The Fourth of the Significant Miracles in
John – Feeding a Large Crowd[1]
The fourth of the miracles that John records is the feeding
of the great crowd. It is near the feast
of the Passover when Jesus decided to supply the obvious need of many thousands
of people by multiplying a few loaves and a few fish. He also knew that His actions would bring the
nation closer to a decision regarding His offer of the Messianic Kingdom.
The crowd, in the Messiah’s eyes, were like a flock of
sheep without a shepherd, and He viewed them with compassion. They had been following the old shepherds,
the Sanhedrists, whom Jesus later described as wolves. Here, the Messiah presented Himself as their
shepherd, in the tradition of Moses and David, former shepherds of the nation. At that time, they were between two opinions.
Should they follow the old shepherds, whom Jesus described as thieves and
robbers, or should they follow the new shepherd of Israel.
The Messiah’s intention was
twofold, the first part of which concerned His identity. He offered Himself as
Messiah, the expected prophet, who like Moses would feed Israel in a wilderness; and as the son of David,
the shepherd of Israel who would
“feed Jacob his people, and Israel
his inheritance”.[2]
The second element of His purpose was to provide
training for His disciples who, in the course of time, would be shepherds
themselves. The ‘shepherd in training’
had first to learn that it is not the job of the sheep to find food for
themselves, but the task of the shepherd to provide it for them. “You give them
something to eat”,[3] is the
principle. Here, away from any centres of population, there are no resources,
save five loaves and two fish. But they
did have the Messiah’s benediction, which was enough to multiply their small
repast into a giant picnic. One day,
Peter and his fellow apostles will be responsible for feeding the flock. At the
post-resurrection miracle, where the Lord provided bread and fish for the
disciples, the Messiah commissioned Peter: “feed my lambs”; “tend my sheep”; “feed
my sheep”.[4] The
responsibility of Peter and his fellow apostles would involve them distributing
what Jesus Himself provided.
The initial response to the miracle once more
demonstrated John’s consistent argument, that Jesus provided enough evidence to
prove He was truly their Messiah. The
people said: “This is of a truth that prophet that should come into the world”.[5]
They were ready there and then to take Him and make Him king, by force if
necessary; but the Messiah with His special insight into the heart of man
departed to be by Himself in the mountains.
The identity of the prophet from Nazareth continued to be the centre of debate
between the people and Jesus the following day.[6] The doctrine of the teachers of Israel at that
time was a doctrine of works, so they questioned the Lord: “What shall we do,
that we might work the works of God?” He
directed them to the real issue: “This is the work of God, that you believe in
Him whom He sent”. Since they knew it
was an appeal for them to accept His credentials as Messiah, true to their
character, they asked for yet another miracle. They asked: “What sign will You
perform then, that we may see it and believe You? What work will You do?”[7] But the crowd had forgotten that the fathers
of the wilderness generation had grumbled against God and God’s Deliverer,
Moses, for providing such food. The Messiah,
however, had not: “Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and are dead”. There is a double level of meaning
here. YHWH fed that generation of the
nation miraculously, but because of their rebellion, He punished them. They
were exposed to a plague of serpents.
Numbers 21 has the record of the event: “The people spoke against God
and against Moses: Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For
there is no food and no water,
and our soul loathes this worthless
bread. So the Lord sent fiery
serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and many of the people of Israel died.”[8] The Biblical account records the physical
death of the rebels, and the teaching of the Scribes at that time suggested,
nay asserted, that their rebellion lost them their spiritual privileges as
children of Abraham. The Mishnah states,
“The generation of the wilderness has no portion in the world to come and will
not stand in judgment, for it is written, “In this wilderness they shall be consumed and there they shall die”, (Num.14:35)
the words of R. Aqiba”.[9] The thrust of the argument of Jesus is that the
eternal destiny of His generation is in the balance. He is offering Himself as the ‘Bread of Life’,
and those that feed on Him will live forever!
He said, “Moses did not give you the bread from heaven, but My Father
gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is He who comes down
from heaven and gives life to the world… I am the bread of life”.[10]
In this way, the Messiah incorporated into His
teaching an implicit warning to the nation, not to repeat the sin of the
generation that came out of Egypt
and reject the Bread of Life now offered, and the Father who sent it from
heaven. If Israel’s leaders reject their
Messiah, then judgement will fall on this generation as it did on the
wilderness generation. On the other hand,
those individuals that receive Jesus as Messiah will be able to feed on Him and
enjoy every aspect of abundant life. This heavenly bread will feed both mind
and spirit, whereas the manna fed only the body. The manna fed the physical, not spiritual and
lasted two days at most. The life
granted to those that receive Him as Messiah, would be spiritual rather than
physical, eternal rather than temporal and heavenly rather than earthly. This
means they were guaranteed satisfaction and resurrection.
They rejected His offer, “… because He said, I am
the bread which came down from heaven.” “…
they said, Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we
know?”[11] Moreover, those that rejected Him were not
just those who had been undecided. They
also included those who had been His followers.
This teaching even offended many of His disciples, and the Lord speaks
of unbelief and betrayal among them. For
Jesus knew from the beginning who they were that believed not, and who should
betray Him. [12] From that time many of His disciples went
back, and walked no more with Him,[13]
which disloyalty was also amongst the apostles, in the person of Judas: “Have
not I chosen you twelve, and one of you is a devil?”[14] Jesus
challenged them all, “Do you also want to go away?”[15] Peter, speaking for the eleven, responded: “Lord,
to whom shall we go? 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.”[16] This
small band of men, therefore, represent the faithful remnant.
The feeding of the multitude showed Jesus as the
incarnate God, who came from heaven. He
alone was able to say, “He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who
believes in Me shall never thirst. … For I have come down from heaven, not to
do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. This is the will of the Father
who sent Me, that of all He has given Me I should lose nothing, but should
raise it up at the last day”.[17]
This event encapsulated the problem He faced. In
this miracle, the crowd, impressed by the creative power of Jesus, wanted to
make Him king, but on their own terms. He did not fulfil their hopes in the way they
expected. He ‘departed’ from them,[18]
physically illustrating the movement of the Messiah away from unbelieving Israel.
[1] John
6.5-14
[2]
Ps.78.70-72 (KJV)
[3]
Matt.14.16
[4] John
21.15-17
[5] John
6.14
[6] John
6.28 ff
[7] John
6.30
[8]
Numb.21.5,6
[9] Sanhedrin
10.3.V.X (Mishnah)
[10] John
6.32-35
[11] John
6.41,42
[12] John
6.64
[13] John
6.66
[14] John
6.70
[15] John
6:67
[16] John
6.68,69
[17]John 6.35-39
[18] John
6.15
