In our recent studies, including our Christmas morning service, we were able to discover some very important truths in relation to the coming of Jesus into the world. For those who were not able to join with us on Christmas morning and may be wondering the text that we were able to use to bring through that Christmas message, I'll let you know now it was verse 42. So you'll be able to check up to see whether or not you'd guessed right or not. But I know you that you do not have the love of God in you. It's possible for us to enjoy Christmas, but yet not really understand what Christmas is all about. And that text is a reminder of the need to go beneath the crust to get under the surface and to begin to understand what it is we really celebrate in the incarnation of Christ. Chapters 5 and 6 of John's Gospel are not only complimentary, but they emerge. And so in order that we can understand, if you like, the full impact of what these two chapters are bringing, we need to grasp the unfolding of truth, the building up of biblical principles, and therefore that revelation that comes from a deeper understanding. Together, these two chapters show who Jesus really is and who he declared himself to be. That is, of course, the Son of God. And he is doing that by way of divine provision that is meant to satisfy particular present, current, physical needs. but to project beyond that to bring a revelation of a spiritual nature and therefore to provide for the spiritual needs of the people. And so he does this in two ways. He demonstrates by works, that is through the miracles that he performs. These become essentially signs and Christ refers to these miracles in that fashion. And therefore by the works he demonstrates who he is. But also we have discovered that in his teaching and preaching by his words he declares that he is the Son of God. So we have the declaration of his words and the demonstration of his works that combine to identify the virtues of his deity. But as we have noted in previous studies, these very largely go unnoticed and misunderstood. Nicodemus, for example, deals with the issues of the material, of the fleshly, of the physical. How can one be born again is his question. The woman at the well again was confused about the water of life that Jesus spoke of as she wrestled with the practical elements of the physical nature of the water. But as Jesus provides the proof in the miracle, he is building upon those displays of divine authority the converging teachings of his deity, who he is, and he reveals that by the words that he speaks. Now, when we have gone through chapter 5 of John's Gospel, we see built into the closing verses of the chapter four identifiable witnesses that Jesus points to as a further proof of the truth of the words that he has been sharing and the works that he has been performing. If you go to verse 31, you will see in chapter 5, you will see that Jesus testifies of himself. If I bear witness of myself, my witness is not true. In other words, Jesus here is drawing upon the law and confirming that in the eyes of the religious leaders, one's testimony alone will not stand to verify in public court the truth or the essence of that character. So Jesus declares, if I tell you who I am, then you're not going to listen to my testimony. You're not going to believe what I say concerning myself. He then produces, as one would do in any court of law, other witnesses who are called upon to testify to the truth of the words and the works that Jesus has been performing. And you will see this in verses 33 to 35 of chapter 5. You'll notice that Jesus speaks of the witness of John the Baptist. You have sent to John, and he has borne witness to the truth. Remember how John the Baptist bore witness to Jesus. If you go back into chapter 1 of John's Gospel, you'll recall that on two occasions John the Baptist declared, Behold the Lamb of God. And then added, Who takes away the sin of the world. All that was built into the sacrificial system of the Old Testament, John the Baptist now testifies. All of this is met and supplied and answered before God in the person of Jesus. So John the Baptist becomes a witness to testify of the truth of the words and the works of Jesus. If you go into verse 36, you'll see that he draws out in verse 36 of chapter 5 of John, I have a greater witness than John's for the works which the Father has given me to finish. The very works that I do bear witness of me that the Father has sent me. So the works become a witness. Then look at verse 37 and 38, And the Father himself who sent me has testified of me. So the Father testifies as a witness to the works and the words of Jesus. And then down in verse 39, You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life. And these are they, which testify of me." So we have the works, the words, the Father and John the Baptist, all bearing witness that the words and the works of Jesus are true. Now, if you go over a little later into John's Gospel, if you come over into chapter 15 and verse 27, You'll notice that Jesus builds upon this concept of witness accounts. And in John 15, verse 27, he tells us, You also will bear witness because you have been with me from the beginning. So God's people bear witness. How can we best tell that the words of Jesus are true? Well, we go and talk to a believer. And the child of God will bear testimony that the words and the works of Jesus were true. And they testify of Him. And then go over into John chapter 14 and verse 16. John 14 verse 16, I will pray the Father and He will give you another Helper that he may abide with you forever." 26. But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, He will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you. And then chapter 15, verse 26, But when the Helper comes whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, He will testify of me." So here we have the sevenfold witness to Jesus, four of which are highlighted in John chapter 5. Jesus is who He said He is. These all testify to the truth of the claims of Jesus. Yet, in spite of this, the Jews will not believe in him. The Jews largely rejected Jesus on the grounds that instead of fulfilling, or at least supporting the law, Jesus, in actual fact, was breaking the law. In their mind there was a confusion over their interpretation of the law. And we discovered that in this fifth chapter, when Jesus healed the man at the pool, and all they were concerned about was that Jesus had broken the Sabbath. He had told the man to take up his bed and walk. And here he was, carrying a burden on the Sabbath, breaking one of their principal laws. Therefore, sending a tremor through the very foundations of their faith. And therefore, because Jesus appeared to be breaking the law, it didn't matter what he did. It didn't matter what he said. they were thoroughly convinced that he could not and he did not fulfill the Old Testament prophecies concerning the coming of their Messiah. Now the Galileans, whose unbelief is exposed here in the sixth chapter of John's Gospel, fall into the same trap in their misunderstanding the coming of Jesus in terms of his approach and the outworking of his authority and sovereign power. They failed to understand that mankind's basic needs were not only physical, but they were also spiritual. And behind every physical gift or miracle or sign that Jesus performed. There was a profound principle of spiritual truth that was being applied. And it's only when we look beyond, beneath the outer limits of the surface reflections of the mercy and the grace and the interventions of God in our lives, that we see the spiritual element that becomes a foretaste of heaven to the soul. You will see in the second verse of John chapter 6, for example, that their expectations did not go beyond the meeting of their own physical requirements. Look at verse 2 of John 6. Then a great multitude followed him. Why? Because they loved his teaching. Because they believed in him as their Messiah. No. Note Because they saw his signs which he performed on those who were diseased. So they were attracted by the miraculous. They were attracted by the physical nature of the interventions of Christ in their midst. And when we come down into verse 14, And we get a kind of summary of their attitudes after they had witnessed the feeding of the 5,000. Here is their response in verse 14, Then those men, when they had seen the sign that Jesus did, said, This is truly the prophet who is to come into the world. Not the Messiah. The prophet. But let me just remind you today that it is not the prophetic office of Jesus that saves us. Jesus went to the cross and He offered the sacrifice as our great High Priest. And it is through the sacrifice, the blood that was shed on the cross, that we are redeemed. Redeemed by precious blood for It is the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ, God's Son, that cleanses from all sin. The Islamic tradition would place Jesus as a prophet. The Bible tells us the devils believe and they tremble. And if we are only observing Jesus to be a great teacher or a worker of mighty miracles, or someone who can intervene when we're sick, or someone else is sick and we pray for them and we have that hope and that trust that He will answer prayer and He will come and heal them. And if our faith is only placed in the outward signs of the miraculous authority of Jesus, then that in itself will not save us. And here They have this attitude in their mind, as they did, of course, of Moses back in Exodus 16. And we read there of how God fed them in the wilderness, the manna that came from heaven. And they had in their mind this concept that Moses, their great leader, who was a kind of prophet to them, one who spoke on behalf of God, fed them in the times of the wilderness wandering. They failed to a point to understand that it wasn't Moses who fed them. It was God who fed them. And Moses did not feed himself to them. He simply ushered into their thought and into their presence that which God promised and then provided. And here is Jesus in their midst who has come not only to perform the signs, to bear witness to the truth of His words, but Jesus came to serve. He came to seek and to save the lost. He came to offer Himself as a sacrifice for sin. So here in John chapter 6, they are not prepared to acknowledge Jesus as Lord, but they will acknowledge Him to be a prophet. They were not interested in the sacrifice, only the provision. And that becomes the kind of Messiah that they wanted. And we will see that as we go through this chapter, how they want to take him and make him king. Because they see in him someone who can build up the kingdom with all of these miraculous powers. And life will be so complete and content if such a king sits upon the throne. I want you to see this morning, just very briefly, two thoughts that emerge from this first part of this chapter. And we need to understand that what we are seeing here is a foundation that's been laid. The full understanding and interpretation, which we will not be able to get into this morning for the sake of time, But God willing, next Lord's Day, we'll take up a little more of the in-depth understanding of this chapter, where Jesus begins to build upon this physical, practical illustration, and then he builds up the spiritual truths of who he really is. And so there are two thoughts that emerge. I want to just simply bring them to you. First of all, we have the focus. We've touched on that, so our thoughts will be brief. And then we have the essential element of the fullness of these opening verses, which is seen in the feeding. We often refer to it as the feeding of the 5,000. But of course, the Bible tells us in verse 10, the men sat down in number about 5,000. That didn't take into consideration the women and the children. And one would have to ask, well, what did the women do when the men sat down to have the bread? They had to stand around the outside and watch and wait. Well, we may come to that at some point in our study of this chapter. But the two thoughts, first of all then we have in verse 2 the focus that is here particularly in the minds of the people. They were interested in the signs, the physical result of the signs. Now if we had the time this morning, which we don't have, to go over into the synoptic Gospels, that is Matthew, Mark and Luke, We would read in Matthew 14, in Mark 6 and Luke chapter 9, a fuller picture of how this all comes about. The Gospels reveal that through the day a great multitude had already observed what is outlined in verse 2 of John chapter 6, the healing of a great multitude. who were sick. So all throughout the day, Jesus was performing these outstanding, that is, standing out miracles. And so the emotional momentum and the expectation and anticipation of the people is gathering in the attitudes of their mind and heart as the day progresses. And now, as it comes late in the day, their expectations remain high. Surely Jesus is able to supply their every need. What will he be called upon to do next? And so we come into the flow of this sixth chapter of John. The response of the crowd, to a degree, reveals the shallowness of their faith. And one cannot but recall what happened when Jacob was fleeing from his brother Esau, and as a result had to leave his family, his father, his homeland, and go off to a distant country. Alone and dejected, and fearful about the future. Remember how at a place which became known as Bethel, he lay down and put his head upon a stone pillow, and he went to sleep. And in the sleep there was a ladder appeared, and in that ladder he saw heaven and earth linked, and angels walking up and down a ladder, that showed that even though He was here upon the earth, there was still the surrounding and accompanying and sympathizing presence of heaven wherever God's people are. We never spend time alone as a child of God. For God is always with us. He's promised never to leave us nor to forsake us. The clouds may roll over our head. The surrounding circumstances might appear as it did to the children of Israel to be hemming them in. The wilderness hath shut us in, they said. But God opened up a way, for He never leaves us in the folly of our disobedience. He never departs from us. when our faith grows weak, nor does he desert us when sorrows engulf or overwhelm us. He's a friend who sticks closer than a brother. He's nearer to us than hands or feet or even breathing. And on that day when Jacob gazed up the ladder into heaven, he knew God is in this place, and I knew it not. But as God continues to work in the heart and life of Jacob, remember in Genesis chapter 28, verses 20 to 22. Let me take you over to those verses for a moment. Genesis 28. Verses 20 to 22. Let me just ask as we read these verses, how often have we found ourselves in this kind of attitude? as we've tried to reason and to bargain with God. Genesis 28, verse 20 to 22. Then Jacob made a vow saying, If God will be with me, and keep me in this way that I'm going, and give me bread to eat and clothing to put on, so that I come back to my Father's house in peace, then the Lord shall be my God. If God does this, then I will trust in Him." How often have we breached that thought or concept in our hearts. not fully understanding or realizing that it is not ours to reason with God. It is ours to trust because He knows what's best for us. And if it's best that we return to the Father's house, if it's best that we receive food to eat and clothes to wear, then God will see to it that His promise will be fulfilled. But how often have we to a degree limited the blessing of God upon our lives because we have determined and desired to see God working in a way that's convenient to our own thoughts. And here they are in John chapter 6, when they saw the signs In verse 2, the multitude of those who were healed. Look what happens in verse 14. Then those men, when they had seen the sign that Jesus did said, this is truly the prophet who was to come into the world. They're still looking at the signs, but oh how much they're missing. They do not have the eyes of faith to penetrate the physical and see God at work on the move in the spiritual. And how sad it is when so often our eyes are taken up with the things around us, and we try to analyse what God is doing and how God is working, and we try to nudge God a little into this position or that position, and all the time we fail to understand, we fail to see that God is there working out His purposes. We may be in the battle and all we can see is the enemy fully armed and in full flight. And our heart is fearful and we fail to look over and see the armies of God, the hosts of heaven already arrayed in defense of the cause of Jesus. Oh, ye of little faith would often be the words of Jesus to our hearts. Verse 15 of John chapter 6, Therefore, because they saw these signs, when Jesus perceived that they were about to come and take him by force and make him king, he departed again to the mountain by himself alone. They wanted to perpetuate the physical benefits We come down into verse 26 and look at the confirmation of Jesus. Jesus answered them and said, most assuredly, I say to you, you seek Me not because you saw the signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled. That's all they got. They enjoyed the moment. But it meant nothing to them in terms of the spiritual. How many are there who are licking their wounds today and they're trying to dress up their sores as a result of the celebrations over Christmas. They've enjoyed the moment. They've got caught up in the excitement. But now it's over and they're left with nothing. It's empty. That's not what Christmas is all about. That's not what the coming of Jesus is about. And so their focus was wrong. But now let me just very briefly take you to the feeding in verses 10 to 13. You will see that there are two things that stand out in these verses. We have, first of all, the enormity of the problem. And then second, we have the generosity of the provision. The enormity of the problem. Look at verse 5. Then Jesus lifted up his eyes and seen a great multitude coming toward him. A great multitude. We're then told in verse 10 what that multitude was. Jesus said, make the people sit down. Now, there was much grass in the place, so the men sat down in number about 5,000. 5,000 men, plus women, plus children. Now, just think for a moment the logistics of organising all of this. I had an open-air meeting yesterday in a beautiful part of the northern beaches, right on the beach. Well, not on the beach, but just before you go down onto the beach of Belgola. I had 120 plus who came for the open-air meeting. Well, actually, it was a wedding. But I'm sure they came to hear me preach. 120 plus maybe 15 or 20 beach goers who sort of crept in a little bit to hear what was going on and the family who come out onto the balcony of our home and they all lined up along the balcony and they joined us for the wedding. 120 and they give me a microphone to use in case some of them on the fringe wouldn't be able to hear what I was saying. Now here are 5,000, plus women, plus children, and Jesus didn't have a microphone. And he gathered them in little groups so that the disciples could go here and there through the crowd and distribute the food, which they didn't have when Jesus gave the instructions. It was discovered that a little boy had some food in his possession. There's speculation as to how he had five loaves and two fish. Was it his lunch? Was he here to sell them to the crowd? But the focus isn't on the lad. The focus isn't even on the feeding of the 5,000. The focus is on Jesus. The need, we know, is great. And that will come out in verse 7. Look at chapter 6, verse 7. But this he said to test him, for he knew himself what he would do. Philip answered, Two hundred denarii worth of bread is not sufficient for them, that every one of them may have a little. A denarii was a day's salary, a penny. One day's salary. If you take out the Sabbaths, this amounts to just round about a month's salary. And Philip is scratching his head and saying that even if we were to send out to the bakery and to buy food, Would we find a bakery open at this time of the day that would have enough food that we would need? And even if we spent a whole month's salary buying food and just give a little piece to everyone, it still wouldn't be enough. So you see the enormity of the immensity of the problem. Now, we look around us in the world today and see men and women who are dying in their sin. And we see the need. It's immense. How are we going to reach them? How are we going to see men and women with their need saved? We come down into the finer focus of a family member or a friend or a neighbour. or a work colleague, and we look at their lives and we are astonished when we hear how they're living and what they're doing and what their circumstances are and what their surroundings are. And we look and we think, what a need. It's so great. How can we meet the need? And so Jesus said to Philip, Philip, what do you think? And Philip immediately begins to think, what can I do? Can we have a program? Can we organize something? Can we change or alter what we're doing? How can we make it more accessible to people? And how can we feed more and more people? But Jesus already knew what he was going to do. And he was going to do it. Not Philip. Not the disciples. He was going to meet the need. So, how were they going to be fed? Well, verse 5 and verse 7. Obviously, Philip didn't know. But verse 6, Jesus did know. And here is how it happens. Look at verse 9. There is a lad here who has five barley loaves and two small fish. But what are they among so many? If one month's salary, purchasing fresh bread from the bakery, is not going to do it, how can we expect five little loaves and two fish to do it? But look at verse 11. Jesus took the loaves, and when He had given thanks, He distributed them to the disciples, and the disciples to those sitting down. and likewise of the fish, look, as much as they wanted." Philip said, even if we spend all that money and get all that food, we'll only be able to give a little bit to everyone. But when Jesus takes it, and He blesses it, and He distributes it, everyone had what they wanted. I'll have a little piece, thank you. Oh, I want a big piece, I'm hungry, thank you. Everyone with every need was met. That's the fullness of the mercy and the grace of God. There may be someone who is highly religious and devoted to church, and church life and activities. And we might think, well, it only takes a little nudge. If we could just nudge them over the line and get them into the kingdom, just a little bit of grace would do the job. Or we might find someone lying, groveling in the street, in the gutter of their life, totally ruined and wrecked and destroyed by the sins of this world. And we fear for them, and we would see the need for an abundance of mercy and grace to draw them back from the brink. Well, here is the answer. Jesus can meet every need. Right as we are often told, from the guttermost to the uttermost, Christ is able to save the sinner who comes by faith to Him. Look at verse 13. Therefore they gathered them up and filled twelve baskets with the fragments of the five barley loaves which were left over by those who had eaten. No mention of any fish left over. But there were plenty of loaves, thirteen baskets filled. You will notice when the lad had it, it was an undersupply. What are these among so many? But when Jesus had it, it was an oversupply. You and I might think, well, what have I got to offer Christ? How can I serve him? How can I tell others about him? What influence can I be on the world? And as long as we hold on to the barley loaves and the fish, then it will not meet the needs of too many. But if we are prepared to say, well, this is all I have and what I have I give wholly, totally to Jesus, then He can take the little that we offer and multiply it to feed the hungry multitude. Where do you stand with the Lord this morning? Have you given Him your all? Or are you sharing the throne of your heart with some other passion or desire or ambition, and you're prepared to celebrate the love of Christ in so many ways, but your life has not been fully surrendered to Him and to His purposes. But let me ask as we close, what then was the purpose of the miracle Was it to satisfy the curiosity of the people? Was it to parade Christ's supernatural abilities? Was it to gain popularity with the crowds? No. It is essentially a continuing revelation of the deity of Jesus. Remember, at the wedding in Cana, Christ revealed that he is the new wine. Remember how at Syker's well he revealed to the woman of Samaria that he is the living water. And now to the Galileans he is revealing to them that he is the living bread. It is not the physical, not the barley loaves and the fish. that ultimately will meet their need. It is Christ Himself, the Bread of Life. Look at John chapter 6, verse 35. John 6, 35. Jesus said to them, I am the Bread of Life. He who comes to me shall never hunger, and he who believes in me shall never thirst. Now, just in preparation for the Lord's Day next week, when we shall be gathering around the Lord's table, being the first Lord's Day of the first month of a new year. Let me just remind you of this. Look at John 6, verse 27. John 6, 27. Do not labour for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to everlasting life. Don't put work before worship. Which the Son of God will give you, because God the Father has set his seal upon him. Now look at verse 23. However, other boats came from Tiberias near the place where they ate bread after the Lord had given thanks. So before he fed the 5,000, Jesus gave thanks and then distributed the bread and the fish. Now let's go over to 1 Corinthians chapter 11. 1 Corinthians chapter 11, verse 23 and 24. Here we are gathered around the Lord's table, and Paul reminds us, Receive from the Lord that which I also deliver to you that the Lord Jesus on the same night in which he was betrayed, he took bread. And when he had given thanks and he broke it and said, take it. This is my body, which is broken for you. Do this in remembrance of me. Jesus took the five thousand. He sat them down. He gives thanks, He broke the bread and He distributed the bread to the people. We gather round the Lord's table and what does Jesus do? He gives thanks, He breaks the bread and He gives it to His people. What is the bread? It is Himself, Christ. We feast upon Him. What is it that fills our heart? and sends us home with a joy of knowing Christ. What is it that makes us feel good as a people of God? Is it the bread and the wine? No. It's the reality that these are symbols, these are reminders of what Jesus did when He died on the cross. He gave Himself as the bread of heaven. And we feed on Him. And if you're here this morning, or you're listening in to this service, and you still do not understand why Jesus came, you have an impression, you have a degree of understanding, but so far you have not got beyond the surface. This morning, with the loaves and fish that God has given to you, hand them over to Jesus. And ask Him to reveal Himself to you. so that as you see Him taking what you offer, you'll also receive from Him the gift of eternal life. How? Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Let's pray. Father, we thank You for Your Word again this morning and pray that you will write it indelibly upon our heart, that we will not be amongst those who simply observe the signs and show our appreciation, but we will be counted amongst those who see the reality of who Jesus is and surrender our lives to him in appreciation. Help us, Father, to know that work of grace within us that will draw us to the Father. In our Savior's name we pray. Amen.