Latest / Fairview Presbyterian Church (PCA) Sermons / Where Are We To Buy Bread? (John 6:1-15)- Pastor Kenneth Collins Maple

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Where Are We To Buy Bread? (John 6:1-15)- Pastor Kenneth Collins Maple · Fairview Presbyterian Church (PCA) Sermons

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Amen and let us take our Bibles now and open
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up to John chapter 6. John 6 as we continue in
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our sermon series through some of the miracles
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of Jesus. We're gonna look at verses 1 through
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15 and what we're looking at is a familiar story.
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familiar miracle that actually I think isn't
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really all that familiar to us. We think we know
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this well, but there is so much to uncover in
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the feeding of the 5 ,000. This is such an important
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miracle, and I think the Gospels are screaming
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this to us to take notice of this because this
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miracle of Jesus is in all four Gospels. In addition
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to John 6, you can find it in Matthew 14. Mark
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6 and Luke chapter 9 and so let us give our attention
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to this and pay careful attention Because there
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is a lot here to see about our Lord and Savior
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Jesus Christ Listen to this for this is the word
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of the Lord After this Jesus went away to the
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other side of the Sea of Galilee Which is the
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Sea of Tiberias? And a large crowd was following
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him, because they saw the signs that he was doing
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on the sick. Jesus went up on the mountain, and
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there he sat down with his disciples. Now the
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Passover, the feast of the Jews, was at hand.
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Lifting up his eyes then, and seeing that a large
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crowd was coming toward him, Jesus said to Philip,
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where are we to buy bread so that these people
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may eat? He said this to test him, for he himself
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knew what he would do. Philip answered him, 200
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denarii worth of bread would not be enough for
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each of them to get a little. One of his disciples,
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Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, said to him, there
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is a boy here who has five barley loaves and
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two fish, but what are they for so many? Jesus
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said, Have the people sit down now. There was
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much grass in the place So the men sat down about
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five thousand in number Jesus then took the loaves
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and when he had given thanks he distributed them
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to those who were seated so also the fish as
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much as they wanted and when they'd eaten their
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fill he told his disciples gather up the leftover
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fragments that nothing may be lost So they gathered
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them up and filled 12 baskets with fragments
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from the five barley loaves left by those who
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had eaten. When the people saw the sign that
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he had done, they said, indeed, this is indeed
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the prophet who is to come into the world. Perceiving
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then that they were about to come and take him
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by force to make him king, Jesus withdrew again
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to the mountain by himself. This is God's holy
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word. Let us pray. Father, what a miraculous
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miracle this is. We see and hear the great care
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of Jesus for his people. And so I pray that as
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we study this, we would see the compassion of
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Christ and know how much you care for us because,
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God, you prove your love to us in the while we
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are yet sinners. Christ died for us. Help this
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truth to sink deep down into our hearts. These
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things we ask, praying for understanding in the
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name of Christ. Amen. The great reformer Martin
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Luther wrote many things in his lifetime. Luther
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was known for his commentary on Galatians. Luther
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wrote many things about Genesis. Indeed, Luther's
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writing ministry, it was impressive and prolific.
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Anybody know what Martin Luther wrote? His last
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words? It was found in his pocket after he died
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that Luther wrote this. We are beggars. This
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is true. We are beggars. This is true of all
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that Luther could have said he could have written
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something down about Justification by faith alone
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and Christ alone to the glory of God alone He
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could have written all kinds of things, but the
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last thing that Luther said We are beggars This
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is true It's been said many times. We're all
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just beggars trying to tell other beggars where
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to find bread Jesus tells us where. We look no
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further than Jesus, because Jesus is the true
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bread from heaven. As I said, this is a familiar
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text that actually isn't all that familiar, so
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let's look at some of the details here in verse
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one. The location. The Sea of Galilee, also known
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as the Sea of Tiberias. This is near some northern
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Galilean towns like Bethsaida. And I think that
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this is an important point, and I'll come back
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to it later, that we should recognize that some
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of the disciples were from this region. So you
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have the disciples there with Jesus. You have
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this crowd that has been following Jesus. He's
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been teaching them. And verse two says that he
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has performed many signs on the sick. And so
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this is why they're following him. They've seen
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him at work. Now, we're only in chapter six of
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John, and if you go back through the first five
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chapters, you actually don't see that many miracles
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yet from Jesus, which tells us that Jesus has
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performed many more miracles than are written
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down. Matter of fact, that's what we see at the
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end of the book of John, that if... If one were
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to write down all that Jesus did, John says the
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world would not be able to contain all the books
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that could be written. And so there's a lot more
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that Jesus is doing that we don't see. Jesus
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goes up onto this mountain with the disciples
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and then we get this fascinating tidbit of information
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in verse four. Now the Passover, the feast of
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the Jews was at hand. Why is this important?
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Why is this important to know that the Passover
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is coming? Well friends, what's really happening
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in John chapter 6 is that the Holy Spirit is
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communicating through the writer of John a retelling
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of the Exodus. That's what's happening in John
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6. In a way, it's a retelling of the Exodus.
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Think about it. Why was Passover celebrated?
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Well, it commemorates when God saved Israel from
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Egypt. John six is reenacting this history because
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as Israel escaped Egypt and went into the wilderness,
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what did they need? They needed food. And so
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what did God provide? He provided for them manna
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from heaven, bread from heaven, right? Here in
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John six, that's exactly what Jesus does. He
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provides the bread. He provides. the meat. But
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what else? As we see later in John 6, Jesus walks
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on the water. Are we not here reminded of the
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time that the Israelites walked through the parted
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Red Sea, getting out of Egypt? Additionally,
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the Israelites began to, in Exodus, recognize
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that Moses was a prophet. And here, In verse
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14, that's what the people say. This is indeed
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the prophet who is to come into the world. The
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whole point of this is to say that an even greater
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Moses has come and an even greater Moses promises
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a greater deliverance. And so we see Jesus provide
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the bread. Now I think there's something important
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to recognize about this. Who is the one who first
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mentions the bread? It's Jesus, look in verse
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five, about halfway through. Jesus said to Philip,
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where are we to buy bread that these people may
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eat? Jesus knows their needs, and Jesus knows
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your needs too. It's a sad fact that sometimes
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we reduce God to one who only cares for our salvation.
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Of course, God cares for our salvation, but do
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we believe that Jesus cares for us in every single
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conceivable way? Do we trust that God cares for
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us? Do you believe this today? Here, within John
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6, we see Jesus is not aloof. Jesus is not insensitive
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to the needs of his people. He's the one who
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brings it up. We can also see this in the Lord's
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Prayer. that we've already prayed today. Jesus
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teaches his disciples, give us this day our daily
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bread. Think about that for a minute. Of all
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of the things that Jesus taught his disciples,
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of all of the things that he could teach his
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disciples to pray, he says, pray for your food.
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And so before Jesus distributes this food here,
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he prays in verse 11. Jesus again shows us how
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much he cares for his people Jesus is the good
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shepherd and what does a good shepherd do but
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protect the sheep and rescue the sheep and provide
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for the sheep and lead the sheep Jesus does all
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of this for us and because the Holy Spirit has
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this recorded for you you can look at this chapter
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and know how much God loves you in Christ Jesus
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And so Christian, don't hesitate to go to God
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with every godly need, every godly desire, every
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confession, trusting in God that he will meet
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those needs in Christ Jesus according to his
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will. I like how 1 Peter 5 -7 puts it, cast your
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cares upon him because he cares for you. God
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cares about every single need that you have.
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God cares about this, and so he sends Jesus,
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and Jesus is here on the mountain. The other
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gospels tell us that Jesus has been teaching
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the disciples, he's been teaching the crowd,
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but he doesn't just teach them, he provides for
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them. Jesus, as we have noted recently with Christmas,
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is incarnate. He has a true body. Jesus is probably
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hungry too. And so he's the one who brings it
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up. He's the one who puts it into their minds
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as if to say, hey guys, what's for lunch? I could
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eat. But we should also note this, many of us
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today will go from this sanctuary and we'll go
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home. Many of us, most of us, I hope all of us
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have food. We have food in the cabinets, food
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in the fridge, food on the table. I hope that
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that's the case. We should understand that's
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not necessarily the case with this crowd, right?
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Matter of fact, most of this crowd, they probably
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don't have all that they need all the time. They
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probably were hungry, right? Isaiah 55, one through
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two, illustrates this point. Isaiah 55, one through
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two, says, come, everyone who thirsts. Come to
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the waters, and he who has no money, come buy
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and eat. Come buy wine and milk without money
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and without price. Why do you spend your money
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for that which is not bread and your labor for
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that which does not satisfy? Listen diligently
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to me and eat what is good and delight yourselves
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in rich food. Jesus, as we're starting to see
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here, offers real food, but what he really offers
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is himself. And so Jesus asks this question of
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Philip. Where do we go to buy bread? As I mentioned,
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some of the disciples were from this region,
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and Philip is one of them. And so I believe the
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reason that Jesus asked Philip, where do we go
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to buy bread, is because Philip would probably
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know. Not that there's a 7 -Eleven on top of
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the mountain. But somewhere in the surrounding
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area, there's a place to buy bread. And so he
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asks Philip this question. But Philip highlights
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what is in his mind a bigger problem. It's not
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really about where to buy the bread. It's the
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fact that we don't have enough money to pay for
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enough bread for everybody. Look there, just
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after Jesus asks the question. What Phillips
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says in verse 7? 200 denarii worth of bread would
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not be enough for each of them to get a little.
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A denarius many of you know, and you may have
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a footnote in your Bible that says this, a denarius
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is about equivalent to a day's wage. It's payment
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for work. And so some of your Bibles actually
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go ahead and do some of this math for you saying
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that it would take seven to eight months wages
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to pay for enough bread for everybody to have
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a taste. Now, I'm no mathematician, but if I'm
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there with Jesus and Philip, I'm probably saying
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to Philip, hey, Philip, that's really good math
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there. He does this calculation, right? But the
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problem was Philip did the calculation without
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considering the great multiplier. He did the
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calculation without the great multiplier. James
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Montgomery Boyce says he calculated But he calculated
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without Christ This is a bad error on Phillips
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part, but before we criticize Philip We should
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understand that we do this as well The disciples
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have seen Jesus work. We've also seen Jesus work
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Jesus has given us new hearts to love him Jesus
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has done incredible things and do we not still
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doubt him? This is Jesus who could do more than
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we could ever ask or ever imagine. I like how
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Psalm 78, 19 puts it when it says, can God spread
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a table in the wilderness? And the implied answer
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is, of course he can. Of course he can. And so
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today, are you trusting in Jesus? Do you know
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Jesus? Do you have doubts about Jesus? Last Sunday,
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we looked at Mark chapter 9 and we looked at
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how that father is concerned for his dying son
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who's got the unclean spirit and what did the
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father say I believe help my unbelief and as
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I said this should be a prayer on our lips that
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God would strengthen our faith that we would
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not doubt the very power of God And so I think
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that Philip here is doubting, well, what about
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the other disciple mentioned in verse eight?
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Andrew, Simon Peter's brother. I'll be honest
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with you, I was studying this passage this week,
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and Andrew's statement puzzled me, and maybe
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it puzzles you too. Why does Andrew even bring
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this up? All right, this. five loaves of barley
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bread and a couple of fish, I was truly stumped
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by this. Because we should understand this, that
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when we're talking about the feeding of the 5
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,000, that's only including the men. And so let's
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say that there's as many women as there are men.
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Now we're up to 10 ,000. And let's say that some
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of those men and some of those women are married
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and they have children. Now we're up to 15 or
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20 or even 25. thousand people on this mountain
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to be fed, and Andrew's like, here's this little
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boy, he's got a little bit of bread and a little
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fish. Why does Andrew even bring this up? Additionally,
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let's understand what kind of bread and what
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kind of fish. The text mentions that these are
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barley loaves. Friends, barley bread was the
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cheapest bread that you could possibly buy. It
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was poor people's bread. It probably didn't taste
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all that good. And the fish that the boy has,
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these are probably two small sardines. And so,
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Andrew, what are you talking about? This is not,
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this wouldn't make a dent in anybody's appetite
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other than maybe one small boy. But as I thought
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about it more, I thought, well perhaps Andrew
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believes that Jesus can do a lot with a little.
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Jesus can do a lot with a little. We see this
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throughout Scripture. God routinely does this
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kind of thing. God chooses the weak to shame
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the wise. Jesus says that if you have faith the
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size of a mustard seed, you can move mountains.
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And God uses unlikely people to be his servants,
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just like we see with these disciples. God does
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this time and time again. Matter of fact, he
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did this with the Israelites. Listen to these
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words from Deuteronomy, Deuteronomy 7, 6 through
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9. For you are a people holy to the Lord your
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God. The Lord your God has chosen you to be a
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people for his treasured possession out of all
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the peoples who were on the face of the earth.
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It was not because you were more in number than
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any other people that the Lord has set his love
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on you and chose you, for you were the fewest
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of all peoples. But it is because the Lord loves
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you and is keeping the oath that he swore to
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your fathers that the Lord has brought you out
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with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the
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house of slavery. from the house of Pharaoh,
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king of Egypt. Know therefore that the Lord your
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God is God." God does this time and time again.
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And Jesus does this as well. Jesus, as I said,
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selects those disciples who aren't making a who's
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who of anything, really, and he forms the church
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from them. 1st Peter chapter 2 verse 9 reflects
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on this passage and says that believers are the
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treasured possession of God and God doesn't choose
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you because of your good looks and he doesn't
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choose you because of how smart you are and he
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doesn't choose you because of your talents or
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your wealth God chooses you and places his love
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upon you simply because he loves you and he rescues
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you from your enslavement to sin and the punishment
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thereof. You see, friends, this miracle, it's
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about bread and it's about fish and it's about
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people up on a mountain. But it's about a whole
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lot more than that. It's about rescuing. If this
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is a recap of Exodus and the wilderness wanderings,
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it's about rescuing. And as Jesus takes this
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food here and he multiplies it, he does that,
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but it's only temporary because Jesus is pointing
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to something greater than that. Jesus is pointing
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to a food that never perishes Jesus is pointing
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to himself Look at John 6 just go further down
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to verse 25 and on John 6 25 through 35 Because
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this goes right along with what we're looking
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at when they found him On the other side of the
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sea, they said to him, Rabbi, when did you come
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here? And Jesus answered them, truly, truly,
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I say to you, you are seeking me, not because
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you saw signs, but because you ate your fill
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of the loaves. Do not work for the food that
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perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal
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life, which the Son of Man will give to you.
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For on him, God the Father has set his seal.
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Then they said to him, what must we do? to be
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doing the works of God. And Jesus answered them,
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this is the work of God, that you believe in
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him whom he has sent. So they said to him, then
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what sign do you do that we may see and believe
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you? What work do you perform? Our fathers ate
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the manna in the wilderness. As it's written,
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he gave them bread from heaven to eat. Jesus
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then said to them, truly, truly, I say to you,
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it was not Moses who gave you the bread from
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heaven. But my father gives you the true bread
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from heaven For the bread of God is he who comes
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down from heaven and gives life to the world
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and they said to him sir Give us this bread always
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and Jesus said to them. I am the bread of life
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Whoever comes to me shall not hunger and whoever
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believes in me shall never thirst Friends Jesus
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is the bread from heaven. Jesus is the manna
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from heaven We need to understand this today
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that Jesus he's on this mountain with the disciples
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and he is the host of the meal But Jesus is also
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the meal Jesus is the shepherd, but he's also
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the lamb Jesus is God, but he's also man. He
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is innocent but made guilty He is the way to
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heaven, but he endured hell. You see, within
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this text and within our theology, we understand
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that the people here on the mountain are not
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the only ones who are satisfied. Jesus satisfies
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the Father, too. Because Jesus... who offers
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himself as the bread of heaven and has his blood
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poured out. God is satisfied with this because
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he's the perfect substitute for our sins. Jesus
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was nailed to the cross, enduring the pain and
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the shame and the father's wrath was satisfied
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because it was poured out on the perfect substitute.
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God was satisfied. Isaiah 53 says, it was the
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will of God to crush. him. Because it was the
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only way. The only way was to have Jesus really
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offered up on that cross for you and me, the
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righteous for the unrighteous. Now perhaps I
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should have saved this sermon until next Sunday
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when we, Lord willing, will have the table before
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us, but you remember what happens at that table.
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You remember what the bread signifies the body
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of Christ broken and the cup signifying his blood
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poured out for the forgiveness of sins those
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signs Point to something even greater and that's
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what Jesus is helping us to see to look beyond
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those simple things even as great as that miracle
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was to look beyond the bread and look beyond
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the fish and look to Jesus who truly satisfies
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and so the bread of life takes this boy's lunch,
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and I believe this boy who has the bread and
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the fish, I believe he's trusting in Jesus more
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than anybody else in the story. Jesus blesses
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it, he distributes it, and everybody is filled.
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Look in verse 11. Jesus then took the loaves,
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and when he had given thanks, he distributed
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them to those who were seated. So also the fish,
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as much as they wanted. And then you see 12 baskets
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of bread left over. I don't see any fish left
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over, so apparently these people aren't carb
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lovers like I am, but the people see this and
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they are completely stunned. They are completely
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amazed. Like Moses in Egypt, the people are stunned
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and they say, this is the prophet who is to come
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into the world. You see what Jesus does here
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in this text? He fills more than their stomachs.
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Jesus fills their hearts. But friends, there's
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also a warning here. These people in John 6 are
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very, very similar to the Israelites wandering
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in the wilderness. Those people grumbled before
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Moses and before God. And so this is a warning
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not to look to Jesus to do our bidding, but that
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we look to Jesus to do His will. We should do
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this. The people here in verse 15, they wanted
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to make Him King by force, perhaps thinking,
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if Jesus is on the throne, then we will always
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have bread on the table. These people are concerned
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about getting more barley bread when what Jesus
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offers isn't even made in the same bakery. Look
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in chapter 6, 41 and 42. So the Jews grumbled
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about him, because he said, I am the bread that
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came down from heaven. And they said, is not
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this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and
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mother we know, how does he now say, I have come
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down from heaven? How quickly we forget. He has
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just fed all of these people with five tiny pieces
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of bread and two fish, and now they're criticizing
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him. This is exactly like the Israelites in the
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wilderness wandering about where it sounds like
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they have amnesia or something, forgetting about
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how God got them out of Egypt, forgetting about
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the plagues of Moses, forgetting about walking
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through the Red Sea with a wall of water on each
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side. You see, these people here are only satisfied
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when they're stuffing their faces. And yet, don't
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we see this all the time within ourselves, that
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we are satisfied by tiny, minuscule things when
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Jesus offers eternal life? Children, did any
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of you receive a good gift this Christmas that
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came in a cardboard box? Do sometimes we play
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with the box more than we do with the gift inside?
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That's how we are. We can be like that. Jesus
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offers eternal life that he lived for and he
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died for in excruciating fashion, and we're still
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wondering, hey, can I get some more of those
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sardines and some more of that barley bread?
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C .S. Lewis said it well when he wrote, It would
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seem that our Lord finds our desires not too
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strong, but too weak. We are half -hearted creatures,
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fooling about with drink and sex and ambition
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when infinite joy is offered to us, like an ignorant
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child who wants to go on making mud pies in a
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slum because he cannot imagine what is meant
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by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are
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far too easily pleased. Church, you cannot imagine
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what Jesus has in store for you. Try it now.
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Try and imagine a world without sin. Try and
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imagine a world without the curse of it. Imagine
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a better promised land. Jesus rescues us from
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something, but Jesus rescues us to something,
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this better promised land that he calls paradise.
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And Jesus cares for us all along the way to there.
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Beggars, look no further. Jesus is the bread
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of life. Believe in Jesus and you shall be saved.
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For as Psalm 16 says, in his right hand are pleasures
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forever. Philippians 4 .9, and I close with this.
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And my God, supply every need of yours according
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to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus. Amen.
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Let's pray.