We have all been there. You open up the fridge to look for a yummy snack, only to see empty shelf after empty shelf. Oh wait, what’s that in the corner? An apple perhaps? That will do, you think, only to pick it up and realise that your kid has eaten half the apple and stuck it back in the fridge. What now remains has the consistency of a marshmallow and suspiciously gives way under your fingers when you pick it up. You are left hungry and empty. Spiritually we can have that same empty feeling. Our text today helps us think through what we are to do with that. So let’s have a look.
Scripture: John 6:1-15 (ESV)
“After this Jesus went away to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, which is the Sea of Tiberias. And a large crowd was following him, because they saw the signs that he was doing on the sick. Jesus went up on the mountain, and there he sat down with his disciples. Now the Passover, the feast of the Jews, was at hand. Lifting up his eyes, then, and seeing that a large crowd was coming toward him, Jesus said to Philip, “Where are we to buy bread, so that these people may eat?”
He said this to test him, for he himself knew what he would do. Philip answered him, “Two hundred denarii worth of bread would not be enough for each of them to get a little.” One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said to him, “There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish, but what are they for so many?” Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.” Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, about five thousand in number. Jesus then took the loaves, and when he had given thanks, he distributed them to those who were seated. So also the fish, as much as they wanted. And when they had eaten their fill, he told his disciples, “Gather up the leftover fragments, that nothing may be lost.” So they gathered them up and filled twelve baskets with fragments from the five barley loaves left by those who had eaten. When the people saw the sign that he had done, they said, “This is indeed the Prophet who is to come into the world!”
Perceiving then that they were about to come and take him by force to make him king, Jesus withdrew again to the mountain by himself.”
So what happens is that Jesus has now amassed a large following. In some ways this is not surprising, as we have seen Jesus has been preforming various signs and wonders and people have started coming to him hoping to see more. And so by now there are thousands of people hanging on his words. The story is familiar to us. The people start getting hungry and so Jesus turns to Philip and says, "Where can we buy bread for all these people?" Philip is probably thinking, "You're kidding, right? Feeding this lot would cost a fortune!" Then Andrew mentions a boy who has five loaves and two fish but adds, "What good is that with this many people?"
Notice that Jesus said this to test his disciples. They fail the test spectacularly. But undeterred Jesus takes the loaves and the fish and everyone eats until they are full and then there are even 12 baskets of food left over.
We know this story. So what are we supposed to learn here? We can think that this is just about Jesus’s power as a miracle worker. But there is something more going on here. To just read this and only see the miracle is to miss the deeper point. Because this story answers a deeper need we have. It’s kind of like the fridge we open to find food, only to find a moldy old apple. Because actually our hearts are like that fridge. We have a deep spiritual emptiness that only Jesus can satisfy. As much as Jesus is the Lord over the physical world and can multiply very little into massive abundance, so too Jesus is the Lord over the spiritual world too. Through this miracle he shows us how he can fill our spiritual needs. Because the truth is we can’t satisfy our spiritual hunger. All we have is a moldy apple in the heart. But Jesus, as we will see in the next passages, is the Bread of Life.
The bread of life doesn’t run out until all who come are satisfied.
Prayer:
Dear Lord Jesus, we have all tried to fill our spiritual hunger with wrong things. Please forgive us for this. Thank you that you provide not just for my physical needs, but also my spiritual needs. Thank you that you give generously. Amen.
Spiritual Challenge:
Consider your spiritual life. Where are you feeling empty today? Ask Jesus to help you see how he fulfils that need.
More Than a Miracle: Filling Our Spiritual Hunger