Primary Text: John 6:1-71
Memory Verse: “For the bread of God is He who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”
Then they said to Him, “Lord, give us this bread always.”
And Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst.” John 6:33-35
Introduction:
One of the most famous of Jesus’s miracles is the feeding of the 5,000. Jesus had been teaching the multitudes and privately instructing His disciples when He got word that His cousin had been murdered. He felt tired and called the disciples to go with Him to a place away from the crowds for a time of quiet rest. But the crowds found out where Jesus was going and went on ahead.
Yet, Jesus didn’t send the crowds away. He ministered to them. After many hours of intense ministry and healing miracles, the disciples realized the people needed to eat. At this point Jesus performed the miracle of feeding them all, with leftovers to spare, starting with only 5 loaves and 2 fish.
Did Jesus perform this miracle out of compassion? Partly. He could have, though, shown compassion on the people simply by instructing them that it was time to go home. Mainly, He performed this miracle to teach His disciples a lesson, showing them basic principles of ministry.
When we minister, we need to follow the principles Jesus was teaching. In ourselves, we’re inadequate to meet the needs of the world, but when we bring our resources to Jesus, He can take over and bring about the results. It is true that “little becomes much when you place it in the Master’s Hands.”
This is part of the faith process. We often become overwhelmed in the task ahead of us. We see the great needs and are ready to give up before we even get started knowing that in ourselves we aren’t sufficient to meet them.
However, if we realize that putting our complete trust in Him means that we rely on His resources to meet the needs, then we are pliable to His will and ready to be Jesus’s “basket-bearers”—empowered to reach the multitudes with His abundance of life.
Studying the Word
Lesson Study
- Even though He was tired, what was Jesus’s motivation for teaching and healing? Matthew 14:14; Mark 6:34.
- Why did Jesus decide to feed the people rather than sending them home? John 6:6.
- What is the significance of the command, “You give them something to eat?” Mark 6:37; 1 Corinthians 3:6-7
- What does God ask of us in doing ministry? 1 Corinthians 3:5-15; John 9:23.
- What struggles have you had in surrendering yourself to ministering to the needs of others? Ephesians 6:12; 1 Peter 5:8-9.
- When we surrender to God, what is He able to do through us? Jeremiah 33:3; 17:5-7; Psalm 108:12; 1:1-3; Proverbs 13:20; 15:32-33; Ephesians 3:20; Philippians 4:11-13; Isaiah 58:6.
- What should be our focus when we go through difficult, faith-testing circumstances? Matthew 14:22-33; Philippians 3:7-14.