2004-05-30 Communion Message - Baldwin Christian Church

John 6:10-14

10. And Jesus said, Make the men sit down. Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, in number about five thousand.
11. And Jesus took the loaves; and when he had given thanks, he distributed to the disciples, and the disciples to them that were set down; and likewise of the fishes as much as they would.
12. When they were filled, he said unto his disciples, Gather up the fragments that remain, that nothing be lost.
13. Therefore they gathered them together, and filled twelve baskets with the fragments of the five barley loaves, which remained over and above unto them that had eaten.
14. Then those men, when they had seen the miracle that Jesus did, said, This is of a truth that prophet that should come into the world.

Communion should first and foremost be a fellowship of love, not something we do because we feel its our duty. People say that love is blind, but that's only because love chooses to focus on the good in it's object, and it remains ever-hopeful that the bad will change. Love desires to learn more about, and be closer to it's object.

In the first fourteen verses in this chapter, we've learned:

1. Even though this mass of five thousand people were only there for the magic show, Jesus still had mercy upon them, and so He saw to their needs. (Actually, He did more than see to their needs. It says that "they were filled," so He went the "extra mile" with these who followed Him because of the miracles.)

"Lord, please let Your example teach us the necessary patience and wisdom toward folks who follow You for the wrong reasons."

2. Jesus already knew how Phillip would respond to the test in verse 5, so the whole purpose of the test was to show Phillip the answer.

"Lord, please help us swiftly come to terms with the tests and trials that come our way."

3. Jesus didn't rebuke Phillip for thinking money would solve everything.

"Lord, please give us patience with politicians."

4. Jesus didn't rebuke Andrew for miscalculating how many people the Lord can feed in the wilderness.

"Lord, please help us realize how much patience and mercy you've shown toward our own short-sightedness and lack of faith in You."

5. Jesus didn't distribute the food to the people. That job fell to His disciples. Maybe their faith was lacking a bit, but their obedience wasn't. When both are lacking, well, that's a bad sign.

"Lord, please help us to know when its time to stop asking questions and simply do what You bid us to do."

In verse 26 of this chapter, on the next day, Jesus will begin speaking words of correction to His followers, but for now He will let them think about these things. He wants us to learn the truth about Him for ourselves, and not just sit like potatoes in our pews, being spoon-fed from across a pulpit.

As we will soon learn, there was a lot of "stony ground" (Matthew 13:4-6) on that hillside. A magic show and a full belly wasn't enough to keep most of these people from falling away the very next day, the day when Jesus' words became hard to swallow.

Communion and Bible study are like tilling and fertilizing the ground of our hearts. Let's think about the Sower as we praise Him now in song and feast.