Turning to Philip, he asked, “Where can we buy bread to feed all these people?” 6 He was testing Philip, for he already knew what he was going to do. 7 Philip replied, “Even if we worked for months, we wouldn’t have enough money to feed them!” 8 Then Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, spoke up. 9 “There’s a young boy here with five barley loaves and two fish. But what good is that with this huge crowd?” 10 “Tell everyone to sit down,” Jesus said. So they all sat down on the grassy slopes. (The men alone numbered about 5,000.) 11 Then Jesus took the loaves, gave thanks to God, and distributed them to the people. Afterward he did the same with the fish. And they all ate as much as they wanted. 12 After everyone was full, Jesus told his disciples, “Now gather the leftovers, so that nothing is wasted.” 13 So they picked up the pieces and filled twelve baskets with scraps left by the people who had eaten from the five barley loaves. 14 When the people saw him do this miraculous sign, they exclaimed, “Surely, he is the Prophet we have been expecting!” 15 When Jesus saw that they were ready to force him to be their king, he slipped away into the hills by himself.
The feeding of the five thousand is an expression of the love and power of Jesus. Jesus had been doing individual healing miracles for the afflicted who came to Him, and now He had crossed over to the far side of the Sea of Galilee and a huge crowd followed Him. Jesus responds to the people who had gathered by asking Phillip how they might feed them. 5 Jesus soon saw a huge crowd of people coming to look for him. Turning to Philip, he asked, “Where can we buy bread to feed all these people?” Scripture says this was actually a test for Phillip because Jesus already knew what He was going to do to feed them.
6 He was testing Philip, for he already knew what he was going to do.
Jesus sees our needs and He already knows how to fix those needs and His ways are powerful and complete. Phillip looked at the amount of money it would take to buy enough food and even calculated it would take months of work to pay for it. Phillip answered like many of us would, as He looked at what they were capable of buying. How would you handle this kind of test. How do you handle this test of faith? The Apostle answered this question in Philippians 4 where he said the following. Philippians 4:19 And this same God who takes care of me will supply all your needs from his glorious riches, which have been given to us in Christ Jesus. What need is too big for God to fill? Does it make you feel good to pull yourself up by your bootstraps and make money? Are you self-sufficient? Scripture says it is a proper thing to do to work and be active because we are not to be idle. From a human perspective, the work we do is very invigorating and satisfying. When working at a secular job I always wanted to go out to eat as a treat after getting my paycheck on payday to remind myself I had received wages for my work. It kind of made me proud of myself. What Jesus was doing on this hill on the far side of the Sea of Galilee was a lot more than just having money for food. In testing Philip, it is easy to see that Jesus wanted to show His disciples more than just supplying food for those following Him. Jesus showed His disciples and the people following that God supplies. In fact, God supplied abundantly more than what was needed as Paul wrote in the above scriptures. We use the words, God is awesome! But do we really believe and honor God for His awesomeness? We should!! Another thing Jesus did was give thanks for God's provision and God truly came through as only God can do. 11 Then Jesus took the loaves, gave thanks to God, and distributed them to the people. Afterward he did the same with the fish. And they all ate as much as they wanted. Keep in mind, that scripture doesn't record that there was grumbling from the people worrying about food, but Jesus came through anyway because He KNEW the need and supplied. That's our Savior and His blessing is always more than we can realize or understand. Of all the many people God sees, and God loves, He sees the deepest need we have as an individual. All of the above verses sure make the following verses mean even more. Matthew 6:7: “When you pray, don’t babble on and on as the Gentiles do. They think their prayers are answered merely by repeating their words again and again. 8 Don’t be like them, for your Father knows exactly what you need even before you ask him! 9 Pray like this: Our Father in heaven, may your name be kept holy.10 May your Kingdom come soon. May your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.11 Give us today the food we need,[a]12 and forgive us our sins, as we have forgiven those who sin against us.13 And don’t let us yield to temptation, but rescue us from the evil one.
Jesus said our prayers should not be meaningless babbling like those who don't know Jesus. Our prayers should be heartfelt with thankfulness and an expression of love from those who realize the blessing of a God who really sees our needs and supplies. These heartfelt prayers should be full of "real" thankfulness and "real" words of consideration for a God who takes care of His children. EVERY NEED!! In the above scripture, the abundance of God's supply was evident with the twelve leftover baskets of food, and Jesus would not let any of it be wasted. The blessing of God should be well used and well taken care of so as not to waste any of it. Why? Because it is from God!!
When we pray today it would be good to know that God sees the need, has an answer for the need, and He always comes through with His blessing. Bless Him back by thanking Him and using what He has blessed us with for the ministry of Jesus. That's just how it works, so get with the program and watch what God will do. Praise God for His supply!!!
Today's Message,
David Warren
Comments