From megastar to madman (6:1-71)

This miracle, the feeding of the five thousand, is the only one that figures in each of the four gospels. Each author had a different agenda, so focussed on different aspects & details, but there is remarkable agreement between all four accounts. We'll first spend time gathering them into a single narrative, before going on to look at how Jesus interpreted the meaning of the miracle once back in Capernaum. Only John links the miracle with an extended discourse in which Jesus interprets its meaning. What He said, led to the vast bulk of His followers concluding that He was crazy, and going back to their everyday lives disillusioned. His reputation went from megastar Messiah to bizarre madman, in the space of a few hours.

Passover has come round again, a year on from when Jesus cleansed the Temple. Jesus's twelve disciples have just reported back joyfully, after He sent them out on mission to the Galileans (Matt 10:4-42). While they were doing this, Herod, who had just beheaded John the Baptist, became alarmed that maybe Jesus was John's reincarnation. (Matt 14:1-12, Lk 9:1-9). He tried to track Jesus down and bring Him in for questioning. Jesus crossed over Lake Galilee, out of Herod's domain, trying to get some space to grieve His cousin, and to rest the disciples. They landed not far beyond the mouth of the Jordan, near Bethsaida where Phillip came from: by the foothills of what are now called 'the Golan Heights'. But somehow His whereabouts got out, and crowds followed round the lake both on foot and by boat. Despite His grief and His plans being disrupted, He welcomed them, healed many, and taught them about the Kingdom of God. He could see that 'the fields were white unto harvest'.

The disciples realised that daylight beginning to run out, and the crowds were still growing. They advised Jesus to send the crowds away - so they could find food and lodging for the night, in the nearby towns. But He said, "No - you give them food to eat". He asked Philip, who came from that area, where they could buy bread locally. Philip pointed out that even buying snacks for that many would cost way more than they had in the team finances. Jesus told them to find out what food was already available, but the only person who'd come prepared was a young man with a packed lunch: two sardines and five cheap barley-bread buns. Andrew reported this to Jesus, but Jesus wasn't phased: He knew all along what He was going to do.

Passover being in March, before the scorching summer heat, the grass was lush and green. Jesus organised the crowd into groups of fifty or a hundred, and got them to sit down. Then He gave thanks to God and publicly shared out the buns and fish between the Twelve. They then gave some to each group, to pass around. Amazingly, five thousand men and their wives and children all had plenty to eat! The food just never ran out. And afterwards, when Jesus told His team to clear the site up, they gathered twelve baskets-worth of left-overs. Why twelve, we don't know. Maybe one for each disciple? the specific word for 'basket' used here, refers to something like what we would call a daypack. Sop maybe He was underlining the point to the disciples, that what they had thought totally impossible, was possible for Him.

What was the true meaning of this sign? No doubt in Jesus’ mind He was thinking of the following Passover, when He would give Himself as the bread of life, broken for many for the forgiveness of sins. This miracle showed that He was greater than Moses, who had given them manna. He Himself was the Bread of Life, ‘which a man may eat of, and not die’. Just as they had eaten of the bread and fish, they would need to ‘eat His flesh and drink His blood’: His sacrifice would be enough for the sins of all mankind, but they would each need to pass on the miracle of eternal life if all were to be fed. But none of this seemed to figure much amongst the crowds' thoughts.

Instead, they focussed on Passover's meaning as a commemoration of Moses's leading Israel out of slavery in Egypt. Nationalism was always fiercest over Passover, and Herod, the puppet King imposed by Rome, wasn't even a Jew but an Edomite! Worse still, he had just executed John the Baptist, someone they all held to be a great prophet. Little wonder then that there were whisperings that they should force Jesus to be the military Messiah they'd been waiting for. In the wilderness, he had resisted Satan's temptation to be a political Messiah: and He recognised the same temptation now. Jesus, as always, knew what was in mens' hearts, and before the plan could be hatched, he sent the crowds away, also sending the disciples back to their boat despite their reluctance (Mk 6:45) - before disappearing up the mountain to pray. I imagine He would have reconfirmed His willingness to be the sacrificial 'Lamb of God', as He prayed. And He would have sought the Father's heart, as to how to disabuse those who saw Him as a military leader.

As the sun set, a storm blew up and the disciples' boat began to be tossed around in the waves. The headwind meant they had to row, but could make no progress in such rough water. Seeing they were in trouble, Jesus set out across the lake, walking on the water! As He got near them, they saw what they thought was a ghost, and were terrified. But Jesus told them "Don't be afraid: I AM" - affirming His divine authority over Creation. Peter wasn't sure whether it was Jesus, and decided to test it by joining Jesus in walking on water! At first, as he looked at Jesus, all went well. But as soon as he started to look at the waves, he began to drown, and had to cry out to Jesus to be saved. By then, the others were happy to take Jesus onboard; and He instantly calmed the storm and warped space-time so that the boat reached its destination. So many miracles in such a short space of time! The disciples were filled with awe, and worshipped Him saying, "Truly, you the Son of God" (Matt 14:33).

They landed at a place called Gennesaret, slightly south of Capernaum. The locals brought out all those who were sick, wanting to touch the hem of his cloak, because Malachi had prophesied that Messiah would bring healing in His tzittzit - the tassels on its fringe. Anyone who did so, became completely well again (Matt 14:36). Jesus came back from there to Capernaum, only for the crowds He'd sent home to arrive, looking for Him. They were puzzled because they knew He hadn't left with the disciples: local water-taxis from Tiberias had picked them up after the storm, and brought them home; but how had Jesus got back before them?

At this point, we move from the sign, to its interpretation. Jesus first speaks to the ordinary Galileans (vss25-40) and then, when the sabbath came and He was teaching in the synagogue, to some Judaeans (vss41-59). Lastly, He challenges those who had been following Him - his disciples - about their unhappiness with His teaching (vss 60-71. And the vast majority decide enough is enough, Jesus is crazy and they might as well go home. Only the Twelve stick with Him.

Jesus's reply to the Galileans

The locals are puzzled as to how Jesus had got back faster than they had. In His 'reply' (v26) Jesus says they're seeking Him not because they understood the meaning of the 'sign' He has just performed, but (because they are poor peasants - unlike the Jerusalemites) their concerns focus on the most basic of needs: food. From October to February there were no fresh crops, but by Passover the barley was just beginning to be ready - perhaps that's why the little boy had barley buns in his lunchbox! The winter had been long and hard, and they'd just had their first square meal for a long time. (It can seem sometimes, that Jesus never gives a straight answer to a straight question! But in my view, Jesus always addresses the true issue underlying the questioner's query. Exploring such apparent non-sequiturs will often lead to fresh revelation.)

Jesus points them to the meaning of the miracle. There is a kind of bread that gives eternal life, and which should be higher priority than their earthly food. (Remember, Jesus had just told the Twelve that His food was to do the will of His Father.) It was natural for them next to ask, "Well if that's the case, Jesus, what must we do to earn this food?" And Jesus's answer is, "Just believe in the One God sent - meaning Me."

Like their compatriots in Jerusalem, they weren't about to believe unless He showed them a miracle. Israelites being hard-nosed pragmatists, they demanded a sign. "If you are telling us you are the One Moses foretold, show us a miracle of the same magnitude as when he gave our ancestors bread in the Sinai desert!" This is more than just a healthy dose of skepticism, for Jesus has literally just given them as much bread as they could eat, in a desert place!

Jesus points out that actually, it wasn't Moses who gave them the manna, but God. Moses was very clear that it was God, not him, who had met their needs (Ex 16:8). But now, God was doing something even greater, giving them the true bread from heaven - something much better than manna, let alone barley bread. The Bread of God is a Person, not a material substance:

They responded like the woman at the well had done: 'Lord, give us this bread always'. Jesus has nurtured their awareness of their spiritual hunger, and now they seem eager to receive.

"I AM the Bread of Life", says Jesus. This is the first of His great self-revealing truths. Just as the Jews' scriptures had compound names such as 'Yahweh-Tsidkenu', (meaning the LORD our righteousness), or 'Yahweh-raphah', (meaning the LORD my Shepherd), so now Jesus declares Himself to be the God that we need. His divine nature meets all our human need. But it is a personal thing: not 'I supply the Bread of Life', but 'I am the Bread of Life'. Our need is met in the Person of Jesus. We must look to Him; no-where and no-one else.

"You have seen Me, and as yet do not believe. Everyone whom the Father gives Me, will come to Me; and anyone who does come will never experience Me rejecting them. Whatever My personal preferences, I came down from heaven to do the Father's will not My own. His will is that I should shepherd His flock so carefully that not one is lost, until I raise them up at the Last Day. Furthermore, His will is that until then, anyone who sees Me and believes in Me should have wonderful fellowship with both Me and My Father - a new dimension of life, that will continue on into eternity." (Vss 37-40)

Jesus tells them they haven't yet come to true faith. But in the sovereignty of God, some will come. And they need not fear being turned away. Everyone who comes, will be accepted and welcomed. Somehow God's sovereignty doesn't mean we can excuse our unbelief by saying, "Maybe it's not God's will for me to be saved." If we will come, we will be received. And we will be shepherded through life, and through the afterlife, until the great Day when "the dead shall hear the Voice of God, and they that hear shall live."

It is noticeable that this dialogue picks up on aspects of the previous chapter: resurrection, and the Last Day, to name two. Then, Jesus was talking to Judaeans in Jerusalem: now, He's about to meet those same Judaeans in Capernaum, in Galilee! What were they doing there? Matthew's account suggests that they were still hell-bent on stirring up trouble for Jesus (Matt 15:1)). Their beef is that Jesus is claiming to have come down from heaven, when in fact everyone knows He is Joseph's son, and that Mary and Joseph are well known locally. (Remember that Jesus had moved His family to Capernaum some time back). They push back against any suggestion He is divine. They deny (as John will later say in his first Letter) that 'Jesus Christ is come in the flesh'.

Jesus's response to the Judaeans

We might paraphrase Jesus's continuing speech to the Jews like this: "Don't bad-mouth Me amongst yourselves, like the Israelites did with Moses. The fact that you don't grasp who I am, shows that the Father hasn't revealed My glorious beauty to you - you're not amongst the people He has chosen to give Me, so that I can raise them up at the Last Day. The scripture says that all true 'children of Jerusalem' will be taught by God Himself, and will have great peace (Isa 54:13)) - through coming to Me. I'm not saying anyone gets to actually see the Father, He can only be known through Me, who came from bosom companionship with Him. But anyone who believes that I have come in the flesh, that I am the Son of God, already has that new quality of life: life which is in communion with the Father and the Son. Because I AM the bread of life - the source of that kind of life."

He takes them back to the Exodus account: though their ancestors had eaten 'bread from heaven'in the form of manna, they had all nevertheless died. "That 'bread' couldn't even prevent physical death. but this 'bread from heaven' means your souls will never die, and your bodies will be raised to life for all eternity. I AM the living bread: in My very Person is this self-existent, divine life (John 1:4) which I communicate to others as they digest who I am. The food that I'll give is My incarnated humanity, My enfleshed-ness: that's what they'll need to digest. I'll freely lay down My body-and-soul life, to purchase eternal life for the world."

Commentators argue as to how far this should be taken as referring directly to the Lord's Supper, which of course would not be instituted till much later in Jesus's ministry. The context is all about food that sustains life, rather than substitutionary atonement. But the last clause makes it clear that the transfusion of life from Jesus to believers, is not just to do with them 'getting' His incarnation: it will also involve His awful physical death, as a ransom sacrifice for us. And He will accept this awful cost willingly - it will not be the result of some awful mishap or miscarriage of justice.

But whilst these verses resonate readily with Matt 26:26-30, or Lk 22:14-20, the context is all about Jesus's identity, not about some mechanical way of guaranteeing oneself eternal life. The focus is not on the sacrificial effect of Jesus's death, but on His Person and His word - His logos. 'Receiving mass' or 'taking communion' does not of itself mean anything, unless to the participant it is an act of worship of Jesus, in spirit and in truth. It is belief in Him as the One who came from above, who was the incarnate Son of God, full of grace and truth, that saves.

Overall, it is striking how non-sacramental John's Gospel is. He is the only gospel writer who makes no mention of thee institution of the Lord's Supper. If we see his gospel as designed to balance the Synoptics, then we would have to see this chapter as corrective of a wrong understanding of that sacrament.

As still happens amongst Christians today, the Judaeans fell to arguing amongst themselves as to how Jesus could give them His flesh to eat. Trans-substantiation is still a major sticking point between different church traditions. In another apparent non-sequitur, Jesus simply underlines how essential it is for them to 'eat His flesh and drink His blood', if they are to have eternal life.

This is where the rubber hit the road for Jewish theology. Eating the flesh of the Passover Lamb was an essential element of the seder meal, and so they might have been able to grasp the metaphor involved in the eating. But drinking blood??? That was anathema to a Jew. This teaching - in the synagogue at that - is what caused so much offence, that most of Jesus''s disciples turned away from Him.

After the Flood, when God allowed Noah to eat meat, when mankind had been vegetarian up till the flood, He forbad him eating animals' blood. (Eating, not drinking, because after death blood coagulates.) A life for a life required a soul-life for a soul-life, but only to be used to atone, never so that one creature could syphon off another's life. This was because 'The soul-life' (Hebrew = 'nephesh') 'of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you upon the altar to make atonement for your soul' (Lev 17:10).

If you think of movies about vampires, or the Count Dracula myth, the whole premise of vampires' existence is that a regular draught of blood from a living person will keep the vampire alive. (Strangely enough, amongst modern-day research into stopping the ageing process is some evidence that transfusing a young person's blood into an old person does indeed slow or stop their ageing, at least for a time). Here was Jesus, saying that they would have to drink His blood if they were to have life!

Jesus's disciples' response

Jesus's Galilean disciples found this teaching offensive. (a) He was claiming to have come down from heaven, when His own mother lived just down the street in Capernaum (b) He was claiming to be greater than Moses and greater than manna (c) He was now saying they had to eat His flesh and drink His blood, if they were to receive the zoe life He was offering.

Jesus now responds to each of these issues in turn. (a) If they are offended by His statement about coming down from heaven, what will their response be when they see Him ascending back to the Father, through the portal of the Cross? How will they respond to that scandal? (b) it is not the flesh of Christ in the physical sense - that profits nothing. Rather it is the Spirit of Christ that gives life. And His Spirit is communicated in His words. Words (spoken words) can only be formed by breath (spirit). (c) "The words that I have spoken to you", unlike the words of Moses, "are spirit and are life. But there are some of you who do not believe. That's why I said that no-one can come to Me unless it has been granted to Him by My Father."

This teaching, about eating His flesh and drinking His blood, was the divinely-appointed sieve to sift out all those whose discipleship was not from the gift of the Father. This was His Father's answer, when Jesus had prayed on the mountain about how to stop the zealots seeking to make Him a military Messiah. Jesus wasn't fazed by the sudden change in His popularity rating. He knew that 'many are called, but few are chosen'; that much of the seed He was sowing would be wasted, in that it would be stolen by the birds, wilted by the sun, or choked by weeds. Jesus knew from the beginning that there were many who would betray Him, either by turning away after they had received healings and suchlike, or by shouting 'Crucify, crucify' when the fateful day came. And He knew that Judas would betray Him for the most shameful of reasons: personal gain. Even amongst His closest inner circle, the man to whom He gave the bread and the wine would go out into the darkness to offer to sell Him to the High Priest. Only those the Father gave Him, would stay the course. But how precious they were, to Him! "Christ loved the church, and gave Himself for her, that He might purify her through the washing of water with the word'

Later, He would say, "If you continue in My word" (My logos) "you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free." These disciples turned away from His word, because they wanted a Messiah who would set them free from Roman occupation. But only the logos of Jesus can set us truly free! And only if we continue in it, no matter how difficult we may find it, and how unpopular it is with others.

Jesus now challenges His inner core of disciples: "What about you? Do you also want to turn back?" The Greek suggests this is not a gloomy foreboding on Jesus's part, but rather, ""What about you? Surely you don't want to go away too, do you?" This despite His foreknowledge that one of them would betray Him: one of those He had personally chosen, was actually a devil.

Peter's answer was strong and faith-filled. (a) What other options do we have? You, and only You, have the words of eternal life: none of the other rabbis do (b) we have come to believe and know that you are the Christ, the Son of the Living God. During the stormy crossing of the lake a few days earlier, Jesus's abi;ity to walk on water, His command over nature and His ability to shrink space-time had convinced that that it was right to worship Him as God (Matt 14:33).

Some questions to ponder:

• What do you react, when people try to pressure you into what they want you to be? Is your reaction to go along with it for a quiet life, or for popularity and prominence? Or do you withdraw and pray, then do what the Father tells you, however costly that may be?

• What is your experience of the words of Jesus? Are they 'the words of eternal life' to you? Do you experience 'the witness of the Spirit' - that bubbling of joy within you - when you hear preaching or teaching about Jesus? Do you find the word of God brings you into deep fellowship with the Father and the Son? Or is it all too difficult, too strange and seemingly mystical, when you just want some practical solutions in life?

• What is your experience of taking communion? Do you recognise Jesus's risen Presence in the breaking of the bread, as the Emmaus disciples did?? We can get stuck in thinking we ought to be more penitent, more aware of our sins and of the agony of the Cross, when for the disciples going to Emmaus, it was a wonderful revelation, full of joy, and all about Jesus's identity as the Risen Lord, 'the Son of God with power' (Rom 1:4)

• "The body of our Lord Jesus Christ, which was given for you, preserve your body and soul unto everlasting life. Take and eat this in remembrance that Christ died for you, and feed on him in your heart by faith with thanksgiving. The blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, which was shed for you, preserve your body and soul unto everlasting life. Drink this in remembrance that Christ's blood was shed for you, and be thankful." How do you 'feed on Him by faith'? Do you meditate on His incarnation, His humbling Himself to become man, as much as on His death and resurrection?

• Have there been times in your life when you have taken offence at things Jesus has said? Or when He has seemingly not answered your prayers in the way that you wanted? "Blessed is he who is not offended because of Me" (Matt 11:6). Are there still issues about things that have happened in your life, where you need to say, "Lord, I don't understand, but I trust You"?