‘Let
nothing be wasted’
Jesus saw a large crowd coming toward him, and he asked Philip,
"Where will we buy enough bread for all these people?"
Jesus already knew what he was going to do, but he asked the
question because he wanted Philip to think about it and learn something from it
(John 6:5-6, my paraphrase, throughout). John included this story so that we
could think about it and learn something from it, too.
Spiritual significance
Let’s fast-forward into the story so we can see what Jesus
already knew would happen. He miraculously fed the large crowd, and they later
asked Jesus to prove that he was the Messiah (v. 30). Jesus told them, "My
Father gives you the true bread from heaven—bread that gives life to the world."
"Well then," they said, "give us some of this bread" (v. 34).
Their response was like the Samaritan woman at the well: When Jesus said that he
had water that would give eternal life, she said, "Give me some" (John 4:15),
and eventually Jesus said that he was talking about himself.
And in John 6, Jesus also reveals that he is talking about
himself: "I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and
whoever believes in me will never be thirsty" (v. 35). Jesus is the bread who
came down from heaven to give life to the world. Just as bread is nourishment
for our physical lives, Jesus is the source of spiritual life and energy.
The miracle of feeding the large crowd pointed toward a
spiritual truth, and that is why Jesus did it, and that is why he wanted Philip
to think about it, and that is why John tells us the story. Jesus did many
miracles that John did not include in his book, but John includes certain ones
to help us have faith in Jesus (20:30-31)—not just believe that Jesus did
certain things in the past, but that we would trust him with our eternal future.
The miracles are signs pointing us toward Jesus’ spiritual significance.
Let’s look at the story again.
It was almost Passover, John tells us (v. 3). Bread was an
important feature of the Passover season, but Jesus is revealing that salvation
does not come from physical bread, but from Jesus himself. Jesus asked Philip,
"Where are we going to buy bread for these people?" And Philip answered, "It
would take (roughly) five thousand dollars to buy enough bread for this crowd!"
Andrew did not speculate about the price, but he must have been
good with kids. He had already befriended a boy and learned that he was carrying
a little extra food. "This boy has five small loaves and two dried fish, but
that’s not near enough, is it?" Perhaps he was hoping that the crowd included a
few more boys who had the foresight to bring lunch.
"That’s good enough," Jesus said. "Have everybody sit down." So
everybody did. Jesus thanked God for the food, and gave everyone as much food as
they wanted (v. 11). It was quite a crowd—larger than many towns are today—and
the people began to talk among themselves, "Surely this is the Prophet" (v. 14).
They thought that Jesus was the leader Moses had predicted
(Deut. 18:15-19)—and yet, ironically, they were not willing to listen to him.
They wanted to make him a king by force—forcing him into their idea of what a
Messiah should be—rather than letting Jesus do what God sent him to do.
When everyone had enough to eat, Jesus told the disciples:
"Gather the pieces that are left over. Let nothing be wasted" (John 6:12).
Doesn’t this strike you as a little odd? Why would Jesus want to gather all the
leftovers? Why not let the people keep the extra? Or let it be a bonanza for the
birds and chipmunks?
The disciples picked up 12 baskets full of leftovers, John tells
us—but then he says nothing about what they did with all those half-eaten
loaves. I think there’s something going on behind the scenes. What is there in
the spiritual realm that Jesus does not want to go to waste? I think that John
gives us a clue later in the chapter.
Walking on water
The disciples took a boat back home—but they left Jesus stranded
there, without any other boat to pick him up (vs. 17, 22). John does not
indicate that anything was out of the ordinary with this, so I conclude that the
disciples often left Jesus alone, presumably because Jesus wanted to be left
alone sometimes. He needed some time on his own for prayer, no doubt. (As an
aside, I might point out that this is also true for pastors today—they need some
time to themselves, even though there will always be people who want more of
their time.)
As far as I know, Jesus was not in a hurry. He could have walked
back to town on the roads that went around the lake. Or he could have waited for
a boat, like the other people did (v. 23). But he walked on the water,
apparently to make a spiritual point.
In Matthew, the spiritual point is faith, but John says nothing
about Peter walking on water or sinking and being saved by Jesus. What John
tells us is that when the disciples took Jesus into the boat, "immediately the
boat reached the shore where they were heading" (v. 21). This is the feature of
the story that John wants us to take note of.
If Jesus could do teleporting, why did he need to walk on water?
Why not just zap to wherever you want to go? What’s the point? You might have a
better idea, but here’s mine: The story tells us that Jesus is not limited by
physical circumstances, and as soon as we accept Jesus, we are spiritually at
our destination. It may not look like it, but Jesus is not limited by physical
appearances. Spiritually, the reality is set; it has been done.
The bread of life
The people searched Jesus out again, looking for another free
lunch, and Jesus encouraged them to look for spiritual food instead: "Do not
look for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life" (vs.
24-27). "The Son of Man will give you this food," Jesus said, but instead of
asking for this gift, they asked what they should do (v. 28). They were asking
for works instead of grace.
"What does God want us to do?" they asked, wanting to meet the
requirements of the messianic age. Jesus told them: "God wants you to believe in
the person he sent" (v. 29). The messianic age has already begun, so don’t try
to work your way into the kingdom—just trust Jesus, and you’ll be in. Just take
that one step, and you’ll be there!
Could it really be that easy?, the people wondered. They asked
for evidence—as if feeding 5,000 people had not been enough! "What miraculous
sign will you do that we might believe you?" As an example of a miracle they
might be willing to believe, and in keeping with the Passover season, they
mentioned a miracle of bread associated with the Exodus—Moses gave them manna
(bread from heaven) to eat. Some Jews thought that God would provide manna in
the messianic age, too.
But Jesus said that the real bread from heaven doesn’t just feed
the Israelites—it gives life to the world! (v. 33). "Give it to us," they said,
probably wanting to examine it to see if it met their qualifications. Jesus
replied that he was the bread from heaven, the source of eternal life for the
world.
The people had seen Jesus perform signs, and they still did not
believe in him (vs. 33-36), because he did not meet their qualifications for a
messiah. Why did some believe, and others did not? Jesus explained it as the
work of the Father: "Everyone the Father gives me will come to me." He repeats
this idea in verses 44 and 65: "No one can come to me unless the Father draws
him … unless the Father has enabled him."
Once the Father does that, what does Jesus do? He tells us his
role when he says, "I will never drive them away" (v. 37). Perhaps they can
leave on their own, but Jesus will never push them away. Jesus wants to do the
will of the Father, and the Father’s will is that Jesus will lose none of the
people the Father has given him (v. 39). He does not let anyone go to waste.
Since Jesus does not lose anyone, he promises to raise them up
at the last day (v. 39). This is repeated in verses 40, 44 and 54. Jesus
stresses that the person who believes in him has eternal life (vs. 40, 47).
Eating his flesh?
Jesus also says that people who eat his flesh and drink his
blood have eternal life (vs. 51, 53-56). Just as he was not referring to the
stuff made from wheat when he called himself the true bread, he was not
referring to muscle tissue when he spoke of eating his flesh.
Some of the
Jews wondered, "How can this man give us his flesh to eat?" (v. 52), but in the
Gospel of John, it is often a mistake to take Jesus’ words in a literal sense.
For example, Nicodemus asked, How can people enter their mothers’ wombs and be
born again? (3:4). Similarly, the Samaritan woman said, Give me some of this
living water so I won’t have to come back to this well (4:15).
They pushed the literal meaning, but the story shows that Jesus
meant something spiritual. Here in chapter 6, Jesus said, "The flesh counts for
nothing; the words I have spoken to you are spirit and they are life" (v. 63).
Jesus is not making a point about his muscle tissue—he is talking about his
teachings.
And his disciples seem to get the point. When Jesus asks them if
they want to go away, Peter answers: "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the
words of eternal life" (v. 68). Peter was not worried about having access to the
flesh of Jesus—he focused on the words of Jesus. The consistent message of the
New Testament is that salvation is experienced through faith, not special food
and drink.
From heaven
Jesus repeats one more point several times in this chapter: that
he is from heaven (vs. 33, 38, 41, 42, 46, 50, 51, 58, 62). The reason that
people should believe in Jesus is because he has come down from heaven. He is
absolutely trustworthy, because he does not just have a message from heaven, but
he himself is from heaven.
The Jewish leaders did not like this teaching (v. 41), and some
of Jesus’ disciples could not accept it, either (v. 66)—even after Jesus made it
clear that he was not talking about his literal flesh, but rather his words
themselves were the source of eternal life. They were troubled that Jesus
claimed to be from heaven—and therefore more than human.
But Peter knew that he had nowhere else to go, for only Jesus
had the words of eternal life (v. 68). Why did he know that only Jesus had these
words? Because only Jesus is "the Holy One of God" (v. 69). That is
the reason his words are trustworthy; that is the reason his words are spirit
and life. We believe in Jesus not just because of what he says, but because of
who he is. We do not accept him because of his words—we accept his words because
of who he is.
Since Jesus is the Holy One of God, we can trust him to do what
he says he will do: He will not lose anyone, but will raise us all at the last
day (v. 39). Even the crumbs will be gathered, so that nothing goes to waste.
That’s the Father’s will, and that’s something worth thinking about.
Joseph Tkach
