Focal Passage: John 6:1-15
“Little Is Much When God is in It.” Those are words from a song that goes way back in my memory. But they’re more than words in a tune; they’re the truth. And they are the
underlying truth of this week’s focal passage, John 6:1-15, from the lesson series called All Signs Point to Jesus. This series is based on seven ‘miracle-signs’ performed by Jesus and woven throughout John’s Gospel. Our study today is called The Sign of His Provision, and this fourth miracle John recorded is the feeding of the five thousand.
The event is told in all four Gospels, the only miracle to attain that status. Obviously this miracle was very memorable to the writers. And since it was God who inspired them to write, He obviously intended for it to be memorable to us as well!
The 15 verses of our text present some interesting numbers:
The “5000” Men of the Huge Crowd (John 6:1-2)
The actual number is not specified until verse 10, but it’s called a huge crowd twice in the opening verses. And if they were not including women and children in the count, it might have surpassed 15,000 — making this event all the more miraculous!
Mike Dawson
The “13” Disciples and Jesus (verse 3)
Jesus knew that His days would be shortened, and He knew that every teaching opportunity with His disciples was highly valuable. Yet His compassion for the multitudes outweighed His desire to have that happen here.
The “200” Coins of Phillip’s Calculations (verses 4-7)
The heart of Jesus also showed in His awareness that the crowds had been anxiously seeking Him and would be hungry by the time they settled down to listen to Him teach. His ‘test’ unfortunately gave Phillip an “F” grade. So often church leaders ‘calculate;’ they can be more concerned by how much a ministry project COSTS than how much it’s WORTH.
The “1” Disciple and the “1” Boy (verses 8-9)
But Andrew got an “A” on his test! His words, “There’s a boy here…” showed that he knew a yielded person — of whatever age — could solve the problem! Yet he uttered 7 words about the items in the boy’s lunch revealed he was still a ‘duh-ciple’ — but what are they for so many?
The “5’s and 2’s” Lunch (verses 9-11)
Five loaves and 2 fish. We assume the boy’s mother packed him a lunch, and he yielded it to Jesus. How about YOUR 5’s and 2’s? Your 2 hands and 2 feet with 5 fingers and toes on each; 2 eyes, 2 ears, 2 lips; 2 arms, 2 legs; 5 senses. Your entire body belongs to Christ — the Bible says so. Yes, “little IS much when GOD is in it,” so let’s yield our 5’s and 2’s to Him!
The “12” Baskets of Leftovers (verses 12-13)
Twelve served the crowd. Did each get a basketful in return? Not likely; this was about giving, not getting.
The “1” Man Alone on the Mountain (verse 14-15)
Jesus is King of Kings eternally, and here He quietly slips away from that ‘crowd’ that wanted to ‘crown’ Him politically! We see Him up there alone and we exclaim, “THAT’S OUR KING!” B&R — Dawson is pastor emeritus at First Baptist Church, Columbia, and has served as transitional interim pastor at numerous churches since his retirement from full-time ministry.