INTRODUCTION

1. With each of these lessons, we have begun by noticing John 20:30-31:

   ³⁰Therefore many other signs Jesus also performed in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; ³¹but these have been written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name.

2. Some of the greatest signs Jesus performed were in the miraculous feeding of multitudes of people. Let us consider these two events now.

    

JESUS FED MORE THAN 5,000 PEOPLE

1. The records of this miracle are found in Matthew 14:13-21, Mark 6:30-44, Luke 9:11-17, and John 6:1-14.

2. In a desolate place in Galilee, Jesus had compassion on a multitude of people by miraculously feeding them all.

   1. When Jesus heard of the death of John the baptist (Matt. 14:1-12), He withdrew in a boat to a lonely place.  When He went ashore, He found that a multitude of people had followed Him.

      1. Jesus had compassion on them "because they were like sheep without a shepherd" (Mark 6:34).

         1. Compassion is a trait that is attributed to Jesus at least eight times in the Scriptures.  In compassion, Jesus healed, taught, and attended to other needs of the people around Him.

         2. On one occasion, He told the Pharisees, "But go and learn what this means: 'I desire compassion, and not sacrifice,' for I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners" (Matt. 9:13).  If they watched Jesus, then they learned the meaning of compassion.

      2. For those "lost sheep," Jesus healed their sick and "began to teach them many things" (Mark 6:34).

   2. Late in the day, the Lord's disciples suggested that Jesus send the people into the villages to buy food, but Jesus said, "You give them something to eat!" (Matt. 14:15-16).

      1. The disciples recognized the impossibility of the situation.  The place was desolate, the time was already past, and they did not have the means to feed the people.

      2. They said to Jesus, "Shall we go and spend two hundred denarii on bread and give them something to eat?" (Mark 6:37).  They estimated that the expense of feed the people would be more than six months' wages.

   3. When the disciples found only five loaves of bread and two fish, Jesus used this food to feed all the people.

      1. This small amount of food came from a boy in the crowd, and Peter did not see that so little food was of any use to feed so many people (John 6:9).

      2. Having the people sit in groups of about fifty, Jesus gave thanks, broke the bread, and had His disciples distribute it to each person.

      3. Notice the results in Matthew 14:20 -- "...and they all ate and were satisfied.  And they picked up what was left over of the broken pieces, twelve full baskets."

      4. The total of all people fed was about 5,000 men plus women and children.  The Lord had done an impossible task, but nothing is impossible with God.

3. This miracle created opportunities for Jesus to teach great lessons.

   1. For the disciples, this event created a test for their faith.

      1. Before feeding the multitude, Jesus asked Philip, "Where are we to buy bread, that these may eat?"  Jesus already knew what He would do, but He asked this to test Philip (John 6:5-6).

      2. This was an opportunity for the disciples to fully recognize who Jesus was.  When Jesus said, "You give them something to eat," they should have said, "We cannot, but You can, for You are the Son of God."

   2. This event became the catalyst for one of the greatest discourses in all of Scripture, which is found in John 6:22-59.

      1. The next day, the multitude followed Jesus to the other side of the Sea of Galilee.  Notice what He said to them in verses 26-27:

         ²⁶"Truly, truly, I say to you, you seek Me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled.  ²⁷Do not work for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you, for on Him the Father, God, has set His seal."

      2. Following this, Jesus taught them that He is the "food which endures to eternal life."  He said, "I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me will not hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst" (v. 36).

      3. After the Lord's taught these things, "many of His disciples withdrew and were not walking with Him anymore" (John 6:66).

          

JESUS FED MORE THAN 4,000 PEOPLE

1. The records of this miracle are found in Matthew 15:32-39 and Mark 8:1-9.

2. A short time after He fed the 5,000, Jesus miraculously fed another multitude in Galilee.

   1. The setting for this event was very similar to the time when Jesus fed the 5,000.

      1. It was a desolate place in Galilee, and Jesus was healing many people of their ailments.

      2. The Lord said to His disciples, "I feel compassion for the people, because they have remained with Me now three days and have nothing to eat; and I do not want to send them away hungry, for they might faint on the way" (Matt. 15:32).

      3. Rather than recalling the time when Jesus fed the 5,000, the disciples said, "Where would we get so many loaves in this desolate place to satisfy such a large crowd?" (Matt. 15:33).

   2. With only seven loaves of bread and a few fish, Jesus fed all the people.

      1. Jesus directed the people to sit on the ground, gave thanks for the bread and fish, and divided it. His disciples distributed the food to the people.

      2. The results were very similar to the other occasion: "And they all ate and were satisfied, and they picked up what was left over of the broken pieces, seven large baskets full" (Matt. 15:37).

      3. The number of people fed was about 4,000 men plus women and children.

3. Once again, an opportunity was created for Jesus to teach His disciples (Matt. 15:39-16:12).

   1. Immediately after this miracle, the Pharisees and Sadducees came to Jesus when He was in the region of Magadan (vv. 1-4).

      1. They were asking for a sign from heaven, but Jesus had already given them signs.  They simply refused to believe Him.

      2. After giving them no additional sign but promising only "the sign of Jonah" (a reference to His resurrection), Jesus left them.

   2. When Jesus warned His disciples about the Pharisees and Sadducees, they thought He was talking about bread (vv. 5-7).

      1. Jesus said, "Watch out and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees" (v. 6).  He was speaking of their teaching (v. 12).

      2. However, the disciples had forgotten to take bread with them, so they said to one another, "He said that because we did not bring any bread" (v. 7).

   3. Jesus rebuked them for their lack of faith.  After all they had seen, did they really think the Lord was concerned about bread?  Notice verses 8-11:

      ⁸But Jesus, aware of this, said, "You men of little faith, why do you discuss among yourselves that you have no bread?  ⁹Do you not yet understand or remember the five loaves of the five thousand, and how many baskets full you picked up?  ¹⁰Or the seven loaves of the four thousand, and how many large baskets full you picked up?  ¹¹How is it that you do not understand that I did not speak to you concerning bread?  But beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees."

       

CONCLUSION

1. On these occasions, Jesus fed thousands of people by His own power, but these were only indications of something much greater.  Jesus is the bread of life that can satisfy every soul with eternal life.

2. Therefore, let us believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, so that we may have life in His name.