(John) Gazing at the People — Willie Mullan

The Setting of the Feeding of the Five Thousand

Well, I'm going after the 6th chapter of this evening, and we're starting at verse 1. And you will notice this, after these things, Jesus went over the Sea of Galilee, which is the Sea of Tiberias. You see, last week we left the Lord sticking to these fortresses down near Jerusalem.

But He's gone back again, as we believe. He took the old pathway back, and back into Galilee, and now we find that He's crossing the Sea of Galilee this evening, the Sea of Tiberias. That would make us think that He came from somewhere here, because Tiberias is on the west there, and we believe that He was crossing to the other shore.

And so that sets the problem for us that is in this evening. We're back in Galilee, and He's crossing the Sea of Tiberias. That's another name for the Sea of Galilee, because Tiberias is on the western shore there, and many of the ships went out from there.

And that, too, sets a great multitude forward to Him. You see, we not only see the problems where He's working, but we see the people, a great multitude. And when we come to the end of verse 10, you'll find the multitude in number about five thousand, so that we're gazing at the people just to begin with.

And then you'll notice this in verse 2, a great multitude followed Him because. Because what? Because they believed He was the Son of God? Because they believed He was the Lamb of God? Or not at all? Because they saw the miracles which He did on men that were diseased.

You see, they were just following a sort of magician-physician. That's all they saw, just a magician-physician. There's no indication at all that they've ever repented of sin. No indication that they've ever found themselves unclean before a holy God.

No indication that they have accepted Him as the only procurator for sin. It's just because they saw the miracles. So that we're seeing the province and the people and the purpose why the people followed Him.

The Place, Period, and Purpose of the Miracle

Verse 3, And Jesus went up into a mountain, and we're seeing the very place. You see, when He crossed the sea and got over to the other side, He went up into one of the mountains here, close by the Sea of Galilee.

And we're seeing the very place. And then you'll notice this, that verse 4 says, And the purple world, our feast of the Jews was nigh, and that will give us the period. So that God outlines the word very carefully for us, we understand the province we're in, and we see the people, and we know their purpose, and we have the very place fixed, the mountain, and we know the period.

It was at the Passover time, and many of the scholars are agreed that this is the third Passover in the Lord's ministry. But for this class tonight, we don't need to enter into those details because we're not after them.

That will fix the stage for us this evening. And now in the next ten or eleven verses, right down from five to fifteen, we're going to deal with this miracle that is so often called the miracle of the feeding of the five thousands.

Now, I thought that I'd get much further on in the chapter this evening. I thought I would get on into the next five or six verses, down to verse twenty-one, but I don't think we shall. There are so many valuable, spiritual, blessed lessons here in these ten or eleven verses that I would feel that I was running past something that was valuable for the class if I should run on too quickly.

So I'm going to underline these lessons for you this evening. The first one, if you're watching your notes, is the proving of philosophy. And there's a great lesson for every believer in this class this evening as we get down to the proving of philosophy.

And then there's a second lesson in the phrase that he knew what he would do. He himself knew what he would do at the end of verse six. I've called this the plan of the potentate, because only the blessed potentate himself could have known the plan so thoroughly.

And there's a great lesson here. Then into the story comes Andrew, and we want to examine the answer of Andrew. And I think there will be a great lesson there for every believer. And then we come to the command of Christ in verse ten.

Jesus said, make the men sit down. And I think there's a blessed lesson here, too. Then we entered into the marvel of the miracle itself, its importance and the actual performance. And then after the miracle we come to the saying of the Savior, gather up the fragments that remain, that nothing belongs.

There's both an expectation there and an example. And then we finish with the proclamation of the people. Myra said, this is of a true start prophet that should come into the world. When Jesus therefore perceived that they would come and take him by force and make him a king.

You see, they realized the prophet, and they wanted to make him a king, but there's something missing, isn't there? However, there are the bones for you, but the bones are no use for the glass. We leave the beef on the bones, if we're going to get anything to take away with us.

So we're starting now, properly, at verse five. We know the province that we're working in. We can see the people, the great multitude. We know the purpose in their hearts, why they have gathered around them.

And we know the very place, the mountains, on the eastern side of Galilee. And we also know the period of the Passover time of the year. Verse five, when Jesus then lifted up his eyes and saw great company come unto him, he said unto Philip, When shall we buy bread that these may eat?

Philip Tested by the Crisis

And this he said to prove him. You see, this is the proving of Philip. And I think there is a wonderful lesson here for every believer. I want you to notice this, that when the master turned and looked into the eyes of Philip and said, When shall we buy bread that these may eat?

That he made Philip face a very difficult situation. I want you to get the hold of that, first of all. Remember, it was the master that put him into the difficult situation of the master. He was selecting Philip.

He was going to test him. He was going to prove him. He was now trying this apostle. He was trying. And I want you to know that the Lord will test you too, and it may be tomorrow. And there will come a time when the Lord will allow you to get into facing a very difficult situation, and he will do this to prove you.

To prove. And I want you to notice how Philip acted. You know, the moment that the master said, When shall we buy bread that these may eat? I want you to realize that Philip looked. Looked at the crowd.

You see, he looked at the crowd, and he began to calculate the crowd. He knew the number, somewhere about five thousand. You know, as he looked at the crowd, he then, I think, maybe scratched his head and began to calculate.

He was trying to find an answer to this situation that faced him now. He was trying to find a course out of the crisis. But let me get the hold of this for you. That when he looked at the crowd, and began to calculate, and sought a course out of the crisis, he lost sight of the Christ.

That's what he did. And you know, we're very like him. We mustn't run and condemn this evening. Because, you know, very often when all of us, the best of us, when we get into a tight corner, you know, we begin to work our brains by our heads.

We begin to move that way. What way can we get out of it?

I'm taken up with the crowd. I'm taken up with the crowd. We lose sight of the Christ.

I had a gentleman who came to me today and sat for an hour with me and poured out his problem. And I honestly believe that he shouldn't have come to me at all. Because the problem he came with, the only one who can answer it is the Christ.

And that's where I directed him to. I said, you know, in a situation like this, you should go home and get down on your knees and seek the Lord's will. And ask the Lord to tell you exactly what he wants you to do.

But you see, we run to one and all, don't we? And you'd rather go and ask your brother than go and ask the Lord. And you begin to calculate. And you begin to take a course. And you begin to do so many things.

And you're not looking at the Lord at all. And he was being desperate all the time. And the Lord was watching him, you know. To know if he had just turned and said, Lord. You know, you're the answer. It would have been wonderful.

But he didn't, you know. You remember Israel. You remember how God brought them out of Egypt. It was wonderful. And you remember when they came to the Red Sea. My, here was the whole nation stopped at the Red Sea.

And on either side were mountains. Mountains on either side. At yon spot where they stopped, the mountains rise up on either side. And the Red Sea's before them. And then, now, thundering in behind, comes the army of hell.

And they're in a tight spot. They can't get out. They can't go on. They can't turn back. They're torn up. The Lord cornered them. He said, I am going to put you in a tight spot too to see what you'll do.

Of course he will. You know, Moses said, Stand still and see the salvation of the Lord. The Lord will fight for you. And the Lord opened the way through the Red Sea. What a wonderful miracle it was. And God will most surely make a way for you, my brother.

But, you know, when they got through the Red Sea and sang on the other shore, it was all wonderful. But they hadn't gone a day's journey until that morning. They've lost sight of him again. And again he comes to their aid and does something wonderful.

And they haven't gone another day's journey until they've lost sight of him again. And we are so lucky. My, we're always like this. You know, you would think that when we had a real experience of the Lord doing something wonderful for us, that we'd never forget.

And when that hour of facing the problem would come, we would run to him, our dearest friend. But we don't seem to be all built with the same sort of material. That we lose sight and hear Philip being proved.

You can see the situation. You can see the interrogation. And you can see the calculation and how he failed miserably. I think there's a great lesson there to learn. That each one of us will be selected in turn by the Lord.

And we'll maybe have to stand at which end corner one day. And I trust when you get there you'll remember this lesson. Go and seek the Lord first. Never mind about your brains. Go and trust him. It's the trial of your faith, you see.

The Lord Knows What He Will Do

Now, I think there's another wonderful lesson here. The plan of the fortune-takers, you see. Let's read from verse five again. When Jesus then lifted up his eyes and saw a great multitude come unto him, he said unto Philip, When shall we buy bread that he's made?

And this he said to prove him. For he himself knew what he would do. Oh, I thank God for that. You know, I think that's a lovely phrase to get into your heart. There's a great truth here, you know. You know, no matter what situations arise in life, no matter how the storm howls, no matter how close the enemy comes, no matter how confused the hour for you may be, remember you must be never confused.

So there's no confusion for him. He knew the way out all right. He was only testing. He was only proving, Philip. But he himself knew what he would do. Are you in a tight corner this evening? Is there something pressing in on someone in this meeting?

You say, mister, you're painting my picture tonight. I'll tell you this, brother, for your comfort. The Lord knows the way out. He knows the way out. Maybe there is not a man in the meeting who could help you.

Maybe there is not a human friend who could take you by the hand and lead you out of the wilderness you're in. But I'll tell you this, the Lord knows the way out. He knows. It's wonderful, you know, to know that he knows all the time what he will do.

No confusion. I am no hesitation. I am no limitation. He is not limited, you know. Why, he can do mighty things. He knew exactly what he would do. You remember when Jacob had let his sons go down to Egypt?

And one of them had been kept vast as a prisoner, and the rest had come home and they wanted Benjamin to come because Joseph had said, unless you bring Benjamin, don't come back near me. And you remember when they came home and told their father that the old father held up his hand and said, Joseph is God, and the other one is not, and you want Benjamin?

And then he cried, all these things are against me. And at the very moment he would drop his son on the throne, was punished for his guilt. Don't you forget that. Don't you forget that you are Lord, know of the answer to every problem, and there is nothing too hard for the Lord.

How comforting this is. This is a great comforting lesson. I hope you get it. That all the time, the Lord knows what he will do. A very wonderful one. And then into this comes, it comes Andrew. And I want you to notice this.

Andrew and the Danger of Despising Small Things

Philip's answer was, of course, two hundred penny worth of bread is not sufficient for them, that every one of them may take a little. That's his calculation, of course. Now comes Andrew. One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, said unto him, there is a lard here, which has five barley loaves and two small fishes, but what are they among so many?

I want you to examine this answer of Andrew. You see, Andrew was the apostle who was always very busy. You remember it was Andrew who came down from Galilee and found John the Baptist as the forerunner of the Messiah.

Because Andrew was standing right close up beside John when John said, behold the Lamb of God, and killed the disciples, and one was Andrew, went after the Lord Jesus. And then you remember, after having spent that time with the Lord, that Andrew hurried away and came and findeth his own brother Peter and brought him to the Lord.

You see, Andrew was always finding, found John, found Peter, found the Messiah. To this day, you know, as the Lord was churching Philip, Andrew was nosing around, as we say, and he found a lard. Just a lard.

And it was great to see a lard in the company of the Lord's people, you know. This lard was attracted to the Lord. I believe there was another great scholar that we may have said to his mother, you know, in the morning, you know, the mosque was preaching over on the mountain today, and I want to go near her.

And she may have put up his lunch for him and sent him off. One doesn't know, but he was there anyway. He was in the crowd. It's great to see a lard anxious about the Lord. But Andrew found him. And Andrew came and said, there's a lard here.

And he knew exactly what he had with him. There were five barn and all the two fishes. But here's the point where he failed. He said, what are these among so many? He despised the small things. That's a great mistake for a man of God to make.

And I want you to learn that. Never despise small things. Of course, in the hands of the lard, it was only a lunch for a lard. It was sufficient for the crowd. But Andrew despised the small things. My, when we go back through the book and think of all the small things that the Lord has taken up to confound the vice, what encouragement we get.

You remember that when Moses was touched into that ark of bulrushes, and left yonder, you remember just as Pharaoh's daughter came, at the psychological moment, just as she looked into the little ark, the babe wept.

Mind you, that was well-timed. Because that touched her heart. And the God of high heaven took the cry of that little baby boy to touch the heart of the princess of Egypt. And through that cry, his life was spared.

God had used the cry of a babe. You remember it was the rod that Moses had in his hand that God took to do wonders. You remember it was the sling of a shepherd boy that brought the giant to his end. You remember that Samson used the jawbone of an ox.

Oh, need we go on with all the small things. My, this was the cost, the cost that God took to bring Peter to his senses. Never let one of us despise. My, my, let us take courage tonight. We're living in the day and the hour in this age of God's wonderful grace.

And this suits me very well. When God is taking the foolish things and the best things and the things which are not, God is taking these to confine them like this. And this suits me down to the ground because I just fit into the plan.

Just foolish, vain, nothing. Oh, my dear friends, let's learn this lesson. Never to despise the small things. My, Andrew just saw the five little barley loaves, not loaves like what we are used to seeing, little barley loaves that you could hold in your hand and two small fishes, the Bible says, small fishes.

And you know, while he was active and did so much in finding so much, yet he comes out with this crash, what are these among so many? And he despised the small things. And now, let's get on to this command now of the Lord.

Christ’s Command to Sit Down

You know, I think it's wonderful to notice the grace of our wonderful Lord here. You know, Philip had failed and Andrew most certainly had come forth. And if our blessed Master had been working here according to their faith, which he does work according to your faith when he's proving you sometimes, but had he been working strictly here according to your faith, be it unto you, the crowd would have went home without anything.

But you know, in the wonderful sovereignty of his marvelous, unbounded grace, he goes on to bless sometimes where we fail. I've often said, you know, great blessing has come to this place. And I've often said, and I say it from my heart, and I say it again before God tonight, God doesn't bless here because of us.

God blesses here in spite of us. My, I tell you, friends, there's not very much in the best of us who could claim nothing. Only the marvelous, boundless, matchless, wondrous grace of God has come in to bless us, and so it was here.

He just didn't say anything to the two of them. He just looked round at the rest of the crowd, and he said this, verse 10. Jesus said, Make the men sit down. That was the command, and it's a command from the Lord.

You know, some of them might have been ready to question them. What's the use of making men sit down when you have nothing to give them? They might well have questioned. You see, this command here, he wasn't testing their faith now.

He was testing their obedience, and that's very important too. You know, the Lord will test your faith, I know, but the Lord will also test your obedience. Yes? Somebody said to me once, Why? Why did Adam and Eve only eat of the trees of the garden and not of the tree.

That was forbidden? That was a very simple question.

Why did Adam and Eve only eat of the trees of the garden and not of the tree that was forbidden? That was a very simple, just because the Lord commanded it. What do you think? My dear friends, let's get the hold of this, that there are commands in this book for believers, and you're not to question them.

You're just to obey them. Why do believers get baptized by a mercy? I'll tell you. Just because the Lord commands it. That's all. No argument for you, dear. Just because the Lord commands it. That's all.

And if you want to make sure it's a command, you can read Acts chapter 10 sometime, and you'll very soon find out, and maybe you're sitting there disobeying the Lord that evening. You're not to question.

When he commands you to obey, and I found out from a long, long search in this book that if you want to really make your life hell for God, two things must be absolutely clear. You must trust Him at all times, and you must obey Him at all times.

And there's no other way to be happy in Jesus but to trust and obey. So, with trusting, there's obedience now. Make the man sit down. And, you know, when you follow the subject of obedience through the book, you'll find that obedience is even better than sacrifice.

And, you know, my young friends in the meeting this evening, you'll never live a sanctified life except you're sanctified by His truth and His word of truth. Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way but by taking heed thereto according to thy words.

And remember, it's by obedience to the truth of God's word that practical, progressive sanctification comes to date, and by no other means. Don't let anybody bluff you that you can close your eyes and make an up-sanctified.

You'll very soon find out that the Lord will want you to obey His words. And so He's testing them. And He's testing them now with this statement. Make the man sit down. But I think it was for more than that.

I think it's bringing out something that's taught right through the book. You know, the Lord is the God of order. And, you know, I think there's something very precious there. You see, when we go to one of the other Gospels, we find that they sat down in hundreds, and they sat down in fifties.

There was proper order in this crowd, and the apostles could move out and in among the lines as they sat down. You know, the Lord made them sit down in order because He wanted to bless every individual.

And if they stood there like drowned cows, somebody'd get missed. But the Lord didn't want to miss anybody. You know, I think you could have sat down in one of the roofs that day, and had you been the humblest soul there, you could have said this, Thou saintest Lord of me.

Isn't that lovely? And do you know where you get confusion? If you get three or four praying or shouting in a meeting, you'll know it's not of God, because God is not the author of confusion. And there was proper order here.

Proper order. I think there was even more than that. You see, I believe this, and I think this is a great truth. You know, if ever we are to get real blessings from the hands of the Lord, all fleshly activity must come to a stop.

I tell you, you just chew off from the Lord's present, and you'll go home blanched. You know, He must bring all fleshly activity to a standstill. And I'll tell you this, if you want to get blessed by the Lord, you'll have to learn your faith.

You see, some of the young things that I know, you know, they know far too much, or at least they think they do, to sit still at God's feet. They will have to question every statement that was made in the book.

You'll go home blanched. Why, the Lord will make you sit still. It was when Mary sat at His feet that she got the blessing. And so there's a wonderful truth here. He's really testing their obedience, He's proving that He's the God of order, and He's bringing all fleshly activity to a standstill.

And only when you get there can you really get blessing. Now, once again, we come now to the actual marvel of the miracle. And I say it's important because this is the only miracle of all the miracles that is recorded in the full gospel.

The Miracle and the Ministry of Distribution

And surely that's very important. You'll find that some of the other miracles, great miracles as they are, you'll find that some of them are only recorded in one gospel. You'll find that some of them are recorded in two, and there may be one or two recorded in three.

But there is only one miracle that Christ performed that's recorded in the whole four, and it's this one. Well, that's very important. And of course it's important because the Lord really created something here.

You see, when He healed something, He only restored what was there. It's important because 5 ,000 people looked on and beheld the miracle. At other times, He had to put some of the crowd up while He did the miracle in the little back room.

So it's very important, this one. It's a wonderful one. And then, what's this? Here it is happening. Verse 11. We should read through verse 10. Jesus said, make the man sit down. Isn't it lovely that the Holy Ghost has recorded now there was much grass in the place?

And it's marked, it records that there was green grass. And you know, friend, it's like what the psalmist said, if you're going to get the blessing of the Lord, you'll have to learn to be made to lie down in green pasture.

That's where He'll really feed you, you know. Lovely recap there, but we'll go on. Verse 11. And Jesus took the loaves, and when He had given thanks. Isn't that a wonderful example for us? You know, He took these loaves into His hands, and He didn't make one move until He had given God thanks.

He had thanks before everything. He distributed to the disciples, and the disciples to them that were set down. Now, in one of the other Gospels, it actually says this. It says, He break the bread and gave to the disciples.

And it's Bullinger, and again, I'm saying this carefully, while Bullinger was perhaps one of the greatest scholars that ever lived, as far as Greek and Hebrew is concerned, nobody would ever question his scholarship.

In his dispensational ideas, not one of us would follow him. Because Bullinger actually believed at one time that even the devil would get saved. But we're not following his dispensational nonsense. But as far as scholarship in Greek and Hebrew is concerned, you must sit at a seat and know that he was really the master.

And he saw this, and I think it was only Bullinger that saw this. He said when it says, the Lord break, the Lord, it's in the R .S. tense, and it means a definite act. But when it says, the Lord break and gave, the word gave is in the M. perfect tense.

And between the breaking and the giving, the miracle was wrought in the hands of the Savior. That's wonderful. Because he went on giving, giving, giving, giving. But wait a minute, let's get it out of his ears.

John, we're dealing with. I want you to notice this. And Jesus took the loaves, and when he had given thanks, he distributed to the disciples, and the disciples to them that were sat down. I want you to get the hold of this, let's get it all.

Let's see the five thousand sitting over here, shall we? And let's see the Blessed Master holding the bread in his hands over here. And I want every believer to get the hold of this. I think this is the greatest lesson in the portion.

In between the perishing multitude proficiency of Christ, there was room for a sanctified ministry. Now let me get this over to you. Now don't let's get this pointless. Don't let's think that it's only pastors and teachers and evangelists that stand between Christ and the crowd.

Not at all. My dear young woman, you are a servant of the Lord, you see. And I want you to get this. You know, maybe something that the Lord has given you, and it's all your own now, you could take it and pass it on to somebody that's perishing, and it would be an everlasting blessing to them.

Now there's room for you in between. I wonder, are you at the job at all? Do you work for the Lord? Are you moving in between the master and the perishing? Are you bringing something from Christ to those that sit in darkness?

Are you one of the sanctified servants of the Lord, and you are busy continually? Do you bring blessing to the perishing? You have to be in touch with Him, and you have to be acceptable to them. You're in between.

A lovely thing, isn't it? But it was a mighty miracle. Mighty miracle because of this. It says, 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 faithful.

Now, what's this bit? As much as they would. You know, the supply only finished when the demand finished. Is that right? My, there will be no limitation on the Saviour's side. As much as you can take, you'll get.

Spiritual blessing in the heavenlies in Christ, and if you go in and possess the land, it's yours. No limitation. Just as much as they would. I think that will do for the medical. And here's a lovely little touch that comes now.

Gathering Up the Fragments

When they were filled. It's a lovely word, isn't it? Said unto his disciples, Gather up the fragments that remain. Doth nothing be lost. That was an exhortation to his disciples. You see, the Master, while there are no limitations on the divine side, nothing must be wasted, you know.

We won't allow waste. I think we could take this out of its context and say, Gather up the fragments. My young man, as you look down the years that lie ahead, I would say to you that my time is short.

And you have a whole lot of unsaved friends to be brought into the kingdom. And, you know, I wish that you would settle down and gather up the fragments of time that remain. That nothing be lost. I mean, you lose your time, you know, just fooling around.

Not working for the Lord at all, you know.

You only play Christianity. That's all. You just play after it.

The fragments that remain. Oh, the opportunities that are missed. Why, you know, my heart is sore sometimes. I think I said this once before, but I shall say it again. About... Oh, I can't just give you the exact time.

Some time ago I took ill, as you know. Vomited up blood on Sunday morning. Filled the basin with it and then washed it down and didn't say a word to anybody and came out here and preached. In fact, I preached with the blood running down my leg into my shoe and went home with the socks up.

And that day Mr. Russell could tell you we went to the prison together. Told him about it. And I came back here and preached again in the evening. And then I had a half-past eight meeting that evening again.

And after another bout of vomiting, enough to put you off your feet, I went on with the meeting. And then for the next day or two, well, I was really, well, I had to pack in. You know, it was then I was lying ill that the telephone rang.

The young fellow on the other end of the telephone said, Mr. Maul, I hear you're not too well. I said, that's right, I'm doing rightly now. He said, my old uncle's been taken to the hospital. He's got a seizure of some kind and he's going to die.

And I wonder, will you go and see him? I said, certainly I'll go and see him. I'll get out of bed now and I'll go. And then before I left to slow him down, you know, he said, you know, Mr. Maul, you'll have to hurry up.

There's not much time left. Well, it was just a wee bit too much for me. I just couldn't take that. I'm not built like a whole lot of the rest of you. Certain things really get me going, you know. I said, wait a minute, boy.

I said, what are you talking about? I said, you've lived with your uncle for the last twenty years. You never brought him once to the gospel meeting, not once. You were never once at the prayer meeting to pray for him.

You fiddled about with him for twenty years and you've let him go to hell. And you're getting excited now. Is that the way some of you were? My dear young woman, start to gather up the fragments of your opportunity.

Go and gather up the fragments of your opportunity that nothing belongs. And don't become around to me excited in the last few seconds when you've let them go to hell. Because you're too late. I went and saw his uncle, but his uncle was beyond the reach of any mortal.

But they get excited, too late. The Lord is laying a great example here. He doesn't want anything wasted. It's not only an exhortation, it's an example. He doesn't want anything wasted. Now, let's get down to this bit, because this is very important.

Abundant Giving and the Twelve Baskets

Verse thirteen, Therefore they gathered themselves together, 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.

You know, that's a lovely wee bit for those that are always giving up. You know, I've found this out. That, you know, the more you give up, the more you get. I've proved that. I could go into that from every department of life tonight.

The more you give, the more you get. You know, a fellow said to me not so long ago, where do you get all the messages? How do you keep it going? You're preaching every night. I don't know how you do it.