Our Sermons

Bible Passage: John 6:1-15
Pastor: Pastor Schlicht
Sermon Date:  August 1, 2021

Eleven every minute. Every minute that flies by, eleven people in the world die of starvation. That’s about one every five seconds. In fact, experts believe 155 million people live in crisis levels of food insecurity. But hunger, of course, isn’t the only issue people struggle with. There’s an obesity crisis in our own country. And then we could talk about other health issues like cancers, viruses, you name it. We could list mental health crises and addiction epidemics, not to mention of course all sorts of natural disasters and catastrophes… When you think about all the problems and all the needs of our world, it sometimes makes you wonder if God has run out of resources, doesn’t it? Has he run out of power? Has he run out of compassion? And, if God has run out of ways to solve problems, what hope do you or I have? 

I imagine that’s how Jesus’ disciples felt as they saw the thousands gathered by the shores of the Sea of Galilee. Jesus was at the height of his popularity in ancient Israel. Everyone wanted a piece of him. Crowds of thousands were following him around, asking for more teaching, more healing, more miracles! On this specific day, the people were pressing so much that Jesus hadn’t even been able to get away to eat anything. Also, that same morning, word had come that John the Baptist had been murdered, beheaded by King Herod. John was Jesus’ cousin and friend, the one who had baptized him in the Jordan River. In fact, John had spent his entire life preparing people for Jesus’ ministry. So when Jesus heard, he took the news hard. He wanted to be, deserved to be, alone and to take some time in prayer. In fact, after teaching all morning Jesus told his disciples that he needed a break. He wanted to retreat by boat to a solitary place for some rest. But the people wanted more from him. They followed the boat, running along the shore to the place where he would land. And by the time the disciples had anchored, a crowd of roughly 15 thousand had gathered to meet Jesus! (Remember it’s called the feeding of the 5,000, but that’s just the number of men. Add in women and kids and 15,000 is probably a conservative estimate.)

So Jesus goes up on the mountainside. Exhausted, hungry, grieving, Jesus sees all these people, and knowing it’s a remote area and near suppertime, he asks: “Where can we buy bread for these people to eat?” That’s the type of question I often ask myself, “Where am I going to find the time to deal with this issue?” Or “Where am I going to find the money for this problem?” “Where can I buy some patience for my kids!” “Where can I buy a break from work!” It’s the kind of question we ask when we’ve run out of resources when we run out of ideas or options. It’s the kind of question that is said as we throw our hands up in frustration. But the startling thing here is that Jesus asked it. It sure seems like Jesus has run out of energy, or power to provide for all these people. And who could blame him after what he’d been through?

The disciples’ response is all too relatable. Philip blurts out, “Two hundred denarii worth of bread would not be enough for each of them to have just a little.” In other words, more than half a year’s worth of income couldn’t even buy everyone a single bite, much less a full meal! Then Andrew finds a young boy who was willing to give up his lunch. He said to Jesus: “There’s a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish, but what is that for so many people?” In other accounts, the disciples simply tell Jesus to “Dismiss the crowds.” 

Our response to overwhelming needs is often the same. It is easy to dismiss problems if they are too big for us to handle. You can dismiss the people you know who are suffering from addictions if you decide that nothing you do would help at all. We could simply shut our doors as a church to people struggling to find housing because our First-Loved Fund isn’t that big and the homeless population just keeps growing. What is one conversation going to do for so many people? We can dismiss those who are hungry in the world because even if we gave a year’s wages to a food pantry it wouldn’t buy them all enough to have a single bite. We can turn a blind eye to human trafficking if we convince ourselves it doesn’t take place anywhere near us. How can we stop the acute persecution of Christians in the Middle East and China? The world’s problems seem impossible to solve! Just like the disciples, aren’t we right in concluding we can’t do anything!? I mean, if Jesus ran out of options, how could they help? And if God runs out of options for the problems we see, isn’t it okay for us to say that nothing can be done?  You notice how there’s a connection between those two conclusions. It’s logical, if God almighty can’t help, you and I certainly can’t!

But the good news is that neither of those conclusions is true! Do you remember that question Jesus asked Philip? “Where can we buy bread for all these people?” Well, John tells us this right after:   Jesus was saying this to test him, for he himself knew what he was going to do. Jesus hadn’t run out, he had only begun to teach his disciples that day. He had the thousands sit down on the grass and he took the five loaves and two fish and gave thanks. And now John doesn’t focus on the miracle itself, he simply says that the disciples handed out the food to the crowds. That’s it. It wasn’t a show, it was a miracle for provision, not for pride. And then all the people ate. Everyone ate as much as he or she wanted and the disciples even picked up leftovers! 12 baskets of leftovers so that perhaps 12 disciples could see and feel the weight of this truth: Jesus never runs out! 

The statistics I shared about world hunger are staggering, but did you know that there is not a shortage of food in the world? There’s more food produced each day than all the people in the world need. India for example has a surplus of food produced per person each day. But it has the second-highest number of undernourished people in the world. The food is there. God has provided. It’s human sin that gets in the way. Wars, politics, greed, corruption, and waste ruin God’s generous provision. The bread hasn’t run out and God keeps giving bread, he keeps giving regardless of how many times people misuse and waste his generous provision.

And this is true with more important things than food. Jesus’ provision for the crowd went beyond bread. If he had stopped there he would certainly have come up short. Even if he had given them bread for the rest of their lives he still would have come up short. Jesus loved them and us more than that. Look at the last verse of our text: When Jesus realized that they intended to come and take him by force to make him king, he withdrew again to the mountain by himself. Jesus was indeed the prophet who was to come into the world, the promised Messiah. He was king. The miracle he performed before the crowd demonstrated that very fact. But he withdrew from the crowd. 

Why? Because, my friends, we need more than just bread. We need more than just solutions for earthly problems. We need a solution for sin, the root of all problems. We need a solution for death, and from something far worse than hunger: an eternity spent starving for God’s presence in hell. That’s why Jesus withdrew. Jesus would not let anything get in the way of his real mission. As John said, “Jesus knew what he was going to do.” He was going to the cross. Jesus solved the greatest problem we face. He took away our sin. And on the third day he rose to life. He isn’t the bread king. He’s the Bread of Life! I’ll close with two applications: 

#1. Because the Bread of Life Never Runs Out, we never run out of strength and motivation to serve either. The disciples ended up serving 15,000, not because they were so rich, but because Jesus’ power and provision never runs out!  We too have the joy of serving what Jesus has already provided. He has given you a heart of faith that seeks to reach out in kindness to someone who is suffering. He gives you the ability to produce wealth so you can donate to relief programs and godly organizations. He has shown you compassion that runs over, so you can address problems with a selfless love that only God can give. 

#2. Earthly aid should always serve the greater mission of the Gospel. There’s a beautiful way that physical or earthly provision disarms hearts so the Gospel may take root. A single parent finds a helping hand from a Christian neighbor and through that kindness learns of One who can give them true peace and spiritual rest. The struggling addict finds more than a recovery plan and encouragement from church, they also find release from years of guilt in Jesus’ name. The victim of abuse finds more than a Christian friend who cares, but a Savior who gives them safety and security forever! Let’s give physical bread and the Bread of Life! Let’s serve those in need and give them Jesus. It does make a difference, no matter how small. It’s always worth your time. And you do have more than enough to give. Because the Bread of Life Never Runs Out!

Amen.