feeding of the 5,000. Most of us are familiar with that. It was the Passover feast of the Jews was at hand and Jesus saw a large crowd coming toward him and he said to Philip, where are we going to buy bread that these people may eat? And Philip is sort of surprised that Jesus is suggesting that he or the disciples feed all these people. There were 5,000 men and women and children in addition, but the passage says Jesus did this to test him for he knew what he was going to do all along. One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother said, well there's a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish, but what are they for so many? And Jesus said, have the people sit down and he had them distribute it to the people. There was, it seemed like there was kind of an amphitheater setting. They were sitting on the side of the hill on grass and they fed the 5,000 men plus the women and the children with those five loaves and two fish. Now it's clear that the disciples knew what was going on because they had to keep coming back and getting more and more of the food. But it's not clear at least initially that the crowd knew what was going on because they were so far away. I mean if there's maybe 10,000 people and you're in the back half of the crowd, you're not going to be able to see what's going on up front. But we do know that once the miracle had taken place, the word spread pretty fast and Jesus withdrew himself and went back up to the mountain because he perceived they were going to try to come and take him by force to make him king. They said this is deed is the prophet who is to come into the world. So then that brings us to the second miraculous event. It says, when evening came, his disciples went down to the sea, got into a boat and started across the sea to Capernaum. It was now dark and Jesus had not yet come to them. The sea became rough because the strong wind was blowing. When they had rode about three or four miles, they saw Jesus walking on the sea and coming near the boat and they were frightened. But he said, it is I, do not be afraid. Then they were glad to take him into the boat and immediately the boat was at the land to which they were going. So Jesus is walking on the water and it's not calm water either. It's rough water. The wind's blowing. The seas are rough. They've rode three or four miles. I don't know if you've ever been in a boat and tried to row in a calm water. It's not that easy and rough water is even harder. Three or four miles in the wind and the rough sea would be exhausting. And then they look up and they see this figure walking toward them on the water. And it says they were afraid. Of course they were afraid. They'd never seen anything like this. We don't know why Jesus chose to stay back. We don't know why the disciples chose to leave him back. We just know that that was the case. When Jesus is walking on the water, he's coming toward them. They're afraid. And he says, do not be afraid. And he got into the boat and miraculously as soon as he got into the boat, the boat was on the land where they were going. Now this is not dissimilar to a miracle that took place as well when Jesus was in the boat and the disciples were rowing and he was asleep. This recorded in Mark four in Matthew eight. He was in the boat and the disciples were afraid that they were going to die. So they woke him up and they said, don't you care that we are perishing? Now we've taught on this before and if you remember that don't you care is a very insulting line to Jesus. It's as if they're saying Jesus, if you were awake, you would fix this. And if we were you, we would do it better. But when Jesus woke up, he spoke and immediately the sea was calm and the wind was gone. And the scripture says the sea was completely calm. Now, if you've ever been in rough water, even if the wind stops blowing, it takes a while for the sea to calm down. It could be hours depending on how long the wind had been blowing and how large a body of water we're talking about. But as soon as Jesus said, peace be still, the whole thing was like glass. And their response was who is this then? That the wind and sea obey him. J.C. Ryle wrote a small book, really a sermon, called The Ruler of the Waves. And he encourages us to meditate on Jesus, to study Jesus, to contemplate Jesus. I'm going to quote from this book. He says, study the subject not least in the miracles worked by our Lord Jesus Christ during the three years of his ministry upon the earth. Learn from the mighty works which he did, that the things which are impossible with men are possible with Christ. Regard every one of his miracles as an emblem and a figure of spiritual things. See in it a lively picture of what he is able to do for your soul. He that could raise the dead with a word can just as easily raise men from the death of sin. He that could give sight to the blind, hearing to the deaf, and speech to the dumb, can also make sinners to see the kingdom of God. Hear the joyful sound of the gospel and speak forth the praise of redeeming love. He that could heal leprosy with a touch can heal any disease of the heart. He that could cast out devils can bid every besetting sin to yield to his grace. O begin to read Christ's miracles in this light. Wicked and bad and corrupt as you may feel. Take comfort in the thought that you are not beyond Christ's power to heal. Remember that in Christ there is not only a fullness of mercy but a fullness of power. The miracles of Jesus, end of the quote, the miracles of Jesus were done to assure people, mostly his disciples, who would carry on his work once he departed, to assure people that he was indeed God the Son, God in the flesh, the Christ. So now people having witnessed a miracle and been fed with a few loaves and two fish, follow Jesus to the other side of the sea. In verse 25 of chapter 6 says, when they found him on the other side of the sea, they said to him, Rabbi, when did you come here? Jesus answers them and says, truly, truly I say to you, you are not seeking me because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you, for on him God the Father has set his seal. Then they said to him, what must we do to be doing the works of God? And Jesus answered him, this is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent. Now Jesus is teaching multitudes, a very important thing here. He's saying there's no work that you can do, there's no work that you can perform, there's no amount of money you can give, there's no lesson you can learn, there's no service you can offer to save yourself. Saying this is the work, that you look at me and believe, that you believe that I am the Son of God, that you believe that I am the Christ, that you believe that I am the Savior of the world, and you put your faith completely in me to forgive you for your sin and to take you to heaven. Now their response demonstrates the stubbornness of the unbelieving heart. Remember he's just fed close to 10,000 people maybe, 5,000 men plus the women and children. And then they ask, what miracle do you perform? What miracle do you perform? They ask that question. Then they tell him, Moses gave our forefathers manna in the wilderness, and they give credit to Moses, they give credit to man for a work that God has done. If they knew their history at all, if they knew the scriptures at all, they would know that it was God who had given them manna every day to provide for their needs, and a double portion on Saturday so they wouldn't have to gather it on the Sabbath, I'm sorry, in their case on Friday so they wouldn't have to gather it on the Sabbath. And yet they're giving credit to Moses. But Jesus corrected them, and he said it was God who fed them, it was God who gave them manna out of heaven, and it is God who's feeding them again not with the loaves, not with the fish. He says, truly, truly I say to you it was not Moses who gave you bread from heaven in verse 32, but my father who gives you the true bread from heaven, for the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world. Then they said, sir, give us this bread always. That's when he says something shocking. He says, I am the bread. I'm the bread of life who comes, whoever comes to me shall not hunger and whoever bleeds in me shall not thirst. I'm sure this is probably confusing to them, and Sinclair Ferguson points out that when we teach, if we're preaching or teaching and we use an illustration, we usually use an illustration to make clear our points. But he says Jesus doesn't do that. Jesus, in his metaphors and analogies, offers them to make us think and think hard about what Jesus is teaching and how to apply it. Dr. Ferguson says, even in the parables, this is what Jesus does. If you think back to Luke 15 and the parable that's often called the parable, the prodigal son, and for years and years in church services and three different denominations, I always heard that this parable was about the prodigal son. But it isn't. If you go back to the beginning of Luke 15, the Pharisees are complaining that Jesus is talking to sinners. And then Jesus tells them two stories, one about a lost sheep and one about a lost coin, and how everybody will rejoice if you find your lost sheep or you find your lost coin, and there will be much more rejoicing in heaven for one lost sinner. And then at the end of the story, the older brother who's representing the Pharisees is left outside the party, which is to say he's left outside of heaven. So the story is really aimed at the Pharisees. It's really aimed at the older brother. But you have to think about it to arrive at that conclusion. And in John chapter 3, he tells Nicodemus, you must be born again and he doesn't understand it. See, he's trusting in his race, he's trusting in his position, he's trusting in his education. And Jesus says, you being a teacher don't understand these things. So what does Jesus mean when he says he is the bread of life and whoever comes to him will not hunger or thirst? It gets even more confusing later, which we won't cover today, but he says if we don't eat his flesh and drink his blood, we don't have part of him. But the promise is glorious. If you come to Christ, you will not hunger or thirst, you will not be cast out, and you'll be raised up on the last day and given eternal life. Now I'm guessing those of you who are Christians, which I'm guessing is most, if not all of you, you've all been hungry or thirsty since you became a Christian. I know that because at the end of the service, there's going to be food and drink and we'll all have some, or most of us will anyway. So Jesus isn't talking about taking away our physical hunger and thirst, so what is he talking about? See, this is where you have to think. He said something very similar to the Samaritan woman in John chapter 4, which we looked at a couple of weeks ago. Remember he said, if you knew the gift of God, who it is saying to you, give me a drink, you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water. She kind of argues with him and says, you don't have anything to draw with and the well is deep. What do you mean living water? Our father Jacob gave us the well, and his drink prevented his sons and livestock as well. Jesus said, everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I give will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life. So it's obvious that he's not talking about actual water. In both cases, Jesus is talking about quenching your ultimate thirst and satisfying your ultimate hunger. Now the reason this illustration is so appropriate in the time of Jesus and maybe needs a little more explanation for us is because at the time of Jesus, nine out of ten people were living at a subsistence level. And what that means is they were concerned about having enough food, enough shelter, and enough clothing every day. A worker would work all day for what was called a denarius or a drachma, and that would cover just about the necessities for a day, maybe just a little more. But we have plenty to eat. Water is readily available. Nova Scotia water, at least Halifax water, is some of the best water I've ever tasted. Nobody has to schlep to the well to get the water. Now there are many places in the world where this is still the case. Food for the day is the main concern. I remember hearing a story about a friend who was in Lithuania when it was still behind the Iron Curtain. I think that Tom was Vilnius, and he and his wife were there as missionaries for a year, and he said every day his wife had to go to the market and stand in line to get food for the day. They ate a lot of cucumbers, he said. And many places in the world it's still like that, but here in Bedford and in most of Canada, that's not the case for the majority of people. So what is it? If it's not food and drink and clothing and shelter, what is it that satisfies your hunger and your thirst? Might be a little different for everyone. For some, it's romance. It's finding the right person to share your life with. Remember the old Dean Martin song, You're Nobody Till Somebody Loves You. You apply that to a job, you're nobody till somebody promotes you. For some, it's family, being around loved ones, especially at the holidays, caring for them and being cared for by them, having and raising children, being pleased with them, rejoicing in their successes, and mourning with them in their defeats. For some, it's an achievement of some kind. It could be career advancement or academic success, that you absolutely have to have it. That's what you're hungering for. That's what you're thirsting for. And if you don't get it, you feel devastated. You feel devastated in your spirit like you would physically if you couldn't get food or water. For some, it's accomplishing your goals, whether they're personal or vocational or something else. All of us are looking for something to satisfy us, to quench our thirst, to satisfy our hungers. The culture recognizes this. They most often look in the wrong places, but it comes out. It comes out in the music. I remember way back when I was a kid, a song from the Rolling Stones, I Can't Get No Satisfaction. And I tried and I tried and I tried and I tried and I can't get no satisfaction. Many years later, Bruce Springsteen wrote, Everybody's Got a Hungry Heart. St. Augustine of Hippo said, Thou hast made us for thyself, O God, and the heart of man is restless until it finds its rest in thee. Everyone is hungering and thirsting for something. And Jesus is saying, I am the one. I am the one that you're hungering and thirsting for. I am the ultimate satisfaction of all of your hungers and all of your thirsts. John Piper wrote this about his own hungry and thirsty heart. Jesus, Jesus himself and all that God is for me in him is what I hunger for and thirst for. He has been merciful to me and to most of you to reveal himself as the supreme treasure of our lives. Do you feel that way? Do you think that way? Is Jesus your supreme treasure? I am the bread of life who comes to me will not hunger and whoever believes in me shall never thirst. That doesn't mean hunger and thirst in our souls does not rise up every day. It means now that we know what it's for. Now we know where to turn. Now we know what to drink and what to eat. We drink down Jesus. We swallow the glory of Jesus and there's a never ending supply. That is what we're made for. All other treasures, all other pleasures. Point to this. Jesus is all satisfying end of every longing. Do you hunger and thirst for Jesus? If you come to him, you'll be satisfied in every way that matters. You may be physically thirsty. You may be physically hungry. You may die of a disease. But your soul will be satisfied in Jesus. If you come to him, your thirst will be quenched. Look at the promises of Jesus to everyone who comes to him in verse 37. All the father gives me will come to me and whoever comes to me, I will never cast out. If you come to him, you will not be cast out. Verse 39, and this is the will of him who sent me that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day. He will lose none of us. You will not be lost, but you will be raised up. In verse 40, for this is the will of my father. It's God's will that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life. I don't even know what eternal life looks like. I can't hardly imagine it, but I know the Bible says what no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, what has not entered into the heart of man, all that God has prepared for him. It's God's will to save everyone who believes in Jesus and he will raise him up on the last day. How is this possible? How is it that all our desires will be satisfied in Jesus? How is it possible because we are sinful, we go astray, we try to fulfill our desires and other things and other people and other activities. Even when we know that it's Jesus, we look elsewhere. How is it possible that all our desires can be satisfied in Christ? Conrad Midway said it like this. We deserve death and wrath and hell forever and Jesus took our liability and God crushed him. Jesus drank our hell. In the Garden of Gethsemane, you probably remember, Jesus is praying and he says, Father, if possible, let this cup pass through me, the cup of judgment, the cup of wrath, the cup of what he would have to go through in the next day or so. The humiliation, the beatings, the crucifixion. If possible, let this cup, again, what do you do with the cup? You drink it. Let this cup pass from me, but not my will, but yours be done. He drank the cup of God's judgment and wrath so we could drink the cup of joy and eternal life with him forever. Let's pray.