Well, good morning to everyone. Good to see many of you back. I guess summer's officially here now, and we can enjoy that. We're glad you're back to worship with us and hear the word. 

We're working through the Gospel of John for our communion services on the last Sunday of the month. And before we look at John 6 this morning, I'd just like to spend a little time setting the context for what we're about to study. This miracle that we're very familiar with, the feeding of the 5,000, is recorded in all four Gospels. And there are many details that we can put together from the four counts. So I'd like to just read each account together and get all of the details recorded for our understanding. 

We read before this in the Synoptic Gospels that Jesus had been down in Nazareth. You remember that, that he was rejected in his hometown. And then from there, he went up along the villages. If you look at the map on the back of your outline, you can see Nazareth down there to the southwest. And then he went up along those towns and villages along the Sea of Galilee preaching. And then eventually, he'll make it across to Bethsaida there. 

So we find the first account in Matthew 14, if you turn to Matthew 14 with me. The verse preceding verse 13 tells us that John the Baptist had just been killed. And it says in verse 13, Matthew 14, 13, "when Jesus heard it," when he heard of the death of John the Baptist, "he departed from there by boat to a deserted place by himself. But when the multitudes heard it, they followed him on foot from the cities. And when Jesus went out, he saw a great multitude, and he was moved with compassion for them and healed their sick." 

When it was evening, his disciples came to him saying, "this is a deserted place, and the hour is already late. Send the multitudes away, that they may go into the villages and buy themselves food." But Jesus said to them, "they do not need to go away. You give them something to eat." And they said to him, "we have here only five loaves and two fish." And he said, "bring them here to me." 

Then he commanded the multitudes to sit down on the grass. He took the five loaves of two fish, and looking up to heaven, he blessed and broke and gave the loaves to the disciples, and the disciples gave to the multitudes. So they all ate and were filled, and they took up 12 baskets full of the fragments that remained. Now, those who had eaten were about 5,000 men besides women and children. So we see here that was besides the women and children. We may have had up to 20,000 people here this day who were fed by Jesus with this little boy's lunch. 

In Mark 6, we see the context of events just before the feeding of the 5,000 was the sending out of the disciples two by two. You remember that event where Jesus sent them out to the lost sheep of the house of Israel? He told them to go only to the Jews to preach the kingdom of heaven is at hand. They were to heal the sick and cast out demons. He gave them this power. 

In Mark 6, verse 30, it says, "Then the apostles gathered to Jesus and told him all things, both what they had done and what they had taught." So they were explaining to him what had happened in this ministry when he sent them out. And he said to them, "come aside by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while. For there were many coming and going, and they did not even have time to eat." 

So they departed to a deserted place in the boat by themselves, but the multitude saw them departing, and many knew him and ran there on foot from all the cities. They arrived before them and came together to him. So they went across by boat toward the east side of the Sea of Galilee, a desolate place, but the people saw them and ran along the shore following after. 

And if you look at that map again on the back of your outline, you can see that Bethsaida is on the northeast corner of the sea, and the feeding of the 5,000 took place south of there. So most of the cities are on the west side, but the east side is much more secluded. 

In verse 34 of Mark 6, it says, "Then Jesus, when he came out, saw a great multitude and was moved with compassion for them, because they were like sheep not having a shepherd. So he began to teach them many things." When the day was now far spent, his disciples came to him and said, "this is a deserted place, and already the hour is late. Send them away, that they may go into the surrounding country and villages and buy themselves bread, for they have nothing to eat." 

But he answered and said to them, "You give them something to eat." And they said to him, "shall we go and buy 200 denarii worth of bread and give them something to eat?" But he said to them, "how many loaves do you have? Go and see." And when they found out, they said, "five and two fish." Then he commanded them to make them all sit down in groups on the green grass. So they sat down in ranks and hundreds and in fifties. And when he had taken the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven, blessed, and broke the loaves, and gave them to his disciples to set before them. And the two fish he divided among them all. So they all ate and were filled. And they took up 12 baskets full of fragments and of the fish. Now, those who had eaten the loaves were about 5,000 men. 

So we see that this event falls on the heels of the ministry that the apostles had, going out two by two and having authority over demons, preaching the kingdom, and all the great things they experienced. And it happens right after the news of the death of John the Baptist. The disciples and Jesus were tired. They were worn out from constant ministry. It said people were coming and going such that there wasn't even time for them to eat. They were concerned, upset about the death of John. So they go to a deserted place on the east side of the sea, away from the cities and the people. But the people beat them to the place, south of Bethsaida. And a massive crowd of maybe 20,000 fills this deserted place. 

If you go to Luke 9, we can read Luke's account. And then we'll go to our text. Luke 9 at verse 10, it says, "and the apostles, when they had returned, told him all that they had done. Then he took them and went aside privately into a deserted place belonging to the city called Bethsaida. But when the multitudes knew it, they followed him and he received them and spoke to them about the kingdom of God and healed those who had need of healing." 

When the day began to wear away, the 12 came and said to him, "send the multitudes away that they may go into the surrounding towns and country and lodge and get provisions, for we are in a deserted place here." But he said to them, "you give them something to eat." And they said, "we have no more than five loaves and two fish unless we go and buy food for all these people." For there were about 5,000 men. Then he said to the disciples, "make them sit down in groups of 50." And they did so and made them all sit down. 

Then he took the five loaves and two fish. And looking up to heaven, he blessed and broke them and gave them to the disciples to set before the multitude. So they all ate and were filled. And 12 baskets of leftover fragments were taken up by them. Luke tells us they all ate and were filled. They had all they wanted. Think about this. Perhaps as much as 10,000 pounds of barley biscuits and pickled fish, unless Gary and Sam are eating, then it might have been 20,000, right? This truly was an amazing miracle, a creative miracle performed by Jesus. And all of these people actually participated in this miracle. They ate the food. 

Now I want to go to our text in John 6. And we'll read that account, John 6, verse 1. "After these things, Jesus went over the Sea of Galilee, which is the Sea of Tiberias." That would be what it was later named, the emperor. "Then a great multitude followed him because they saw his signs, which he performed on those who were diseased." And Jesus went up on the mountain. And there he sat with his disciples. Now the Passover, a feast of the Jews, was near. 

Then Jesus lifted up his eyes. And seeing a great multitude coming toward him, he said to Philip, "where shall we buy bread that these may eat?" But this he said to test him, for he knew himself what he would do. Philip answered him, "200 denarii worth of bread is not sufficient for them that everyone may have a little." One of his disciples, Andrew Simon Peter's brother, said to him, "there is a lad here who has five barley loaves and two small fish. But what are they among so many?" 

Then Jesus said, "make the people sit down." And there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down and number about 5,000. And 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 here again, as much as they wanted. So when they were filled, he said to his disciples, "gather up the fragments that remain so that nothing is lost." And they gathered them up and filled 12 baskets with the fragments and five barley loaves, which were left over by those who had eaten. 

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." Therefore, when Jesus perceived that they were about to come and take him by force to make him king, he departed again to the mountain by himself alone. 

Well, I've given you four points on your outline this morning. First, the heart of Jesus. Second, the struggle to believe. Third, the heart of unbelief. And fourth, a suffering Messiah. 

Well, again, we see that Jesus was looking to take the disciples off to a deserted place to have a time of rest and refreshment, maybe to contemplate what had happened in their recent endeavors. And with the death of John the Baptist, they were weary. They needed a break. But it had come to the point in Jesus' ministry where there was no break. His popularity had grown to a point where the people were always coming to him, looking to be healed, wanting to hear his teaching, wanting to see Jesus. 

But even though they were tired and weary and looking for a place to rest, we see that Jesus, seeing the multitudes and the crowds, had compassion for them. Again, Mark 6:34, "and Jesus, when he came out, saw a great multitude. And he was moved with compassion for them because they were like sheep not having a shepherd. So he began to teach them many things." Jesus loved the people. He was moved with compassion for them when he saw the crowds because he knew they were lost. He knew they were wandering. They had no shepherd. 

Jesus saw men. He loved men this way. He had compassion for them and for their souls. So he begins healing, teaching many things to them. And the day gets long. And Jesus, again, thinks of the well-being of the people. He says, "what are we going to feed them? How are they going to eat?" And this is a real issue. 

When I was writing this, for whatever reason, it came into my head when we had a meal for the farmer's market years ago up at the Kimball Town Hall. And we thought we could cook all the chicken in time for all the people to come. But the chicken wasn't done. And there was a long line of people. It gets to be a real problem when there's nothing to eat. So this would be a real issue in this desolate place for 20,000 people. 

And so the disciples offer the suggestion to send them away while there's still enough light for them to get into town, into the villages, to buy something to eat, to find someplace to stay. But Jesus has different plans. He says, "you give them something to eat," testing the disciples. Now, it's easy for us to look back and say, "well, why didn't they see this?" And you think that. But they have a carnal mindset, right? Like we so often do. They're saying, "how do I get food?" Well, I don't normally get food by creating it out of nothing. But they forgot that Jesus was there. 

He challenges the disciples to have faith, to trust in him. And you would think by this time, with all they'd seen, the daily healings and miracles, they'd just experienced this great high in their ministry and going out and preaching the kingdom of the lost sheep of the house of Israel, of power over demonic forces, disease, healing, delivering people, seeing God work through them. And yet they struggled to believe, to look to the right source, to Jesus who was there with them all the time. They immediately think of the worldly. 

200 days' wages wouldn't be enough to buy food for all these people. Where can we find enough to feed all these people? We have only a little boy's lunch, five barley crackers, and a couple of small fish. The essence of what they were saying is this: send them away. There is no hope here of feeding all these mouths. 

But Jesus knew what he would do. He took the loaves and fishes, looked to heaven, gave thanks, and began to create food out of nothing. Have you thought about that? These loaves, these biscuits, these crackers were never planted as barley. There was no drought, disease, or pest that had affected this crop. No one had harvested, threshed, or processed this barley. The fish he fed to the 5,000 never swam. They did not hatch from an egg and endure the hardships of the fallen world. No fisherman netted them or cleaned them or pickled them or preserved them, however they did. Jesus made this food, likely 10,000 pounds of food. They ate all they wanted to their fill. And it had to be the best lunch they ever had. 

This food created by the Creator out of nothing to fill them to meet their need. And when it was all over and everyone was filled to the gills, fully satisfied, there was still 12 baskets of food left over for the disciples. And it was not only a profound miracle, but it was very particular. It was very precise, making the exact amount that was needed. And this event goes beyond measure to show who Jesus is, to accomplish John's intent in writing his gospel, that Jesus is God, the creator of all things, able to make something out of nothing. 

And the people you would think would have fallen down and worshiped him, recognized him as God incarnate, as the Messiah. But rather, what we see in the rest of our text and down through chapter 6 is that these crowds, in these crowds, was the heart of unbelief. Look at John 6, 14. It says, "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.'" They recognized Jesus as the prophet that Moses promised. 

But what did they want to do with this prophet, this chosen of God, the Messiah? Verse 15, "therefore, when Jesus perceived that they were about to come and take him by force to make him king, he slipped away. He departed to the mountain by himself alone." This is an interesting point because it's been accused of Jesus that he was a revolutionary. He was accused of sedition. That was largely why he was crucified because he was a threat to the king, right? They called him the king of the Jews. 

But if Jesus were interested in this kind of power or position, if this were his heart or plans for his first coming, then this would have been the time to rally the troops. Jesus did not come to become king and rule over Israel and vanquish Rome, not in his first coming. Rather, he had set his face toward Jerusalem and toward the cross. It was not yet time; his hour had not come. But this was always his mission, was the cross. 

Jesus was concerned about their eternal state, their spiritual state. He came to bring them life, to save them from the wrath of God, not just to fill their bellies. And so before they took him by force and made him king, he withdrew himself to the mountain. 

So what was in the hearts and minds of the crowd in response to this event? They had only carnal things on their mind. They were not interested in spiritual truths and salvation. They never had a problem with the miracles he did. Even the Pharisees, the religious leaders, never denied his miracles. They never had a problem with the miracles. What did they have a problem with? They had a problem with what he said, right? What he taught. 

They wanted a king. They wanted political deliverance from Rome. They wanted prosperity. They wanted a full belly. Think about the context in which they lived. It was no small thing to get your daily bread. Maybe some of you recently have made bread, maybe even have a little grinder mill at home if you're getting really crunchy, right? It's a lot of work to make a loaf of bread. 

Now imagine you had to grow that barley or wheat, and you had to tend it, and you had to harvest it, and thresh it, and process it, and then grind it. And all of this was a daily thing in order to get their food. It wasn't like today where we have more than we could ever or certainly should eat. They didn't have Uber Eats in those days, or Walmart, or pizza delivery. Getting food for your family was a constant battle each day. And here was a guy who could create food out of thin air, fill them to fullness. 

And if he could do it once, why not three times a day? Look at John 6, verse 22. "On the following day, when the people were standing on the other side of the sea and saw that there was no other boat there except the one which his disciples had entered, and that Jesus had not entered the boat with his disciples, but his disciples had gone away alone." 

"However, other boats came from Tiberias near the place where they ate bread after the Lord had given thanks. When the people therefore saw that Jesus was not there, nor his disciples, they also got into boats and came to Capernaum seeking Jesus. And when they found him on the other side of the sea, they said to him, 'Rabbi, when did you come here?'" 

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. Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to everlasting life, which the Son of Man will give you because God the Father set his seal on him." 

Then they said to him, "what shall we do that we may work the works of God?" And here we have the question of man, right? What can I do? What must I do to work the works of God? This is the explanation of all religion. What must I do? Jesus answered and said to them, "this is the work of God that you believe in him whom he sent." 

Therefore, they said to him, "what sign will you perform then that we may see it and believe you?" Now, that's not a very honest question, is it? He just fed 20,000 people the day before. He healed their sick. He's constantly doing miracles. He'd heal the whole region. What work will you do, they said? Our fathers ate the man in the desert. As it is written, he gave them bread from heaven to eat. 

Then Jesus said to them, "most assuredly, I say to you, Moses did not give you the bread from heaven, but my father gives you the true bread from heaven." And now we see Jesus establish an analogy that he is the bread, and he has come down from heaven. "For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world." 

Then they said to him, "Lord, give us this bread always." And 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. But I said to you that you have seen me, and yet you do not believe." Now here's the issue, right? Faith, belief. That's what Jesus is concerned with. 

The crowds were coming to Jesus, but why were they coming? He was doing work, showing, proving who he was, healing, miracles, creating food to meet their needs. But why were they coming? They were not coming because they wanted eternal life, because they were broken over their sin in search of a Savior. They were coming because they wanted to get their belly filled. 

As Peter says, their God is their belly. They wanted to be relieved of their pain and suffering. But this was not the message of Jesus. Later in this chapter, Jesus speaks of eternal life through faith in him, that he is the bread of life, that he came down from heaven. Whoever eats this bread, that is, believes on him, will have everlasting life. 

And what is their response to these great things? John 6:60, "therefore, many of his disciples, when they heard this, said, 'this is a hard saying.'" This is a hard saying. Did you know that the gospel is offensive? It's a hard saying. When Jesus knew in himself that his disciples complained about this, he said to them, "does this offend you?" Crazy, we don't want to offend anybody today, right? Jesus said, "does this offend you? Are you offended? Good. What then, if you should see the Son of Man ascend where he was before? It is the spirit who gives life. The flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life. But there are some of you who do not believe. For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were who did not believe and who would betray him. And he said, 'therefore, I have said to you that no one can come to me unless it has been granted to him by my father.'" 

"And from that time, many of his disciples went back and walked with him no more." How many? Well, the next verse says he turns to the 12. And he says, "are you going to go too?" I'm thinking many was a lot of those 20,000. "Do you also want to go away?" 

But Simon Peter answered, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life." You see, Simon Peter didn't say, "you have lunch for us," right? We're not going away. Why? Because you have the words of eternal life. Also, we have come to believe and know that you are the Christ, the son of the living God. The crowds were in it with all their hearts as long as they were getting their carnal needs met, healings, miracles, food, et cetera. 

But when Jesus gave them the message of the gospel of eternal life, of faith and salvation, they were no longer interested. And most of them walked away. It's a sad commentary. And I'm sure it broke the heart of Jesus to see them walk away, to go to perdition. But even many of those who followed Jesus, the 20,000 who ate the day before, most of them were not believers, but part of the crowd, looking to themselves, their needs in a physical sense. 

And my friends, you can draw a crowd in a hurry even today if you appeal to men's needs. If you set up a seeker-sensitive church meant to meet the felt needs of the seekers, if this is your method and your means, then you can draw a crowd. Have a nice band and a coffee bar and a modern building. Don't say anything too hard. Don't stand up and preach the word. Preach on sin and death and judgment and Jesus as the only way. Because if you do, most of them will walk away. 

Or you could start a healing ministry like Benny Hinn. That boy can draw a crowd. Fleece the flock, right? But you won't hear him speak truth. You won't hear him say hard things, call people to faith and repentance. It's all about health, wealth, and prosperity, because this draws a crowd. This is what carnal men want. 

When it comes to true salvation, it's never a crowd. It's always a remnant. It's always a remnant that comes seeking the good things of God, the truth, salvation, eternal life. And we will only have true conversion, Christ-centered, spiritually-minded people when we speak the truth about these things. We do not appeal to people's emotions and feelings and carnal needs. We persuade with the gospel truth. And those who come, those who believe, will be true followers of Christ. They will bear fruit. They will continue to the day of Christ, regardless of their circumstances in this world. 

So we learn a lesson here about ministry and people as well, and the heart of unbelief, a self-centered faith looking to meet our carnal needs. As we've learned in our recent studies in Old Covenant and New Covenant parameters, it's clear in the New Testament, in this church age, we have no promise of health, wealth, and prosperity. It's a false gospel. It's a false message. 

In the Old Covenant, there was the promise to Israel that if they obeyed, they would be blessed in these carnal ways, with crops, and rain, and safety from their enemies, and many children, and so forth. But what is the promise that we have in Christ if we are faithful and obedient to him in this life? All the promises are yes, but they are spiritual in nature: contentment, fruit, eternal life, grace sufficient for today, the message of the cross, of the gospel, glory to God in the church, eternal life, but not food, and clothes, and rain, and crops. Rather, the clear, prevalent promise of the New Testament for faithfulness to Jesus is persecution. 

John 15:18, "if the world hates you, you know that it hated me before it hated you." John 15:20, "remember the word that I said to you, a servant is not greater than his master. If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will keep yours also." 2 Timothy 3:12, "yes, and all, all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution." 

This was certainly true for all the disciples who suffered persecution, and all save John were martyred for their faith, for their faithfulness to Jesus. Perhaps the most faithful of all the apostles was Paul, who tirelessly, without fail, gave his life to preach Jesus Christ crucified. And what was his reward in this carnal realm? From the Jews, "five times I received 40 stripes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked. A night and a day I've been in the deep, in journeys often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers." This was Paul's life. 

"In perils of my own countrymen, in perils of the Gentiles, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren, in weariness, in toil, in sleeplessness, often in hunger, and thirst, in fastings, often in cold and nakedness, and besides the other things, what comes upon me daily? My deep concern for all the churches." 

Jesus did not come to give Cadillacs and mansions. He came to give eternal life to as many who believe. He came to save us from the wrath of God for our sins. He didn't come to save our bank account, to save our marriage, per se, to fix all of our problems. He came to save us from the wrath of God that I deserve for my sins against Him. And through faith in Him, we receive His righteousness, imputed righteousness by grace through faith from God. 

He came to be the suffering Messiah. And they didn't understand that. They did not want the suffering Messiah. The day is coming, my brothers and sisters, when He will come again to judge the earth, to establish the kingdom on the earth. There will be a time of restoration, of kingdom promises, of physical blessing, as well as spiritual in Christ. Jesus came the first time to suffer, to offer Himself a substitute, to suffer death, even death on the cross, to accomplish our salvation, as Mark talked about this morning. 

It's finished. It's accomplished. He will come again to judge, and to bring the kingdom, and to rule and reign on David's throne for 1,000 years. But today, in this time, until He comes, we are here to bring the good news of the gospel to every creature, to tell them of the truth of salvation through faith in Jesus, and persuade men to believe. Ours is a spiritual concern. 

We no longer regard men according to the flesh. When you meet someone, you should be thinking about their spiritual state. You should be listening, looking to witness to them, to tell them about Jesus. We're not worried about health and wealth and prosperity in this world. I have learned to be content, Paul said, in whatever state I am. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. That doesn't mean you win the volleyball game. It means you can endure all the suffering and persecution and troubles of this world and be faithful to Jesus in it. Amen. 

It's all going to be burned up. And only eternal life will matter. And eternal life is this, my friends, that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. When Jesus looked on those crowds, he was moved with compassion. It was compassion for their souls, their need for salvation. He loved them so much. He loves you so much that he was willing to come and die on a cross so that we might live. 

And that's why we celebrate and remember here together this morning as we proclaim his death until he comes. Let's close in prayer. 

Father, we thank you for the gospel of John. We thank you for this word that John wrote that we might believe that Jesus is the Christ, believing we might have life in his name. Thank you for these words. Thank you for the simplicity of the gospel of Jesus and his mission to become a man, to die in our place, to be buried, and to be raised again, showing that you were satisfied with his payment. 

Lord, thank you that through faith in him alone and what he accomplished, we can receive your righteousness, eternal life, as our sins are imputed to him. Thank you, Lord, for that great and wonderful promise. Thank you for your love for us. Thank you that you're sufficient for us every day and for eternity. In Jesus' name, amen.