The Feeding of the 5000 (St. John 6: 1-15)

The Feeding of the 5000

(St. John 6: 1-15)

Dear Fellow Christians,

We have been informed that the Movement Control Order (MCO) will be extended to 14 April 2020. Therefore the church will not have its regular activities carried out at the premise until that date. As God is in control of everything, we need not be troubled as Philippians 4:6 says, “Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.” 

The study for this week (St. John 6: 1-15) is commonly known as the “Feeding of the 5000”. The actual number of people in the congregation would likely exceed 5000 as the passage noted the number of men in the multitude only. 

There are many lessons drawn from this passage. However, none is greater than the teaching and enlightenment that the Lord Jesus is divine — as proven in the signs He gave us. The subject of His divinity was covered quite comprehensively last week.  I will elaborate on some other aspects of our faith mentioned in this week’s Bible passage. 

The following five characteristics mentioned in the passage are worthy of emulation by Christians:

1) Compassion

2) Generosity

3) Courtesy

4) Obedience

5) Trust

Compassion: The Lord’s compassion for the needy (John 6:5)

Compassion is taught through the example of our Lord who had sympathy for the needy when they needed food in the deserted place where the miracle took place. Christians are therefore reminded to be thoughtful of our fellow beings and that also includes providing assistance as well as basic necessities for non-Christians. 

Generosity: The lad who gave all he had (John 6:9)

Generosity is another Christian virtue which was demonstrated by the lad who willingly shared all his food with the disciples. In the midst of scarcity, would we consider sharing our belongings like what the lad did? 

When the government announced the implementation of the MCO, we noticed much panic buying and hoarding of food, especially by the rich. Sharing my own experience at the supermarket, I saw someone carrying 3 cartons of eggs (30 eggs in each carton) in her shopping cart. Being a relatively huge egg consumer, I find such purchase to be overly excessive. 

Considering the welfare of others, should we buy less or just an adequate amount and leave some for those who need such basic necessities? This suggestion of mine pales in comparison with the selfless character of the lad who offered all his food to the disciples so that everyone has a share of it! 

Courtesy: The maturity of the disciples in responding to a crisis (John 6:9)

When Andrew reported about the lad who only had 5 barley loaves and 2 fishes, there was no mention of the other disciples sneering at Andrew’s remark. The ‘natural’ man will call Andrew a moron or something like that for suggesting to feed 5000 men with just 5 barley loaves and 2 fishes.

In today’s society, even within the church, there are incidences of people who overtly make brusque remarks if someone provides food that does not satisfy their taste buds. Courtesy is, therefore, a characteristic of a Christian and believers should be reminded to be gracious towards one another (Romans 12:10). 

Obedience: Compliance to the commandments of the Lord (John 6:10)

The virtue of obedience was exemplified in the crowd that gathered to hear the teachings of the Lord Jesus. When the Lord instructed the people to sit down (Note: In Luke Chapter 9:14, the Holy Spirit further informs us that they sat down in groups of 50), they obeyed the commandment without murmuring. Considering the multitude of 5000 men, there may be more than 100 groups of 50! 

This is a reminder to believers that obedience is better than sacrifice (1 Sam 15:22). Emulating the teaching of obedience demonstrated by the multitude, we can likewise meditate on how we should respect our Lord and abide by His words and the Church regulations (Hebrews 13:7).

Trust: The fervent trust in the power and words of God (John 6:10)

Trust is manifested in the example of the lad, the disciples and the multitude of people: The lad offered to share whatever food he had; the disciples entrusted their faith in the Lord that He will supply the needs of the crowd with the measly provision of food available to them at that moment; the devoted listeners of the Lord’s instructions trusted and obeyed His commandments to sit in groups of 50 despite the hunger and inadequate food supply before the miracle took place.  Everyone believed that the Lord will care for them.

In God, we are always safe (Romans 8:28).

And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose (Romans 8:28).

With God’s blessings,

CL