The People Want To Make Jesus King (By Force)

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Here’s what to watch out for in Part 3 (chapters 6–11) of the Gospel of John:

  • In chapter 6, the people want to acclaim Jesus as king, but by the end of chapter 11, the Jewish authorities have decided to have Him murdered. Understanding why this is the case will be an important thing to watch for.

  • Jesus often says something that is—on the surface—cryptic or puzzling. He does so with the intention of getting people to lean in and really think. So, when Jesus says something puzzling, ask yourself, “What point is Jesus trying to make here?”

  • The theme of seeing (and hearing) correctly will be woven throughout this section of John’s Gospel. Jesus will talk about the importance of seeing clearly and then John will show how the people refuse to see what’s right in front of them.

  • Another recurring theme that is related to the theme of sight is that of acknowledging what is happening right in front of you. Jesus will continually ask people to pay attention to what He is doing, but they will often ignore what can be seen and instead focus on something else that doesn’t matter.

We begin our reading plan on Ash Wednesday at the Sea of Galilee as Jesus feeds the five thousand with five loaves and two fish. We will conclude on Good Friday with Jesus about to enter Jerusalem in the last week of His life, and the Jewish authorities committed to His execution.

Along the way, we will learn more about who Jesus really is and how He came to die in order that all who believe in Him might have life and have it in abundance.

 
 

John 6:1-21

6 After this Jesus went away to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, which is the Sea of Tiberias. 2 And a large crowd was following him, because they saw the signs that he was doing on the sick. 3 Jesus went up on the mountain, and there he sat down with his disciples. 4 Now the Passover, the feast of the Jews, was at hand. 5 Lifting up his eyes, then, and seeing that a large crowd was coming toward him, Jesus said to Philip, “Where are we to buy bread, so that these people may eat?” 6 He said this to test him, for he himself knew what he would do. 7 Philip answered him, “Two hundred denarii worth of bread would not be enough for each of them to get a little.” 8 One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, said to him, 9 “There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish, but what are they for so many?” 10 Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.” Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, about five thousand in number. 11 Jesus then 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. 12 And when they had eaten their fill, he told his disciples, “Gather up the leftover fragments, that nothing may be lost.” 13 So they gathered them up and filled twelve baskets with fragments from the five barley loaves left by those who had eaten. 14 When the people saw the sign that he had done, they said, “This is indeed the Prophet who is to come into the world!”

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

16 When evening came, his disciples went down to the sea, 17 got into a boat, and started across the sea to Capernaum. It was now dark, and Jesus had not yet come to them. 18 The sea became rough because a strong wind was blowing. 19 When they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus walking on the sea and coming near the boat, and they were frightened. 20 But he said to them, “It is I; do not be afraid.” 21 Then they were glad to take him into the boat, and immediately the boat was at the land to which they were going.

 
 

Mark’s Gospel moves quickly—he is famous for employing the word “immediately” through his narrative. In Mark, Jesus will do-this-and-then-immediately-do-that-and-then-do-some-other-thing-right-away.

In contrast, the Gospel of John takes a different approach. John has picked a few key incidents from the life of Jesus and slows down the narrative, taking his time to show us how this or that event or interaction demonstrates that Jesus is the Messiah of Israel and the Son of God.

Remember John’s thesis statement:

30 Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; 31 but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name [John 20:30–31].

The long account of the miraculous feeding of the five thousand is a good example of John’s practice of slowing down and doing more with less. Each of the Gospels tells us about this miracle, but John’s account is the longest—he wants to show us why this event was so important. One of the keys to understanding the miracle of the five thousand is to understand that John wants us to see Jesus connecting, fulfilling, and then exceeding the Old Testament.

Some Old Testament connections in John 6:

  • Israel was hungry in the wilderness→the five thousand are hungry in the wilderness;

  • Moses spoke from a mountain→Jesus preaches from a mountain;

  • The Lord provided manna from heaven→Jesus is the bread from heaven;

  • The twelve tribes of Israel→twelve baskets of extra bread;

  • Etc.

The people respond to the miracle, but not in the right way—they misunderstand the real identity of Jesus, and instead see Him as a leader who will provide for their material needs and whom they can control and manipulate.

14 When the people saw the sign that he had done, they said, “This is indeed the Prophet who is to come into the world!”

15 Perceiving then that they were about to come and take him by force to make him king, Jesus withdrew again to the mountain by himself [John 6:14–15].

The people want Jesus for their own agenda, which is why He withdraws.

QUESTION OF THE DAY

Note how for the disciples, the five loaves and two fish are obviously not enough—they can’t see any way to solve the problem with what they have. And yet, once they put it in the hands of Jesus, He does for them what they could not do for themselves. Where today do you feel that you don’t have enough? What would it look like to take what little you have and place it in the hands of Jesus?

P.S. Remember, there are seven signs that Jesus performs in John’s Gospel. In this passage, John tells us about sign #3 (see v.2, which references the healings that Jesus was doing, as in 5:9) and sign #4 (see v.14, the miracle of the feeding).

P.P.S. Why do you think John has included the account of Jesus walking on the water?

 

Jesus Feeds the 5,000

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Mark 6:30-44

Jesus Feeds the Five Thousand

30 The apostles gathered around Jesus and reported to him all they had done and taught. 31 Then, because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat, he said to them, “Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.”

32 So they went away by themselves in a boat to a solitary place. 33 But many who saw them leaving recognized them and ran on foot from all the towns and got there ahead of them. 34 When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. So he began teaching them many things.

35 By this time it was late in the day, so his disciples came to him. “This is a remote place,” they said, “and it’s already very late. 36 Send the people away so that they can go to the surrounding countryside and villages and buy themselves something to eat.”

37 But he answered, “You give them something to eat.”

They said to him, “That would take more than half a year’s wages[a]! Are we to go and spend that much on bread and give it to them to eat?”

38 “How many loaves do you have?” he asked. “Go and see.”

When they found out, they said, “Five—and two fish.”

39 Then Jesus directed them to have all the people sit down in groups on the green grass. 40 So they sat down in groups of hundreds and fifties. 41 Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then he gave them to his disciples to distribute to the people. He also divided the two fish among them all. 42 They all ate and were satisfied, 43 and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces of bread and fish. 44 The number of the men who had eaten was five thousand.

 
 

Here’s another of those eyewitness remembrances: “the green grass.” That’s the kind of detail that is totally irrelevant to the story, but is exactly the kind of detail an eyewitness would remember.
When they give what little they have—five loaves, two fish—into the Lord’s hands, it becomes a feast, more than enough.

Stop holding onto the little you have—put it in the Lord’s hands, and watch what happens.

P.S. Hope to see lots of families with kids at Wednesday communion this week, 7:00-7:20 AM. Chick-fil-A to-go on the way out!

 

Pickled Fish

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Apparently, they were probably pickled fish. The “two small fish” that the boy had? The word John uses here to tell us about the miraculous feeding of the 5,000 is a word that implies that they were probably small, pickled fish, meant to be eaten as a side dish on small barley cakes.

There’s something about that detail that makes the story vividly real to me.

A small boy with two little pickled fish….

I love Andrew’s question, when he presents the five barley loaves and the two small fish to Jesus:

“But what are they among so many"?”

Chances are you feel you don’t have enough today:

  • not enough time;

  • not enough money;

  • not enough influence;

  • not enough love;

  • not enough patience;

  • etc.

In the face of THAT, how is what I have enough?

The answer: even what we have is enough when we give it to the Lord.

What do you need to put in the Lord’s hands today?

 

Today’s Scripture

John 6:1-15