God provides ... a different kind of King. Reflections on the Feeding of the 5000

Text of the Week: John 6:51   I am the living bread that has come down from heaven to rescue those who eat it. Anyone who eats this bread will live forever. The bread that I will give breathes life into the cosmos. This bread is My flesh.  [The Voice]

It’s the season of Easter.  There’s joy in the air.  And it’s not just because Spring is well and truly on the way.  It’s because there’s a new life, a resurrection life, to delight in.  In our Bible reading at the moment we are feasting with God and this week we are going to be challenged by some of Jesus’ table talk.  And it’s quite some table talk.  There’s feasting to look forward to and feasting to share.  And with the feasting goes thanksgiving.  Do you say grace before meals?  Make a point this week of saying grace.  And then try something different.  Try something new.   As we read our Bible notes this week we will be in conversation with Malcolm Carroll, a Baptist Minister, who works for Greenpeace organizing volunteer activities.  He asks a thought provoking question: “How can we make our food taste of love, truth, justice, peace?”  And issues a thought-provoking challenge: “The kingdom is better served if we say our grace before we shop.”  What do you think that might mean?  Give it a try!

Welcome

A time of Praise

Prayer and the Lord’s Prayer

Saying thank you

All good things come to an end!  It’s back to school tomorrow!

That’s how the people of Israel felt when they were wandering in the wilderness – they had forty years of wandering – they had escaped from slavery in Egypt for what?   They complained for all they were worth.

Why didn’t God let us die in comfort in Egypt where we had lamb stew and all the bread we could eat? You’ve brought us out into this wilderness to starve us to death, the whole company of Israel!

Then it was that the Lord said I am going to rain bread from heaven for you … and each day the people shall go out and gather enough for that day.

Story of Exodus 16 – some wanted more for themselves – some couldn’t gather in enough – but miraculously everyone had just enough, not too much, not too little.

Exodus 16 from the Voice Bible

As soon as they got to the desert of Sin, the entire community of Israelites complained to Moses and Aaron.

Israelites: ³ It would have been better if we had died by the hand of the Eternal in Egypt. At least we had plenty to eat and drink, for our pots were stuffed with meat and we had as much bread as we wanted. But now you have brought the entire community out to the desert to starve us to death.

Eternal One (to Moses): ⁴ Look! I will cause bread to rain down from heaven for you,^[a] and the people will go out and gather a helping of it each day. I will test them to see if they are willing to live by My instructions. ⁵ On the sixth day, they will gather the usual amount; but when they go to prepare it, it will end up being twice what they usually gather.

Moses and Aaron (to the Israelites): ⁶ When evening falls, you will know that the Eternal has led you out of the land of Egypt. ⁷ In the morning your eyes will see His glory because He takes your complaints against us as complaintsagainst Him. Who are we, that you direct your complaints to us?

Moses (continuing): ⁸ This will take place when the Eternal One provides you with meat in the evening and plenty of bread in the morning because He hears all your grumbling and complaining against Him. Why do you complain to us? Your complaints are not against us, but against Him.

⁹ (to Aaron) Tell the entire community of Israelites, “Draw near to the Eternal. He has heard your complaints.”

¹⁰ While Aaron was speaking to the entire community of the Israelites, they all looked out toward the desert, and theradiant glory of the Eternal could be seen in the cloud. ¹¹ The Eternal spoke to Moses.

Eternal One (to Moses): ¹² Rest assured, I have heard theconstant complaining of the Israelites. Tell them, “In the evening, you will have meat to eat; and in the morning, you will have enough bread to satisfy your gnawinghunger. Then you will know that I am the Eternal your God.”

¹³ That evening, quail flew in and covered the camp; and when morning arrived, what seemed to be ordinary dew was all around the camp.

¹⁴ But when the dew evaporated, it left behind a thin,mysterious, flaky substance that looked like frost on top of the dry desert ground. ¹⁵ The people of Israel went out to examine it. They had never seen anything quite like it.

Israelites (to one another): What is it?

The people didn’t have a clue what this strange substancewas.

Moses: It is the bread which the Eternal has given you to eat. ¹⁶ Here are His instructions: “Gather only as much of it as you should eat by yourself. Pick up two quarts^[b] of bread for each person who lives in your tent.”

¹⁷ The Israelites did as they were told. Some people gathered a lot, others gathered less. ¹⁸ When they used a two-quart jar to measure it, the one who had gathered a lot didn’t have more than he needed; and the one who gathered less had just what he needed.^[c] Miraculously, each person and each family—regardless of how much they gathered—had exactly what they needed.

Moses (continuing God’s instructions): ¹⁹ Don’t try to keep any of it until the morning. Either eat it all, or throw it away.

²⁰ But some people ignored Moses and tried to keep some of it until the next morning. Overnight it became wormy and started to have a dreadful smell. Moses became furious with them because they had disobeyed God’s instructions.

²¹ Every morning the people went out and gathered it—each family took only what it needed. By the time the sun became hot, it had melted away. ²² On the sixth day the people went out and gathered, but they came back with twice as much as usual—four quarts per person. All the leaders of the community thought they needed to tell Moses what had happened.

Moses (to the leaders): ²³ Listen to what the Eternal commanded: Tomorrow, the seventh day, is to be a day of rest, a holy Sabbath dedicated to Him. Bake or boil whatever you need for today’s meals. Whatever is left over, keep it to eat tomorrow. It won’t spoil.

God wants His people to keep the Sabbath as a special day and to depend on Him—not their own efforts—to supply all they need.

²⁴ So the people stored some of it until the next morning, just as Moses had instructed. None of it spoiled, nor did it have any worms.

Moses: ²⁵ Eat what is left over today, because today is a Sabbath to the Eternal, a day of rest. You will not find any of it in the field today. ²⁶ You are to gather it for six days, but on the seventh day (the Sabbath), none of it will be on the ground.

²⁷ When the seventh day arrived, some of the people ignored Moses and went out to gather it anyway; but there was noneto gather.

Eternal One (to Moses): ²⁸ How much longer are you going to disobey My commands and instructions? ²⁹ Look! I have given you the Sabbath as a day of rest. That is why I give you an extra portion of food on the sixth day. Everyone should stay where they are and not go out to work on the seventh day.

³⁰ So the people did as God directed and rested on the seventh day.

³¹ The community of Israel decided to name this mysterious substance “manna” (which means, “What is it?”). It was white like a coriander seed, and it tasted sweet like honey wafers.

Moses: ³² This is the instruction of the Eternal: “Preserve two quarts of the manna so that future generations can see the bread I provided for you in the desert when I led you out of the land of Egypt.”

³³ (to Aaron) Go, find a jar and fill it with two quarts of manna. Put it in a special place before the Eternal to preserve it for future generations to see.

“The Eternal Provides.” That could well be the theme for the entire exodus adventure. When there is no water, He provides. When there is no bread, He provides. When there is no meat, He provides. These provisions are clearly God’s gift to His people. They do not depend upon the cleverness, skill, or hard work of the Israelites. It must be difficult for these former slaves—whose lives have been all about work—to stop, to rest, and to truly believe their lives and futures depend upon God and not upon themselves.

And God provided.   Bread from heaven.

All good things came to an end – the travelling went on, the moment passed.  But always the people remembered … and they remembered at a feast called the Passover – that was the time of Easter.

It was at that time that a large crowd kept following him because they saw the signs he was doing for the sick.   Jesus sat down with his twelve, Jesus said to Philip where are we to buy bread for these people to eat?

 He said this to test him, for he himself knew what he was going to do. Philip answered him, ‘Six months’ wages would not buy enough bread for each of them to get a little.’ One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said to him, ‘There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish. But what are they among so many people?’ Jesus said, ‘Make the people sit down.’ Now there was a great deal of grass in the place; so they sat down, about five thousand in all. Then Jesus took the loaves, and when he had given thanks, he distributed them to those who were seated; so also the fish, as much as they wanted. When they were satisfied, he told his disciples, ‘Gather up the fragments left over, so that nothing may be lost.’ So they gathered them up, and from the fragments of the five barley loaves, left by those who had eaten, they filled twelve baskets.

Wonderful that God provided just enough – not too much, not too little.

Just enough.

The prayer Jesus taught us to pray.

Give us this day our daily bread.

Not too much, not too little.

The wonderful thing is that that does not come to an end.

It goes on – Jesus is the bread of life we need to live life to the full from one day to the next.

Reading:  John 6:47-51

⁴⁷Very truly, I tell you, whoever believes has eternal life.⁴⁸I am the bread of life. ⁴⁹Your ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. ⁵⁰This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die. ⁵¹I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats of this bread will live for ever; and the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.’

A Hy-Spirit Song

Prayer

Sunday Special Continues

There’s something special about the story of the feeding of the 5000.  It’s the only miracle story to be recorded in all four gospels.  All sorts of reasons, no doubt.

I wonder whether it goes to the heart of what Jesus was about.  It’s about changing lives.   That’s what Jesus is about.  It’s about life and living it to the full, it’s about life to eternity.  It’s about life, eternal life.

All of those things.

But it’s also about something that Jesus is not.

And by the time the Gospel writers came to write the story of Jesus it had taken on a new significance for them.

Something had happened.

Jesus came with a life changing message – but he rode into Jerusalem not on a war horse, but on a donkey, he came to speak peace to the nations.  And he went to the cross.  He was the suffering servant king, the messiah.  It was through love that transformation would come into the world, love people had for each other, love people had for their neighbours, their enemies too, love people had for God.  More than that it was the love of God that would transform people’s lives.

It’s as you get to the end of the story of the Feeding of the 5000 in John’s gospel that you see something that’s easy to miss.  And it all has to do with the numbers.

So,

As you get to the end of the story of the Feeding of the 5000 in John’s Gospel …

When they were satisfied, he told his disciples, ‘Gather up the fragments left over, so that nothing may be lost.’ So they gathered them up, and from the fragments of the five barley loaves, left by those who had eaten, they filled twelve baskets …

What happened next?  John 6

¹⁴When the people saw the sign that he had done, they began to say, ‘This is indeed the prophet who is to come into the world.’

15 When Jesus realized that they were about to come and take him by force to make him king, he withdrew again to the mountain by himself.

The people wanted to come and take him by force and to make him king.  Force of arms would do it … and numbers too.

So, what is the significance of the 5000?

Something had happened between the life of Jesus and the writing down of John’s gospel.  As Mark was writing it was all hitting off.  By the time Luke and Matthew and John were writing it was history.

Jesus opened up a new way … but people thought they knew best.  What happened was they did take up arms against the Romans.  It began in Galilee and the rebellion spread down to Jerusalem.  And from AD 66 the armed militants among the Jewish people took control of Jerusalem.  And they got rid of the Romans.

The Romans turned to an experienced commander who had made his mark twenty or so years earlier when he had commanded the II Augusta Legion in Claudius’ Conquest of Britain.  His name was Vespasian.  And he led the legions down from the north to take first Galilee and then Jerusalem for the Romans.  As civil war broke out in Rome over the succession to Nero he saw his chance and leaving the command of the Roman legions and the final defeat of the Jewish revolt to his brother Titus, Vespasian become Emperor of Rome.  And the Romans destroyed Jerusalem … and the temple itself.

What’s the tie in with Jesus and the feeding of the 5000?

It’s in the numbers.

A Roman legion was made up of 5000 men.

It’s Matthew who says there were 5000 men.  They sat in companies.  Mark tells us they were in 50’s and 100’s in ranks and files.  This had the feel of an armed force – just the way the Legion was made up of 5000 fighting men and divided into smaller units.   A cohort and a century of 80 men under a centurion.

There were 5000 of them  They had effectively got a Legion and they were ready to make Jesus their king and take Rome by force.

And that’s what they planned to do …

¹⁴When the people saw the sign that he had done, they began to say, ‘This is indeed the prophet who is to come into the world.’

15 When Jesus realized that they were about to come and take him by force to make him king, he withdrew again to the mountain by himself.

But Jesus had a very different idea … a very different course of action to follow.

His was a different way – but no less the way of the prophet.  The way to transform people’s lives – not by force of arms, but by love, the love of the God who is love.

What’s the programme Jesus follows?

It had all begun with John the Baptist.  He had preached a powerful message – what’s needed is a whole new way of thinking about the world.  That’s what the little word ‘repent’ means.  See things differently.  He fell foul of the authorities and he was imprisoned.  He wanted to be sure … was Jesus the one to make all the difference?

Matthew 11:2-19

When John heard in prison what the Messiah was doing, he sent word by his disciples and said to him, ‘Are you the one who is to come, or are we to wait for another?’ Jesus answered them, ‘Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have good news brought to them. And blessed is anyone who takes no offence at me.’

That’s it.  That’s the measure of the way Jesus maps out.  That’s the love that makes the world of difference – this is the alternative way of Jesus – not by force of arms, but by bringing healing into a hurting world, bringing good news to the poor.  This is what the kingdom of God is all about.  This is the new way of thinking.

Jesus reflected on this whole new way of thinking mapped out by John.  And he came to a conclusion, that what counts are the little things we do.

While John's disciples were leaving, Jesus spoke about him to the crowds:

“When you went out to John in the desert, what did you expect to see? A blade of grass bending in the wind?⁸ 

What did you go out to see?

A man dressed up in fancy clothes? People who dress like that live in palaces!⁹ 

It’s what they had been expecting when they were determined to make Jesus their King!

Tell me, what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes indeed, but you saw much more than a prophet.¹⁰ For John is the one of whom the scripture says: ‘God said, I will send my messenger ahead of you to open the way for you.’¹¹ I assure you that John the Baptist is greater than anyone who has ever lived. But the one who is least in the Kingdom of heaven is greater than John.¹² From the time John preached his message until this very day the Kingdom of heaven has suffered violent attacks, and violent men try to seize it.¹³ Until the time of John all the prophets and the Law of Moses spoke about the Kingdom;¹⁴ and if you are willing to believe their message, John is Elijah, whose coming was predicted.¹⁵ Listen, then, if you have ears!¹⁶ 

Yes he was the one.,  But he wasn’t going to be the King they expected – he would be the suffering servant messiah who declared peace to the nations.

God's wisdom, however, is shown to be true by its results.”

It’s not just the thinking that counts – true wisdom is made real in actions.

So what are the actions for us to take?

Ideas to share

It’s taking time out to visit your grandfather who has alzheimer’s and bring a smile to his face.  That’s doing the little thing that makes the world of difference as you bring healing – not, most certainly not cure, but healing in that moment as things are well in that moment.

Our Bible readings this week are all about eating and feasting.  Maybe it’s in the eating we do this week that we can do something small that can make a difference.

Do you say grace before meals?  Make a point this week of saying grace.  And then try something different.  Try something new.   As we read our Bible notes this week we will be in conversation with Malcolm Carroll, a Baptist Minister, who works for Greenpeace organizing volunteer activities.  He asks a thought provoking question: “How can we make our food taste of love, truth, justice, peace?”  And issues a thought-provoking challenge: “The kingdom is better served if we say our grace before we shop.”  What do you think that might mean?  Give it a try!

Hymn:  The kingdom of God is justice and joy

Prayers of Concern

180 Rejoice the Lord is king

Words of Blessing