Sermon Cloud

House is a modern day Sherlock Holmes – House, Holmes.... who uses differential diagnosis and the Socratic method to solve medical cases. I have no more idea about whether that's good medicine than I know about the medical jargon they throw around. But it is fun to watch...

What I do know is that sitting and staring at a problem for ages is something I like to do. It was what I enjoyed most about studying Maths at Uni. I wasn't all that good at it but working on it was fun. Sometimes. Problem solving is fraught with wrong trails but is glorious when it reaches its solution.

It's a bit like that coming to a passage like John 6. We don't come to triumph over the passage and cast our judgement on it – but to see it unlocked. We come to understand have the Holy Spirit persuade us about Jesus, penetrating our hearts to believe.

In John 6 the people face a problem to solve – the same question as on every page of the Bible: who is Jesus?

They get many things right but draw some wrong conclusions or applications. It's a remarkable incident that all the gospel writers record. John has something unique to tell us though.

We begin with Jesus, very popular. By the end of this incident they want to make him king. It's not an impossible route to travel from celebrity to political ruler, but something has changed here. What? Why? How? Let's investigate.

We find Jesus (v1), just under 2000 years ago by the Sea of Galilee in Israel. V2, huge crowds are following him because of his miracles. He's the local celebrity preacher. In v3 he sits to teach as was the custom in his culture, and by the time the incident is over, in v15, the crowd want to force him to become their king. What on earth happens in between?

The feeding of the 5000 is what happens in between, v5-13. It's described as a miraculous sign, v14, not just a miracle. From five loaves and two fish the whole crowd, 5000 men plus women and children are amply fed with twelve baskets to spare. Just stop for a moment and consider what happened there! This is no ordinary picnic.

Some have explained it away as just a spiritual feeing but that doesn't explain the filled stomachs or the net increase of food – more afterwards than before.

Don't ask me how the Physics of that works but here it is. The crowd are amazed. Clearly they should take note, but, v15, they seek his coronation?

Why? You'd could understand if they wanted to make him the new Chief Executive of Tescos. You could understand if they lauded him as the Jamie Oliver of his day doing wonders with packed lunches. But king?

Notice, v14, it's a sign. It points to something else. This is John's approach – evidence to show us who Jesus is. Jesus meanwhile is, v6, testing his disciples. Teaching what? Consider the clues – the when, where, what...

First, V4- passover. Not just where, but when. This event is near the festival of passover. Passover recalls God's rescue of his people from slavery in Egypt 1400 years before, when he rescued them.

How? By the death of a lamb in their place that they remembered every Passover. The blood of which was spread over their door, and turned away God's wrath. He passed over them when judging Israel.

They think they're needy because they're hungry but the when of these events shouts out that they have much bigger need than filling their stomachs. They're in need of rescue from wrath. That might sound a bit serious. And it really is.

Second, V3 – the hills, wilderness and mountain. Hence no food. Much like Israel in the wilderness after they left Egypt. Think when, where and what...

Thirdly, V14 – the people conclude Jesus is 'The Prophet'. We'll come to that in a moment.

What do we know so far? Passover, wilderness, mountain, Exodus. Rescue. Jesus provides bread from heaven in the wilderness. Like Moses. The details point towards Deuteronomy 18:

“I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brothers; I will put my word sin his mouth, and he will tell them everything I command him. If anyone does not listen to my words that the prophet speaks in my name, I myself will call him to account”

This is who the people mean when they say Jesus is The Prophet...

This is

Jesus through whom all things were made and without whom nothing was made that has been made. He who spoke light into the darkness.

Jesus who saw Nathanael at a distance and whose words penetrated into his heart like a double-edged sword to discern the motives of his heart.

Jesus who spoke to the woman at the well and read her heart and her history.

Jesus who came from the Father with words that Nicodemus should have understood, revealing God's salvation plan in words more precious than gold.

Jesus who simply said the word to a royal official about his son: 'Your son will live' and he did. Or to a lame man - 'Pick up your mat' and he walked.

Jesus whose words carry universe-creating broken-life re-making authority like the words of no-one else who has ever walked on planet earth.

Every other religious figure is out of their league – no-one has this sort of authority.

This is the Prophet Jesus who doesn't just speak the word of God but is the very fulfilment of all the Jewish Scriptures. He is the one Moses spoke of. He is The Prophet.

And John doesn't disagree with the conclusion of the crowds. Neither does Jesus. With all the evidence considered they have draw the right conclusion!

So what's the problem?

Right conclusion. Jesus the Prophet must be King. Of course he is the King! He has authority like no-one else.

The kind of authority that makes presidents look like they play with toy soldiers, and billionnaire businessmen look like they're just swapping monopoly money.

Jesus' authority makes all the kings and rulers and authorities of the world in all of history look powerless. Of course you'd want him to be your king!

So why does Jesus, v15, know that they have got it right and slip away?

It's not that he's not king. John will go on to show us the coronation of King Jesus later in his book.

We've not seen a coronation in this country for over half a century, and even when Charles takes the throne it wont exactly be a great political event.

The crowd with their full stomachs envisage a political revolution. Jesus-The-Prophet overthrowing the occupying forces of the 1^st Century Roman Empire!

Wouldn't you want him as king? Healer. Water into wine. Bread out of thin-air. Unmatched wisdom and authority.

Jesus will be enthroned. But not in a Palace with a throne. Not in the way the people expect. His coronation will be in the shame of a Roman cross. Emblazoned over his head the words:

“THE KING OF THE JEWS”

Crowned as their passover lamb – dying in their place. Bearing God's wrath so that we might receive his abundant favour – not just more food for today but life upon life with Jesus forever.

All that John has written points towards this – the lamb who takes away sin, the stairway to heaven, the snake to look at, now – the bread from heaven. Different picture, same point. Jesus brings sinful people to God.

They want Jesus but they want him on their own terms. And that's the problem. As John Calvin observed the human heart is an idol factory. We love to invent imaginary gods for ourselves. Gods that fit our requirements and ideas of what God should be like.

That's like shooting an arrow and then drawing a target around where it hits. You always get what you want but it's not real.

• If you want Jesus for a political revolutionary then you don't want Jesus.

• If you want Jesus because that makes you part of the CU crowd you don't want Jesus.

• If you want Jesus to make you happy, wealthy and healthy then you don't want Jesus.

Jesus is no man's puppet. Instead we're to do what everyone is supposed to do with The Prophet – v29: Listen and believe.

Believe what? Believe he is not just the prophet but also the bread – two images of the same thing. Two images illustrating where Jesus has come from and why he has come.

They ask for more signs but he wont appease them. He has come to give life and it's theirs if they want it. Not life by filled stomachs but life by rescue from sin.

The Jews were given bread from heaven - 6v58. The Exodus Bread. But they died. The bread Jesus offers guarantees life for those who eat it. By Jesus' cruciform coronation in 19v21 we may live.

What do you do with Jesus?

Option 1. 6v66. 'MY JESUS'.

You can take offence because this preacher, and more importantly, the Bible, wont let you have 'my Jesus' because you have to have the real one.

You can take offence because you wanted the cool-Jesus, the revolutionary-che-guevara-t-shirt-Jesus, the boyfriend-Jesus, the bless-me-Jesus...

You can take offence because all those 'my Jesus''s don't exist. They're figments of your imagination.

It is unbelief to set the glory and excellency of Jesus at nought in favour of your own pocket version of Jesus.

Or, Option 2. 6v68. 'THE JESUS'

You can stand with Peter. And you can conclude that there is no-where else to go than to eat the words of Jesus.

• No-where better than to gather at the foot of his cross.

• Nothing better than to revel and delight in his death for you.

• Nothing more precious than the words that he speaks.

And you can feast your heart on Christ – feeding on the one who came from heaven to bring us life forever.

Feasting on Jesus as portrayed in the page of the Bible. It's easy to drift away from that but that only ever ends with a fake-Jesus who will be a lesser-Jesus.

So let us gather around the word and invite others to do likewise. Make use of next week's events with Michael Ots.

Do diagnostics like House and inviting others to do the same. House doesn't get to decide what's wrong only to examine the evidence.

Likewise, none of us gets to decide who Jesus is. He is who he is. By his word, by the Holy Spirit he penetrates into our hearts and persuade us about Jesus. Open up that Life book with friends this week – ask them to consider Jesus for themselves, tomorrow.

Watch Jesus walk off the page speaking with supreme universe-creating, glory-revealing, life-changing authority.