GLUTEN-FREE BREAD - (1)

John 6: 1-69 – Part 1

“I am the bread of life.  He who comes to me will not hunger.” John 6:35

How many people would like to end world hunger?  Throughout the ages how many agencies, ministries, fund raisers, soup kitchens and so forth do you suppose have helped to feed the hungry?  I would not even venture a guess.  Just on the commercials I’m watching on cable, and on the ads on the internet I see each day, there are several.  That is without my doing a search.

When I go to the grocery store, amidst the aisles of plenty, there are reminders about those who can’t walk in and help themselves.  I can add a donation to Capital Area Food Bank to my grocery tab, or I can purchase pre-bagged groceries that will be delivered to a needy family later.

Hunger is universal.  When Jesus stated “I am the BREAD of life” he was not fooling around with our hopes and dreams.  And to prove that, he DID that – fed people literally, that is.

Read the story here: http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=john%206:1-15&version=NIV

Listen to story here:  http://www.biblegateway.com/audio/dramatized/niv/John.6

John 6:1-15 tells the story.  A large crowd gathered in a deserted rural area.

They were hungry.

They had gathered for a good purpose – to hear Jesus speak.

They were far from a store.

They were far from their homes where they did have food.

There wasn’t enough for everyone.

They didn’t have enough money.

He used the whole situation as an object lesson. (“…he already had in mind what he was going to do.”)

He gave them bread.

But this object lesson was no magic show.  He did not wave a wand and produce an egg.  What happened was so over-the-top that it not only met the need but it ASTOUNDED people.  They tried to seize him and MAKE HIM KING!  Think about that.

And before we move on to what he taught them about this event, let’s make sure we have really grasped the enormity of the event.

YOU DO THE MATH!
TOTAL AVAILABLE AT START	1 meal
There were 5,000 men plus an uncounted number of women and children (use your best guess)	+5,000 +5,000 +5,000 15,000 meals
There was Jesus and his 12 special disciples	+13 meals
They had 5 small barley loaves	-1 meal
They had 2 small fish.
It was enough to feed one boy.
TOTAL NEEDED	15,012 meals
EVERYONE had plenty to eat	15,012 meals
12 baskets full of leftovers (basket holds 10 meals – use your best guess)	120 meals
TOTAL AVAILABLE AT END *	15,132 meals*

When was the last time you went to dinner and had MORE food left at the end than at the beginning?

What is the point that you get from this object lesson?

*[If you calculate a literal 5,000 meals, and figure in very small baskets (2 meals worth), there were 5,024 meals produced from the original 1 meal.]