Forks over Knives

That time when Jesus foiled an insurrection with food

I should start with a confession.

For much of my life, I have totally misunderstood the Feeding of the 5,000.

And, while I know that this is something ministers say to draw you in. This isn’t a schtick. I’ve preached this passage countless times, and I’ve preached it wrong.

What you’ve been told is happening here isn’t at all what is happening, and Jesus is about to shake us to our core, just like he did for those 5,000 people way back in the desert.

And that’s where the story we’ve been told begins to unravel… in the desert.

When we come to the Feeding of the 5,000, Jesus has been teaching and doing miracles for days. And he’s tired, exhausted, and depleted. Matthew tells us in 14:13 of his Gospel that Jesus was trying to get away from the crowds to spend some time alone. So he was headed to a remote solitary place.

“…he left in a boat to a remote area to be alone.”— MATTHEW 14:13

John’s Gospel pinpoints that place for us by saying, it was the far side of the Sea of Galilee. If you’ve never been to Israel, Go. You won’t regret it. If you HAVE been to Israel, you’ll already know what the Jewish people who read this knew, and what the rest of us are about to learn:

99% of the stories about Jesus are on ONE side of the Sea of Galilee, the West Side. But the East Side of the Sea (where the Golan Heights are located), was empty.

The far side of the Sea of Galilee is deserted. It is now; it was then.

It’s mountains and sheer cliffs.

There’s nothing there. It’s a wasteland.

It’s pretty, but you don’t want to visit there.

But John tells us that Jesus is headed there for some peace and quiet, but a huge crowd followed him.

*eyeroll emoji*

Kind of like Deadheads, Jesus had a group of folks that followed him everywhere.

So, in verse 3 of John 6, Jesus climbs a ways up one of these hills in the Golan Heights, in the middle of nowhere, and sits down. Just, sits down.

“Then Jesus climbed a hill and sat down with his disciples around him.”
— JOHN 6:3

John doesn’t SAY that Jesus was teaching. John simply says that he sits down.

It’s like, he’s waiting.

We just always kind of assumed Jesus was teaching there, but it doesn’t say that. John said he was done teaching, tried to get away, couldn’t, and just sits down.

Then, while he’s waiting, John tells us in the next verse that it is almost Passover. This is set off in parenthesis in the text. John is giving the reader a clue as to what is going on.

This clue would have immediately told the original readers what was happening.

But we are so far removed from the time period that we don’t see it at all.

You have to know your First Century Roman/Jewish Conflict History to know what is happening.

John tells us that it is almost Passover because, almost every year, without fail, the Jews tried to overthrow Rome at Passover. Why Passover? Well, first, because Passover is the celebration of the liberation of the Jews from Egyptian oppression, so the feast of Passover is a reminder that they weren’t free then and aren’t free now.

But also, if you are going to overthrow an army the size of Rome’s, if you are going to attempt an insurrection of something, you need numbers. Right!? You need a lot of people.

The more people, the more likely your insurrection will succeed.

And there were never more people in Jerusalem than at Passover. It was a required pilgrimage, so the city grew, by conservative estimates, tenfold, with people from the rural areas flooding into Jerusalem and the surrounding area. All of them coming to fulfill their religious duties ….

…. and maybe, just maybe, have a hand in overthrowing Rome.

So, if you’ve got the numbers for an insurrection, to be successful, you’re also going to need a plan… but you ABSOLUTELY DO NOT want the Roman Military to know the plan. And Roman guards were stationed EVERYWHERE…

Everywhere… except the barren and uninhabited hill country on the opposite side of the Sea of Galilee.

(The exact same place where, at this very moment, Jesus is just sitting.)

The Jewish historian Josephus, who lived in the 1st Century AD, tells us that would-be Jewish insurgents used this area (At the foot of the Golan Heights, where Jesus is just sitting) as a mustering site for Passover rebellions. It was a thing. And that would make sense because it was far out-of-range of Roman military surveillance.

So, rebels hell-bent on overthrowing Rome would gather as many hill-folk as possible, trot out to the east side of the Sea of Galilee, and strategize.

So right after John clues us in that it is just before the Jewish Passover, and that Jesus has chosen this traditional mustering location for rebellions for his place to sit, John says, in Verse 5:

“Jesus saw a huge crowd of people coming to look for him…”
— JOHN 6:5

Have you ever noticed that? Verse 2 said he already had a large crowd with him who had been watching his teaching all day, but here, John tells us that there is a SECOND, HUGE crowd of people, “COMING TO LOOK FOR HIM.”

*mindblown*

To overthrow Rome:

1. You’ve got to have a lot of people. [Check]

2. You’ve got to have a place off-the-grid to plan it. [Check].

But…. you also need a leader. And who WOULDN’T want Jesus. The guy who could do magic and, well, also took a whip to people and flipped tables…. Twice…

So Jesus, is sitting in the wrong place (the traditional yearly rebellion planning location), at the wrong time (just before Passover when all the Jews from the hill-country are looking for some action)…

…. ! and now the rebels have their leader !

A Rabbi.

And not just any Rabbi, Jesus!

The rockstar Rabbi who has been making enemies of people for years and who, it has been said, is the Messiah… the Messiah , who by the way, is coming to overthrow Jewish Oppressors.

THIS IS IT!

Jesus is about to be drafted into the Rebellion… probably whether he likes it or not.

So in verse 6: Jesus looks up, sees the huge crowd coming toward him, and IMMEDIATELY turns to Philip and says,

“Where can we buy bread to feed all of these people?”
— JOHN 6:7

Philip had to be like, wait, what?!?!

“Really Jesus?!” … Philip is thinking … “Really?!?!” “Who can think of food at a time like this?!”

There is a huge crowd (army, militia) of people coming to conscript Jesus into a rag-tag rebellion, and …

WHO CAN THINK OF FOOD AT A TIME LIKE THIS!

GOD.

God thinks of food at times like this. But why?!

• Why would Jesus feed them.

• Why not rebuke them for trying to overthrow Rome?

• Why not join them in the rebellion?

• Why not teach them? (He’s got a mega church that just formed in the desert right here! And he has some killer material. I mean, pull out the Beatitudes Jesus!!)

WHY FOOD!?

You, me, and Philip are ALL asking the same question.

Humorously, it doesn’t seem like these people are even hungry. At least, John doesn’t indicate as much. So it seems to catch everyone off guard. I don’t think anyone was expecting Jesus to answer the question of: “Will you help us overthrow Rome?” with “Hey guys, let’s find a McDonalds.”

Of course, it doesn’t actually say “McDonald’s” in the Greek.

And you know the story, I don’t need to tell it.

They end up finding a young boy with 5 pancake bread cakes and a couple of sardines, and Jesus says:

“Perfect!”

You can almost feel Philip’s whiplash when Jesus says that this sack of sardines and bread is enough food to feed everyone.

So Jesus tells them to sit down. Only savages eat standing up.

The fact that these dudes ACTUALLY sit down means that Jesus has them eating out of his hands now… literally and figuratively, I suppose.

And do you remember the count? This is important. Remember. How many there were???

5,000… men. This is another clue that we are on the right track. It wasn’t that the women and children weren’t significant enough to be numbered. But if you are gearing up for a rebellion to overthrow Rome in 32 AD, you’ll count the heads of the able-bodied men, not the women and children.

So the gospel writers are kind of bragging here.

5,000 men!

And get this, when Jesus seats them, Mark and Luke tell us that they sit in groups of 100’s and 50’s.

Ah, there it is again!

Have you ever wondered why?! …. This militia is organizing into Platoons, battalions. They fully expect Jesus to begin to lay out the plan for insurrection.

Can you feel their excitement? This is it. The Roman rule will soon be over! This is THE YEAR!

So they get into their groups, sit down, and a hush falls over them as they await instructions from their new Field General.

What they get, though, is a sack supper.

Instead of coordinating military plans, Jesus coordinates MEAL PLANS. Laying out an enormous buffet.

They don’t get up in arms, yet, though.

Insurgent or not, no one has ever turned down free food.

Have you ever been to Costco during lunchtime when the samples are being served? It’s a feeding frenzy.

So Jesus takes the meager meal, blesses it, and then gives it out to the people. And, miraculously, a meal that would not have fully filled the stomach of a young boy somehow manages to go far enough to feed 5, 10, maybe more than 15,000 people.

“They all ate as much as they wanted. Everyone was full…”
— JOHN 6:11-12

And THERE WAS FOOD STILL LEFT OVER!

I mean, have you thought about that?! There were leftovers. WHY were there leftovers!?

I mean, if I’m cooking for 15,000 people, I will probably make too much or too little food. I can’t even cook spaghetti for the six people in my family without making too little or making enough to feed a small army. I can’t get the portions right.

But. This. Is. God.

He knows EXACTLY how many people are there. He knows EXACTLY how much MiracleGrow will be needed for those fish and bread. He knows EXACTLY how much each of them will eat….down to the crumb. Wouldn’t that be a greater miracle? I mean, multiplying food is excellent, but feeding 15000 people without a scrap left over? … now THAT is impressive.

But, SURPRISE, there ends up being too much.

I’m calling it right now: Not an accident! God doesn’t mess up.

So there must be a reason.

I’ll tell you, I thought about this one long and hard. And here’s what I think.

Do you know what happens when food is left over at a meal? … it goes home in doggie bags with the guests, right?

Jesus made too much food, so it gets collected… but not wasted… as John says in verse 12.

But WHY does Jesus make too much food? Why is he intent on sending them home with food for the following day?

Well, I’ll tell you.

They are going to have to make a choice, here.

They will have to decide whether or not to carry the swords and weapons they’ve brought with them … or the crockpot.

They can’t carry both.

Jesus forces them to make a decision. You can’t take both with you. It’s either the swords in your hands or the food.

Now, you may be thinking: “Sweet crazy Pastor, Bless you. Do you really think that they all showed up to consign Jesus into an insurrection against Rome at the upcoming Passover… and that the entire story of the Feeding of the 5,000 is Jesus creatively exchanging their knives for forks?!”

Yes, I do indeed believe that, and I can prove it.

You should really never stop reading. You didn’t read far enough. We always stop reading too soon.

John. Chapter 6. Verse 14….

“After the people saw Jesus perform this miraculous event, they shouted, “Y’all, [they were from Southern Israel] Y’ALL, he’s the One that we have been expecting!” And Jesus saw THAT THEY WERE READY TO FORCE HIM TO BE THEIR KING, so he slipped away into the hills alone.”
— JOHN 6:14

It’s right there.

Jesus doesn’t want to be their King.

Jesus doesn’t want to overthrow Rome.

Jesus wants to overthrow these people’s lust for power and domination.

Jesus wants them to see that they have more significant needs.

For Jesus, it’s ALWAYS Forks – Over – Knives.

Forks-over-swords.

Forks-over supremacy.

These men want Jesus to assume authoritative rule, seize power, and resort to time-tested tactics of political gains, like the murder of our enemies, plundering those in power, and other violent tactics to bring about justice and peace. You know, the ends justify the means, right?!

Jesus says no.

Jesus says, sit down at the table with me for a while.

Let’s break bread, eat some fish, and learn something about God. Because, the God that you think you know isn’t the real God.

But they had a choice. Turn their swords into plough shares and do something good for everyone… or dominate.

They chose to dominate.

They didn’t choose the way of Jesus. And, in fact, they are so unbelievably riled up about Jesus turning them down that instead of him leading them, they will soon vote for Barabbas (a guy who was locked up for *dromroll* leading an insurrection a previous year, BTW), and they’ll send Jesus to the cross.

Have you ever been crucified for cooking a meal?

Jesus was… and for other things… but most for his table habits.

The best definition of the Gospel, the Good News, the best definition of the Good News that I have ever heard is:

“Jesus ate good food with bad people.”

And it wasn’t that Jesus thought they were bad, it was that everyone else did.

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You see, the church has gotten it wrong.

Many in the modern church feel as though Jesus needs someone to fight for him. To wage war against culture, to battle in politics, to insurrect against the evil ideologies of this world. Onward Christian Soldiers, we used to sing in that Baptist Church I grew up in.

Onward Christian Soldiers… to the voting booth

Onward Christian Soldiers… to the Supreme Court

Onward Christian Soldiers… to Facebook

Jesus says, “Here. Put down that weapon in your hand, and pick up this fork. Let’s break bread. Let’s Eat.”

Forks over Knives.

We are never closer to Jesus than when we are sharing a meal with others. We are never more holy than when we are cooking a meal for others. While sharing a meal, we let down our guard and become more real and create relationships and community.

Don’t forget, Jesus said, every time you break bread, every time you drink wine… remember me.

Don’t forget.

Put down the sword, pick up the Crockpot, and start doing the Lord’s work.