John 6:1-13
Jesus Cares
The book that you are turning to is unique. It is one of the four
gospels but it is different in time, theme, and topic. In time, John
wrote his gospel later than the other three, perhaps as much as 40
years later. In theme, the other gospels were given to record the
life of Jesus. John leaned more to record the sermons of Jesus. In
topics, John steered away from writing the events that was already
recorded. You can see that in several ways.
1. The other gospel writers gave (depending on how you count
them) 36 to 46 different parables. John did not record one.
2. In all, the gospels record at least 37 miracles, but John only
seven and five of those are not recorded by any other gospel
writer.
However, the miracle that we are about to read is recorded in all
four of the gospels. For some reason, even though recorded in the
other three gospels and available for so many years, this is the only
miracle that he felt he needed to repeat. Maybe that is because John
saw something that the other gospel writers did not see.
Let’s read the text.
There is no doubt that a great miracle was done that day. Jesus fed a
multitude with a five biscuits and a few slices of fish, but it is
not the miracle I want to preach on this morning. I want to preach
about the miracle Worker and His care.
I see three areas of care.
I. \\#John 6:14\\ Jesus cares about our immediate needs.
A. By doing this miracle, Jesus did what he often did. He helped
people.
1. Concerning this miracle, \\#John 6:5\\ says that it was "a
great company."
a. John add in \\#10\\, it was about 5,000.
b. \\Matt 14:21\\ will tell us that was not counting
women and children.
c. That would make the size of this crowd into the tens
of thousands!
2. Both Matthew and Mark make it clear that the people had
been with Jesus all day, and that it was late.
3. \\#Luke 9:10, Mark 6:35\\ tell us that the location was
a "desert place."
4. So we have…
a. …a large crowd.
b. …a long day,
c. … a hungry people,
d. and no place to eat.
5. \\#Matt 14:14\\ says of Jesus, that He "was moved with
compassion toward them.
6. Jesus cared and wanted to feed them, so He did.
a. Because Jesus cared for the people—like they were
right then, hungry and tired.
b. Those are not the worse conditions a person can be in.
(1) We can live without food for weeks.
(2) The people walked into that desert place. They
could walk back out again. They had not become
anchored to that place. There was food in other
places.
c. But this miracle shows that Jesus cared for them.
Right then. Right there.
B. This is not the only time that Jesus showed His concern and
care for the immediate needs of people.
1. \\#John 4:46-54\\ Jesus was approached by a man whose son
was sick, "at the point of death" \\#John 4:47\\.
a. Jesus spoke the word and healed the man’s son that
very hour.
b. Why? Because Jesus cares for our immediate needs, our
right here and right now needs!
2. \\#John 5:1-9\\ Jesus was walking in Jerusalem, near the
gate where the sheep were brought in for marketing, and
He found a man who had been paralyzed for 38 years.
a. Jesus told him to take his bed and walk, and he did.
b. Why? Because Jesus cares for our immediate needs, our
right here and right now needs!
C. But some will be skeptical.
1. Skeptics ask, "But were there not others?"
a. "So Jesus feed one crowd that was hungry. If Jesus is
God AND He really cares, why did He not feed all the
hungry crowds? Why is there hunger today?"
b. "So Jesus healed one man’s sick son. Are there not
other sick children today? If Jesus is God AND He
cares, why does He not heal all children today?"
c. "So Jesus healed one man’s servant. Are there not
others who are sick today? If Jesus is God AND He
cares, why does He not heal all the sick today?"
2. Those are actually very good questions, and I want to
answer them.
a. Jesus did not and does not feed all of the hungry,
heal all of the children, or fix who are broken
because He gave us a choice and He wants us to be
free to make our own decisions and to live with the
choices that we make.
b. To have free will, we must have two things:
(1) There must be a choice.
(2) We must receive what we choose.
c. You say, "No one ever chose to be hungry, and no one
ever chose to be sick."
(1) In some cases they did. Many of the decisions we
make have much farther ranging consequences than
we realize, but even we did not make the choice
ourselves, we still fall into the consequences of
the choices of others.
(a) Our parents have made choices.
i. Their parents have made choices.
ii. And those who went before them made
choices.
(b) And even when it is not our immediate family
that made the choices…
i. Leaders make choices.
ii. The masses of people make choices.
(2) And so it continues.
(3) God gave us free will to make choices and to
enjoy the consequences of the choices we make,
but that does not mean He does care.
d. And then someone points out, "But God stepped into
this situations."
(1) Miracles are the exception.
(2) From time to time, God steps into a life or lives
to erase a bad choice that was made.
(3) He does that to show that He does care, but if
God did that for everyone in every situation, it
would not be the exception.
(4) It would be the rule and man’s free will would
cease to be.
II. Jesus cares about our eternal need.
A. John did not state this truth as Mark and Luke declare it.
Mark 6:34 And Jesus, when he came out, saw much
people, and was moved with compassion toward
them, because they were as sheep not having a
shepherd: and he began to teach them many things.
Luke 9:11 And the people, when they knew it
(that Jesus was there), followed him: and he
received them, and spake unto them of the kingdom
of God….
B. He fed the multitude and healed them of diseases because
He cared for their immediate needs, but Jesus preached to
them the words of Life because He cared about their
eternal needs.
C. The Bible does not tell us what Jesus preached, just that He
did. However, we are given enough examples that I think we
can figure out what He MAY have said.
Matthew 4:17: …Repent: for the kingdom of
heaven is at hand.
Mt 11:28 Come unto me, all ye that labour and
are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
Lu 19:10 For the Son of man is come to seek and
to save that which was lost.
Joh 7:37 In the last day, that great day of the
feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man
thirst, let him come unto me, and drink.
1. No. The Bible does not say that He spoke these words so I
do not know for sure, but I do know that He spoke these
kinds of words often.
2. Why? Because Jesus cares about our eternal needs.
a. Friend, like it or not, we all have an eternal soul
that will spend eternity either in heaven or hell.
b. You may reject that truth if you want, but it will not
change it.
c. But like some today are not pleased with God because
He lets them have the consequences of earthly choices
made, so some will not be happy when God lets them
live with the consequences of the eternal choices
they have made!
3. You say, "Why does God not remove hunger, sickness, death,
disease, cruelty, catastrophes, and all the other
consequences of man’s free will.
a. The answer is because He wants us to see our choices
have consequences.
b. All of the choices made by us, our parents, our
leaders, our neighbors, our nation, and our world
have consequences.
(1) Some on us directly.
(2) Some on us indirectly.
(3) Some on our family, some on our friends, some on
our coworkers, some on the entire planet and
every person who lives on the planet.
c. But as painful as those choices may be, they are
nothing compared to the consequences of our eternity.
(1) Foolish teachers, choosing to teach humanism,
materialism, atheism.
(2) Foolish leaders, choosing to take us down carnal,
destructive political paths.
(3) Foolish religionists, choosing to teach religion
over salvation.
(4) Foolish parents, neglecting Christ for themselves
and for their children.
(5) And foolish us, choosing to be lead down the
pathways of hell and damnation instead of
following Christ.
d. All of these choices have eternal consequences.
D. But Jesus cares!
1. He cares enough to build churches, to call pastors,
evangelists, missionaries, and people to brag on Him,
to climb the tree of mockery and scorn, and to hang from
the branch of rejection and persecution to remind you
that He is good and that He loves you!
2. Please do not allow yourself to make a choice today
that you will regret for all eternity.
3. Choose Jesus today.
III. Jesus cares about our earthly need.
John 6:5 When Jesus then lifted up his eyes,
and saw a great company come unto him, he saith
unto Philip, Whence shall we buy bread, that
these may eat?
6 And this he said to prove him: for he himself
knew what he would do.
A. I think this one statement might be the reason that John
included this whole miracle in his gospel.
B. John wanted his readers to know that Jesus was not just
thinking about the skeptics’ hunger, or the sinners’ soul,
but that He was also thinking about the saints’ service.
1. I have trusted Jesus Christ, and I am going to heaven.
2. I have a full belly, a clothed back, a roof over my
head, and a comfortable life.
3. Is that all that Jesus cares about? Is he done with me?
4. No! Not me and not you either!
C. You will notice that there was no command given.
1. Jesus asked a question, like on a test; but not because
He didn’t know the answer.
2. John looking back on it figured it out.
3. John realized that Jesus knew all along that they could
not feed the multitude.
4. John realized the question was a test for the disciples.
5. What was Jesus testing? Four things:
a. Jesus was testing whether they could see the need…
b. …whether they would care about the need…
c. …whether they would want to do anything about the
need…
d …and whether they would try to do anything about the
need.
D. Salvation is not just about getting into heaven.
1. It is also about doing something with our earthly lives
that means something, something that will translate into
rewards and a position of service for eternity!
2. Even inside the church, I think we sometimes forget that
God created us without sin and to do SOMETHING for Him.
a. We get excited about our salvation—and so we should—
but so few excited about the renewed opportunity of
serving Him.
b. Your sin is gone now.
c. You can now do what God has created you to do.
d. Jesus pointed out to His disciples that the people
were hungry.
(1) He was indicating that there was a need that
needed to be met.
(2) He was also asking a non-verbal question, "What
are you going to do about it?"
(3) He was proving them, testing them.
e. Listen. God does not call everyone to be a Pastor,
an evangelist, a missionary, but God does call
everyone to see, to care, to want to help, and to do
something to help the needs of others.
f. Jesus cares about your earthly need.
(1) Not just the ones who need your help.
(a) Not just the lost who need salvation.
(b) Not just the hungry who need food.
(c) Not just the sick who need healing.
(d) Not just the hurting that need comforting.
(2) Let’s make this about the most important person
in our lives, ourselves.
(3) Jesus cares about our earthly need, that we do
not squander our lives for a hallow existence of
selfishness, merely lavishing ourselves with
comfort, pleasures, luxury, ease, and joy; but
that we invest into the lives of other today so
that WE CAN REAP THE RETURNS OF REWARDS
TOMORROW!
I do not know why John put this miracle into his gospel, but it may
be because he understood something that writers had figured out when
they wrote theirs. Jesus cares about us all.
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