John 6:10-15 (WEL) Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.” Now there was a lot of grass there, so the men sat down, around five thousand in number. 11 Jesus then took the loaves, and after he had given thanks, distributed them to the disciples and the disciples to those who were set down and the fishes likewise, as much as they wanted. 12 When they were completely full, he said to his disciples, “Gather the remaining pieces, so that nothing is lost.” 13 So they gathered and filled twelve baskets with the pieces of the five barley loaves, which were left over by those who had eaten. 14 When these people saw the miracles that Jesus did, they said, “Truly, this is the prophet who is to come into the world.” 15 When Jesus knew that they would come and take him by force to make him king, he withdrew to the mountain alone.
V10 Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.” Now there was a lot of grass there, so the men sat down, around five thousand in number.
Jesus takes the lead. He is a leader, the King of kings. The text mentions men; there may have been women and children there as well (John 6:9 and Matthew 14:21).
Principle: Good leaders delegate.
Principle: Be organized.
V11 Jesus then took the loaves, and after he had given thanks, distributed them to the disciples and the disciples to those who were set down and the fishes likewise, as much as they wanted.
Principle: Give thanks to God.
The young man/boy gave Jesus everything he had for others. Jesus did the distribution to the disciples himself, for He was multiplying the food as only God can do. The disciples then took that food and gave it to the multitude.
Principle: Leaders typically need others to complete a task.
Jesus could have done everything Himself but made the perfect decision and delegated tasks to others.
Principle: Know who you have to help and assign them tasks fitting their abilities.
The Gnostic-tainted texts have Jesus distributing the food himself. Dr. Wilbur Pickering notes: “Perhaps 3% of the Greek manuscripts, of inferior quality, omit the reference to the disciples here and have Jesus distributing directly to the crowd (as in NIV, NASB, LB, TEV, etc.), making John contradict the other three Gospels.”
V12 When they were completely full, he said to his disciples, “Gather the remaining pieces, so that nothing is lost.”
Why did Jesus want all the leftovers gathered? Some thoughts: 1) the disciples would need the food later, 2) it was holy (Jesus provided the food), 3) to keep the environment tidy and clean.
Dr. Wilbur Pickering notes: “Notice the care that nothing be wasted. A common human reaction would be, ‘easy come, easy go’—since Jesus can make more any time He wants, why worry. But no, the Lord doesn’t look at it that way.”
Principle: Don’t waste food.
Principle: It is okay to eat leftovers.
V13 So they gathered and filled twelve baskets with the pieces of the five barley loaves, which were left over by those who had eaten.
There is nothing mystical about this. It is a statement of facts. Note that the loaves were made from barley flour.
V14 When these people saw the miracles that Jesus did, they said, “Truly, this is the prophet who is to come into the world.”
Note how the people could not relate all that Jesus teaches and does to Messiah. The best they could declare is that Jesus is a prophet.
Principle: People love miracles and miracle workers and accept them as true.
We must always test all things by Scripture. Jesus passes the test and is aligned perfectly with Mosaic law and the Prophets.
They knew Jesus was special but most rejected Him as Messiah.
They mention the prophet and refer to Moses’s statement in Deuteronomy 18:5, Acts 3:22-26, and Acts 7:37-40.
V15 When Jesus knew that they would come and take him by force to make him king, he withdrew to the mountain alone.
The people did not recognize Him as Messiah but as a prophet. Because of the miracles and providing provisions, they wanted to make Him king of Israel. Two problems: 1) it was not God’s time for the kingdom; Israel could have accepted Him but would refuse, and 2) it was for all the wrong reasons.
This is the second time Jesus refused the kingdom. The first was satan’s offer (Matthew 4:8-10), and the second is our present text.
Jesus came to be the Passover Lamb, not King.
Principle: Do not seize what God forbids.
We learn:
- Not to be swayed by the miraculous.
- Jesus refuses what is His because it is not time.
Questions:
- How do you handle seemingly miraculous events?
- Do you refuse what is not yours? Some do take credit for what God accomplishes through someone.