Text: John 6:1-15
Date: August 1, 2021
Event: The Tenth Sunday after Pentecost, Year B
John 6:1–15 (EHV)
After this, Jesus crossed over to the other side of the Sea of Galilee (or Tiberias). 2A large crowd followed him because they saw the miraculous signs he was performing on those who were sick. 3Jesus went up on the hillside and sat down there with his disciples. 4The Jewish Passover Festival was near.
5When Jesus looked up and saw a huge crowd coming toward him, he asked Philip, “Where can we buy bread for these people to eat?” 6But Jesus was saying this to test him, for he himself knew what he was going to do.
7Philip answered him, “Two hundred denarii worth of bread would not be enough for each of them to have just a little.”
8One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said to him, 9“There’s a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish, but what is that for so many people?”
10Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.” There was plenty of grass in that place, so they sat down. There were about five thousand men.
11Then Jesus took the loaves and, after giving thanks, he distributed pieces to those who were seated. He also did the same with the fish—as much as they wanted.
12When the people were full, he told his disciples, “Gather the pieces that are left over so that nothing is wasted.” 13So they gathered them and filled twelve baskets with pieces from the five barley loaves left over by those who had eaten.
14When the people saw the miraculous sign Jesus did, they said, “This really is the Prophet who is coming into the world.”
15When Jesus realized that they intended to come and take him by force to make him king, he withdrew again to the mountain by himself.
Your Needs Are Jesus’ Priority
How are you doing keeping up on different priorities in life? That is a balancing act that is difficult to do in the best of times, let alone the upheaval that many of families are currently facing. Right now family concerns take center stage, then work, then extended family, then church, then neighbors, then a minute to relax, except no because something else popped up. It’s exhausting and it can feel like we’re barely keeping things together, especially when there are many problems that don’t seem to have actual solutions.
This is why we’re here for each other, though, right? As brothers and sisters in Christ, we can help each other shoulder burdens, we can help meet immediate or long term needs, and we can bring the needs of others to God’s throne in prayer.
And we know what our priorities should be, right? We have a lot of day-to-day things to tend to, but we know (and have heard from this pulpit repeatedly) that Jesus should be our priority, that his Word should be our focus, and we should be continually looking ahead to eternal life. That’s where our priorities should be.
But what about God? Where are his priorities? What is he focused on? What does he care about? What concerns him? This morning in our Gospel from John chapter 6, we get a bit of a window into God’s priorities. As Jesus works with the crowd we’ll see that, broadly speaking, our needs are Jesus’ priority.
This familiar account of the feeding of the 5,000 takes place just after our Gospel for last week. Though we’ve jumped from Mark’s Gospel to John’s, the timeline lines up. Jesus had sent his disciples out two-by-two to preach and heal in the surrounding towns and villages. After they were done, they returned with great joy to report to Jesus everything that had happened while they were working.
But even as they were trying to organize their thoughts and process what had happened, the needs and demands of the crowd were great. So, last week we saw Jesus pull the disciples away from the crowds for some needed time to refocus and recalibrate; they needed time away from work for themselves. So they did that. But, when they got to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, the crowds were waiting for them. We heard in Mark’s gospel last week that Jesus’ heart went out to the crowd because they were directionless and full of needs, like sheep without a shepherd.
And so that’s where our account in John’s Gospel picks up. In their temporary vacation from work, the work came to them. A large crowd followed him because they saw the miraculous signs he was performing on those who were sick. They came to find Jesus’ healing miracles for the sick and the crippled; Jesus was going to take the opportunity to give them what they really needed though as he would spend most of the day teaching them God’s truths, likely especially focused on repentance and forgiveness that he alone could provide.
So here is one of Jesus’ priorities, his highest priority: our eternal well-being. Jesus came to accomplish our soul’s salvation, to live and die for us that we would have the forgiveness of sins. He came that people might know the fulfillment of all God had promised in him. He came to save them from their sins; he came to solve their eternal problem. This is greatest need the people have, so Jesus, weary as he was, taught this crowd. He showed them their needs and their solution in him. It was the same message that the disciples had just been out sharing.
This eternal need is Jesus’ focus for us today, as well. No matter what happens to us in this life, it’s not worth comparing to eternity. Problems here are temporary; perfection in heaven is forever. So Jesus’ priority is our eternal need, our spiritual need. He meets that needs in his life, death, and resurrection. Our sins are gone because of his work for us so we have nothing to fear.
However, Jesus is not exclusively concerned with our spiritual and eternal needs. In our Gospel Jesus identifies a problem or need that would require addressing even before the crowd fully gathers: When Jesus looked up and saw a huge crowd coming toward him, he asked Philip, “Where can we buy bread for these people to eat?” Philip’s reaction is pretty exasperated, “Two hundred denarii worth of bread would not be enough for each of them to have just a little.” A denarius would have been about a day’s wage. So by Philip’s estimation 200 days’ wages doesn’t even begin to touch the need here to adequately feed this large crowd of people.
John’s narrative skips over what seems to be the bulk of the day of Jesus teaching the crowd. It seems like Jesus had this brief conversation with Philip and likely some of the other disciples nearby at the start of the day so that as they worked with the crowd, the question of, “How are we going to feed these people?” would have been circulating in their minds as they worked. John mentions that Jesus asked this question to test them, knowing full well what he was going to do. But, would the disciples see the need to depend on him?
How often do we find ourselves in a situation similar to the disciples or even the crowd? Not to be faced with the impossible task of feeding thousands without any resources, but beating our head against a problem while not seeking out God’s help for the solution. How often do we take matters into our own hands, assume that by the strength of our mind or will or arms we have to produce the solution, and don’t give a second thought to Jesus’ direction to depend on him, to call on him in time of trouble?
Does Jesus care about your needs? Absolutely. Not only does he care, but bringing about a positive result from them is his priority. Does Jesus care about your family member struggling with illness and disease? Yes. Does Jesus care about your concerns about keeping your job or finding something to better fit your situation? Without a doubt. Does Jesus make our physical well-being one of his priorities? Absolutely.
If we look at the prayer Jesus taught us to pray, we see a clear priority to these matters in that prayer, “Give us today our daily bread.” Right there as part of an overall brief prayer, he tells us to bring the requests for the immediate and the physical. Jesus worked the miracle to provide this meal for the thousands of people on the hillside that late afternoon. He cares about you, too, soul and body.
But let’s not then drive in the other ditch and forget that Jesus knows that spiritual is more important than the physical. The crowd that day wanted to make Jesus king—and not in an eternal, heavenly, forgiveness king sort of way, but in a “this guy should be installed to always heal our diseases and give us free food” sort of way. But that’s not why he came. He cared about their physical needs, yes, but he came for a higher purpose that being a bread-king would not allow to bring to fruition. He came to give his life for the sins of the world, not to be the source of free food for this temporal life. In the coming weeks, we’ll continue to go through John chapter 6 and see this divide come to a head between Jesus and the crowds, and even allow the twelve to arrange their priorities to be in line with Jesus’ priorities.
But for now let us content ourselves with this: the one who died to pay for your sins, the one who gave his perfect obedience to you as a robe of righteousness, he is the one who cares about the complete you. Every need, every worry, every concern that you have, be it concerning short term things or long term things, physical things or spiritual things, all of these are on his mind and his heart. Come to him in prayer; unload your concerns and needs for yourself and for others on him; be strengthened by his promises that he hears and will answer for the eternal good of all.
And look for the opportunities that God places in your life to be that blessing to others. Surely the disciples wrestling with how to feed the crowds, distributing he miracle food, and gathering leftovers was all service to their fellow people that day. Whether it’s some time to sit and listen to someone who needs a shoulder to cry on, being able to provide food or other necessities for someone who is in financial or emotional need, doing something dramatic to help someone in great peril, or doing something as simple as wearing a mask in a pandemic to help keep others safe, we often are the ones that God uses to provide. He cares about our needs and often uses others around us to meet those needs. Embrace those opportunities to clearly be Jesus’ disciples. It is no clearer to the world that you belong to Jesus then when you are working to help provide and care for others.
No matter what struggles you face right now, for yourself or a loved one, physical, spiritual, or emotional, know that your God is not far from you, your Savior loves you and is concerned for you. The one who defeated sin, death, and hell itself for you will not abandon you in these smaller issues. The one who could feed thousands with a small lunch is able to do whatever you need him to do to work eternal blessing from any challenge you currently face. Your needs are Jesus’ priority. Trust in him, rest in him, and rejoice in him forever. Amen.
